Todd Greene teed off at Augusta Country Club at 5:45 a.m. He didn’t plan to stop playing until the sun went down and he had to leave the course.
By 10:30 a.m., he had completed five, 18-hole rounds of golf. Greene, an assistant pro at ACC, was trying to raise money through an all-day golf marathon for Folds of Honor, a non-profit organization that helps provide educational scholarships to the families of fallen and disabled service members.
“The idea for the Folds of Honor marathon is to play golf from sunup to sundown, play as many holes as you can because you have people that can donate money, either a lump sum of money or a flat donation or they can donate a dollar a hole that you play,” Greene said.
This is the second year Greene has participated in the golf marathon. Last year, he and another assistant pro played 216 holes in one day.
This year, he hoped to play more than 280 holes in one day and raise $23,000 to provide five scholarships to military families.
“I enjoyed (last year’s marathon). It was incredibly hard work. It was very extraneous on my body for sure. You get that adrenaline rush and you know what you are out there doing and why you are doing it, it kind of pushes you through,” he said.
Greene said he was sore for two weeks after the marathon and expected to be sore for a longer this year. The goal is to raise enough money to provide five scholarships to military families.
Folds of Honor Recipient
US Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Katzenberger enlisted in the Army in his hometown of Weatherby Lake, Missouri in October 2004. In 2011, Katzenberger left for his eighth deployment and never returned.
He was killed during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Paktika Province, Afghanistan on June 14, 2011. He was 26 and survived by his wife, Colleen, and their son Everett, who was four months old at the time.
Every year, Colleen and Everett, who now live in Kansas City, return to Savannah and spend a week remembering and celebrating the life of Katzenberger.
“We actually stay in Tybee Island every June during the anniversary of his death. It’s pretty special. Georgia holds a very special place in my heart,” she said. “The biggest thing for me, our son, he was four months old when he left for that deployment. Unfortunately, he never got to know his dad and when we come back, we stay with old military friends.”
She heard about Folds of Honor from a friend and was able to connect with them. After moving to Kansas City, Katzenberger returned to school to get her master’s to be able to teach in high school. It was the first time she had been able to move on since her husband’s death.
“It was a really pivotal moment for me when I decided to go back to school because it was the first thing I had done since Jeremy had died that was really for me and for my future,” she said. “I made a lot of decisions around Everett and what he needed.”
While getting her Master’s degree, she thought about quitting due to the high cost. Folds of Honor stepped in, however, and helped her finish her degree.
She was a scholarship recipient in 2016 and 2017 and just finished her fifth year of teaching. Her son has a scholarship for when he goes to college. She feels if it wasn’t for Folds of Honor, she would have never been able to finish her degree and become the mom and teacher she is today.
Colleen said she always tries to say “Thank You” to people like Todd who take their time and raise funds for military families like hers. She often feels like a “Thank You” is not enough to show how grateful she is.
“Starting over was really hard for me and Folds of Honor made that happen. You are doing a lot more than just playing golf and raising money, you are telling those of us that have been left behind by the War on Terror not to give up and that we have a future and that is powerful,” she said.
Greene did not serve in the military, but his grandfather was retired Army. He decided to help out mainly because of his love of the military and country. For him, it means a lot to be able to give back just simply by playing golf.
“For me to be able to give back in this type of way to the families, it means everything to me,” he said.
Even after he finished playing, donations can still be made at http://www.foh.org/augustacc. For those interested in participating in golf marathons in the future, go to golfmarathons.org.