Goldberg Segalla Thrilled to Mark Bunkers in Baghdad Milestone with Help from the HyFlyers
Congratulations to firm partner Joe Hanna (left), who with the help of HyFlyers GC Team Captain Phil Mickelson and his teammates Andy Ogletree, Brendan Steele, and Cameron Tringale at the LIV Golf Virginia Tournament, announced that Bunkers in Baghdad has donated its 16 millionth golf ball to our troops around the world.
Goldberg Segalla is thrilled to celebrate the remarkable milestone reached by Bunkers in Baghdad, which has now shipped its 16 millionth golf ball to our brave troops serving across the globe. And, we’re especially thankful to pro golf legend Phil Mickelson and his HyFlyers GC team for their generosity in shining a spotlight on this amazing achievement.
Mickelson — along with teammates Andy Ogletree, Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale — graciously took time from a LIV Golf Virginia event Wednesday to announce the Bunkers’ milestone. Joining them was Goldberg Segalla partner Joseph M. Hanna, the president of Bunkers in Baghdad, who founded the organization in 2008 as a way of serving our military men and women and letting them know they are always in our hearts and on our minds. Since its inception, Bunkers has sent 16 million golf balls and more than 1.6 million clubs to troops in 84 countries as well as to those serving stateside.
“I just can’t get over that,” Mickelson said during Wednesday’s press conference at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., adding that what’s especially impressive is that Bunkers has achieved such startling numbers while operating on a purely volunteer basis.
In 2024, Bunkers established a highly valued relationship with Mickelson and the HyFlyers, who have helped significantly in raising the profile of the organization’s work. The team has also collected almost 30,000 golf balls for Bunkers.
“Joe, you have made such a strong impact on so many people,” said Mickelson. “We’re so proud to help further the efforts and create awareness for what golf can do to help people’s lives and put them in a better mental space. We’re very appreciative of all you do.”
Steele echoed Mickelson’s sentiments, saying he was personally moved by what Bunkers has accomplished on behalf of our nation’s military.
“He’s an easy person to fall in love with and to put your efforts behind,” he said of Hanna. “We feel very honored to be a part of it.”
Goldberg Segalla takes great pride in Bunkers’ work, knowing it plays an important role in boosting troop morale by offering our brave men and women in uniform a reminder of the simple pleasures of home and helping them de-stress from the rigors of military life. It also provides a critical source of rehabilitation for those injured during military service. The organization features an educational component, as well, through its ‘Bunkers Buddies’ program, under which it has teamed up with more than 2,000 schools nationwide, helping students learn about the importance of service to others.
“My first time meeting Joe was in Houston last year, and he brought out lots of veterans and kids in the community,” recalled Ogletree. “We colored golf balls and wrote letters to the troops. To actually get the experience of seeing these kids and how passionate they were to write the letters to active-duty military — imagining being overseas and opening a letter from a kid and it’s about golf and introducing the game to maybe someone who hasn’t seen it before — I think is such a special thing. For me personally, to kind of see behind the scenes, it was very touching.”
“So much of what we’re able to do and what we love to do,” added Tringale “is, in part, due to the fact that we have such an amazing military and people who serve our country and create the freedoms that we have. I will do anything I can to help those who are serving today and who have served in the past.”
In reflecting on Bunker’s remarkable accomplishment, Hanna said the 16-million milestone represents more than just a number.
“It is a testament,” he said, “to the compassion, commitment and collective power of the golf community.”
Click HERE to watch Wednesday’s press conference.