Kicking off in 2025, the New Jersey Heroes Tour is a golf program launched by the New Jersey Golf Foundation (NJGF), the charitable arm of the New Jersey PGA Section, to provide competitive golfing opportunities for active military personnel, veterans and first responders while fostering camaraderie and community among its participants. Tournaments are open to golfers of all skill levels and will feature gross and net divisions.
Chris Hunt is the Executive Director of the NJGF. The New Jersey native has been with the NJPGA in one capacity or another since the summer of 1998 when he was an intern and student at Elon University in North Carolina. He’s been a full-time employee since January 1999.
“The New Jersey Heroes Tour was about a year in the making in my mind,” Hunt says, “and we started to formulate everything during the second half of 2024 to launch for this year.”
The tour has 24 confirmed tournament dates across The Garden State, including the Rutgers University Golf Course, Galloping Hill Golf Course (a Golf Range Association of America ‘GRAA’ Top 50 Public Facility) and a season-ending event in November at Galloway National Golf Club in South Jersey. The first event was slated for April 14 at Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
Aligning with the NJGF’s commitment to impacting lives and communities through golf with a focus on youth, military and special needs, proceeds from the registration fees will benefit NJGF initiatives like PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), for which the NJGF was one of the first hosts of the pilot program more than a decade ago. PGA HOPE is a rehabilitative golf program for veterans and active-duty military that enhances their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. The program is changing and saving the lives of veterans in New Jersey and nationwide. There are more than 33 PGA HOPE sessions scheduled in the NJPGA this year and will serve more than 500 local heroes.
Membership to the New Jersey Heroes Tour is $75, granting full access to the tournament schedule. Depending on the venue, tournament fees range from $85 to $150, with financial assistance available for veterans based on need. Each tournament fee includes cart and greens fees.
Hunt believes the NJGF is the first PGA Foundation in the country to host a tour for active military, veterans and first responders. Endeavors such as the New Jersey Heroes Tour are typically geared toward one of these groups at a time. Hunt’s efforts to include all three is a testament to his drive to give back to these very special groups of individuals.
“We want this to be a fun day away from their jobs and their everyday lives,” Hunt explains. “With several divisions, camaraderie among the competition is the key to creating a successful program that these New Jerseyans can look forward to year after year.”
Christina Paulsen, Foundation Manager and New Jersey Heroes Tour Director will oversee the administration of the events. The host facilities will do the preliminary tasks of getting the range, tees and carts set up, but the Foundation’s team will handle the meet and greet, scoring and overall event operations. There will be collegiate interns who are a part of Hunt’s team and several PGA HOPE graduates who will volunteer their time to make every one of the two dozen events extra special for every golfer. Hunt anticipates upwards of a few hundred individuals signing up to play this year.
“This initiative is near and dear to my heart,” Hunt concludes, “as both of my grandfathers and both of my wife’s grandfathers served. My father served two years in the United States Army and then had a 25-year career in law enforcement.”
For more information on membership, tournament schedules and registration, visit the New Jersey Heroes Tour website.