Программа Vail Veterans Program провела благотворительный гольф-турнир для ветеранов с травмами

Vail Veterans Program offers Golf in the Rockies to wounded soldiers in order to help them heal News News | Matt Anderson was so sure he wanted to attend the Vail Veterans Program’s Golf in the Rockies outing in the Vail Valley in August that he planned his schedule around it a year in advance. “During the past five or six years, I’ve had a few people tell me how amazing the Vail Veterans Program is and how I had to attend the Golf Week, but I either had a child being born or had one child and another on the way, or work got in the way, life got in the way,” said the retired U.S. Army captain. “Then, I asked if the event was held on the same week each year and once I found out it was, I said, ‘I’m in’ and was able to book my life around it. All I’ve heard is rave reviews from people that have come through this program, so I had to make it happen.” The Golf in the Rockies program Anderson is referring to isn’t just a golf trip you take with your buddies, it’s tailored for veterans with visible and invisible wounds of war. The Vail Veterans Program is a Vail-based nonprofit that was created over 20 years ago to help those wounded in the Afghanistan and Iraqi conflicts. It started by offering adaptive skiing and snowboarding lessons on the slopes for the veterans. It soon added family programming, summer sessions with adaptive biking, horseback riding, rafting and, eventually, golf. “Golf in the Rockies provides an important opportunity for our wounded veterans to come together and not only share in the game of golf which for many, aided in their recovery from a service injury, but the program also creates space for veterans to reconnect in some cases years later, build camaraderie, allowing them to share stories, support one another and remind them they are not alone in this lifelong healing journey,” said Jen Brown, executive director of the Vail Veterans Program. Anderson believes the Vail Veterans Program Golf in the Rockies session is important for the wounded veterans, especially during their recovery. Anderson stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan and shattered his lower leg and has a fused heel, ankle and tibia. He wears an IDEO, which functions similar to a prosthetic because there is limited to no movement in his lower right leg. He also has a traumatic brain injury. He said golf has been utilized as part of his recovery regimen. Support Local Journalism “After the injury, one of the things that I did just to get away from the hospital was to go to the driving range. I would either go solo or I would drag a couple other guys with me. I think it’s better to get off the couch and go ahead and get out in fresh air, blue sky, green grass and chase after a little white golf ball,” Anderson said. “I think playing golf is helpful in all aspects of recovery because it asks for balance, it asks for you to focus solely on the sport. So, it’s a nice way to get away from reality for a couple hours and focus on the golf ball and nothing else.” This year, the Vail Veterans Program increased the number of veterans coming for its Golf Week in the Rockies from 14 to 20 veterans. The nonprofit has relationships with area golf courses. The vets play four courses over a four-day period at Vail Golf Club, Beaver Creek Golf Club, Red Sky Golf Club’s Fazio and Norman Courses. Anderson started playing golf as a kid but then got away from the sport and swam competitively all the way through college. His family keeps him busy — he has two girls at home who are ages 4 and 2 — so he said his game is a bit off, but he still had a great time out on the course. “All the courses were so beautiful. Beaver Creek Golf Club was a little tighter, but I hit the ball the best at Beaver Creek, which makes things less frustrating. At Red Sky, it was amazing to look at the views from the tee boxes, everything just falls away behind it, and the vista of the mountain lines and the clouds above it are just really, really pretty.” This year, the Golf in the Rockies incorporated a golf-specific strength and stretch session with therapists from Howard Head Sports Medicine. In addition, the session included a putting clinic facilitated by PGA Golf Professional Steve Atherton from The Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute. The clinic focused on technique, mental preparedness, practical putting drills and detailed equipment selection. “Do I stretch every time before I play? Definitely no. Should I? Probably. But it’s good because I think a lot of guys got a lot out of it because it showed them how strength and mobility are really important. It makes you realize how having a strong core will help if you have back injuries,” Anderson said. “There’s a correlation that by stretching more and getting your body warmed up before a round of golf or anything else, is always going to help you in the long run.” The vets were only with each other for a few short days, but Anderson said the bonds formed quickly. “The majority of guys that are here I did not know. But I also got to link up with guys that I haven’t seen in over a decade. We can talk about our injuries, and someone understands, we can give advice,” Anderson said. “I think golf is such a great tool for us to utilize. If you’ve got an upcoming procedure or therapy or whatever’s going on in your life that may be troubling you or putting pressure on you, it’s just a good chunk of time away from all of that.” The Vail Veterans Program if free for all participants and receives generous donations from the community and beyond. Many times, donors will golf with the veterans. “It was great to meet some of the donors, we had a lot of fun. What I really enjoy is talking to those who haven’t been involved much with the military and being able to answer their questions or just give them personal examples from different deployments of things that they wouldn’t normally see or hear on the news and letting them hear personal stories. We had a lot of great conversations on the course,” Anderson said. “I enjoyed every moment of it this week and cannot say thank you enough to the Vail Veterans Program. It’s been a wonderful experience.” News See more Support Local Journalism