In the first 15 years of his life, 97-year-old Elden Coleman accidentally drank turpentine, was thrown to the ground by a nearby lightning strike and shortly after that, was shot in the back by his friend in a hunting accident.
“The bullet missed the kidney, missed the lungs and the intestine and lodged in my liver and it’s still there,” Coleman said.
But that isn’t slowing down his golf game. Coleman, who was born and raised in the southern Alberta town of Magrath, hits the links as often as he can.
“Three times a week for sure, and if I feel like it I come out and play the other two,” he said.
He’s a World War II veteran, a former boxer and apparently an all-around good guy.
“He’s just lots of fun,” Coleman’s friend Vernon West said. “No problems, he never gets excited, he plays well, he always encourages us to keep it up.”
Coleman has always hit the green at the Magrath Golf Club — one of the oldest clubs in Alberta.
Another fun fact? Coleman is actually five years older than the club itself.
Coleman, who turns 98 in February, said exercise is his secret to longevity.
“I’ve played sports all my life.”
Coleman was presented with a lifetime legacy membership to the Magrath Golf Club on Thursday.