Veteran says program helped him get on course despite injuries, PTSD

One fateful decision changed Sgt. First Class Phil Bell's life on March 28, 2006. Instead of riding along with other troops in his unit's Humvee in Iraq - as he normally would do - Bell was driving the vehicle when it was hit by an explosive device.

Among Bell's many injuries were a fractured back and severe muscle damage to his lower back. The person who was supposed to drive was killed in the blast.

"He ended up dying that day; I ended up living," Bell said. "So there's that remorse of what if we didn't switch spots - would I not be here?"

Depressed, lonely, retired and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Bell found himself in bars drinking from open until close.

For four straight years.

Caring friends and a sport he loved growing up - golf - helped pull him out of misery. He began playing with the Freedom Golf Association, an organization that helps servicemen and women people with disabilities enjoy the game of golf.

"When you're out there playing, you kind of forget about everything that's going on," said Bell, who participated in George W. Bush's Warrior Open, a competitive tournament for wounded veterans, in 2015. "It helps with the PTSD, it helps with the pain management because for four hours you're just out there enjoying something that you do.

"Maybe it's because of the concentration that you have to put into the game of golf and just being out there in nature, where it's quiet. It helps relax you. I was a decent golfer most of my life and FGA got me to the point of continuing with the sport. They got me to the point where I kept on going - bad days, good days - the game was coming back to me and I was enjoying it more and more."