Remaining on the Course Is Main Goal for Veteran

For SNGA member Jim Rice, the drive is on to get back into the sport he enjoys: Golf. This 44-year-old disabled veteran is now confined to a wheelchair and thought his days of playing golf might be over. Now, thanks to finding out about Heroes in the Rough, he’s back on the golf course. — By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.

Rice had been playing golf for about 10 years, but two years ago his health took a turn for the worse.

“I had a traumatic brain injury from my time in the military that has degenerated over the past couple of years,” he said. “I’d be out and fall over and not realize I had fallen and I wound up with multiple head injuries. It got to the point of where my balance was compromised and I wound up falling more than a half a dozen times over 18 holes.”

It didn’t worry him–at first. “I just thought ‘Wow, I must be swinging too hard,’ ” he said. “I came up with excuses for what it might be and then a couple of years ago I had an episode at the Cosmopolitan. I went to the hospital and four days later I went home with new hardware (a wheelchair).”

Now, he’s found a way back to a sport he loves.

“Heroes in the Rough really got me back on track,” he said. “It’s a disabled veteran athletic program based out of Stallion Mountain. Their mission is to get guys like myself out of the house and into a social setting and back into life.”

So now his attitude is back to being positive. But there’s still the need for an adaptive cart.

“I’ve used a cart that was donated to Heroes in the Rough, but it’s about 20 years old,” he said. “It wasn’t designed for a regular course and I’ve had it die on me in the middle of the round and I’m stuck out there. Now I know what a lot of other people have been going through.”

Now his goal is simple: Getting back to enjoying his time on the course without his cart batteries dying on him.

“It can be tough, but I’m not giving up,” he said.

Want to help out?

Rice is limited to using an older cart he borrows from the Heroes in the Rough organization. He’s hoping to get his own in the near future but he’s living on a fixed income and is hoping for a little financial help.

The cost is $10,500. He’s started a Go Fund Me page and saved $1,200 to $1,400 but he’s still a ways away.

With his own cart, he can tee it up anywhere as all golf courses now allow ADA-rated golf carts on the course per USGA regulations. “We have to have access to at least one tee box,” he said. “And as long as the cart is ADA approved, we are allowed to go onto the green.

Donations can also be made to Heroes In the Rough to support their program by visiting Heroesintherough.org.

About Heroes in the Rough

Heroes in the Rough is on a mission to provide rehabilitative experience through golf and other outdoor activities for wounded veterans and their families. Our efforts aim to improve the quality of life for these American heroes by providing opportunities for healing of the mind, body and soul through athletics, mentorship and most importantly, friendship. Please join us in supporting a cause that works tirelessly to show these heroes that they are valued, appreciated and simply not forgotten.

NOTE: The organization is a full voluntary program. No salaries of any kind are paid to the President all the way down to the last volunteer.