Before Puppies & Golf became what it is today, it began with Amanda Balionis trying to reconnect with a part of herself she’d left behind. She started it all with a simple act of giving with a shirt, a fundraiser, and one sponsored service dog. And now, when it’s all coming close to hitting that glorious five-year mark, it makes Balionis reflect on the journey thus far. 

Taking to Instagram stories, she wrote, “Next month, it will be FIVE years since we founded @puppiesandgolf hoping to find a community who loved our mission and pillars as much as we do…To date: we have given over $600,000 in grants across all three pillars. We found more than our community. We have found a family who believes that we can make a difference in the lives of both animals and people in need by bringing them all together.”

When Amanda Balionis was working for the PGA Tour in Jacksonville, she started volunteering with K9s for Warriors, a local nonprofit that pairs service dogs with veterans. The experience left a deeper mark than she expected. It gave her a sense of balance, something that made her feel more whole beyond her work in sports media. But when she later moved to San Diego for a new role with Callaway, that sense of fulfillment quietly disappeared.

She wanted to keep giving back somehow, even if she couldn’t volunteer in person. That’s when an idea clicked. A friend of hers owned an apparel company called Puppies Make Me Happy, and together they came up with a “Puppies and Golf” shirt, donating all proceeds to K9s for Warriors. Callaway jumped on board, letting her take over a hole at Links at Petco Park and auction off limited-edition wedges. By the end, they had raised over $30,000, enough to sponsor a service dog. That’s probably when the small gesture took on a greater meaning. 

A few years later, after joining CBS Sports, Amanda was back on the road nearly 40 weeks a year, living what most would call a dream job, yet feeling a familiar hollowness. She began visiting animal rescues in different cities, meeting the people behind them, and sharing the dogs’ stories on her Instagram. The response was immediate and overwhelming.

She realized she had people who shared the same passion as hers, and there is room to grow Puppies and Golf. “Everyone loves golf. Everyone loves dogs. And when you combine the two, great things happen,” she told Golf Digest 5 years ago. Her initiative had reached $500,000 in donations by 2024, showing steady growth. Now, approaching year five, that figure has jumped to over $600,000.

Balionis leveraged her CBS Sports platform to bridge golf coverage and animal rescue. She continued visiting local shelters and featuring adoptable dogs on her Instagram. At the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge in Charlotte, she promoted nearly 100 dogs that entered Animal Care & Control in just five days. She also raised $119,293 at the organization’s January 2025 Block Party in San Diego. The event resulted in four successful adoptions. Of that total, $88,376 was allocated to ongoing grant programs, while $30,917 supported shelters affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.

She describes her NPO’s mission as:

“Our mission is to bring awareness and education to adoption over buying a dog from a breeder. It’s also to financially support shelters that are doing the hard work in making sure these dogs find a home and organizations that are ensuring that people’s lives are being enhanced with these dog-to-human connections. I want Puppies and Golf to be a resource for people, not only for education. I want [it] to be a proactive resource rather than a reactive place where people can donate, which of course they will be able to do as well.”

The proceeds haven’t just disappeared into administrative costs. Puppies & Golf operates through three core pillars that touch different communities.

How Puppies & Golf’s three pillars are making a difference

The Shelter and Rescue Support pillar provides FURever Shelter Grants to organizations nationwide. Wags and Walks, featured as their September 2024 Shelter of the Month, has saved over 6,000 dogs in six years.

The John Mascatello Family Grant program helps families facing unexpected medical or training bills for their rescue dogs. Recent recipient Becca received funding for her dog Charley’s mast cell tumor treatment. The result? Cancer-free. Alexandria got help with vaccinations, heartworm prevention, and food supplies.

The Military Veteran Support pillar hits closest to home for Balionis. She began volunteering with K9s For Warriors in 2014, while working for the PGA Tour in Jacksonville. That experience planted the seed that would become Puppies & Golf six years later.

The organization now partners with K9s For Warriors and Warrior Canine Connection to provide service dogs for veterans battling PTSD. K9s For Warriors reports that approximately 20 veterans die by suicide every day, while over 1,000 dogs are euthanized daily across the country. The partnership addresses both crises simultaneously.

Five years in, Balionis has built more than a nonprofit. She’s created a family.