America Supports You: Golfers Say Game Good for Vets’ Bodies, Minds

America Supports You ^ | Samantha L. Quigley

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2007 – A Maryland group is using its favorite game to positively affect combat-wounded veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Members of the Salute Military Golf Association believe the rehabilitative benefits of golf can improve the mental and physical condition of wounded servicemembers returning from combat, Jim Estes, the group’s founder, said on the organization’s Web site.

“The SMGA believes that every (servicemember) matters and should be given the opportunity to learn and improve his or her golf knowledge and skill,” he said. “The SMGA will provide a venue and mentoring to this end.”

Earlier this year, Estes and several other area pros, specifically trained to work with wounded veterans, started formalized golf clinics for wounded soldiers. Future similar events near military medical facilities in San Antonio and San Diego are in the works.

PGA of America and Disabled Sports USA sponsored the clinics. They are both supporters of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Salute Military Golf Association, which began as a therapeutic outlet for soldiers undergoing prolonged medical treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, is a new supporter of the Defense Department program.

Estes began accompanying Walter Reed patients on weekly dinner outings arranged by one of his clients in 2004. This interaction showed him that servicemembers were eager to get back to sports like golf.

“Jim learned that some of the soldiers found something in golf they really seemed to need,” said Ellen Kay, the organization’s secretary. “Since (2004), many wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to the rehabilitative properties of the game of golf through Jim's efforts.”

In addition to providing veterans with instruction through clinics and personalized instruction, Salute Military Golf Association works to secure benefits like reduced or free green fees and access to public and private golf facilities throughout the country. The organization also tries to equip veterans who show a true interest and dedication to the game with properly fitted clubs.

Salute Military Golf Association was introduced nationwide when Brian Williams featured Estes and the group on the NBC Nightly News. Locally, the Fox News affiliate in Washington has shined its spotlight toward the program and its volunteers. Even the PGA has taken notice of the Maryland golfers’ work with the wounded, acknowledging it in a service announcement during its 89th Championships.

Kay said the group hopes its recent affiliation with America Supports You will attract attention from those who wish to help extend Salute Military Golf Association’s work.

“We are very excited about our new affiliation with America Supports You,” she said. “Already, this has resonated with a number of our potential and current supporters as the America Supports You program is well-respected and recognized for its tremendous positive impact.”

Related Sites:
Salute Military Golf Association
Disabled Sports USA
America Supports You

[DirtyPigpen]

A golf course is a wasted rifle range!!

[Badeye]

Good idea on the part of those doing this.

That said, last time I played golf, I remembered quite a few other four letter words that better describe my experience.....(chuckle)

[SandRat]

magic golf words????

[Badeye]

Indeed they are ‘magical’.

They cause my composure to disappear completely.....(chuckle)

[SandRat]

playing pasture pool can do that.

[ConorMacNessa]

Golf = a game played with implements ill-suited to the purpose.

[RichInOC]

Especially if there are anti-war protests downrange.

“I gotta work on my game.”
“No, no, no, don’t think of it as work. The whole point is just to enjoy yourself.”

[SandRat]

Someone told me that Golf is started as an acronym that originally meant Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.

[Badeye]

At one point I noted my dogs like chasing balls....but I don’t, which is why I carry a couple of DOZEN when I play.....LOL!

distance isn’t a problem....I can drive the leetle white ball 240 yards.

Direction however, is wildly overrated in my opinion.

And Irons? If there is every a real world example of liberalism, its found in a game requiring the use of Irons.

[BluH2o]

Golf ... a great way to spoil an otherwise perfect day.

[ConorMacNessa]

golf

1457, Scot. gouf, usually taken as an alteration of M.Du. colf, colve “stick, club, bat,” from P.Gmc. *kulth- (cf. O.N. kolfr “clapper of a bell,” Ger. Kolben “mace, club”). The game is from 14c., the word is first mentioned (along with fut-bol) in a 1457 Scot. statute on forbidden games.

[subterfuge]

Well you know what golf spelled backwards is, right?

[Don Corleone]

A golf course is a wasted rifle range!!

Not the way I hit 'em!

[BluH2o]

The reason for eighteen holes in golf and not 16 or 21, or some other number? Back in 1857 in Scotland it was determined a gentleman golfer should have a shot of ‘fine Scotch’ after completing each hole. In a fifth of Scotland’s best there are precisely eighteen shots ... thus eighteen holes. Now you know the rest of the story.

[GOP Poet]

ping! :-)

[PurpleMan]

It’s called “golf” ‘cause all the other four-letter words were taken.

[tweakDU]

I hit the ball so far left, I have to go right to get it.

[Redleg Duke]

Douglas Bader, the "Legless Ace" of the RAF in WWII learned golf after the war. Because both of his legs were artificial, he couldn't compensate for the swing with his ankles and he initially would fall over. We developed the most perfectly balanced golf swing which enabled him to remain standing. He loved golf and played it until his death in 1982.

Golf would be great for these folks! They already know the vocabulary. And remember, "Golf isn't a matter of life or death, it is much more important than that!"

[Redleg Duke]

“He”, not “We”. Sorry about that, Chief!