When I look at my life, things went amazingly well for the first 49 years. I thought I had life figured out. When my wife JoAnn, the love of my life and my true soul-mate, went through her seven year battle with progressively worstening cancer, ultimately leading to her death, I was in the battle with her, and so were my children. We always believed, hoped, and prayed with faith that a miracle would restore her health, but that miracle never came. When she died, I died with her, and I knew I was dying the entire time of her struggles. After that, I went into a very dark place. I never told a soul that I was struggling and nobody asked. When things got really dark, I clearly went off the deep end. After a series of lows and highs and more lows, life was over for me. There was no more help and I didn't look for it. Only because of God was I able to have my unexpected ending become my new Heaven-send beginning.

I learned that God will never leave you nor forsake you, even though many people will. Because I fell back into my mess after being initially rescued out of it, many people who had been with me in the beginning left me, and once those people left, the true friends stood out vividly. Those true friends went on to make a significant difference in my life, and inspired me to show that same kind of love and compassion to others that they first showed me.

Among them, Karsten Manufacturing (Ping) holds a special place in my heart. Renowned for their forgiving golf clubs, Ping also embodies the spirit of forgiveness through its people. My journey with Ping began when Karsten Solheim, the founder, spotted me in the early 1980s hitting balls at Moon Valley Country Club, a course he was acquiring. Despite using clubs from another brand, he kindly suggested, "I think you should be playing the Ping clubs." He arranged for Bill Garrett to take me to the Ping factory, where I was fitted with their clubs. This marked the start of a long and meaningful relationship with a company that has supported me through all my highs and lows to this day.

Playing in the Phoenix Open with Ping beryllium-copper clubs and donning the Ping Man logo shirt were highlights of my early career. Over the years, Ping continued to be a constant presence in my life, especially through various Pro-Ams and other events. Their support never wavered. To this day, Allan Solheim is my true mentor and accountability partner. It was through Allan that I became a Gideon chaplain and a Qualified Gideon International Speaker, and it was through Allan that I was able to express my faith on national television and in numerous speaking engagements. Even though I failed after this, Allan still kept me under his wing. I have greatly benefitted from his faith in me and I always look to his wisdom. I have never met such a man of faith!

The day that his wife Joan Solheim gave me her forgiveness with a hug and a fake punch, it was a tear-jerking moment for me, allowing me confirmation that I was on the right path, and that God did indeed have a plan.

Dan Van Horn of US Kids Golf International has also played a crucial role in my life. I was honored as a top 50 teacher in the world five times consecutively by US Kids Golf. Eventually, I became their first Master Teacher. This recognition was a testament to my dedication to junior golf, and it deeply influenced my career and personal growth. After recieving all of these awards and accolades, I had my fall, but Dan stil believed in me and helped me out of the deep hole I had dug for myself. He had deep compassion for my problem and I am devoting the rest of my life to being like him for others!

Pastors Tommy and Luke Barnett, along with Angel Barnett, have significantly impacted my spiritual journey. Their teachings and personal interactions have profoundly shaped my faith. The Dream Center's motto is "Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it," and in your own seperate ways, all three of you did that for me!

I also owe much to Pastor Gus Korkotselos of Fire and Water International Church (or as he likes to call it, "Church in the Hood") who reached out to me when I needed it most, igniting a deeper commitment to my faith and mission. Talk about "loving people back to life"! Boy, did he do that for me!

Tom Leogering's God's Plan for Students (GPS) program was another turning point. Despite my struggles and setbacks, he believed in me and invited me to be a part of his vision, which is to integrate golf into the public school system to promote spiritual values and faith. When I failed in sobriety and ended up in recovery at the Phoenix Dream Center, at first Tom had had enough and rightfully wanted nothing to do with me, but during my time at the Phoenix Dream Center, Janet Craven (the vice president of GPS) kept on beliving in me, and she convinced Tom that I was still the right man for the job.

Throughout my journey, there were times of profound lows, such as living on the streets with my son, Chandler. My daughter, Cassidy, found me on the streets and three hours later she found Chandler. She is the love of my life and my true angel! Clarence Richardson at the Dream Center offered me a lifeline. He got me a room with Demouy Williams, a superior professional athelete who had played six years in the NFL, and we became fast and lifelong friends. Demouy is now the chaplain for GPS and my right-hand man!

Pastor Walt Rattray allowed me to be his guest speaker at a Sunday night church service at the Phoenix Dream Center before I ever even knew I would be living there one day. I had graduated successfully from Teen Challenge and my testimony was something he looked forward to me sharing. To this day, he allows me to do guest speaking engagements at some of his functions. He is truly a man of God!

JD Hill, a childhood hero of mine, who made his career as an NFL superstar and who also had opportunities to play professionally in many other sports, overcame his own struggles and inspired me with his message of resilience and vision. His testimony and his tough-love style of telling you the truth to your face without pulling any punches resonated with me because our public failures were very similar. His ministry, Catch The Vision, helped me to catch the vision, and as he says "Stay put and no more fumbles!" One of the best days of my life was when JD told me "Man, you've caught the vision!"

Brendan Zastrow has become my best personal friend who I know I can confide anything to him any time, anywhere. The greatest thing about him is that I can talk to him about anything, be it God, golf, or anything in-between!

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Brian and Skye Steele, who raised me up onto the Dream Center's development team, and gave me the title of "Dream Advocate". Every single one of the subsequent successes in my life became possible because of this! Every single thing was God's perfect plan, and none of it would have happened if it hadn't been for Brian! I now understand what true joy is!

When working directly under Carlos Daniel in the development team, Carlos always cared deeply about my family, first and foremost, no matter what my job description was. I got to talk to him frequently about my personal life and he shared brilliant advice every single time. Also under Carlos, his right hand people at the time Stephanie Lang and Kona Dickinson allowed me to pour my heart out to them. I was in true need of personal counseling and they gave me the counseling that I needed, Stephanie moved on, and Kona continues to be the person at the Dream Center that I go to for true wisdom at any time. I never had anybody like that in my life!

Jeff May is the Chief Fund Development Officer of Dream Center's Where Hope Lives. The day I was invited to be on his team was a complete and total blessing and I thank him for believing in me 100% of the time. Of the people I've mentioned, I've known him the shortest amount of time, but he has become a true confidant and a true brother, not only in Christ but as family. He allowed me into his life and to be on his team as one of his spokespersons. Fighting a cause such as this (human trafficking) motivates me to no end! I truly want to stop this sick and warped crime!

It amazes me that I always tried to get people to be on "my team", but everything is different now and it is my joy to be a MEMBER of a team. My position as a spokesperson for Dream Center's Where Hope Lives while serving as the "Master Teacher" for Golf Program in Schools allows me to make a difference in this hurting world! We are all under one umbrella for the causes of prevention and recovery. It is my thrill to be working under the direction of Jeff May and Tom Loegering, serving a purposefull purpose. I had a choice to make: To go out and get another worldly wife, another expensive house, more expensive cars, and spend more money for my luxurious lifestyle, "living the dream" (seamingly…) OR I could devote the rest of my life to help the struggling people in this world. It was an easy choice: After having the experience of living among the hurting and the homeless, I had compassion because I now knew what it was like to be in need myself. I chose the people in need!

I Praise the Lord for this purposeful life serving my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who certainly had a plan for me to bring the concepts of prevention (GPS) and recovery (WHL) together under one umbrella. This was a vision straight from God above!

Today, I find JOY in dedicating my life to helping others. My commitment is in devoting all of my future income in my golf career to support the causes of GPS and the Dream Center's Where Hope Lives (WHL). I am putting my money behind GPS's mission to bring God into public schools through the medium of golf and WHL's mission to combat human trafficking and aid those recovering from addictions and homelessness.

In conclusion, the people who have stood by me through my struggles are my true family. Their unwavering support and forgiveness have enabled me to rise above my challenges and dedicate my life to making a difference. I give all the glory to God and commit to living with peace and joy, focused on my mission in Jesus' name. Amen.

Thank you all for this new beginning!