Dusty Hull of Lansing Named PGA HOPE Ambassador

He invites all military veterans to give life-saving golf a try

By Tom Lang

    Dusty Hull knows firsthand how dangerous the effects of war can be – both in battle and after coming home. It’s the latter environment where the PGA HOPE program of teaching and playing golf thrives and helps so many veterans.

    I have had many veterans tell me the program has saved their lives when they contemplated suicide or getting past other struggles. Another told me that because golf can be addictive (usually in a positive way) it helped him refocus his negative habits and thoughts and instead channel them into golf.

    Hull agrees all that and more can be gleaned from the game we love.

    “PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) has been a three-pronged approach in my life,” Hull said. “It’s helped me as an individual, helped me as a Veteran, and helped me as a father. 

    “As a person, I work in a white-collar environment where golf is still a very frequently used medium for conversations and doing business. As a veteran it helps because when I was introduced to golf, I wasn’t very serious about it. My Army friends invited me, and my first set of clubs were from Goodwill. Now I get to use golf to play with fellow veterans. I get to help them though this program, and I do believe that golf can really help in many avenues that I struggled with. 

    “As a father, I come from a background of generational poverty. Yet, the PGA program sends us to events that I can bring my kids to sometimes, and now their lives are full of experiences I could never have dreamed of as a kid.”

    Hull, of Lansing, has been named a PGA HOPE Ambassador for the Michigan PGA Section. He will attend events, talk with veterans and give as much support as possible for those who are struggling.

    Hull served with distinction in the Michigan Army National Guard from 2005 to 2019 as an infantryman in the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, assigned to both the 38th Infantry Division and the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). During his military career, he deployed to Forward Operating Base AR Ramadi, Iraq in 2008, and to Regional Command North, Afghanistan in 2012. His dedication and professionalism earned him numerous commendations, including the Combat Infantryman Badge, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, German Marksman Cord (Gold), and the Michigan Governor’s Twenty Tab.

    “I have been searching for a conduit to fill a role I’ve been missing since the military, where I can serve my friends” Hull told me. “I was in the sniper section for a year, and one of the most profound moments I had was when I went back to my normal line unit and deployed in Afghanistan, one of my best friends said, ‘just the fact that I know you’re up there gives me confidence to walk these streets.’  I have been searching for something like that again where I can be that useful to other veterans who need it, and I really think that the PGA program is it.”

        The six-to eight-week curriculum is led by PGA of America Golf Professionals trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency and is hosted at more than 650 locations throughout the United States. With more than 4,400 trained PGA of America Golf Professionals, PGA HOPE usually serves up to 17,000 Veterans.

    PGA HOPE has been around for a decade and includes a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs enabling direct referrals to the PGA HOPE program as a form of therapy. The program is changing and saving the lives of America’s heroes, and since inception, more than 50,000 Veterans have been served.

    For more information on the program, go to:  https://www.pgareach.org/pgahope