{"id":781192,"date":"2026-09-24T15:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781192\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T15:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:30:16","slug":"damon-smith-brings-hope-after-addiction-recovery-the-royal-gazette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781192\/","title":{"rendered":"Damon Smith brings hope after addiction recovery – The Royal Gazette"},"content":{"rendered":"

Created: Sep 24, 2026 07:46 AM (Updated: Sep 24, 2026 10:03 AM)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Damon Smith is congratulated by sports minister Owen Darrell after earning professional status competing in the Johnnie Walker Classic at Ocean View Golf Course last weekend (Photograph supplied)<\/p>\n

Damon Smith has come a long way on the road to recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.<\/p>\n

For more than two decades, the Mid Ocean Club golfer was a prisoner of his addiction, which also led to incarceration for committing a criminal offence.<\/p>\n

However, he never gave up hope of a better life throughout his ordeal and, armed with a strong faith in God, conjured the courage and strength to face his demons head-on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some criminal convictions and over a course of twenty-something years I had a serious drug addiction, but I made a decision and never gave up hope,\u201d Smith told The Royal Gazette.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had this belief it was never going to be me, and I was just resilient to keep pressing on regardless. I just never gave up.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Damon Smith in action on the golf course (Photograph supplied)<\/p>\n

Through his own struggles, Smith has become a beacon of hope for others afflicted with the disease of addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to let people know that recovery is possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do anything that you put your mind to, and that it\u2019s possible even after a struggle no matter what situation you are in. If you make that effort and put in the work, you can get the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith is adamant that it is \u201cvitally important\u201d to acknowledge his past struggles, which have helped to mould him into the responsible and productive member of the community he has become.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not proud of what I\u2019ve done, but it\u2019s made me who I am today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s made me come to terms with my reality and it\u2019s woken me up to realities of life and living life clean, which comes with being responsible and a productive member of society and not a nuisance.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Damon Smith, left, pictured with cousin and former Bermuda Olympic sprinter Xavier James (Photograph supplied)<\/p>\n

Smith is forever grateful for the support he has received from many, including employer Mid Ocean Club, which has aided him on the road to recovery over the past 3\u00bd years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter my rehabilitation, Mid Ocean hired me back again and gave me an opportunity to get my life on track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old has also made considerable strides on the golf course and achieved another career milestone when he secured professional status after meeting the standard competing in the Johnnie Walker Classic at Ocean View Golf Course last weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been going for my professional card for the last three years and successfully met the requirements in my attempt at the Johnnie Walker Classic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big thing for me because my journey has been tough through incarceration and stuff. This really means a lot to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need the validation because I am doing what I need to do, and my No 1 priority is staying clean. Outside of that, any other accomplishments that come just speak to the testament that I am doing the right things today, so I am moving forward with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was not the only player securing professional status at last weekend\u2019s tournament, as Mark Phillips also achieved the feat.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mark Phillips is congratulated by sports minister Owen Darrell after earning professional status competing in the Johnnie Walker Classic at Ocean View Golf Course last weekend (Photograph supplied)<\/p>\n

Phillips, 36, is equally as delighted to have finally secured official professional status.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a good feeling to be part of the Bermuda Professional Golfers Association and to be able to enjoy some of their events and things that have going on within the island,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI turned professional a while back but never did the official BPGA certificate, so it’s really nice to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steven Lambert Jr, the BPGA president, welcomed the association\u2019s newest members into the fold with open arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the behalf of the BPGA, I would like to congratulate Damon Smith and Mark Phillips on passing their player eligibility test at the Johnnie Walker Classic over the two days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamon has been trying for a while and I am proud of him. He actually made a high score on the 1st hole, and stuck it out and passed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark was well inside the allotted score over the two days and we are also very proud of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish both of them much success going forward in future tournaments, and it’s good to have two new members that are very upstanding citizens in the golf community and good golfers joining us in the 2025-26 season.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Created: Sep 24, 2026 07:46 AM (Updated: Sep 24, 2026 10:03 AM) Damon Smith is congratulated by sports…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,8865,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-781192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-spotlight","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}