EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A golf club in El Paso hosted a program that helps veterans transition from active duty to civilian life through the camaraderie that golf offers.
The Butterfield Trail Golf Club hosted “Links to Freedom,” a new program, which, according to organizers, is run by professional golfers and helps disabled vets return to normalcy after serving.
“It’s an amazing deal to see some of our veterans and how they’ve transitioned and how they’ve become better people because of Links to Freedom,” said Mike Whittler, the Links to Freedom Southwest Region Director. “A lot of the guys have ‘spilled blood in the same mud’ and next thing you know they have built a bond and a friendship.”
Organizers said the program runs from six to eight weeks twice a year, once in the Spring and then again in the Fall.
Whittler said his very proud of the program, adding that so far none of the veterans enrolled in Links to Freedom has committed suicide.
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Avid golfer and retired First Sergeant Rex Hendrix, who has been coming to the program for two years now, said he has found it very helpful and wishes he had discovered it sooner.
“The army itself was a blessing and a curse,” Hendrix said, referencing how much he struggled readjusting to everyday life following 22 years in the army.
Hendrix however credits the program with helping him in the transition as is inviting vets to join– no excuses.
“You don’t have to be good, you don’t even have to own a set of clubs, they will provide clubs for you here,” Hendrix said.
El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar attended Links to Freedom’s press conference on Monday, where she met with vets.
To learn more about the program, visit www.LinksToFreedom.org and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and LinkedIn.
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