Golf Balls to the troops II: Golf equipment isn't in Kansas anymore

About six weeks ago, a blog ran here detailing the work of the City of Evansville, Ind., in sending used golf balls over to Iraq. It seems smacking around golf balls has been a great way for U.S. troops to get some entertainment and feel closer to home while serving their country in the Middle East.

The idea has been happily copied by a few others, including Kyle Taylor, owner of USA Golf in Lawrence, Kansas. As of yesterday, Taylor had collected about 2,500 golf clubs and 12,000 to 15,000 golf balls.

“We’re just kind of overwhelmed right now. There’s so much, and we’re trying to get through it,” Taylor told the Lawrence-Journal World. “We have everything. We have complete sets. We’ve got drivers, irons, putters, wedges … and lots of golf balls.”

Taylor has also donated some of his shop’s equipment to the drive, and will be packing up all the clubs and balls and send them to a nonprofit organization, Give2theTroops (www.give2thetroops.com), based in Connecticut.

So for readers who wrote in requesting information on where to send used golf balls or equipment, or just about anything else, contact Give 2 The Troops at their Web site, call (888) 876-6775, or send an e-mail to: info(at)Give2TheTroops(dot)org.

If you don’t have any used golf equipment or are looking for other ways to send your support to the troops, take a look at Give 2 The Troop’s “Send ‘em Some Spring” National Drive. Also, note that financial donations are always accepted to help defray the shipping costs.

“If it makes people kind of think about them a little bit,” Taylor said, “then we’ve done our job here.”

–WKW