WINDHAM, N.Y. – The Adaptive Sports Foundation (ASF) hosted its Warriors in Motion® (WIM) golf event this week at Windham Country Club, which included professional golf instruction and course play from Tuesday-Thursday.
“I had a lot of fun this week and I’m sure all of us veterans did as well,” wounded U.S. Air Force veteran and ASF winter volunteer Richard Torres explained. “There was a lot of laughter, a lot of camaraderie and it’s great for us veterans who suffer from various injuries and ailments.”
Torres was one of 10 U.S. Military veterans who arrived at the ASF’s Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center on Tuesday afternoon to meet with the ASF staff and volunteers and to sit down to a barbecue lunch of burgers, chicken and hot dogs. After the meal, the WIM group made its way to the Windham Country Club’s driving range, where Head PGA Pro Jesse Muller was waiting for them. Muller provided the warriors with basic instruction on how to get the most out of their golf swings and gave tips on every type of club, whether it was the driver or the wedges. The warriors spent a few hours getting their swings in on the driving range before they checked into their hotels. They returned to the ASF lodge for a catered dinner that evening at 6 p.m.
The next day the participants met at the Windham Country Club at 9 a.m. They began their morning at the practice green with Muller teaching the warriors some tips on how to putt and chip around the green. After spending some time putting and chipping, the group returned to the driving range again to get loose and take bigger swings. Once 11:30 came around, the WIM group went into Mulligan’s Pub, Windham Country Club’s restaurant, and enjoyed a lunch and a break from the heat. After the intermission, the warriors and volunteers split up into three groups and played on the course until it was time to return to their hotel rooms to get ready for another dinner at ASF.
The veterans and the volunteers played another round on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. to put their new skills to the test. When 11:30 rolled around, they had another lunch at Mulligan’s Pub before it was time to depart.
“We never expected to be treated like we were here at the Adaptive Sports Foundation up here in Windham,” U.S. Navy Veteran Tony Suozzi said after his round on Thursday morning. “It’s a wonderful thing to come up here and experience the camaraderie with our friends, the professional golfers and the volunteers. They made this a wonderful time. I recommend coming up here to anyone in the military.”
The ASF’s Warriors in Motion program provides participating injured United States servicemen and women with a basic knowledge and practice of wellness and the importance of lifelong healthy living. All WIM programs are goal-oriented and empower the warrior to take charge of their own fitness and wellness.
The next WIM event will take place on September 19-21, when the ASF will take another group of warriors hiking in the mountain ranges of the Northern Catskills. This WIM hiking event was originally scheduled in June, but it was pushed back to this month due to poor weather.
Warriors in Motion is funded by donations that were generously given to the Adaptive Sports Foundation. Thanks to these donations, the Adaptive Sports Foundation will be able to provide equipment, water bottles, all meals, snacks, water, sports drinks, sunscreen, bug spray and ponchos (if necessary) for this upcoming event.
If you’d like to donate to the Adaptive Sports Foundation’s Warriors in Motion program, or any of the other programs the ASF has to offer, please visit www.adaptivesportsfoundation.
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