A ‘Can Do’ Golf Course Close to home: Retired Seabees create a backyard course
What started off as a simple backyard project turned into a one-of-a-kind destination for golf and comradery. WXXV News 25’s Sports Director Ansley Brent sat down with two veterans as they shared the story of their “Can Do Golf Course.”
After retiring from the military in 2003 and spending about 16 years working on a golf course, John Stewart eventually made his way back to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his wife is from and where he once served as a Seabee.
But when the golf course near his McHenry home closed in 2022, Stewart and fellow retired Seabee Daniel Huffman decided they had another option. They’d build one themselves. “We started clearing and talked about putting a golf course there. We were both equipment operators, and the Seabee motto is ‘Can Do,’ which is where the name of the golf course came from. That means there’s nothing we can’t do if we set our minds to it. I started clearing stuff and figuring out where the greens were going to go, where the tee boxes were going to go, what type of sod we were going to use, and we just went forward.”
And forward they went. Now, Stewart’s backyard is home to a versatile three-hole golf course complete with its own clubhouse. But creating it took far more than a vision, it took teamwork. Stewart and Huffman say the project has been just as rewarding as the rounds they play on it today. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work, and it keeps me active. I’m retired, and I spend a lot of time out here, but I can’t do it all myself. I’ve got to have help, and him being just a few miles down the road, that’s my help.”
“I just enjoy his friendship, and we work well together. If either one of us ever needs help, the other one’s always there. Pulling trees and moving stones was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it. As you can see, it turned out pretty good.”
Pretty good might be an understatement. Stewart, Huffman, and a group of friends now gather twice a week, every Wednesday and Sunday, to enjoy the course they built together. But for these veterans, it’s about more than golf.
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s very special. Military comradery is special in itself. We pick on each other in ways people wouldn’t understand, and that’s what makes it fun.”
What started as a backyard idea has become much more than a golf course. It’s a place where hard work, friendship, and the Seabee spirit continue to bring people together—one round at a time.
