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PGA HOPE PROJECT
Gateway PGA HOPE Seeks To Help Local Veterans Through The Game Of Golf
Relatively new to the game of golf, Belleville residents Bob Rosner
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and his wife, Nancy Bakay, have found not only a love of conquer-
ing the links, but also a niche as PGA tournament volunteers with PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) that is the flagship military program of PGA REACH - the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. PGA HOPE introduces golf to Veterans with disabilities to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. Sadly, Veteran suicide is a major issue in the Veteran community and statistics show 22 Veterans a day commit suicide. PGA HOPE is working to change this statistic by utilizing the game of golf as a form of therapy.
There are currently 162 PGA HOPE programs across the country, hosted in 38 participating PGA Sections (geographical). The local section is called the Gateway Section including four participating courses in Missouri; one in Springfield, Ill.; and Arlington Greens in Granite City of which Veteran Rosner and Bakay are graduates of and now work as PGA Gateway Ambassadors spreading the word to others who may benefit from learning the game of golf.
They also have had the opportunity to work at various PGA events around the country as attendants who help with crowd control, moving players from holeto-hole, keeping score and more. Their first “job” was in 2018 at Bellerive; among others was 2019 at Bethpage in New York, 2021 Ocean Course on Kiawah, SC and they are planning to help out this year at Southern Hills in Tulsa, OK. There have been others, but the biggest kick for Rosner was walking all 18 with Phil Mickelson during a practice round - “and then he won the tournament that week!” For fun, the pair likes to travel a few days ahead of the tournament in their camper to get a feel for the area and the course.
The PGA HOPE program introduces the game of golf through a developmental six week curriculum, taught by PGA Professionals trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency. All programs are funded by PGA REACH and supplemented by PGA Section Foundations, so the cost of programming is free to all Veterans.
Here in the St. Louis metropolitan area, Veterans are invited to the beginning of the program starting at Jefferson Barracks in February for the six weeks of lessons where participants learn all the fundamentals of golf such as driving, chipping, putting and proper etiquette. Since 2011, Gateway PGA HOPE has impacted 200 Veterans locally.
Instructors in the St. Louis area include Adaptive Golf Certified PGA Professionals: PGA professional and veteran Sam Gilliland; Brian Maine, PGA professional at Whitmoor Country Club in St. Charles County; and Mark Marcuzzo, PGA professional and golf course manager at Arlington Greens in Granite City. Guest instructors throughout the six weeks may include local PGA professionals John DePriest and Dan Polites.
Following the six weeks of lessons (mostly in a warm gym), the golfers get to step out on the course and put into action what they have learned. In the Metro East, Arlington Greens welcomes these Veterans every year where the thenbeginner golfers play in a Thursday morning league that is also free of charge. Everyone pitches in $5 per week and at the end of the league’s season they play the Patriot Cup Tournament and Celebration where the money is then divided according to points earned per golfer.
