3balls Golf
3Balls Staff
319 Manley Street
West Bridgewater, MA 02379
To the team at 3Balls.com,
My name is Captain Sean Richardson, and I would like to thank you all for the amazing support you have shown my unit, and my soldiers. In December of last year, my company of more than 100 individuals deployed to Southern Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. We are a MEDEVAC company that provides aerial medical evacuation to injured Americans and Afghans. The Soldiers in my company consist of pilots, crew chiefs, and medics. Beginning in February, the Armed Forces Network began to air golf events as the PGA tour kicked back into swing. That was roughly three months into our deployment, and when the reality of being away from home really began to sink in. One of the many things the Soldiers really began to miss was golf. Being an avid golfer myself, I was very lucky to be assigned to a company with others who shared my passion. We began watching golf and trying to make up for what we were missing back in the States by playing Tiger Woods on X-box, but that just wasn’t cutting it.
Having grown up working and playing in the golf industry for most of my life, I made an attempt to reach out to individuals who might be able to help us bring a little bit of happiness to an otherwise dreary place. Almost immediately I received a response from none other than Ed Smith, my “Uncle Eddie”. I was excited when he wrote me back asking for my address, saying “I’ll see what I can do”. About a month and half later, my Soldiers came down to my office after getting the mail. They told me I had better come upstairs because I had quite a few packages. When I looked at the label and saw the return address was 3Balls.com, I couldn’t help but smile. To give you a visual, I would compare my reaction to when Ralphie from A Christmas Story, reacting when he saw the box for his Red Rider BB Gun. As I began to open the packages that were filled with clubs and balls, more and more soldiers began to trickle into the room, gripping the clubs, practicing swinging, and asking for lessons. Even though there is not a blade of grass for as far as the eye can see, the packages you guys sent brought a little bit of home to the desert.
After dividing up the clubs and the balls equally, they were sent out on the next helicopter flight to the other Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) that my team is based out of. Everyone did what we could to get their golf fix in. We immediately set up make shift driving ranges and began to hit the balls into camo nets, tarps or whatever else we could get our hands on. I just want you all to know that because of your sincere generosity, you brought smiles to the faces of the men and women that defend our nation every day. Thank you so much for your support, we will never forget this.
Sincerely,
Sean R. Richardson
Captain, US Army
Here are some photos:
