Gladstan Joins VOC Hosts; Fore Lakes Puts on First of Its Two 2018 Events

The Utah’s Golf Foundation’s Veterans on Course 2018 season was put on hold when the first event of the year at Gladstan Golf Course in Payson, Utah, ended up being postponed due to one of the rainiest, windiest, coldest days of the year. However, Gladstan could reschedule for April 26th, which ended up being one of the sunniest, warmest, most gorgeous days of the year thus far!

Sixty military and active duty gathered at Gladstan in Payson to kickstart the ’18 golf season with a little bit of the greatest game ever played. Head Golf Professional Tracy Zobell, Assistant Golf Professional Jake Wyatt and their neighbor from Riverside Country Club, Jordan Brockbank started the event by teaching three different stations for 20 minutes a piece, putting, chipping and a driving range station to perfect the full swing.

Once the lessons wrapped up, the vets were ready to test their skills on the course during the nine-hole scramble on the front. Plenty of impressive scores came in, and the vets worked up quite the appetite during play. They enjoyed an array of foods while listening to guest speaker Jackie Hobson, a veterans’ business advisor for the Veterans Business Resource Center of Utah. Jackie gave the players some great advice about growing and sustaining a business as a veteran in the entrepreneurial world.

The Utah Golf Foundation thanks Gladstan Golf Course and Tracy, Jake and Jordan for supporting Veterans on Course and taking the time to teach the participants. The UGF truly appreciates it!

Fore Lakes Golf Course in Taylorsville, Utah, hosted the second event of the year on Thursday, May 17th. Fore Lakes hosted two VOC events last year, one in the spring on the par-3 course and the other on the executive course in the fall. They plan to do the same this season, lucky for us.

Like always, the event began with lessons from Head Golf Professional Jason Asplund, who focused on chipping, Bob Wagner, a driving range master who taught at Fore Lakes for more than 20 years, and Harrison Lamb, an amateur golfer and apprentice.

The nine-hole scramble on the par-3 course was a wonderful opportunity for the veterans to test their skills learned during the lessons and practice their short game. Closest-to-the-hole opportunities were available on every green, and the top team was awarded UGF swag.

Jason Asplund’s mother and stepfather catered the event and did a fantastic job. Their Chile Verde is a hit every year, so much so that people ask about it months later! The vets enjoyed the delicious meal while listening to Bill Anderson.

Bill was commissioned in the US Army as a second lieutenant following graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1981. His overseas service includes border patrol on the East German / West German / Czechoslovakian borders during the cold war, general staff operations officer in South Korea, and peacekeeping in the former Yugoslavia. His stateside assignments included attending the Air Force Institute of Technology where he earned a master of science degree in Space Operations, then served as an Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering at West Point. His final assignments were as the ROTC Professor of Military Science at the University of New Hampshire and Director of the Kwajalein Support Directorate supporting National Missile Defense testing at the Kwajalein Atoll.

His command assignments include tank platoon leader, cavalry platoon leader, infantry company commander and deputy commander of an Infantry – Armor task force.

Bill retired from the US Army in 2002 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and performs wealth management as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments. He is married to Rhonda Anderson.

Thank you to Fore Lakes Golf Course and Jason, Bob, Harrison and General Manager/Superintendent T.A. Barker for hosting two VOC events again this season. Your support of the Utah Golf Foundation is greatly appreciated!