United States Army Retired Sergeant First Class Joseph Robinson is the Colorado PGA HOPE Ambassador and is excited for his role as an Ambassador. Robinson, a resident of Centennial, Colorado, completed a four-day PGA HOPE Ambassador program during the inaugural PGA HOPE National Golf and Wellness Week in late 2019, just before COVID derailed the golf plans of 2020.

Robinson has been a participant in the Colorado PGA HOPE Programs since they started at Wellshire Golf Course by Kirk Mease, PGA. He completed the developmental six-week clinic offered to Veterans where he not only learned golf but also made new friends. Mease then nominated him for the Ambassador program, to which he had to apply and attend training upon acceptance. PGA HOPE Ambassadors received golf instruction at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, October 25-28, 2019.

The Ambassador role is to be a liaison between the Section and serve to connect Veterans with the golf courses that host Colorado PGA HOPE clinics for them. The purpose of programming is to promote golf and overall wellness such as physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. Veterans who go through these clinics can meet other Veterans and develop friendships over the course of several weeks.

The friendships Robinson made with other Veterans, through Colorado PGA HOPE Programming, became some of his teammates in the Golden Age Games offered through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He wants to reiterate to Veterans that the HOPE programming clinics are a safe place and an opportunity to improve their golf game without ridicule or judgment. Everyone is learning. Come out and think of the positives – what you can get out of the game and what you can give someone else.”

Regarding the Colorado PGA HOPE Clinics offered to Veterans, Robinson commented on what helped him and may in turn help others. “I was able to listen and able to leave my troubles behind for that moment. To learn to have fun and not think of my problems. I saw there were others with problems, and it made me think, I want to do everything I can to help them overcome their problem. The opportunity to play golf, to get out and feel the breeze on your face, to hear the birds sing, to enjoy yourself and leave your troubles behind. That’s what got me through.”