FREDERICTON, N.B. – After surviving a devastating injury during training, Canadian Armed Forces veteran Michael Feyko found a source of recovery through golf. Turning gratitude into action, he has channelled his passion for the sport to support others and strengthen the community of golf that helped him rebuild his life.
That community touches this week’s PGA TOUR Americas stop, the Explore New Brunswick Open, and its official charity partner, Soldier On, a program of the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group (CAFTG) which contributes to the recovery of ill and injured CAF members and veterans by providing opportunities and resources through sport, recreation and creative activities.
Net proceeds from this week’s Explore New Brunswick Open support Soldier On, including a Pro-Am that includes two sponsors, one injured soldier and PGA TOUR Americas pro in each group. Twenty-four soldiers enjoy the Pro-Am golf experience which raises thirty to forty thousand dollars to Soldier On.
The Southern Ont., native didn’t grow up around golf, only turning to the sport later in life as an outlet for rehabilitation.
“I played golf the odd time once or twice, if you know what I mean, but nothing to crazy,” said Feyko, who was born in Windsor and raised in nearby Kingsville, Ont. “I played hockey, soccer, and stuff, but it wasn’t until after I got hurt that I just kind of picked up golf as a way of just kind of rehabbing. And then from there ended up where I’m at.”
His interest in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) was sparked in high school, working part time at a marina with an interest in search and rescue.
“I was in Parry Sound, Ont. working at a marina, and I was just chatting with the coast guard and search and rescue guys, they were saying the military was taking over,” said Feyko. “This was back in 1986 or 87, and then I decided to join the military, and the quickest way was to go though the Sudbury recruiting office. I went to the infantry, that was the quickest way in, knowing that one day I’d like to go into search and rescue.”
With the Canadian Armed Forces, Feyko was in the airborne regiment as a free fall parachutist and sniper. There is only a handful of Canadians who have been given the opportunity to complete the U.S. Army Ranger course and Feyko is one of them.
“I was in the attached pathfinder platoon, and I was a U.S. Army Ranger and a sniper. I did the U.S. Army Rangers course in 1997, and I did my sniper course in 1993.”
During Feyko’s time in the military, he was first in Calgary then in Petawawa and Edmonton for three postings. In 1991, he was in Cyprus supporting the United Nations and from 1992-1993, he was deployed in Somalia as part of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
He became part of the Skyhawks parachute demonstration team in 1996 and took the U.S. Army Rangers course in 1997, gearing towards a career in search and rescue.
“They were going to send me to Trenton to do a jumpmaster parachute and instructor course to get more qualifications, but I was not current on the static line because I’d been doing just military free fall. To go, I had to be current static line which is basically if you haven’t jumped for a while, you have to do a refresher to become current,” said Feyko.
“We were doing the jumps on Friday, and I was scheduled to leave on the Sunday to Trenton to do these courses, so I needed to jump. We did a no equipment jump in the afternoon on Friday, then we did the nighttime full equipment jump and that was when another guy came on the airplane with lines twisted. Younger guy, less experienced has some line twists, he didn’t get out of his line twist, he hit me. Collided with me, my parachute collapsed and never reinflated before I hit the ground.”
Doctors suggested that he fell 75 feet to the ground, nearly nine stories. It was November 21 in Edmonton. The ground was frozen and the fall was equivalent to landing in a parking lot.
“They didn’t know how long it would take for me to walk again or how I would recover from the injuries. It was nine bones from my waist down, right foot, pelvis, back, and left leg,” said Feyko. “I was in the rehab hospital for three months in a wheelchair, they said it would maybe be eight to nine months, but I was 27 years old and in good shape as well as determined. So, I got up and was on crutches and haven’t sat in a wheelchair since. After three months I was able to go home.”
As he considered his life beyond the military, a path began to form through education.
“Obviously after my injury I couldn’t pursue my dream of search and rescue, but the military was going to pay for schooling, so I had to decide what I wanted to do. I was not exactly sure, but I thought maybe I would purse something in golf because I played a lot with friends on the weekend while in the military,” added Feyko. “At the time Grant McEwan College in Edmonton had two golf programs, there was a program for general managers and golf operations, and then they had the PGA of Canada side of it. I applied for that and the military paid for it.”
“Then I got a membership at a course in Edmonton, and I was playing a lot with the course pro at the time. His name was Ross Kenny and I just kind of told him my story, I was on crutches at the time and would just go out, hit the ball then get back in the cart. I was playing a lot and Kenny told me to not bother with the golf operations side and to pursue the PGA of Canada route. He mentored me along and we played a lot together, that was my rehab just going outside and playing golf everyday, either playing rounds or just hitting the range.”
In 2001, he played at Cambridge Golf and Country Club and became a member of the PGA of Canada, working at various golf courses in Ontario but left the sport temporarily to deal with more surgeries from injury. His brother, also a member of the CAF, brought him back to golf and introduced him to the Soldier On program.
“My brother was injured while deployed in Afghanistan as well, and at the time he was the senior manager for a program called Soldier On and he asked me to get back into golf again,” said Feyko. “He asked if I wanted to help with the Soldier On golf program, so, I reinstated with the PGA of Canada and built the golf program to what it is now.”
Before he began working with the group, the Soldier On golf program had a tournament fundraiser at Beacon Hall Golf Club near Toronto and ran a small camp in front of it. Feyko helped grow the initiative, with expansion to three national golf camps, one in Victoria, one in Toronto, and one in Fredericton, which evolved from a Soldier On fundraising event in Moncton, N.B. into what is now a core component of the Explore New Brunswick Open.
“I don’t work directly for Soldier On, everything I’ve done with the program has been volunteered on my own time. I help them out as a PGA of Canada Professional and as an injured veteran,” said Feyko. “I basically volunteered my time to build the program that they have now. We partnered with the PGA TOUR Americas and now have two PGA TOUR Americas events that support Soldier On, the Explore New Brunswick Open and then the following week’s Commissionaires Ottawa Open.”
The 2026 Explore New Brunswick Open runs July 6-12, 2026, at the Mactaquac Golf Course in Fredericton, N.B. and the Commissionaires Ottawa Open runs July 13-19 at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa.
Once a source of healing through his darkest days, golf has become Feyko’s outlet to create brighter days for others who traveled a similar path.
About Soldier On
Soldier On is a program of the Canadian Armed Forces Transition Group (CAFTG) which contributes to the recovery of ill and injured CAF members and veterans by providing opportunities and resources through sport, recreational, and creative activities. Soldier On is recognized for improving the quality of life of the ill and injured and is a highly visible and integral component of the Department of National Defence and the CAF’s commitment to the care of ill and injured members. Generous Canadians support the program through donations and fundraising to the Soldier On Fund, which is managed by Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services.
Since 2007, Soldier On has supported over 12,000 ill and injured members using sport and physical recreational activities to enable social support, build confidence in their abilities, and realize their full potential. Soldier On provides members with a safe environment to challenge themselves and become inspired in ways that they may not have thought possible, contributing to and providing a gateway to enhance ones’ well-being. This re-introduction to an active lifestyle provides opportunities to develop new skills, build confidence, and meet peers with similar challenges.
