Legends Golf & Country Club to show off commitment to vets this Veterans Day
Legends Golf & Country Club is showing off its commitment to veterans this Veterans Day with several fundraising events to support paralyzed veterans. Its members have provided more than $390,000 in years past, and they will be at it again this year —- both on Nov. 10 and on Veterans Day itself. Here’s what’s happening
• Helicopter Ball Drop —- An unusual, eye-catching fundraising competition starts at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Legends Golf & Country Club in South Fort Myers. Before a crowd of spectators, a ‘copter will circle overhead and drop over 1,000 golf balls onto a putting green with flags placed in golf holes for each of the five military services. Members have purchased the golf balls and have their numbers marked on them. Owners of balls that enter any of the holes split the pot 50:50 with a nonprofit that assists disabled veterans.
• Veterans Day Golf Scramble and Putting Contest —- On the club’s completely redesigned, and now more challenging, even more picturesque 18-hole golf course. Golfers also pay to play.
• Veterans Day Court-Sports fundraising competitions —- Pickleball, bocce ball, and pop tennis. Like the other contests, the players pay to play.
• Veterans Day morning ceremony including —- Presentation of the colors by the Cypress Lake High School Jr. ROTC color guard; tributes to members of America’s armed services, past and present; and playing of the anthems of each military branch as Legends’ veterans muster around the flags of each of their military branches.
• Luncheon with silent auction and Missing Man ceremony which recognizes fallen, missing and imprisoned military service members.
Funds raised at the Legends Golf & Country Club events go to support the Stand-Up and Play Foundation (SUPF) for use in its work counseling paralyzed veterans and for purchasing special adaptive carts that enable them to stand up and play golf. Anthony Netto, the paralyzed founder of SUPF and inventor of these carts and who holds the Paralong Drive World record (wheelchair division) of 350 yards, will be on-site at Legends on both days of the events. Netto, a United States Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF) Master Golf Teaching Pro, spends much of his time training PGA professionals, rehab therapists and adaptive golf organizations how to use golf as a therapy.
• Fundraising recipient —- This year’s Veterans Day fundraising at Legends will enable SUPF to purchase an adaptive cart for former Army Sergeant Joshua Tromanhauser. Tromanhauser’s decade-long military service included a year’s deployment in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from 2009-10. Toxic exposure while in that country aggravated his suffering in 2024 from respiratory failure, pneumonia and septic shock.
After extensive life support for 107 days across multiple hospitals, Tromanhauser, who once played and coached sports, needed to have both of his legs amputated above the knee. He credits his wife and three children with giving him the will to live through the darkest moments. His message to others: It’s never too late to live the life you want. Tell the people you love what they mean to you. Stop waiting for the ‘right time. Start living now. Tromanhauser and his family, who moved to Florida from Indiana earlier this year, will be at Legends both days of the event.
Stand-Up and Play Foundation, the recipient of the Legends’ fundraising, is a 501(c)(3) organization whose board of directors includes two Florida residents living in the Tampa and Naples areas. Its advisory board of directors includes members residing at Legends and in Naples. Its Florida chapters are located in the Tampa and Panama City areas, where adaptive carts are available for use. Vehicles are also available for use in Naples and West Palm Beach. Additional vehicles will be in use at Legends during both days.
About Legends Golf and Country Club
Legends Golf and Country Club, begun in 1999, today is a community in South Fort Myers with 1,291 home sites around an 18-hole championship golf course. The units range from stand-alone, single-family homes to villas and multistory condominiums. Besides the golf course, reopened this year after a total redesign in 2025 by Garl & Nix Architects, the grounds include seven tennis courts –six of them lighted for nighttime play — four pickleball courts also lit for nighttime play, four bocce courts and a resort style pool. Three restaurants and a poolside grill provide a range of culinary services.