This event was hosted on Monday, November 6th, 2023. I wanted to post this the following day but there were some technical difficulties causing this delay. Some footage for the video was lost and I tried to recover it to no avail. The video (at bottom) is not as long as I would have hoped, even for a short course review, but It shows enough.
The Patriot Golf Day is 1 of 3 events I try to make sure I am involved in each year. Grand Bear created this event and this was their 5th year. The tournament benefits the Folds Of Honor Foundation, an organization that helps families of American fallen or disabled military and first responders. Having grown up with military family members, having many friends who have served, and many friends who are first responders, this is a cause that is near to my heart. It is an added benefit to be an ambassador of GolfFOREVER which is a partner of Folds of Honor as well and provides Veterans with Free lifetime access to the training app when they purchase a swing trainer.
The event started with the National Anthem. This was some of the video footage that was lost but it was performed by a Color Guard with a march across the putting green. It is hard to describe for those that are not familiar but you have most likely seen this before an NFL game. There was a firetruck on site with their ladder hoisted high with an American Flag draped from it, flags surrounding the 9th and 18th greens (in the video), and mini flags surrounding the practice putting green. Grand Bear also has specific hole flags for this event. The welcome bag had a custom-made Swag Golf clubhead cover, a Folds of Honor ball marker, and a complimentary weekday round of golf at Grand Bear. A box lunch was also included and the was a chance for a Hole-In-One to win a two-year lease on Mercedes from Mercedes Benz of South Mississippi.
The golf course itself was pristine. The greens were exceptional and may have been the smoothest and fastest I have ever seen them other than when Grand Bear hosted the Champions Tour. To be honest, the entire golf course may actually be better now than it was for that event. All around the course was good. The tee boxes had plenty of grass and were level. The rough was at a good length too. Enough to make the ball sit down some but not thick enough that your ball would disappear. Even though playing a scramble we didn't hit out of a bunker, we walked into a few to retrieve a ball. The bunkering around the entire golf course is very well maintained. The fringe around the greens was cut so good it was like the putting green only a little slower. Check out the video below to see how the course was playing.
I am already looking forward to the next time I go play at Grand Bear and already looking forward to playing in the 2024 Patriot Golf Day. Perhaps we can do a Golf Nola Giveaway for a foursome to this event next September. I am making a note of that now.
Thank you to Grand Bear for such a great day and the honor of being a part of such a great cause with Folds of Honor.
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