Our first drive ran in November 2025. We didn't really know what to expect. By the end of it we had 300+ clubs and a much clearer idea of what we were doing.
When we set up the boxes for the November 2025 drive, the goal was modest. Get some clubs. Donate them to PGA Hope. See if the whole thing actually worked outside of my head.
Spoiler: it worked.
What we did.
We placed donation boxes at a few locations across Monmouth County and tried to get the word out however we could — flyers, social media, talking to anyone who'd listen. The pitch was as simple as we could make it: if you have golf clubs you don't use, we'll get them to veterans through PGA Hope of the New Jersey Golf Foundation.
And then we waited. Honestly, I had no idea if anyone would actually drop anything off. Drives like this are unpredictable. You can have a great cause and a clear ask and still end up with a pretty empty box.
What actually happened.
The boxes filled up faster than we thought they would. We emptied them and they filled up again. By the time the drive wrapped, we had 300+ clubs, 30+ golf bags, and 50+ shoe bags.
The boxes filled up faster than we thought they would. We emptied them and they filled up again.
Some of it came in as full sets — like, beautifully bagged, barely used, ready to go. A lot of it came in one or two clubs at a time. Just someone digging through a closet and finding something to drop off. Both of those count the same. Both of those ended up at PGA Hope.
What I took from it.
A few things became really obvious after that first drive:
People want to give. The barrier was never generosity — it was logistics. Make it easy and specific, and people will donate.
Equipment really does pile up. Pretty much everyone has unused gear somewhere. Most of them just need a reason and a place to drop it off.
The veterans + golf angle resonates. The connection makes sense to people right away. The game offers stuff — community, time outside, structure — that overlaps with what a lot of veterans are looking for.
From there to now.
That November drive turned Swings for Service from "an idea I had" into something actually running. Since then we've spoken with the veterans committee at Greenbriar, brought some new partners on board, and just launched the spring drive with five permanent drop-off locations.
Still small. But that first drive showed us we were solving a real problem with a real solution. Everything since has just been doing more of what worked.
— Grant