BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — A new Bakersfield nonprofit is hoping sunny skies, fresh air and a round of golf can offer something meaningful to veterans navigating mental health.
Golf Therapy Fore Veterans, founded by Army veteran Harry Franco, aims to provide golf clinics, lessons and camaraderie-driven outings designed specifically for the veteran community.
For Franco, the idea grew out of his own experiences returning to the golf course alongside his father after years away from the sport.
“I deployed twice while I was on active duty with the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment for Desert Storm, and in '93, deployed again back to Saudi Arabia with a Patriot unit,” Franco said of his military service.
But it was time spent golfing that helped shape the nonprofit’s mission.
“One of his buddies that we were playing with, he was a veteran. So me and him talked a lot, and it was like that, you know, a veteran and another veteran talking,” Franco said. “It just made everything feel like this is where I needed to be.”
After discovering that the closest veteran-focused golf clinics were located hours away in places such as Temecula and Camarillo, Franco decided Bakersfield needed its own program. In 2023, he began reaching out to fellow veterans and community members to help launch the effort.
The organization is built around the idea that golf can provide veterans with an outlet from the emotional burdens many carry after service.
“Those of us that suffer with PTSD, obviously, we need some sort of outlet,” said Ben Patton, treasurer for the organization’s board of directors. “Well, what Harry discovered and presented to us, and I had to agree with, golf. The therapeutic advantage of being out there, everything goes away.”
Supporters of the program say golf offers more than recreation — it creates a relaxed environment where veterans may feel more comfortable opening up.
Mark Tolles, a retired Coast Guard veteran involved with the organization, said the sport’s social atmosphere can help bridge divides between different generations of veterans.
“Some of the older guys, they tend to train into themselves, and the younger guys do the same thing,” Tolles said. “And being together, playing around the golf together, it kind of bridges that gap between the older generation and new and we realize that we're the same people.”
The nonprofit promotes not only camaraderie but also time outdoors, physical activity and distraction from everyday struggles.
“I’ve had guys say that they've had these experiences and tell them, you know, what you're feeling is normal and it's good to talk about it,” Tolles said. “Never hold it in, always talk.”
Organizers say humor and shared experiences on the golf course can be just as important as the conversations themselves.
“It might not — it's not gonna cure it, but at that time that you're doing it, it's not in your mind,” Franco said. “It's just all blocked out.”
Golf Therapy Fore Veterans is currently working to build support and awareness in the community. Those interested in learning more or getting involved can connect with the organization online or visit members during Monday’s Thousand Flags event at Riverlakes Park.
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