“No” is not part of the vocabulary around American Lake Veterans Golf Course. At this unique facility, the mantra is “can do.”
Just ask the two Ryder Cup teammates who said yes when asked if they could help with this haven for wounded warriors.
Ask the 160 volunteers (many of them retired military) who, since 1995 have operated and maintained all aspects of the course, from mowing grass to flipping hamburgers.
Ask retired teacher Pepper Roberts who formed a nonprofit organization in 2003 to raise money for improving playing conditions and facilities.
Ask the rehabilitation specialists about the healing power of golf.
Most importantly, ask the 25,000 wounded and disabled veterans and their families who play golf each year at American Lake Veterans Golf Course.
Longtime volunteer Ken Still said yes when invited to get involved. Now he says the word “yes” is heard a lot around the golf course. To him, an especially gratifying and gracious “yes” came from his Ryder Cup teammate, Jack Nicklaus.
Still, a Professional Golf Association member since 1953 and winner of three Tour tournaments played on the 1969 Ryder Cup Team with Jack Nicklaus. The Fircrest (Wash.) resident has been a dedicated volunteer since 2004 and currently serves on the board of directors for “Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course,” the facility’s nonprofit arm.
Still says volunteering at ALVGC has been more rewarding than any of his career accomplishments. That impressive list of achievements includes being in the top 60 on the Tour money list for eight consecutive years and being inducted into the Pacific Northwest Section PGA Hall of Fame in 1995.
At a 2009 board meeting when directors talked about adding nine more holes to the current 9-hole track, someone thought Jack Nicklaus should be approached about designing the new nine. Soon thereafter, Still made a call to his former teammate and cherished friend of 40 years, expecting his wife Barbara to answer. Not only did Jack answer the call, there was no hesitation before he declared, “Count me in.”
“We hear a lot of spontaneous yeses,” Still remarked in recalling the conversation, which marked the first time he had asked a favor of his former teammate.
Not only did Jack Nicklaus tell Still “yes,” he refused to consider any fee for his design services. “For what these guys have given to us, sacrificing life and limb for the freedoms we enjoy, there will never be a charge. Just to be asked to be a part of it is a privilege,” said The Golden Bear, whose charitable activities are as legendary as his achievements as a golfer and golf-course designer.
Together with his wife, Barbara, they epitomize volunteerism. They are the guiding light for the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation and countless other worthy causes.
Although perhaps best known for his four decades of charitable work with children, Nicklaus is admired as both a businessman and goodwill ambassador. Among accolades he has accumulated are The Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, the Charles Bartlett Award from the Golf Writers Association of America (recognizing unselfish contributions to the betterment of society) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor given to any civilian.
Nicklaus’ philanthropy for American Lake Veterans Golf Course deepened when he agreed to serve as honorary co-chair with retired General John Shalikashvili for the capital campaign to construct the “New Nine by Jack” and other rehabilitation facility improvements. In November, he led a clinic for disabled veterans and invited guests at BIGHORN Golf Club in Palm Desert as part of a weekend fund-raiser that netted more than $1 million toward a goal of $4.5 million.
Like other beneficiaries of the generosity of Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, the volunteers at American Lake Veterans Golf Course consider his involvement and gift of design services to be priceless. Pepper Roberts believes veterans from other states will travel to Lakewood (about an hour south of Seattle) just to play the “New Nine” designed by Jack Nicklaus.
The course, with its special accommodations for mobility-impaired veterans, is expected to become a model facility that can be replicated across the country as a much-needed recreational and rehabilitation outlet for the growing population of veterans.
Using the campaign theme, “A Course in Courage: Healing America’s Veterans through Golf,” American Lake Veterans Golf Course unites volunteers of all stripes. Some are young, some are in their 80s; some are wealthy, but many are of modest means; some are well-known, others less so; some have written large checks, others donate time. All are united as Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course and in saying “yes” to providing a more accessible and enjoyable golfing experience for those who have served and sacrificed in service to our country.
Contact:
Friends of American Lake Veterans Golf Course
9600 Veterans Drive SW
Lakewood, Wash. 98498
253.589-1998
www.veterangolf.org
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