Empowering Wounded Veterans,
One Fairway At A Time

We provide rehabilitative golf programs, experiences, and family inclusive golf opportunities for post 9/11 wounded war veterans in an effort to improve the quality of life for these American heroes.

Our Mission

The SMGA’s mission is to provide rehabilitative golf programs, experiences, and family inclusive golf opportunities for post 9/11 wounded war veterans in an effort to improve the quality of life for these American heroes. Eligible veterans and service members include those wounded or injured in post 9/11 military operations, including those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Our Impact On Veterans

The Salute Military Golf Association aims to meld a love of country and love of golf in an effort to support the mental and physical rehabilitation programs of post-9/11 wounded and injured warriors.

SMGA golf professionals, skilled in teaching adaptive golf, understand the unique needs of veterans returning home from service and have witnessed first-hand the powerful benefits the game of golf can provide in improving quality of life of wounded service men and women.

Raised In The Last 3 Years

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Wounded Veterans Served

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Individually Fitted Clubs

Golf Clinics Each Year

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Agree That SMGA CLinics Helped With Their PTS

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Physical & Mental Rehabilitation

Golf embodies strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, and mental discipline, all central qualities of a successful rehabilitation program. The camaraderie and lasting friendships SMGA warrior golfers forge among themselves have helped many return to active duty or successfully reintegrate into civilian life.

Military Families Serve Too

The SMGA recognizes that when our nation’s men and women serve our country, their families do too. Since 2001, over 2.5 million service members deployed in support of the wars. These long deployments are often stressful for those family members left to support the family and home.

Because of this, the SMGA promotes a family-inclusive golf instruction environment and encourages clinic participation from our veterans’ families. All family and caregivers can participate in our clinics at no cost to them.

SMGA Charity Golf Classic

Every June, the SMGA holds its Annual Charity Golf Classic. This tournament remains a primary event for the SMGA raising more than $1.6 million dollars supporting the recovery and rehabilitation of post-9/11 wounded and injured veterans.

For sponsorships and registration, please visit Birdease Event Software (www.smga17.com).

Join us Monday June 5, 2023 for the 17th Annual SMGA Charity Golf Classic at Manor Country Club in Rockville, MD, one of the DC area’s premier golf clubs.

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Booz Allen Hamilton Tournament Series

Each year, the SMGA and Booz Allen Hamilton partner to hold a nationwide series of golf fundraising tournaments to benefit our programs. With tournaments held across the entire country, you can support the SMGA no matter where you are, and have fun doing so! To date, these golf events have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.

How To Apply

The first step in the process is to submit an application. Upon receipt of your application for membership our Headquarters Team will review your application for completeness. We will assign you an SMGA Team Member to get you through the application process.

Please make sure to read through, and make sure all parts are filled out and required documentation is included.

Our Members

The SMGA is proud to have over 5000 members throughout the country. These incredible men and women embody our core values of respect, camaraderie, and passion.

Our members come from all parts of the United States. As these men and women transition home, they will be able to bring back with them a love for the game of golf that they can share with their communities.

Our Testimonials

Sgt. Osborne joined the Army in 1982 as an Infantryman. After Operation Iraqi Freedom began, he felt compelled to apply his training, and rejoined in 2005. While serving in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Div. in May of 2006 his vehicle was hit with an IED outside the city limits of Baghdad, and suffered multiple injuries to his C-spine, right shoulder, and right foot. He stayed at Walter Reed for four years, and endured 18 surgeries. During his recovery, a friend introduced him to Jim Estes and he began taking lessons. At first, he could only chip and putt, but soon progressed to full swing. He now plays 2-4 rounds of golf a week, and credits SMGA and the game of golf as helping him through his rehabilitation.

Sgt. DeWitt Osborne III

United States Army (Retired)

Staff Sergeant Jack Schumacher was born in Champaign, Illinois and enlisted as an Infantryman in the United States Army in 2005. Golf became a powerful outlet for his rehabilitation while at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and he completed his program at the Maryland clinics in the spring with his wife, Jill. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with Valor (x2) and the Purple Heart (x2).

Jack was recently featured in the Annapolis Capital Gazette. Click here to read.

Staff Sergeant Jack Schumacher

United States Army (Retired)
SMGA Maryland

Ramon Padilla Jr. was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, Calif. On July 8, 2007, Padilla and members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade were into their 45th day of service in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, when an RPG blew up in front of him. Shrapnel from the RPG severed his lower left arm, and he was struck by a round on the front right side of his head that broke a piece of his skull. He did his full recovery at Walter Reed and was medically retired in September 2009. Ramon credits the game of golf as saving his life saying, “It’s a big part of my life and who I am now. It has helped me believe in myself and I became a better man…[and] once you achieve something, as simple as hitting a ball high into the air, you can feel you can do anything”.

Sgt. Ramon Padilla