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How Myrtle Beach area veterans are coping with hardships through golf, other programs

Sun News - 12/10/2021

Dec. 10—NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — Tuesday has become more anticipated than the weekend for many residents of John's Place, a transitional home for otherwise homeless veterans in the Myrtle Beach area.

"Because Tuesday is Project Golf Day, and we're all coming to Barefoot [Resort] and we're going to hit golf balls and we're going to be instructed in how to chip and drive and putt," said John's Place resident and employee Gary Bennett.

Temporary residents of John's Place have joined more than 100 other veterans on the Grand Strand over the past year to take part in PGA Hope, a golf instruction program specifically created for and tailored to former military members.

It is a PGA of America/Carolinas PGA Section program that is being sponsored by Project Golf, the nonprofit grow-the-game initiative that was created by the Golf Tourism Solutions technology and marketing agency that promotes Myrtle Beach golf.

"It's changed the life of some people," said Gary Schaal, administrator of the local PGA Hope chapter and a former PGA of America president. "The PGA says we're saving lives. I would never be able to measure that, I don't think. But we're making a difference in a lot of people's lives."

Mark Jacobs is a veteran who entered John's Place with a drug addiction. He is more than 60 days into his planned 90-day residency and more than 60 days into being clean and sober, and he said PGA Hope has played a large role in his sobriety.

"It helps more internally than outwardly. It gives you self-worth," Jacobs said. "I don't think about doing drugs when I'm on the golf course. I'm thinking about not slicing it to the right."

PGA Hope teams with ECHO

Project Golf has programs aimed at juniors, beginners and veterans, and as part of its outreach to veterans it has partnered with the Eastern Carolina Housing Organization (ECHO), which oversees a bridge housing program for veterans, to identify candidates at John's Place for the PGA Hope program.

PGA Hope — an acronym for Helping Our Patriots Everywhere — is using Project Golf's "An Introduction to Golf " program for beginners to get the veterans involved in the game.

"We're trying to grow the game organically in Myrtle Beach," said Schaal, who was an Air Force captain during the Vietnam War. "We've always gone to Ohio and Michigan to get tourists to come down here, but we're so big now, let's grow it organically."

Many veterans in the program are working to overcome injury, addiction, PTSD and other hardships.

Kim Pike, ECHO's program manager for bridge housing, said PGA Hope fits perfectly into what ECHO is trying to achieve with veterans, and is uplifting for the participants.

"It's giving these people a purpose, a glimmer of hope," she said. "It's all about building relationships, offering an opportunity for these gentlemen to feel like they're worthy. Many of them are coming to us as very broken men, never imagining they'd have an opportunity to put on a collared shirt, khaki shorts and be on a golf course, and we've watched it.

"I have watched gentlemen come in hardly speaking with their heads down with not one ounce of confidence or purpose, and it's given them therapy being with other veterans. The folks here who are mentors have been phenomenal with our veterans, even after the lessons some of them are still visiting with the veterans who are still residents."

The Strand golf instructors taking part in PGA Hope have been certified in adaptive golf teaching through the PGA.

"They all have a disability, whether it's silent in the case of PTSD or are a missing limb," Schaal said. "We deal with it all. So we know where the center of gravity is for a guy with one leg."

The PGA underwrites the PGA Hope program and provides pay for instructors and supplies such as training aids, range balls, a graduation dinner celebration, and the nonprofit Project Golf raises money for the program and helps provide equipment for graduates.

The PGA Hope program is 2 1/2 hours of instruction one day per week for six weeks. Instruction includes the swing, putting, chipping, etiquette, history of the game, etc. "All the things they really don't know because they've not been around golf," Schaal said.

There have been seven classes featuring an average of between 20 and 25 veterans, so more than 150 veterans have gone through the program over the past year-plus, which Schaal said is the most among the country's 130 chapters. At least six John's Place residents have taken part in each session.

Project Golf and PGA Hope organize golf outings and other get-togethers for veteran graduates, and grads can become program ambassadors who help set up and attend sessions for the current participants. The program alums have asked for more instruction, so organizers have added a second level of classes for 24 veterans.

Organizers rely on area instructors, who are generally making less per hour in the program than they are for private lessons. "We're abusing them," Schaal joked of the golf pros.

PGA Hope gives the veterans a sense of belonging and purpose, and an activity to dedicate themselves to. "You have to substitute some of the habits that you have that put you homeless or in a financial bind or whatever," Bennett said. "I think [PGA] Hope has done that for a lot of the veterans at ECHO."

John's Place provides a refuge

John's Place can accommodate up to 40 male veterans at a time, and Pike said it is normally full. It is named after John Mention, who was once homeless and has assisted veterans and homeless on the Grand Strand for decades.

John's Place has the goal of securing safe and affordable housing for the vets at the end of a 90-day stay. Some leave earlier and some stay longer, depending on their needs and progress.

They must remain clean and sober throughout their stay, and there are additional goals of setting a stable mental, emotional and physical foundation from which to build upon.

"It's a powerful thing to watch," Pike said. "These guys come in with nothing but what they're wearing, and we take them from start to finish for safe and affordable housing. . . . We focus on getting back together mentally, physically, financially, all the things that come with homelessness, and offer them an opportunity to lift their head up and be offered a safe place to sleep.

"Housing first is our model but to be self-sufficient and to maintain permanent housing, the life skills are necessary. We teach them that while they're residents."

The veterans must be referred to John's Place by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, which provides medical and health care appointments.

In many cases the veterans have no identification, and they are led through the process of obtaining documents and ID.

Many, like Jacobs, have substance abuse issues and addictions.

"We just take the person where they are and walk with them step by step. It's a powerful thing to be a part of," Pike said. "The first thing on most of their minds is getting back to work and financial stability, but mental health has to be taken care of first."

Mark Jacobs' story

Jacobs served in the Air Force from 1987-1994 and was discharged when his mother was having experimental heart surgery. Upon returning to civilian life he worked as a caterer to the rich and famous in Nashville, which led to him becoming a drug addict. He said his family attempted to enter him into rehab for about two decades.

In October, his VA case manager in Fayetteville, N.C., asked Jacobs if he was interested in moving to Myrtle Beach, and he was finally ready to make the move and make progress in his life.

"Since I've been here in Myrtle Beach at John's Place I've grown confident. I'm repairing bridges that I burned with my family. We are all on speaking terms again. They're glad that I'm here," Jacobs said.

Jacobs' eldest brother and brother-in-law in Oklahoma are heavily into golf, which gives them common ground. "I have a bet with my brother that if I finish this program he'll buy me a $1,000 set of Callaway golf clubs so I'm waiting on those golf clubs," Jacobs said. "I've got about 30 days left."

Jacobs has a passion for cooking and assists the cooks at John's Place in the making of meals. "I'm really doing well. John's Place has afforded me a place to think and have a clear mind. I'm just in a good state right now," Jacobs said. "The Mark that I used to know is back and I'm thankful for that. This program has meant a world of difference just in the way I conduct my daily life."

Gary Bennett's story

Bennett served in the Navy from 1983-91. After being a civilian for about 10 years he spent approximately two decades in prison before an Horry County jury overturned a wrongful conviction of murder, armed robbery and first-degree burglary last year.

Upon his release from prison in late October 2020, Bennett at first stayed with relatives and acquaintances but didn't want to be a burden, so he transitioned to John's Place after being invited by an ECHO outreach coordinator.

Bennett was a solid golfer in his 30s, to the point of believing he had a chance to qualify for the PGA Champions Tour once he turned 50 if he had remained a free man. He moved to Myrtle Beach in his 30s predominantly to play more golf and improve.

Now golf is one avenue to transition back to a normal life.

Bennett didn't have an ID, driver's license or social security card when he entered John's Place. He has been at the home for approximately a year and is the first resident or former resident to work full time at the home, performing a multitude of duties.

He was in the first group of veterans from the home to take part in PGA Hope.

"You see guys come in that are broken and they have no interest in golf, they don't want to play golf. 'I'm not wearing a collared shirt,' you know, that's their mindset," Bennett said. "But when we get them out there and you get them out on that tee box and the next thing you know he hits it down the middle like 200 yards, he's got a strong interest in playing golf suddenly. And it worked that way for several of the veterans that I was involved with when I went through the program."

This story was originally published December 10, 20212:07 PM.

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