Hampton Roads, VA- Being someone who is familiar with overcoming life’s challenges, there was no way James Robinson was going to let a PGA Playing Ability Test (PAT) get in the way of his new aspirations and dreams. A native of Hampton Roads, Va., Robinson joined the Unites States Army as a Medical Laboratory Specialist in February of 1995. While serving his country, Robinson was a member of the 226th Medical Logistics Battalion stationed in Balad, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom from October 2005 to October 2006. While deployed, Robinson sustained a vertebral injury that required surgery to fuse parts of his spine together to stabilize his entire spine. After his surgery, Robinson was assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) in Fort Eustis, Virginia which would aid in his physical and mental recovery and ultimately determine if he would be allowed to finish his military career.
Although Robinson had become an avid golfer prior to his injury, he assumed his surgery would render him no longer able to play. To his surprise, one of the many programs the WTU offered to Robinson and his peers was a golf program run by PGA General Manager Andy Weissinger and his staff at the Fort Eustis Pines Golf Course and supported by the Salute Military Golf Association. Robinson began to realize that playing golf “provided a positive outlet for my need to be competitive, and also proved to be a healthy means of stress release.” In 2012, the Army Medical Evaluation Board found Robinson was fit to return to active duty, but after completing 20 years of military service, Robinson had a different plan in mind.
With the guidance and support from family and friends, particularly Weissinger, Robinson decided to change his career path and seek a new future in the professional golf industry. Robinson is currently attending the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a PGA Professional Golf Management (PGM) student and recently passed his PAT at Great Hope Golf Club in Westover, Maryland. As someone who has always put others first, Robinson made sure to recognize a fellow Wounded Warrior in the program, Matthew Kern, who is in his final year of the degree plan. Robinson remarked that “golf has given me many things, a good way to pass the time, a great way to meet new people, a positive way to relieve stress, and a new career path. Most importantly, golf has shown me, as well as many of my other brothers and sisters in arms, that even though we may have physically and mental limitations, we are by no means limited.”
About the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America
The Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA (MAPGA), located in Stafford, Virginia, is one of 41 Sections of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a part of The PGA since 1925, the MAPGA consists of over 1,100 members and apprentices in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and small portions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Together, the MAPGA golf professionals, volunteers and staff support the mission of The PGA to promote enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to the game’s growth by providing services to PGA Professionals and the golf industry.
Contact:
Eric Southard
esouthard@pgahq.com
(540) 720-7420 ext. 101
