PGA Hope finds a home at Federal Way’s Twin Lakes

For four local veterans, six weeks at Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club in Federal Way offered more than an opportunity to learn a golf swing. It provided a place to learn the game, challenge themselves, enjoy some friendly competition and, perhaps most importantly, become comfortable enough to call themselves golfers.

This year, Twin Lakes hosted PGA HOPE for the first time, welcoming four veterans – three who served in the Army and one in the Air Force – for a six-week introduction to the game.

PGA HOPE, which stands for Helping Our Patriots Everywhere, is the flagship military program of the PGA of America REACH Foundation. Led by PGA of America Golf Professionals, the program introduces golf to Veterans and Active Duty Service Members with the goal of enhancing their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. PGA HOPE programs are offered at no cost to participating veterans and are designed not simply to teach golf, but to create community, confidence and a lasting connection to the game. At Twin Lakes, the program followed a “Get Golf Ready” style progression intended to give the participants the skills and knowledge necessary to eventually step onto the course on their own.

Over six weeks, the group worked through virtually every part of the game: driving, iron play, wedges and less-than-full shots, bunker play, chipping, pitching and putting. But learning how to make golf shots was only part of the curriculum.

 The veterans also learned about the mental side of golf—how to manage expectations, make better decisions, respond to imperfect shots and think more effectively while navigating the golf course. That last piece matters because learning to play golf involves much more than learning to hit a ball.

For a new golfer, the practice range can quickly become a comfortable environment. The golf course can be something entirely different.

There are rules and etiquette to understand. Other groups are playing behind you. Decisions need to be made after nearly every shot. And perhaps one of the most difficult challenges for a beginner is learning how to maintain an appropriate pace of play while still developing the skills needed to play the game. That can be intimidating. The six-week series culminated by taking the veterans away from the practice facilities and onto the golf course. Two participants played nine holes, while the other two completed a full 18-hole round alongside Twin Lakes member Dan McNeil, who volunteered his time to help show them around the course and make the transition to on-course golf more comfortable.

The results provided one of the clearest examples of the progress made during the program.

The two veterans who played with McNeil completed all 18 holes in approximately three hours – an impressive accomplishment for developing golfers and evidence that they had learned not only how to hit golf shots, but how to move comfortably and confidently around a golf course.

Fellow PGA Associate Leslie Guzman volunteered her time throughout the program, helping mentor the players and creating another source of instruction.

Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club has been part of the Federal Way community for nearly six decades. The front nine opened in 1967, with the second nine completed in 1969.

For PGA Professionals or veterans considering becoming involved with PGA HOPE, the message from the inaugural Twin Lakes program is straightforward: the experience can be tremendously fun and rewarding when people are willing to put a little time and energy into it. At the end of the day, golf can provide a safe place to be yourself while also challenging yourself—a rewarding and enjoyable pursuit that, in many ways, parallels the real world.