JP Lunn, PGA of America Golf Professional conducted PGA HOPE Training at Turning Stone Resort Casino Feb. 12, 2024

Twenty-two PGA of America Golf Members and Associates earned PGA HOPE certification to become trained instructors Feb. 12 at Turning Stone Resort Casino.

 

Leading the one-day training session was PGA HOPE national instructor and trainer, JP Lunn, PGA of America Golf Professional (Middle Atlantic Section). The Central New York PGA Section is one of 40 training sessions Lunn is scheduled to conduct this year.

 

PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is the flagship military program of PGA REACH. PGA HOPE introduces golf to active military and veterans (including veterans with disabilities) to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.

 

The training was broken down into two parts. The morning session delved into understanding the military culture and the different branches. Lunn also spoke about the specific disabilities a Veteran may be experiencing. They include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, traumatic brain injuries, upper and lower limb loss, vision and hearing impairment.

 

“We talked about every aspect of you will be dealing when you work with a Veteran,” said Lunn, a Buffalo native who resides in Virginia. “Everyone thinks of adaptive golf with physical injuries. Those you can see. But there’s also invisible injuries like PTSD and TBI. We talked about how to deal with those injuries when they come up.”

 

Lunn said PGA HOPE will be training 15,000 Veterans this year.

 

The afternoon session focused on different scenarios when working with a Veteran. Training included: hitting with shorter clubs from a seated position; swinging a club with one arm; from seated position swinging while both legs are off the ground and instructing someone who is visually impaired.

 

To understand these concepts, CNY PGA of America Golf Professionals and Associates took turns simulating Veteran situations with each other.

 

Earning PGA HOPE Training Certificates were: Mel Baum (Wa-Noa GC), Greg Callen, Jeff Carson (Green Lakes GC), Jack Conger (Links at Erie Village), Mike Discenza (SUNY Cortland), Michael Doctor (Life Member), Mark Flurschutz (Highland Park), Robert Fuller, Mike George (Timber Banks), Stanley Gorman (Pompey Club), Michael Hogan (Oswego CC), Jim Ironside (Yahnundasis GC), Matthew Jaynes (Corning CC), Eric Manning (Elm Tree GC), Kevin McCarthy (Timber Banks), Curt Michels (Conklin Players Club), Dylan Plis (CNY Section), Brad Smith (Ely Park GC), Joe Tesori (CNY Section), Steve Volpicelli (Soaring Eagles GC), Ruth Weydig (Oneida Community GC), Will Weimer (Stone Creek GC).

 

“A couple of really important things I picked up from the day was that communication with the vets really needs to be exact and details of the communication while teaching are extremely important especially dealing with those with sight and hearing difficulties,” Jim Ironside, PGA said.

 

PGA of America Golf Professionals and Associates as well as LPGA Members are eligible to attend a PGA HOPE training session to earn certification.

 

“We need to get the word out because we need more (PGA of America Golf) Professionals to be trained,” Lunn said. “We have a backlog of Veterans who need to get training. We have plenty of Veterans. We want to get those who are certified and trained to initiate programs either by hosting or helping another program.”