By Tim Rogers, NOPGA Media
SOLON: Golf outings.
We’ve all been to them.
We’ve all played in them, organized them, and volunteered for them. Some of us might have even won them or made a hole-in-one in them.
Golf outings are staged all over the country every year at thousands of clubs — public and private — for several reasons. It could be a fundraiser for a high school athletic team. Or to help someone going through some tough times. It could be a competition between club members and guests or just a chance to gather a bunch of folks who love the game for a day of fun and bragging rights.
Then, there is the Northern Ohio PGA HOPE Cup.
The Northern Ohio PGA HOPE Cup is a golf event with soul. And heart. And the desire to do the right thing.
It is conducted by the Northern Ohio PGA Foundation, with Executive Director David Griffith leading the way.
It was held for the fourth consecutive year on a gorgeous Wednesday at Signature of Solon for 68 veterans, culminating a six-week program they all attended at local facilities and conducted by NOPGA members. The title is an acronym for Helping Our Patriots Everywhere.
The HOPE Cup is not your typical golf outing. Rather, it’s a celebration of our nation’s true heroes, the men and women who cared enough to interrupt their lives to become members of the United States Armed Forces. It is a day in which the NOPGA and its Foundation gave back to our veterans.
It was for guys like Strongsville’s Michael Porter, who served two tours of duty in Iraq during a five-year stint in the Army. Or North Ridgeville’s Paul Smith, a 30-year Navy veteran who served in Guam and Japan for a total of 11 years. Or Medina’s Jonathan Barber, who spent six years in the Navy. Or Canton’s Jonathon Gibbs, a member of the Army National Guard from 2011–2017 and now a police officer in Barberton.
They all played on a team captained by Trevor Hazen, the lead instructor at the Jim Wise Golf Academy at Medina Country Club, who assembled them after they had completed the required six-week enhancement program.
Hazen, 48, is not a veteran. But his father was. And his father-in-law and his grandfather, too. He has deep respect for the men and women who served, through his family connections and through his earlier profession of working at The Turn, an organization whose purpose is to transform the lives of those with physical and emotional disabilities. He continued his efforts after joining the Jim Wise Academy.
Like his fellow pros involved in PGA HOPE, Hazen has been trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency. He has learned a lot about working with adaptive athletes through the game.
“Golf can heal people, especially people who might feel they don’t need to be healed,” he said. “I’ve seen it happen over and over. Golf is a great elixir. It truly is. It’s the best one out there.”
He sees his role as a team captain as an opportunity.
“It’s my chance to give back,” he said of his association with the program. “When I was at The Turn, we worked closely with the Department of Veterans Affairs, so I’ve been working with veterans since the beginning of my career.”
He delivered a short but passionate speech to his team as they gathered on the seventh green after finishing at 6-under.
“Fellas, I have been involved in every HOPE Cup in Northern Ohio, and they’re all very special to me, but this one will stick with me as long as every one of them,” he said. “I am extremely proud of you for your efforts and grateful to you for being part of our team.”
Hazen said he will hold his team in his heart for a long time.
“The team building began when we first sent out the email telling the guys that the team was assembled,” he said. “We put together a team round at Medina Country Club and got to know each other a little better. The team building began right then.”
Smith, who turns 51 this Saturday, came up with a terrific idea to help build team camaraderie. He handed out fashionable, USA-themed golf shirts that easily made them the best-dressed team in the event.
Hazen’s team members talked about their involvement with PGA HOPE. Some said it was to get more involved in community endeavors. Some said it was an opportunity to interact with fellow veterans, men and women who might have had similar experiences during and after their service. They also said it was a chance to give back to their community and connect with people they might not have known.
And there were deeper, more empathetic reasons.
“The PGA HOPE program can be a place of solace and I believe can be very therapeutic,” said Barber.
Jason Strejcek has been chosen as the PGA HOPE Ambassador after being involved with the program for three years. A veteran of eight years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman, Strejcek was in Iraq when he suffered a shoulder injury while pulling a Navy sailor from the turret of a vehicle that had been hit by enemy fire and was in flames. He has gone through six surgeries to repair a torn rotator cuff, a torn bicep, a torn triceps, and a dislocated shoulder.
After going through the enhancement program conducted by NOPGA member Steve Morgan at Washington Park, he played in the first HOPE Cup, and his association has grown ever since.
He said there are more than 15 million veterans in our country. Sadly, it has been reported that about 22 veterans take their own lives on any given day.
One of the goals of the PGA HOPE Cup is to change that by introducing the game of golf to our nation’s former service personnel, many of whom may feel neglected or left behind. Many of them might need a boost and a simple, friendly pat on the back or a heartfelt “thank you for your service.”
“Golf can heal people, especially people who might feel they don’t need to be healed,” said Hazen after a luncheon and a Q&A between Jimmy Hanlin and former Cavaliers great Campy Russell. “I’ve seen it happen over and over. Golf is a great elixir. It truly is. It’s the best one out there.”
A tip of the hat goes to Signature of Solon, its membership, and personnel. To give up their course on a wonderful day for golf is an admirable commitment, another example of giving back. The same goes for Portage Country Club, Glenmoor Country Club, and Avon Oaks Country Club, which have served as hosts in the past.
As for the competition, the 17-team field was split between the front and back nines for the nine-hole scramble, with each flight crowning its own champion. Teams also competed in a veterans-only putting contest, with the results serving as a tiebreaker to determine the overall PGA HOPE Cup champion.
The Front Nine title was captured by the Windmill Golf Center team led by PGA member Dan Dauk. Alongside veterans Nait Elkins, Konrad Kaniowski, Mark Knapp, and Paul Robbins, the team carded an 8-under-par 28.
The Back Nine was won by Barrington Golf Club assistant professional Luke Tanner and veterans Zackery Bennett, Kevin Halbrook, Jeff Raver, and Francis Rawlings, who fired a bogey-free, 9-under-par 27 highlighted by seven birdies, an eagle, and one par.
During the scramble, each team’s veterans competed in a putting course to determine the overall champion. Dauk’s team claimed the title by winning the putting competition.
But you can’t help but feel there was more than one winner on the day. It was the 68 players, the 17 NOPGA members, the NOPGA Foundation, and anyone lucky enough to be involved.
They were all winners, weren’t they?