HOUSTON — Standing on the tee box, every golfer knows that dream feeling of picturing yourself hitting a perfect drive or even sinking that much-needed putt.
In Kingwood, Texas what you might be surprised to learn is this game that’s filled with so much imagination is changing the lives of veterans like Darrell Hayes and Melissa Lewis, who’ve experienced realities that most can’t possibly comprehend.
“It was a very hard time. Hostile. Anxiety always high. You’re always on the edge,” said Lewis.
Darrell and Melissa have both participated in PGA Hope, a program that introduces and teaches the game of golf to veterans.
“I tell everybody, once you hit that good shot, that perfect shot, you're hooked,” said Hayes.
It helped them deal with life after the military.
“We have a common goal, okay? And no matter where you're from, no matter who you are, we had that goal, and we had to work together. When you get back here, it's kind of like every man for you know, every man for himself, there's no uniformity. There's no structure, in a sense, and you got to kind of blend in, which made it kind of rough,” said Hayes.
“Being a civilian, even today, like always for me, always looking over my shoulder, you find different ways to cope, you know, with that, so it won't so it will get easier every day. If that makes sense,” said Lewis.
For the second straight year, Player Development Pro Jonathan Shoffner has put on a PGA Hope Veterans Cup. This is an event he created to further the mission of "Helping Our Patriots Everywhere."
“My grandfather taught me the game of golf and served, and my whole family is served. So I just wanted to do as much as I could to give back. You can change a life by getting people out to the golf course, getting them involved, introducing them to other people, so that they are able to form the relationship on the golf course,” said Shoffner.
Some of the veterans Shoffner teaches have little to no experience with the game, but what he often finds is that what he teaches them about their swings isn’t nearly as important as the appreciation he’s showing for what they’ve sacrificed.
“I have had numerous people come up to me and express their gratitude for just taking the time to run this program and trying to teach them the game of golf. You know, I have a couple people that come to mind that actually came up to me after the six-week session, and they're like, you know, I can't thank you enough,” he said.
And in a game filled with things like ups and downs, fairways and rough, those who’ve served the country remind everyone there’s something bigger at play.
“Take breath and say, ‘Wow, this is, this is wonderful,’ you know? And to say to myself and to Melissa there that, you know, this is something that we protected,” said Hayes.
For more information contact:
Johnathan Shoffner
PGA Player Development Professional
The Clubs of Kingwood
(713) 918-9884