I've played golf for as long as I can remember. Somewhere along the way I started wondering why the people who'd probably get the most out of the game weren't the ones on the course.
Most weekends growing up, you could find me at a course somewhere. I'm not saying I'm great — I'm saying it's been a big part of my life. The early tee times, the back nine when nobody else is out there, the way a clean strike feels when you finally figure out what you've been doing wrong all morning. There's a reason people stay with this game.
What I didn't really think about until later was how much it costs to play. A starter set is a few hundred bucks. A real set, more. If you don't already have clubs, getting started can be the hardest part — and for a lot of people, it's the part that stops them.
Two things I cared about, on opposite sides.
I learned about PGA Hope of the New Jersey Golf Foundation through some people I knew in the golf community. It's a free national program that introduces veterans to the game — clinics taught by PGA pros, real instruction, real community. The whole thing is run for free, including for veterans in New Jersey.
The catch? They always need equipment. Specifically, clubs.
So on one side, you have a program with great instruction and basically no barrier to entry — except needing clubs. On the other side, basically every garage in America has at least one set of golf clubs gathering dust. Old sets people don't use anymore. Duplicates. Stuff that got upgraded and forgotten.
The clubs were already out there. They just weren't where they needed to be.
The clubs were already out there. They just weren't where they needed to be.
So we started doing something about it.
Swings for Service is pretty straightforward. We collect golf clubs — any condition, any brand, doesn't matter if they're left or right handed — and we donate them to PGA Hope of the New Jersey Golf Foundation. The clubs go directly to veterans in their clinics around the state.
That's it. That's the whole thing.
The work itself isn't complicated. We host drives. We set up boxes at golf shops. We sort through everything, clean what needs cleaning, and deliver. What's actually meaningful is what happens on the other end. A veteran shows up to a clinic and there's a set waiting for them. They never had to think about whether they could afford to start.
So far we've collected over 300 clubs, plus 30+ bags and 50+ shoe bags. Every single one came from someone who decided their old gear could do more good somewhere else. And every single one ended up exactly where it was supposed to.
Where we are now.
The spring drive is up and running. Five drop-off locations across Monmouth County (you can see them on the home page). If you have clubs sitting around — even just one — that's the easiest thing you can do.
If you want to host your own drive, even better. We'll send you everything you need to get going.
Golf gave me a lot. This is one way to pass some of it on.
— Grant