Golf Tournament for Blind Military

The TEE Tournament is a blinded veterans golf tournament designed to promote rehabilitation and instruct blinded veterans in golf techniques.
Alternative activities will give these veterans an opportunity to try other recreational events and visit sites in Iowa City and surrounding communities.

When: September 11, 12, and 13, 2001. Registration will be on September 10, 2001.

Lodging: The Clarion Hotel/Hampton Inn, Coralville, Iowa.

* Lake McBride Golf Course: Owned by Tom and Mary Wolfe, the course is located on Highway 382 (Main Street), three miles west of Solon, on the right.
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* Fairview Golf Course: owned by Joe Trammell, Bob Mitchell, and Dick Stagg, the course is located on American Legion Road, Iowa City.
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* Quail Creek Golf Course: Owned and managed by Ted Lewis, off Highway 965, North Liberty.
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* Colonial Bowling Lanes: Owned by Brad Huff, the lanes are located on Old Highway 218 South, Iowa City.

Who: Participation is open to male and female U.S. veterans who are legally blind. Many of the participants will be current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients and those who utilize VA Visual Impairment Services. The TEE Tournament plans to take 130 participants in 2001. Over 270 VA and community volunteers will help host this event.

Why: To provide blinded veterans the opportunity to develop new skills, meet people, and strengthen their self-esteem through a new method of independence. VA is a leader in blind rehabilitation and in the development of sensory and prosthetics research. The Iowa City Visual Impairment Service (VIS) coordinates outpatient services and provides a yearly review of physical, social, and psychological needs. The VIS utilizes the expertise of staff in ten VA Blind Rehabilitation Centers across the United States who provide residential programs for orientation and mobility training, communication skills, adaptation to daily living activities, and other methods for veterans and their families to adjust to
blindness. Veterans participating in these programs are also provided sensory and prosthetic devices.

Host: Staff and Volunteers of the VA Medical Center
601 Hwy 6 West
Iowa City, IA 52246-2208

Contacts: Mike Owen Kirt Sickels
TEE Tournament Coordinator Public Affairs
Specialist
319-338-0581, extension 6053 319-339-7104

Sponsored by the
Department of Veterans Affairs and the Blinded Veterans Association