BETHESDA, Md. — The beautiful landscapes, the smell of freshly cut grass, the calming sounds of nature – all make the game of golf incredibly relaxing, especially for Chris Cordova, a military veteran.
Cordova says the greens at Congressional Country Club are second to none.
“This golf course, if I had to describe it, it would be beauty and peaceful," he said.
The golf course at Congressional Country Club is a stark difference from the battlefields in northern Afghanistan.
Cordova was a captain in the U.S. Army in 2009. In Afghanistan during the predawn hours of Oct. 3, hundreds of Taliban soldiers, armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, attacked Combat Outpost Keating from surrounding mountain positions.
“I remember the guys that died – the people that passed away,” Cordova said. “I remember guys that sacrificed their lives. I remember it every day. So every day I’m thankful that I’m here and I have to live a life worth of their sacrifice.”
But for many veterans, life after the military comes with extreme physical and emotional challenges.
“In the military, things are pretty structured. Some veterans, when they leave the service, they lose that direction, they lose that focus and they fall into isolation. They deal with mental health issues and that can spiral out of control easily.
That’s where PGA HOPE comes in.
“It connects veterans with like-minded veterans to break that cycle of isolation and loneliness,” Cordova says.
PGA HOPE [Helping Our Patriots Everywhere] is a golf clinic, free to those who have served. Veterans are calling PGA HOPE a fun get away from the stress.
PGA of America Military Ambassador Chris Nowak said, “So imagine this, after getting involved with PGA HOPE, a veteran plays 18 holes and shoots 120. Not the best score but you know what. That’s 120 moments in time, that veteran’s not rethinking or dealing with the trauma that we deal with every day.”
The Veterans golfing this week at Congressional Country Club say PGA HOPE isn’t just changing lives, it’s also saving them.
PGA HOPE is the flagship military program of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America. For more information or to support PGA HOPE programming, please visit www.pgareach.org.
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