KEARNEY, NE – Hitting a golf ball with your eyes closed, one-armed, off one foot, or in a wheelchair is no easy task. Twelve Nebraska PGA Professionals and Associates came together at Meadowlark Hills Golf Course to go through PGA HOPE’s adaptive training session to learn how to teach Veterans with disabilities. Led by PGA Professional and National PGA HOPE Instructor Joe Grohman, the PGA Professionals and Associates spent the day learning a new way of teaching the game of golf. The session included an in-person adaptive training session that outlines best practices on teaching individuals with disabilities, adaptive equipment, and accommodations for common disabilities within the Veteran population.
PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is the flagship military program for the PGA REACH Nebraska Foundation, designed to introduce golf to all veterans to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. As many Veterans struggle with the transition back into civilian life, the game of golf delivers a new level of enjoyment and opportunity to be active in their local community.
“We are excited to bring this program to the Veterans in the Kearney community,” says Seth Scollard, Managing Director for PGA REACH Nebraska. “PGA HOPE has already made a big impact in the Omaha and Lincoln communities and we can’t wait to welcome the Kearney Veterans to the PGA HOPE Nebraska Family.”
In 2019, PGA HOPE impacted 2,500 Veterans nationwide, taught by over 350 PGA Professionals from around the country. There are currently 162 PGA HOPE programs across the country, as the program gains recognition nationwide. PGA REACH Nebraska started with one PGA HOPE program in 2018 in Papillion, NE and it will now be offered in three communities in 2021. PGA HOPE is one way to give back to our nation’s heroes, as they have sacrificed so much for our freedoms we enjoy every day.
PGA HOPE Kearney will be hosted by PGA Professionals David James and Scott Bruha at Meadowlark Hills Golf Course in the fall of 2021. For more information on the program please contact Seth Scollard, PGA at sscollard@pgahq.com. Congratulations to the following PGA Professionals and Associates on becoming certified in the PGA HOPE Adaptative Training; Matt Shaner, PGA (Golf Fit USA), David James, PGA (Meadowlark Hills GC), Scott Bruha, PGA (Meadowlark Hills GC), Bryan Marshall, PGA (Kearney CC), Turner Ham, PGA (Kearney CC), Jay Cottam, PGA (Awarii Dunes), Cody Troudt, PGA Associate (Riverside GC), Jayde Curley, PGA Associate (Lochland CC), John Craw, PGA, and David Honnens, PGA (Nebraska PGA).
About PGA REACH Nebraska
The PGA REACH Nebraska Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to positively impact lives through the game of golf. Since its inception in 2014, PGA REACH Nebraska has executed programs that focus on three core pillars, Youth, Military, and Inclusion. Within each pillar, programs like PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), Clubs FORE Youth, Golf-N-Schools, Omaha Outreach Program, and PGA Jr. League continue to make impacts throughout the Nebraska Section PGA.