The PGA is teaching veterans to play golf. The program helps veterans overcome post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The veterans are already feeling the benefits.
Sylvan Olivieri, a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran, spoke about the benefits he’s getting from the program, “It helps to calm it. It takes your mind off of… it puts you in a different place. It makes you concentrate, like you concentrate on the ball. So you’re not thinking about anything else but that ball. So that period of time is PTSD-free. You know what I’m saying? The more you connect those dots like that, today I’m a pretty happy guy. You know? But it took a long time for Vietnam vets to get treated for PTSD. So, once I finally started getting treated for it, my life changed.”
Upon graduation from the program participants receive a new set of golf clubs. They also walk away with a new hobby that can carry them through hard times.
