Featured Article: Beyond the Green: Jim Dennerline, a Golf Pro’s Mission to Save Veterans through Meditation and Golf

Jim Dennerline is a committed golf professional who has been a part of the SCPGA community for over 30 years.

Dennerline was integrated into the world of golf growing up in Kansas. He got into the sport at seven through his father, who he described as a semi-pro golfer. Dennerline’s father, as he explained, worked his regular job in the Winter and worked on the golf course in the Summer.

When his father worked the golf course, he also instructed Dennerline on playing golf, as he describes him as his only instructor. 

“He taught me how to play golf, and he was very knowledgeable of the game,” Dennerline said. “He’s been my only instructor – I played all through high school, and I got a scholarship to play in college.” 

After playing collegiate golf, Dennerline pursued a career and worked his way up. He played amateur golf until 1976 before eventually becoming a pro in the same year. When he moved to California two years later, Dennerline began working at the state’s golf courses. He worked at the Westchester golf course for four years, Palos Verdes after joining the PGA, X golf course where he was the head pro for seven years, and Whispering Lakes for eleven.

In 2012, Dennerline began working at the VA Golf Course in Los Angeles, California, where he has been teaching veterans through his nonprofit, Vets Whole in One, for 13 years. When he first began to teach golf to veterans, he described it as a challenging experience at first.

“It was a whole different type of instruction,” Dennerline said. “I had a difficult time with many of them – for some reason, I couldn’t get them to focus on the golf ball.”

He felt like there was something missing in the equation. One day, a clinical psychologist came to visit the VA Golf Course and inquired to him about a clinical program for veterans. The following week, the two hosted their first class with four combat vets. During the lesson, him, the clinical psychologists, and the veterans went to the Japanese Garden located on the course. The moment he entered the quiet and serene environment, Dennerline felt like he finally solved the missing piece in the equation. 

Everyone went into a circle as they closed their eyes as they began to do a meditation exercise. After 10-12 minutes in participating in breathing exercises, the Clinical Psychologist would ask the veterans about what they experienced in the moment. For one veteran, he described his experience as reminiscent of when his mother read him stories in his childhood.

“I knew right away what I did miss in the last three years,” Dennerline said. “I’ve been telling these vets, ‘keep your head down, watch that ball, slow back swing’ – but I hadn’t been telling them to breathe, to focus and just try to quiet themselves.”

As soon as the golf clinic began to shape its routine, for the following weeks, the number of veterans participating grew from four, to six, to seven, to ten, and to the point where Dennerline said he had to cap it at 24 people.

After the clinical psychologist moved on to other opportunities before pursuing an early retirement, Dennerline said that he met another combat vet.

“He tried to commit suicide twice,” Dennerline said. “In 1971, he dove into meditation and mindfulness, and went to India – just diving into this meditation and breathing.”

The same combat vet would suggest that him and Dennerline would begin a nonprofit together – Vets Whole in One. 

Dennerline talked about how they set up a nonprofit program in June and July 2023. With the limited supplies, they had to cut the number of veterans who could participate to 15. This caused the program to have 52 veterans on the waitlist, which shocked him that, that many people wanted to learn how to play golf.

As I continued to inquire about his nonprofit, Dennerline mentioned why he began his nonprofit in the first place – a deep and emotional meaning behind it.

“22 vets are committing suicide everyday,” Dennerline said. “If we can just save one life, if we can just get one vet to get into meditation, breathing, and golf – then we’ve completed our mission.”

Through Jim’s tremendous work in help supporting the local veterans in the community though golf, he earned the Southern California PGA Patriot Award in 2022. But he added that the honor was not only through  his side of the job.

“It wasn’t me winning this award – it was my entire team.” Dennerline said. “There’s no way I could have won an award without all these guys.” 

But at the beginning of this year, with the recent California Wildfires, Dennerline opened up about losing his home, where the office of his nonprofit was located. He also lost golf supplies, such as golf clubs, that he donates to the community due to the wildfires.

Dennerline recently shared that he has found a temporary home in Venice, which he described as a blessing to find somewhere to regain footing after the uncertainty of relocating somewhere potentially far away from his work. Dennerline also mentioned another blessing that provided light in the darkness – the golf community.

“It’s been incredible, the generosity of everybody,” Dennerline said. “We’re able to get the nonprofit back up its feet, and we’re slowly recovering.”

Taking it step by step, Dennerline is now looking forward to what lies in future endeavors with Vets Whole in One. Dennerline added that the structure moving ahead are the three main pillars – meditation, food, and golf.

“It’s just so rewarding,” Dennerline said. “If a PGA pro ever had the opportunity to work with a group of veterans – he would never regret it.”

Reach Agas at chloeragas123@gmail.com or Tweet @Chloe_Agas.