How the Flash of an Auction Paddle Turned into the Ultimate Golf Adventure
Dormie Network member reflects on his first year of membership
Each year, an estimated 13 million adults forgo necessary medical treatment simply because they have no reliable way to get there.
Mercy Medical Angels believes that no one should ever be denied medical care because they don’t have transportation.
Mercy Medical Angels (JV Venable pictured right)
About Mercy Medical Angels
Mercy Medical Angels removes transportation barriers for patients who need access to lifesaving or life-changing medical care. Whether by air, ground, or rail, the organization connects people to treatment they otherwise could not reach.
Their programs include:
Volunteer Pilot Flights - In select regions, private pilots volunteer their aircraft and time to fly patients to medical care.
Commercial Airline Tickets - Partnering with airlines to secure donated or discounted flights for longer-distance travel.
Bus & Train Tickets - Providing safe ground transportation when flying isn’t an option.
Gas Cards & Rideshare Support - Easing the burden of local travel to treatment.
Veteran Transportation (Angel Wings for Veterans) – Supporting veterans and their families with travel to medical care, rehabilitation, and service dog training.
A Meaningful Partnership with Dormie Network Foundation
Mercy Medical Angels has partnered with Dormie Network Foundation (DNF) for several years. The connection began through John “JV” Venable, a Dormie Network member and longtime supporter of the organization.
“I played at Ballyhack in 2014 and just loved the course, the cottages, food and the amazing staff,” Venable recalls. Ballyhack was acquired by Dormie Network in 2016. “In 2018, I engaged the Network and asked if they might be able to offer a round of golf for four that we could auction off during our gala. We were just amazed by the offer for two overnight stay and play packages, and we have been connected ever since!”
Since then, Dormie Network Foundation has helped Mercy Medical Angels raise $30,500 through in-kind donations.
Those contributions have created a direct and measurable impact.
“Since our partnership began, DNF’s generous support has enabled Mercy Medical Angels to provide more than 1,500 trips for patients in need of lifesaving or life-changing care,” says Venable.
Mercy Medical Angels used the funds raised through DNF to directly impact their mission.
“We have been amazed by DNF’s generosity and can’t fully express our gratitude.”
— JV Venable, Dormie Network Member and Chairman of the Board for Mercy Medical Angels
What follows is Venable’s story—a firsthand account of how the flash of a paddle at a Mercy Medical Angel’s charity auction became an unexpected year of connection, travel, and discovery through a Dormie Network donated membership experience.
By JV Venable, Chairman of the Board, Mercy Medical Angels
It all started with a look. Back in the fall of 2024, my wife Lil and I attended Mercy Medical Angels annual gala—an amazing organization that’s close to my heart. For years, Dormie Network Foundation has supported our charity auction, donating two Stay and Play Packages that always light up the room.
For those unfamiliar, Dormie Network is a golfer’s dream: seven private clubs across the country, all under one membership, each designed for those who love the game in its purest form.
Last year, DNF Director of Philanthropy, Audrey Musgrave, called to up the ante. Along with two Stay and Pay Packages for four, she offered one-year Dormie Network memberships for our auction. No corporate cut, no fine print—every dollar raised would go to providing free transportation for patients who need life-changing or lifesaving medical care. What a gift!
Excited, I shared the news with my wife with the words “these memberships will go like hotcakes!” She beamed, but then her disposition changed. She raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re not bidding on that. Got me?”
Drawing on years of combat experience as an Air Force fighter pilot, I nodded, lit the afterburner, and looked for safe separation. When the evening finally arrived, our auctioneer didn’t even get the description of the donated membership out of her mouth before a paddle shot up behind me, and when I turned, the grin under that paddle was Lil’s! I didn’t realize it then, but we were about to start what was once an unimaginable adventure.
Thirty-Three Years in the Making
My wife is an athlete, but she had stiff-armed golf for the vast majority of our 33 years together. I’d made every pitch imaginable: “It’s great exercise,” “beautiful views,” “You’ll love the challenge…” Nothing. Then one day, she agreed to hit a bucket of balls, and while it was hardly noticeable, something changed. “Maybe we could go again tomorrow,” says I – “and if you’re up for it, we could play a hole or two.” The next day, it started to drizzle when we were on the range and not wanting to press my luck, I said, “Why don’t we call it a day?” She looked up at the sky, then back at me, and said… “You call yourself a man?”
And, just like that, the golfing gods had intervened–she had the bug! Fast forward a year-and-a-half and, on lowering the paddle, she said, “You’ve got 12 months to prove your wares… Fight’s on!” And so it was.
JV Venable with group at Ballyhack
First Stop: Ballyhack
Our home course became Ballyhackin Roanoke, Virginia. Picture the Scottish Highlands dropped into the Blue Ridge Mountains—bold, breathtaking, and… humbling. Designed by Lester George, it’s as honest a test as you’ll find. The course is long, with a goat for a mascot, and the thought of walking it would give the best of us pause.
With a slope rating of 146 from the middle-tee, it’s still fair, beautiful, and endlessly rewarding–as long as you don’t miss the fairway. The first time my wife striped one down the middle and over the ridge off the third tee box (Ballyhack’s #1 handicap), she did a victory dance that is destined to become the rage of the LPGA.
After 36 holes on Saturday, we settled into the clubhouse’s back porch for cocktails and to watch the sun set over those beautiful Blue Ridge mountains.
We played another 18 on Sunday, grabbed a ribeye wrap for lunch (amazing!), and then headed home with our first three rounds in the bag. Three rounds would become the standard for our Dormie weekends.
The stay and play accommodations at all the clubs are just incredible. We hosted three couples for several days of golf, staying in Ballyhack’s cottages, and the eight of us couldn’t have been more impressed. A stone’s throw away from the clubhouse, they are incredibly well thought-out, with king suites, warm (and fully stocked) common areas, and spectacular views. Park your golf cart right outside your door and, like magic, every morning, your clubs are on fresh carts that are charged and ready to go for the next day—a little touch that says everything about Dormie’s attention to detail.
Hidden Creek: Subtle, Serene, and Surprisingly Addictive
We live in Northern Virginia, about halfway between Ballyhack and Hidden Creek Golf Club, which we tackled next. Located about 30 minutes from Atlantic City, the course is tucked into the sandy pine barrens of Egg Harbor, New Jersey. It’s a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw design, which forces those with power to lean a bit more into their imaginations. The fairways roll gently, the bunkers melt into the landscape, and every hole feels like it’s been there forever.
After the first 18, we rewarded ourselves with wood-fired pizza prepared by Executive Chef Jeffrey Parenty –a delicacy that has become my bride’s absolute favorite.
The turn to the afternoon was into a chilly but brilliant New Jersey fall afternoon. We played another 18 on Sunday, followed by a wood-fired pizza to go for the trip home.
Briggs Ranch: Big Texas, Big Flavor
JV Venable and his wife, Lil, at Briggs Ranch
In December, we headed southwest to Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, to host close friends for a day of golf. Tom Fazio carved this one through 18,000 acres of Hill Country, where the fairways are generous, the greens are demanding, and the wind can rule the day. At the end of our first round, a smiling staff member met us on the 18th green with frozen transfusions—Dormie’s signature cocktail. If you’ve ever wondered what a small miracle tastes like on a warm Texas afternoon, that was it. I can’t say it helped my score on the afternoon round, but my swing never seemed smoother! Dinner for four that evening with dear friends was just amazing. Executive Chef Hal King served a Piedmont New York strip that was seared to perfection—juicy, perfectly charred, and perhaps the best steak of my life.
Victoria National: Beautiful, Brutal, and Unforgettable
While there were dozens of rounds in between, our next course was Victoria National. Located just outside of Evansville, Indiana, it carries the beauty worthy of a “national” title. Another Tom Fazio design, it was built on reclaimed mining land and holds dramatic carries, island greens, and fairways flanked by shimmering lakes. It’s as tough as it is gorgeous–and it is just gorgeous. Victoria will test every part of your game, but quite honestly, I have never enjoyed a test more.
JV Venable and his wife, Lil, at ArborLinks
ArborLinks: Golf on the Prairie
And to cap off our year with Dormie, we flew out to ArborLinks in Nebraska City, Nebraska. The course is an Arnold Palmer design, carved right out of the prairie along the Missouri River. The late-October weather dipped into the low 30s that first morning, and with winds gusting above 30 knots, it turned every shot into a new puzzle over a pure links course. We finished our 36th hole right at sunset, laughing at the gusts that carried well-struck balls right where God intended them to land. The staff greeted us like old friends, and the farm-to-table dining—fresh, local, hearty—was the perfect end to a long day in the elements.
Golf, Reimagined
Over the course of the year, we made it to five of Dormie Network’s seven courses, playing 81 rounds apiece in every kind of weather you can imagine. From a chilly, 36 degrees with gale-force winds in Nebraska, to a windless, 95-degree day in July at Victoria National, we enjoyed every one of them because the Dormie Network has perfected the art of golf, anticipating your needs before you even know you have them. Last spring, the manager at Ballyhack called us Friday evening as we were driving down to Roanoke. They had received two inches of rain that afternoon, and he called to tell us that no carts would be allowed on the course the next morning. I looked over at Lil, and she gave me that same look she had given me on the driving range two years earlier.
Watching her hoof that bag of Callaway’s up the par 4 18th at Ballyhack, and then impishly nod when I asked if she was up a second round that afternoon made me realize there’s no more fortunate man on the planet.
The year with Dormie has been absolutely amazing, but the best part has been watching my wife fall in love with the game I’ve cherished for decades. Who knows how many rounds we’ll get in during our second year, but we’re definitely up for another year’s adventure. Can you imagine a better pairing?
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About COL. John Venable, USAF (Ret.)
John “JV” Venable had many assignments during his 25 years as an Air Force fighter pilot, but the most notable was his time as the Commander and Demonstration Leader of the USAF Thunderbirds. He now serves as the Chairman of the Board at Mercy Medical Angels, an amazing nonprofit that provides free transportation for folks who need help getting to critical medical care.
