USGA Teams With Ft. Carson Army Base In Colorado For Disabled Golf Program

By Erica Goodman, USGA

In his pants pocket, Staff Sargent Matthew Nicodemus carries pictures of his brain. The scanned images are mostly white - normal blood flow - and speckled with rainbow bursts. Red and orange, he explained, were positive whereas blue and black show a lack of or negative blood flow. He pointed to a large black spot. "You see, my brain is not normal," Nicodemus chuckled as he brushed off comments from his fellow soldiers regarding the normality of his mind.

The 34-year old Iraq veteran from Altoona, Pa., has no visible impairment. Nicodemus, however, served in reconnaissance for 14 years with the United States Army and has symptoms of a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, after surviving two dozen improvised explosive device exposures. He must take medication in the morning to stimulate his brain and other medication at night to slow his mind enough to sleep. Other pills combat vertigo and imbalance.

And recently, Nicodemus found therapy in the least likely of places - the golf course. "I use golf as a tool to get my hand-eye coordination back during my rehab and also to deal with emotional issues of readjustment," he said. "Since then, the golf course is my safe place.  Nothing blows up on the golf course." 

NAGA instructor Rick Monroe (right) works with Bill Majure, a retired PGA professional who is paralyzed on his right side from a stroke.

The towering Nicodemus, who watches PGA Tour player Retief Goosen on television to pick up swing pointers, is the perfect role model to assist in a military golf partnership with the United States Golf Association (USGA) in Colorado Springs, Colo. In 2006, staff members at Cheyenne Shadows Golf Club at Fort Carson Army Base were inspired to purchase two single-rider golf carts for returning soldiers suffering from physical injuries. At the same time, the USGA was working with Bob Wilson, executive director of the National Amputee Golf Association (NAGA), to introduce golf as a rehabilitative tool at select military bases throughout the country.

Founded in 1954, NAGA has more than 2,500 members worldwide who share a common bond. "Golf is the most adaptive game in the world," said Wilson. "It can be played by anyone, regardless of ability or disability." The NAGA conducts First Swing Clinics throughout the nation while also sponsoring numerous tournaments for amputee golfers.

With the support of the El Pomar Foundation, the USGA connected with Fort Carson to launch a military golf program through a two-day training session at the base. In this month's first phase, Wilson was joined by Marty Ebel and Rick Monroe of NAGA to teach golf instructors, therapists and volunteers strategies for using golf in rehabilitation. The trio's method is experiential. Each an amputee himself, the NAGA instructors required their trainees to hit golf balls with one arm, standing on one leg, or seated in a single-rider golf car to get a sense of what challenges their future students might face.

The mere presence of Wilson, Ebel and Monroe creates a hush among the people in the crowd. The skill and precision of these golfers are great examples for the trainees. Both Wilson and Ebel lost their legs, and Wilson wears prosthetics. Monroe lost his right arm and, much to the surprise of the clinic attendees, remains a right-handed golfer.

"It's enlightening," said Mark Bacheldor, who is finishing up a professional golf management program at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. "It's a new way to learn golf and to teach golf."

But this education is only as valuable as its implementation.

The true test arrived on day two of the program. Wilson welcomed the hybrid group from the driving range. Before him stood the 20 trainees whom had spent the previous day teaching others how to work with physical disabilities. Beside them were approximately 20 young soldiers between the ages of 19 and 33 with various levels of TBI and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), primarily cognitive disabilities. The trainees appeared flustered. They had prepared for physical, not mental injuries. "You must focus on the person first," reminded Wilson. "Instead of focusing on the swing first, focus on the person."

Nicodemus pulled the trainees aside and exhibited the colorful images of his brain to the crowd. The impact of these young men's injuries was similar to squeezing a hard boiled egg, he explained. The shell is easily damaged once there is a crack and each new force creates more cracks. As a result, these young men are highly medicated to combat dizziness, anger, and anxiety, their brains affected by numerous contacts with enemy fire.

NAGA Executive Director Bob Wilson addresses the soliders at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs.

After a spirited "Huah," trainees and soldiers sauntered out to the range and exchanged handshakes with their partners. After the initial, tentative greetings, soldiers who had hesitantly agreed to spend their rehabilitation time hitting golf balls were feverishly working with golf instructors until their hands were spotted with blisters.

"Golf is something I like. I can do it with other people," said a vibrant Richard Hunt. The 26-year-old private from Olatha, Kan, acquired PTSD following an IED explosion in May 2006. As a result, Hunt shies away from large groups of people. "When I go home, I close the blinds and don't answer the door," he said.

Private Hunt has worked with psychiatrists and attended relaxation classes in an attempt to ease his nerves. He left the military golf clinic, after hitting a golf ball for the first time, with a new sense of hope. "Golf is the first thing I have come across that has worked like this," he offered. "You are not thinking about anything but the ball. You, the club, the ball. That's it."

Specialist Robert Hooker, 22, of Denver, Colo. added, "It is tough getting close with people and then losing them. Almost everybody comes back different. Every aspect of your life is different once you get back." While stationed in Iraq, Hooker partnered with Nicodemus to set up a makeshift driving range at a dusty outpost, the pair risking sniper fire each time they ventured to retrieve balls. The terrain was far from the smooth fairways of Augusta National but Nicodemus improvised, using a small piece of cardboard to provide a softer turf. "[Golf] is a really good stress relief and a lot of people in our cases need it," Hooker said.

The game seems a natural fit for the men and women serving our country. "Golf is a disciplined game and these are disciplined guys," commented Major General Mark Graham, Commanding General of Division West, First Army and Fort Carson. "This shows their perseverance," he beamed, "to get going and to keep going."

Some of the soldiers were long time friends, but for the most part, the military golf program was their first time together. Regardless, the men were far from a group of strangers. "What is unique about bringing soldiers together is that it's like going to a class reunion," explained Wilson. "They've all been in the same situation before." Wilson, along with Monroe, is a veteran.

The two-day program served as a pilot for military installations throughout the country. PGA instructors from Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, and the Air Force Academy were all present for the training. After the success of the initiative, the USGA will continue to work with Fort Carson to develop a structure for an extended program which, in addition to the NAGA First Swing Clinic, will serve as a national model.

"This program needs to happen," remarked Nicodemus. "Not just for the soldiers but for the families and friends that are impacted by the environment they live in everyday. From anger or confusion or depression, the time on the golf course lets it all go away."

For these soldiers, the field of play has truly become their sanctuary from the field of battle.