1st Lt. Donarski inspires golf crowd at Children's Miracle Network Classic

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A Soldier who twice was nearly declared dead wowed PGA Tour golfers and fans during the Pro-Am portion of the Children's Miracle Network Classic Nov. 11-12 at Walt Disney World Resort.

Special Forces 1st Lt. Brian Donarski, a member of the 2005 All-Army Golf Team, rediscovered his game while playing the Palm and Magnolia Courses that wrap around the Shades of Green Armed Forces Recreation Center, not far from the gates of the Magic Kingdom and Disney's Wide World of Sports.

A former scratch golfer who dabbled with triathlons, Donarski is an uncanny athlete. Toss in the fact that he lived to tell about encountering an anti-tank mine in Iraq and getting hit by a truck in Arizona and you have one determined Soldier who has exceeded Disney-like expectations.

Nobody in their right mind could craft a fairy tale as unimaginable as the banged-up Donarski matching drives and putts with professional golfers John Huston, Greg Kraft, Greg Owen and Alex Cejka. But that's what he did for two days at Disney, where Donarski shot 3-over-par for two rounds.

"To see him out here playing as well as he's playing, after what he's been through, is absolutely amazing," Kraft said. "His game is really good. He has a gift. And to not only to be this good, but to have such an unbelievable attitude and personality, I just tip my hat to him."

Donarski expected to enjoy a couple of quiet rounds with the pros before Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz alerted Central Floridians that a wounded warrior would be playing Disney's Palm Course on Veterans Day.

Next thing you knew, Donarski was the talk of the Magic Kingdom.

"People were coming up to me and saying: 'Hey, Lieutenant, how you doing'' And I was thinking, 'How do people know I'm a lieutenant''" said Donarski, 42, a native of Roseau, Minn., who is stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. "I really didn't realize the excitement until the pros started interacting with me and giving me tips. Because it's their environment, I wanted to just stay clear of them and let them do their thing. But they were just so personable. They were eager to help me.

"Greg Owen just gave me such positive energy," Donarski added. "He had such a positive attitude, even though his game didn't go as well as he wished."

Next thing he knew, Donarski, who had the amateur advantage of hitting from the closer white tee boxes, was dueling with the pros.

"If you're a single-digit handicap, you're really relying on yourself more so than your pro," Donarski said of the complicated best-ball format that took amateurs' handicaps into account. "I helped out on every hole that Greg messed up. I picked him up on tougher holes where I got a stroke.

"It was neat to hit shots, too, because the pros are hitting it a long ways, but I was able to reach the par-5s, even though they were like 565 from the whites. It was a huge advantage. So it's good to see them shoot in - you kind of get a better understanding from what you see them do on TV."

As a team, Owen and Donarski shot 6-under-par on Veterans Day, but it did not take long for the Soldier to realize he had forgotten some of the game's fundamentals. After serving 11 years with the U.S. Marine Corps, Donarski was honorably discharged in 1998 but felt compelled to return to the military after the World Trade Center was attacked.

In October 2004, after being examined by seven doctors and passing six Army physical fitness tests, Donarski waived his VA benefits and enlisted in the Army. During Operation Iraqi Freedom combat, his vehicle struck a roadside bomb on March 5, 2006, causing Donarski to receive a Traumatic Brain Injury, fractured neck, bulged disks in his back, and shoulder surgery. He lost vision in his right eye for four months, and most of his teeth sustained hairline cracks.

Donarski, however, was far from being finished. After rehabilitating for 13 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, he deployed to Afghanistan, where he had a hand in the successful implementation of more than 400 combat missions.

After nearly 15 years of military service, Donarski completed Army Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a lieutenant on April 23, 2009. Seven months later, the Purple Heart recipient was hit by a truck while bicycle training for a triathlon. That collision required surgery on his other shoulder, along with the return of TBI, nightmares and more loss of vision.

Donarski then spent five months at the VA Poly Trauma Center in Richmond, Va., before transferring to the VA Medical Center in Salisbury, N.C. His recovery continues at Fort Bragg, with the assistance of Charlotte Metro Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

On his second day at Disney, Donarski posted a 77. Again, he attempted to defer to the pros.

"But John Huston was awesome," Donarski said. "I kind of gave him his space, but he kept just coming to me. He would ask me about my family - a really down-to-earth man. And Greg Kraft was just a riot. He made my round very comfortable."

Donarski, who just returned to golf in August, took the tournament in stride, all the while battling the pain with an assortment of remedies.

"I really didn't get nervous today," he said. "I struck the ball really well at [All-Army] camp. It's just my putting that is struggling. I kind of see like in a tunnel - I can't see out of my peripheral - and for some reason the brain tries to compensate and pushes the ball. The things that the pros gave me to work on, I really concentrated on trying to use those tips. But when you have bad habits, it's better to try to correct it on the range.

"My core is slowly getting better."

Donarski's darkest secret at Disney was that he was soaking in a hot tub every day at 6 a.m. while many golfers were working on the driving range under the lights.

"To loosen up my body before I actually go to the range," he explained. "My goal is to get back into cross-fit and a lot of endurance stuff. The doctors told me I'm going to have a lot of pain because when the blast went through me it stunned the nerves in my body. They say exercise is the key to keep your body more fluid, so my goal is to try to get back into that.

"Physically, the blast took more because I was more in tune to getting back into the fight," Donarski said. "When I got injured again, it really affected my brain, so I'd say mentally it affected me more because there were things going on that I couldn't explain. I was telling doctors and they were like so amazed by how well I knew about the fight or flight. They say when you're in a stressful combat situation your body kicks into the fight or flight. Everybody has it - just a mechanism that protects you and makes you more aware of things."

Donarski was not sure, however, if he would return to this point.

"It's pretty exciting to hear professional golfers say, 'Wow, you've got a good game. Nice drive,'" he said. "I think if I got more of an opportunity to be in the environment - I didn't seem nervous today, but I was aware that there were more people here today than yesterday - and I think I started to try too hard instead of just playing my game. I started hooking the ball a little more. Usually, I don't hook the ball.

"I'm a pretty straight shooter."

All in all, Donarski is getting better, slowly but surely - both on and off the course.

"My coach, Jim Estes, has taught me how to be patient," he said. "The game is very humbling. It teaches you patience. With my injury, I hope I'm able to continue to push myself and get better so maybe I'll get an invite again.

"Being comfortable over the ball is one thing. Making it happen on the course is another."

Donarski said he could not thank the Army enough for providing this opportunity.

"I truly appreciate it," he said. "I do feel blessed. I'm just thankful they gave me this opportunity. It just lets me know that they do care about wounded Soldiers and they care about us getting back on our feet. Even if I don't stay in the military, they knew I was a healthy young man when I came in and they're going to help me get back to the most functional point in my life."

Donarski founded an organization called America's Finest Rewards to help spread the word that more injured Soldiers need help. The website is www.americasfinestrewards.com.

"Coming home and bringing stuff from war, it's a terrible thing," he said. "It's the life we choose but we stay positive to continue on. When I see a Soldier that is injured or has a prosthetic, I could have been like that. I do feel blessed even though my limbs do hurt sometimes and I have a bad headache quite often. And I have pain in my shoulders. I always say I'm blessed because things could've been worse.

"I know golf is a healer because the world was too busy when I came back and I was injured. Golf put me in a slow-motion to allow me to rehabilitate at the pace I needed to rehabilitate instead of trying to speed up everything. My body needed time, and golf taught me that."

It carries over at home, where Donarski is most focused on taking care of his wife, Tara, and daughters Maya and McKenzi.

"I'm thankful that I'm able to function better with my Family and have a healthier life," he said. "That was my concern because I was having issues with dealing with people again. But seeking care and getting the proper treatment, I'm getting better."

Related Links:

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