THUNDER BAY – The golf balls were flying from the sky on Friday afternoon, helping raise money in memory of golfer Dustin Barr.
Golf Balls From Heaven, a second-year fundraiser, saw nearly 5,000 balls dumped from a low-flying helicopter toward a makeshift green in the middle of the 18th fairway at Whitewater Golf Course, the one landing closest to the pin earning its owner $5,000.
It turns out Mike Golding owned ball No. 509, which won him the grand prize.
“This is incredible, I still can’t believe it,” said Golding, reached by phone shortly after it was determined his ball came to rest closest to the pin.
“Days don’t get any better than this. Right on.”
Barr died in March 2020 at 24 after a long battle with cancer, having played college golf at Thomas University in Georgia and in the 2017 Staal Foundation Open in Thunder Bay, a career highlight.
Dustin Wilson, a junior golf instructor who helped organize the charity event and its associated golf tournament, said the golf community wanted to do something to honour Barr’s memory.
“We’re anticipating going over $50,000 this year altogether and hopefully we’ll raise some more money today to add to that total,” Wilson said. “It’s nice to give back to charities that helped Dustin along the way.”
Among the recipients of Friday’s events were Ronald McDonald House, Special Olympics and Children’s Wish, which helped Barr take a trip to Scotland when during an early bout with cancer.
“We’re keeping Dustin’s dreams alive is what we’re kind of branding it,” Wilson said.
This year's event raised $60,000, with $37,000 of it going to Special Olympics through the ball drop.
