Golf Marches Forward: Military Greens
By: Janina Parrott Jacobs
Imagine teeing it up at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Pasatiempo and Cypress Point with no waiting, no fees – just go. During World War II, soldiers stationed at California’s Fort Ord enjoyed such exceptional perks. Offering this today might spark a welcome stampede to military recruitment offices.
For decades, golf and the military have enjoyed a special relationship, most notably with U.S. Presidents and their penchant for the game.
Since WWII, commanding officers prided themselves on showing off their units’ stellar golfers. After completing 21 European flying missions, scratch-golfer and Army Air Corps B-17 pilot Billy Hamlin, now 97 and living in Portage, returned to the Pacific to lead the Air Force golf team.
“The captain’s job was between another guy and me,” Hamlin said. “But he was a dentist and they needed him home to fix choppers…and not the flying kind!” The lively Hamlin recently hung up his clubs because seemingly ‘there’s no one to play with.’
Golf was used strategically during the Vietnam War. Ejecting from his EB-66 ‘Bat-21’ aircraft, avid golfer and USAF Lt. Col. Iceal ‘Gene’ Hambleton, communicating with rescuers, pinpointed a daring extraction site using familiar golf holes’ yardages and direction.
Today, golf remains popular in all service branches, with steadfast competition among them. The military is one of the top course management companies in the U.S., operating 125 facilities, but courses receive no taxpayer funding and, by law, must be self-sufficient. Many are currently meeting financial goals through public access ‘Golf Guest Card’ programs – like the one offered at Selfridge Air National Guard base in Macomb County – which require simple vetting, background checks and annual fees of $10-30. Green fees are structured by pay-grade and range from $20-60.
National Guard Association of Michigan Executive Director Jeff Frisby says that many installations do find unique and adaptable sections of land to use and some courses rival the best attributes of top private clubs.
“Fort Gordon in Georgia is a favorite,” said Frisby. “It’s extremely nice, but there was something special about playing in Augusta, knowing just miles away is one of the most famous courses in the world.”
Passionate golfer and veteran Communications Specialist Doug Waite, another Michigander, didn’t realize he’d played so many base courses.
“As a Navy retiree, these low-cost courses are still available to me… a nice benefit,” said Waite, who fondly recalled playing Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam Navy/Marine Golf Course. “Without courses allowing personnel to play a first-rate Hawaiian course at mainland military prices, options would be limited due to high costs.”
The Navy course at Sewell Point in Norfolk, Virginia is a stunning facility where Arnold Palmer played during his 3-year Coast Guard stint.
“The USMC Boot Camp at Parris Island, South Carolina isn’t really noted for having a good time,” chuckled Waite. “However, the Legends course is a delight…a beautiful layout winding through marshes and ponds, with huge alligators sunning themselves.”
One unique aspect of playing military courses is paralleled nowhere else.
“There is so much happening, with military aircraft flying around while enjoying the game…and this helps inspire patriotism,” said Frisby. “For 10 years of my military career I lived at Little Rock AFB in Jacksonville, AR. This outstanding course was tucked away in the Arkansas pines and on any given day you’d see aircraft overhead, training and conducting routine exercises. Being there, under those perfecting their profession to protect our nation… never grew old.”
Piggybacking on this concept, charitable groups might consider modeling their own golf fundraisers after what the Michigan Freedom Center, a 501 c-3 operating military assistance facilities at Detroit Metro Airport, has cleverly sold out for years at Selfridge Golf Course: scheduling Friday before airshows that often feature the Navy’s Blue Angels or the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. It’s practice day for aerial acrobatics, minus the congestion of 100,000 people attending the Selfridge Air National Guard Base weekend performances. Check area airshow schedules well in advance, and call the course to arrange. There’s added advantage: placing blame elsewhere for not keeping your head down!
In mid-July, the USGA will host the 2023 U.S. Girls Junior at the Air Force Academy’s Eisenhower GC in Colorado Springs, the USGA’s first-ever major championship at a military facility. It was previously named the top golf course in the Department of Defense by Travel and Leisure Golf magazine and is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design.
Similarly, the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) will hold its own U.S. Girls Junior qualifier for that national tournament, at Selfridge ANGB in June.
GAM also plans to host a GAM Golf Days event at Selfridge on September 15, to help honor the connection of golf to military members and Veterans and allow the general public play a course dating back to the 1942 and was updated in 1997 by noted Michigan course designer W. Bruce Matthews III. Go to: https://gam.org/play/gam-golf-days/
Super patriotic golf legend Jack Nicklaus partnered with Lt. Col. Dan Rooney and his vision to resurrect the family’s Grand Haven Golf Club, and designed American Dunes, sans architectural fees. A true tribute to military traditions and fallen warriors while benefitting Folds of Honor (FOH), this destination course and reverent complex has gained top national recognition from the golf world as well as military and civilians alike. More importantly, millions in scholarship dollars have been awarded through FoH to the children of those who gave all for their country.
Nicklaus sums it up: “I love the game of golf, but I love my country even more.”
In addition, other organizations address physical and emotional trauma many veterans experience after leaving the service. Two of them are Tee It Up for Troops and the PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) programs, which teach adaptive golf to disabled veterans and also host events to raise both awareness and funding. (See additional PGA HOPE story on pages xx-xx)
“Tee It Up (for Troops) offers opportunities for wounded warriors to learn golf, sometimes after they’ve lost limbs in combat,” explained Army National Guard veteran and former Apache helicopter pilot (Capt.) Kate Melcher, of Ann Arbor. “There’s an annual event at Florida’s Reunion Golf Resort where wounded veterans meet others who served during any era. I went in my role as Executive Director at Fisher House Michigan but ended up reuniting with a friend from Officer Candidate School, Matt Anderson, who was injured overseas; but that hasn't stopped him becoming a scratch golfer.”
“Tee it Up for Freedom” Golf Outing
Supports the Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center (MI Freedom Center) at Detroit Metro Airport
August 7, 2023
Stonebridge Golf Club, Ann Arbor
Email: Tom@mifreedomcenter.org
Golf for Heroes Scramble
Supports the Heart of a Lion – a John Daly, Major Ed Foundation
July 17, 2023
Coyote Golf Club, New Hudson
