Southern California PGA HOPE introduces veterans to golf in a welcoming environment designed around connection and support. Through a six-week program led by PGA Professionals, veterans of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels can learn the game alongside others who share a common understanding of military service.
No experience or equipment is required. Veterans may arrive expecting golf lessons, but many leave having found something much greater: friendship, renewed confidence and a community where they feel understood.
So far in 2026, the SoCal PGA has hosted 40 PGA HOPE sessions and welcomed 327 new graduates. With the program recently surpassing 2,000 graduates across Southern California, the need for continued connection beyond the six-week program is more important than ever.
Graduation from a SoCal PGA HOPE session is not the end of that experience. In many ways, it is only the beginning. Through chapters in San Diego, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles and the Desert, graduates can participate in year-round golf outings, Play Days and other gatherings. Together, these chapters are expected to provide more than 200 post-graduate opportunities this year, helping veterans maintain the friendships they formed during the program while welcoming them into a larger community of support.
At the center of each chapter are SoCal PGA HOPE Chapter Captains, who help ensure every veteran feels welcomed, recognized and connected.
For SoCal PGA HOPE Inland Empire Chapter Captain Will Palacios, that mission can be summed up in one phrase: Camaraderie Before Competition.
“Golf gives us a reason to gather,” Will said. “But it’s the relationships we build before, during and especially after the round that truly matter.”
Will served in the United States Marine Corps for more than two decades. After retiring, he found that one of the most difficult parts of leaving military service was losing the close-knit community that came with it. What he missed most was being surrounded by people who simply understood.
When Will first joined SoCal PGA HOPE, he believed he was signing up for golf lessons and another opportunity to work on his game. Instead, he found the shared purpose and sense of belonging he had been missing.
Through golf, veterans from different branches, generations and walks of life have time to connect without pressure. Conversations happen naturally while walking down a fairway, waiting on a tee box or spending time together after a round.
“Once you step onto the first tee, everyone is just a golfer trying to hit the next good shot,” Will said.
As a Chapter Captain, Will helps create an environment where those relationships can grow. He learns names, introduces new participants to the group and reaches out when someone has not attended recently. He wants every veteran to know that their presence matters and that they are more than another name on a tee sheet.
Will explains that a Chapter Captain does not create camaraderie alone.
“The veterans create it,” he said. “My responsibility is to create opportunities, protect the culture we have built and provide an environment where those connections can naturally grow.”
Across SoCal PGA HOPE, Chapter Captains serve as familiar faces and consistent points of contact as veterans move from the instructional program into the chapter community.
One moment helped Will recognize how meaningful that community could become. After an outing, a veteran approached him, shook his hand and said, “Thank you. This gives us life.”
Until then, Will had often viewed his role through its practical responsibilities: sending emails, organizing outings and building tee sheets. That brief conversation reminded him that the chapter was providing much more than a place to play golf.
It was giving veterans people to look forward to seeing and a community where they would be noticed if they were gone.
That impact is made possible by everyone who helps bring SoCal PGA HOPE to life. Chapter Captains keep veterans connected, PGA Professionals lead each session, and sponsors, donors and the SCPGA Foundation provide the support needed to sustain and grow the program. Together, they show veterans that they are valued, supported and never forgotten.
The success of a SoCal PGA HOPE chapter is not measured by numbers alone. It can be seen in the friendships that continue away from the course, the veterans who begin checking on one another and the support systems that grow naturally over time.
Golf may bring veterans together, but the relationships are what keep them connected.
As Will puts it, “Scorecards get thrown away. Friendships do not.”