On a not so oppressively hot and humid afternoon, I joined a convoy of golf carts at Bayou Oaks golf course at City Park in New Orleans. Jarrod Douthitt, a retired member of the U.S. Army, was a late arrival at this particular practice session with several other veterans.
For the past several weeks, they’ve all been taking part in a program called PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere). In a nutshell, the collaborative effort between the PGA and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs is introducing the game of golf as a form of therapy to veterans and active-duty military. It pairs PGA professionals who’ve undergone their own education on how to teach adaptive golf with service members who may have certain disabilities from their time in uniform.
With more than 200 chapters across the country, PGA HOPE reaches about 7,500 veterans across the U.S. every year. Douthitt never had any experience with golf until joining the program.
Douthitt had seven deployments to the Middle East. His final deployment was in 2014. They all took their toll.
“I have a TBI, a traumatic brain injury from an IED, so I had a lot of things happen over there. At one time, I hated coming out of the house but being in this program, it just brings you joy. Being out here gives me peace, so much peace. It’s giving me a chance to relax and really enjoy and have a good time,” said Douthitt.
He’s enjoyed golf so much that he’s now working at the pro shop at Bayou Oaks. With that kind of access to golf gear, Douthitt certainly dresses like a seasoned golfer. But how is his golf game after spending some time with the pros? Listen to the podcast here.