Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course is a Non-profit Veteran Rehabilitation Golf Course
American Lake Veteran Golf Course The Healing Power of Golf
It was a neglected old golf course that had been serving our military since the time it was built around 1955, most likely by Veterans Administration maintenance workers. After 40 years, when the U.S. Government discontinued funding for VA golf courses in 1995, the course became sun-scorched and almost unusable due to the uncooperative sprinkler system and a lack of funding for general maintenance.
Once on the brink of extinction, it's now like a phoenix rising out the ashes. The Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course goal is to promote the rehabilitation of our disabled veterans through the healing power of golf, in an atmosphere of camaraderie that aids in the healing transition of their physical, mental and emotional challenges.
Follow the link above, click on Vote,
scroll down to click on Submit your vote
Brotherton Community Champions
Please join us in recognizing "Pepper" Roberts and the Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course as a person in our community who is making a difference. Vote now -- the Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course could win a $5,000 donation to their cause!
Harold "Pepper" Roberts is the founder President Emeritus of "Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course," the 501(c)3 fundraising arm of this unique course -- the only golf course in the country designed specifically for wounded and disabled veterans. In 1955, the American Lake Veterans Golf Course was built on the Veterans Administration Hospital grounds in Lakewood, Washington, near Tacoma and Seattle. Since 1995, when federal funding was eliminated for operations and maintenance for all VA golf courses, this facility has been funded and maintained by volunteers (currently numbering around 160), many of them retired veterans.
A campaign is now under way to raise funds to construct nine new holes (to supplement the existing nine holes). PGA legend Jack Nicklaus has donated design services.
Strength Golf is much more than a simple game, even for the well and able-bodied. It requires complex mental and physical concentration; it builds strength, range of motion, and balance. It can be enjoyed as a solitary sport with individual goals, and it can be a very social activity. For wounded veterans, golf offers a doorway to hope and a path to strength - physical, emotional, and spiritual.
Find out more about Jack's dedication to providing quality golf to veterans here.
From the World Wars through our current crises in Iraq and Afghanistan, generations of valiant American soldiers have made contributions and sacrifices while guarding our country’s freedom and destiny.
We all owe these veterans a debt of honor, and for those veterans scarred by battle, we owe them a place of healing – of new possibilities.
Such a place is American Lake Veterans Golf Course.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus – an American hero in his own right – is honoring our veterans with the donation of his valuable time and design for the New Nine. The design is nearing completion, the plans are drawn - all that is needed are the funds to begin building. That's where your support comes in.
Give the gift of physical and mental rehabilitation, hope and camaraderie. Donate here.
American Lake Veterans Golf Course | 9600 Veterans Drive Lakewood, WA 98498-3827 | 253-589-1998 | Donations
