WINDHAM, N.Y. – The Adaptive Sports Foundation’s Warriors in Motion® (WIM) golf event concluded on Thursday after three days of golf instruction and course play.

“It was a great three days, the camaraderie with the different veterans I loved so much,” WIM participant Vera Bland said after the event. “The group here, the staff, was phenomenal. They made sure that there was no way that I could fail. They took away my anxiety at least for this time.”

The week began on Tuesday, when 15 veterans and four ASF volunteers arrived at the Windham Country Club and Mulligan’s Pub at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and meet and greets. The rainy weather and the threat of thunderstorms prevented the WIM team from doing golf activities on the course, but that didn’t dampen the mood. Instead, the group went up to the ASF’s Gwen Allard Adaptive Sports Center to learn some putting and chipping tips on the carpet in the great room.

Although putting into plastic cups indoors isn’t quite the same as putting into a hole on a pristine green, everyone had fun in friendly competitions. The ASF even gave out prizes for those who made long putts or tricky chips. After the fun was over, the warriors went to their hotels to check in and relax before having dinner back at the ASF at 6 p.m.

Wednesday’s golf session was more conventional, as the warriors met Windham Country Club’s Golf Pro Jesse Muller and his team of instructors at the course at 9 a.m. and split off into two groups. One group headed for the driving range while the other group made its way to the putting green. After learning techniques at each station for an hour or so, the groups switched spots to round out their golf knowledge. Everyone met again at lunch in Mulligan’s Pub at 11:30 a.m. before the afternoon course play began.

After eating, the warriors and volunteers split up into five different threesomes and foursomes and hit the links, playing the front nine of Windham’s course until 3:30 p.m. Windham Country Club’s golf instructors also went with the teams to teach them new tricks of the trade as well, something that everyone appreciated.

The Warriors in Motion played another round of course play on Thursday morning, meeting at the course at 9 a.m. again. They were out playing the back nine holes for a couple of hours, enduring a brisk and windy morning before heading inside for lunch and goodbyes.

“This was my first time golfing and I enjoyed it very much,” warrior Landon Beckett said. “I look forward to coming back next year. And the year after that.”

This was the final Warriors in Motion event of the summer, capping off an exciting season. Overall, the Adaptive Sports Foundation hosted eight different WIM programs from May to September. 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, click here.

 

Watch the video below to hear some of our WIM participants describe their experience!