A roll of the dice. Luck. Happenstance. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to get an idea going. Today’s blog post is about an organization, The Salute Military Golf Association, which came about after a chance encounter between a PGA Tour Pro and a group of wounded warriors on a golf course.
In 2004, a 21-year old wounded warrior recovering at Walter Reed bumped into a Vietnam veteran who liked to golf. The Vietnam vet decided to introduce the warrior and one of his buddies, much to their reluctance, to golf. He took them to Olney Golf Park in Maryland. There, they met the course’s Pro instructor and PGA Tour Player, Jim Estes. Fascinated by the idea of how to teach these individuals how to play, Estes began practicing in ways that imitated the warriors’ wounds, such as standing on one leg. Two years later, Estes and his friend, Jamie Winslow, founded The Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA).
SMGA’s motto is “Empowering Wounded Warriors, One Fairway at a Time.” The program originally started by offering adaptive golf to wounded warriors recovering at Walter Reed and Bethesda. It has since expanded into a non-profit which continues to help wounded Post-9/11 veterans, including those with physical wounds, PTSD, and TBI, discover the game of golf.
The traditional clinic program takes place at Olney Golf Park, where Estes is the PGA Director of Golf Instruction, in Olney, Maryland. These clinics are targeted towards wounded warriors who are currently rehabilitating and/or transitioning from wounded status back to active duty or to civilian life and are taught by PGA Tour Professionals.
Currently, there are two types of these clinics:
– The weekly PTSD clinics: every Thursday at noon
– The Spring Clinics Series: every Saturday from 9:45am-1pm starting April 12th and going through June 7th; open to all wounded warriors; family members are invited; childcare and lunch will be provided.
The program also has chapter affiliations across the country (contact information for all available chapters provided at the end of the post; all others may contact SMGA main), including:
– Boston, MA
– Camp Lejeune, NC
– Fort Drum, NY
– Fort Eustis, VA
– North Texas
– Pacific Northwest
The SMGA began piloting a new program last year called “The American Golfer,” which provides golfing opportunities for Post-9/11 wounded warriors who are not close to one of SMGA’s partner clinics. Interested parties will need to complete a one-page application (including contact information, basics of disability, and active duty or veteran status). Once accepted, you will locate a PGA instructor in your area who is willing to host you and SMGA will pay for six private lessons (one per week) with this instructor. Participants will be required to follow SMGA’s Code of Conduct and keep track of their lessons with SMGA’s simple Lesson Tracking Sheet. Once you have completed your six lessons, you will be fitted for a set of TaylorMade golf clubs, also paid for by SMGA.
The organization also holds several tournaments, where individuals can raise funds for the organization and even play alongside wounded warriors. (If you’re not interested in playing, but would like to help a wounded warrior do so, you can sponsor a wounded warrior by paying their entry fee.) The upcoming tournaments are:
– 5 May – 4th Annual Wounded Warrior Tournament (sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton), Bethesda Country Club, Bethesda, MD
– 9 Jun – 8th Annual SMGA Charity Classic, Manor Country Club, Rockville, MD
For those of you looking for even more golf adventure, check out the SMGA Freedom Golf Program. A collaboration between SMGA, Golf Digest Ireland, Folds of Honor, and Warriors of Freedom, the program provides for wounded warriors and their spouses/partners to travel to Ireland for twelve days to play golf with the likes of NFL Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Chris Doleman. This year, the program is holding a raffle, the winner of which will get to accompany the wounded warriors and NFL stars to Ireland. Tickets start at $10. (The wounded warriors themselves will be be chosen by SMGA, Folds of Honor, and Warriors of Freedom.)
Salute Military Golf Association’s website also offers tips on how to choose a golf instructor and links to PGA resources, such as Golf Etiquette and Attire 101. More details and a full schedule of events can be found here. You can find out even more information, including how to subscribe to their weekly newsletter, on their Facebook page.
Chapter contacts are available for:
New York: webpage
North Texas: webpage and Facebook
© 2014 – 2020, Sarah Maples LLC. All rights reserved.
No Comments