US Marine Corps veteran Gabriel Potter tees off at the Congressional Country Club during PGA HOPE National Golf & Wellness Week. Photo courtesy of the PGA of America.
Marine Corps veteran Shawn Donald removed the “Semper Fi” golf head cover from his club and stepped up to the tee on a breezy day in mid-October. With the Washington Monument standing tall on the horizon, he stared across the course, calculating his shot. He shifted his weight from foot to foot several times, then swung.
Golf has given Donald a new purpose and a respite from fighting his demons, he said, and from Oct. 14 to 18, he joined 19 other veterans in the nation’s capital for the second annual PGA Helping Our Patriots Everywhere (HOPE) National Golf and Wellness Week.
“It really started helping to get out of my shell and communicate with the other veterans and just be more open about myself,” Donald said.
PGA HOPE is part of the association’s charitable arm, PGA Reach, and has 165 chapters across the country. Organization officials estimate that PGA HOPE impacts more than 3,500 veterans each year through free lessons and events.
During the four-day golf and wellness retreat in Washington, instructors trained in adaptive equipment or methods were on hand to help veterans step up their game, no matter what kinds of wounds they may have been working with.
“PTSD, limb loss, spinal cord [injuries] — whatever ailment they’re dealing with, we’re using golf as that mechanism, that modality to move them forward in a rehab process,” Chris Nowak, a Marine Corps veteran and PGA HOPE liaison, said.
PGA HOPE program coordinator Erin Scanlon told Coffee or Die Magazine her face hurt after the event because she was “smiling all day, all weekend.”
Scanlon is a former Army soldier who for years has called on lawmakers to change the way sexual crimes are managed in the military after she was assaulted in 2016. She began golfing within the past year and said it has had a therapeutic effect on her. When she finds herself just wanting to stay curled up in bed all day, she remembers her tee time and drags herself outside.
“Having to set a tee time really helped me commit to getting out of the house for the day,” Scanlon said, adding that spending a few hours outside can be “an awesome way to combat depression.”
Scanlon found golf by chance when she was working part-time at a course. Women — especially young women — are a rarity on the green, but a female co-worker convinced Scanlon to give it a try, and she became “obsessed.”
“It’s amazing because that stupid little white ball is all you’re focusing on,” she said. “You don’t have time to think about all the other things that have been bothering you for so long. It’s just an amazing escape.”
After four days of bonding, the veterans returned home with new friendships and new skills. The goal, Scanlon said, is for them to be ambassadors for the sport.
“Be that peer support, to find more veterans to get them into golf,” she said.
Read Next:
Hannah Ray Lambert is a former staff writer for Coffee or Die who previously covered everything from murder trials to high school trap shooting teams. She spent several months getting tear gassed during the 2020-2021 civil unrest in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not working, Hannah enjoys hiking, reading, and talking about authors and books on her podcast Between Lewis and Lovecraft.
Biden will award the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam War Army helicopter pilot who risked his life to save a reconnaissance team from almost certain death.
Ever wonder how much Jack Mandaville would f*ck sh*t up if he went back in time? The American Revolution didn't even see him coming.
A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that at first appeared to yield little more than dust contains hidden treasure, the US Military Academy said.
Since the 1920s, a low-tech tabletop replica of an aircraft carrier’s flight deck has been an essential tool in coordinating air operations.
For nearly as long as the Army-Navy football rivalry, the academies’ hoofed mascots have stared each other down from the sidelines. Here are their stories.
Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel the weapon was produced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries but gave no other details.
Ambushes make for great action scenes. Here are seven of the best to ever grace the big screen.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the launch occurred Wednesday but gave no further details, such as how far the missile flew.