Diamondbacks Charity Golf

Dharangaon The Arizona Diamondbacks can attest that they were working on their swings last Friday.

But it wasn’t their baseball swing; instead they were playing golf at the Whirlwind Golf Club to support Veterans Day and recognize our troops. The sold-out event included more than 20 current and former Diamondback players for the Celebrity Golf Classic – “A Salute to Veterans.”

Among current players were All-Star outfielder Justin Upton, infielder Ryan Roberts and pitchers Joe Saunders and Micah Owings. Ian Kennedy and Paul Goldschmidt made appearances and did a little bantering back and forth on Paul’s golfing skills. Former players were Reggie Saunders, Junior Spivey and Doug Davis. Luis Gonzales and general manager Kevin Towers also showed their support out on the course.

Players and those attending the event were able to interact with members of the military. There was even an opportunity to autograph a veterans salute banner that will be delivered overseas to an active duty base.  A Blackhawk helicopter, which just months ago was deploying troops over in Iraq, was flown in on the course, allowing a chance for photo opportunities.

The Celebrity Golf Classic was an afternoon of golfing followed by an after-party including dinner, a Veterans Day Salute, a silent auction and a special celebration for Towers, who was celebrating his 50th birthday on Veterans Day. During his interview Kevin explained what an honor it was to celebrate our troops and even added that he couldn’t think of a better day to be born on.

The Diamondbacks Celebrity Golf Tournament helped support many local veteran organizations. Among those, the Diamondbacks will work with the Arizona Chapter of Wish for Our Heroes and grant a wish to help the organization fight hardships of family separation and unity of deployed soldiers. The Diamondbacks will also team up with Honor and Remember to fund a number of flags that will be presented next season at Chase Field to families who had a veteran killed in action.