A GLANCE to his future spurred injury-plagued footballer Dan O'Keefe to hang up the boots and aim to swing the golf clubs full-time instead.
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The decision to switch sports has paid off for the former Sydney Swans player, who has earned a traineeship at the prestigious Thirteenth Beach Golf Links in Barwon Heads.
He explained that golf would be easier on his body, which has copped its fair share of damage.
At just 22, he has been restricted by serious injuries to the groin, hamstring, knee and quad.
"A big part of (switching sports) was thinking about down the track, that when I'm 40 or 50 years old, I want to be able to walk," he said.
O'Keefe was cut from Sydney's list just over 12 months ago after he failed to play a senior game in his three injury-interrupted seasons at the club.
He was then invited to preseason training with Geelong, where he was hoping to resurrect his AFL career.
"I ended up playing for the Geelong VFL team and they were actually the ones who got me a job (at the Thirteenth Beach Pro Shop)," he said.
"In round three of VFL I got injured and I decided that I was done with footy."
After he made the decision, a few opportunities to line up with his former club Warrnambool came up, which he pounced on as wanted to play with his mates again.
But while he was playing with the Blues, football was no longer his main focus.
After years of being in the background, golf was.
"When I was younger I had to choose between golf, cricket and footy and golf was the one that got the flick first," he said.
"This time last year I got delisted and I hadn't played golf (competitively) for basically six years.
"I went to get registered for my handicap back in November last year but even then, I was still trying to get back into the footy side of things."
The Geelong Falcons graduate gained his job at Thirteenth Beach at the end of January.
"I was spending more and more hours practicing and I was enjoying it more and more every day," he said.
"I eventually decided that I wanted to have a crack at it."
O'Keefe was one of 38 applicants who successfully gained one of the 24 traineeships after a rigorous selection process, which started in July and included paperwork, six playing tests and an interview.
A prerequisite was a handicap of three or less.
O'Keefe, who cut his handicap from 10 to 1.8 in a year, was optimistic about his chances of landing the traineeship after a strong interview.
He was looking forward to next year playing in as many trainee tournaments across the state each Monday as possible.
After his three-year traineeship, he hopes to be a PGA coach or club professional.
He said stepping away from football has made him enjoy the game more.
"Just watching it and following Warrnambool, Sydney and Geelong," he said.
"But I guess I will miss it down the track."
