Another year of the National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic is now history, having concluded on September 12 after providing 138 visually impaired participants and dozens more with varying disabilities an unforgettable week.
“The Clinic is not just about golf but emphasizes the Whole Health concept,” said Michaun Harrison, whose 2025 participation was the seventh. “We enjoy not only adaptive golf but bowling, water aerobics, corn hole, tai chi, cycling, rock climbing, yoga, challenge golf putting, chair massage, physical therapy, chair massage, battlefield acupuncture, and AI technology.”
Goal ball, an activity designed primarily for the blind, was a noteworthy addition last year and continued this year. Both veterans and staff participated in getting this new activity off the ground in 2024. The game has been modified so that amputees and veterans with spinal cord injuries can also play.
In 1994, the TEE Tournament sprang to life as the brainchild of several employees of the Iowa City VA Medical Center with two BVA members from Iowa. Although unaware of it at the time, the group proved to be visionaries in creating the TEE Tournament, an acronym standing for Training, Exposure, Experience. Although the first TEE Tournament was not held in Iowa City but in Nauvoo, Illinois, the idea quickly caught hold in Iowa City. Volunteers, both at VA and in the community, began signing up in droves to make the event run.
In 2008, the TEE Tournament became one of VA’s six national recreational rehabilitation and adaptive sports programs for veterans. The event expanded to include not only blinded veterans, but amputees, wheelchair-bound veterans, and those with other life-changing disabilities. It also includes those from all branches of services.
The event continues to strive to provide adaptive golf instruction for the veterans who participate and to make the game more accessible. More than all else, it aims to inspire veterans to challenge their physical, mental, and emotional limitations and to improve their quality of life.
