Lopez sat down with Golfweek during the PGA Show this week.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Nancy Lopez has never been one to do anything half-heartedly.
When she realized her game was good enough to compete with the pros, Lopez left the University of Tulsa, and she won nine times in her rookie year on the LPGA, including an incredible stretch of five straight victories in May and June of 1978.
She finished her career with 51 professional wins, including three majors, in 25 full-time seasons on the tour. On one of women’s golf’s biggest stages, the Solheim Cup, Lopez helped the U.S. win the first Cup in 1990. She later captained the team to victory in 2005.
Now she’s joined forces with Lt. Dan Rooney and Folds of Honor, a non-profit organization that provides educational scholarships for children and spouses of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders.
Since the foundation started, it has granted 51,000 scholarships or about $240 million worth of education.
Rooney, the group’s CEO and founder, and Mike Arbour, who is the chairman of the board of directors, recently asked Lopez to become part of the board. She accepted.
“We never dreamed, especially 16 years ago when I was above my garage, that Nancy Lopez would say yes to joining our national board,” Rooney said. “I just think it’s a testament to the mission that brings people together, and that’s taking care of our military and first responders. In a world where you have to pick red or blue, this is red, white and blue. And I think people are starving for common ground.”
Lopez sat down with Golfweek during the PGA Show this week at the Orange County Convention Center to discuss why she became part of the organization, what she thinks of phenom Rose Zhang and what the Americans need to do to recapture the Solheim Cup.
The manner in which this 2023 Steelers are winning and losing certainly isn’t the first time the Steeler Way has been in question.
The manner in which this 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers team is winning and losing, and all the frustrations that have come from it, certainly isn’t the first time the Steeler Way has been in question.
Look back at when the Steelers truly started going downhill. They made the playoffs in the 2016 season and reached the conference championship game. The following year, the Steelers lost their patriarch, Dan Rooney. They haven’t won in the postseason since then.
From the time he was given complete control of the franchise in 1975 until his death in 2017, players looked up to Rooney. They wanted to grind and win for him and the Black and Gold. For decades, the Steelers were a team everyone wanted to play for.
The Steeler Way, at least a portion of it, seemed to be eroding. And it’s only gotten worse this season with some of the younger players not truly understanding what it means to be a Steeler and representing the organization as such.
Roethlisberger, whom Bell and Brown both blame for playing a role in their wanting out of Pittsburgh, had this to say about the highly debated topic.
“It just feels like [certain guys aren’t in it for the team, they’re in it for themselves]. It just feels like something that’s kind of been lost on this team a little bit,” Roethlisberger said on the Dec. 11 episode of his “Footbahlin” podcast. “It feels like ‘the Steeler Way’ is just not [there]. … Maybe the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done. Maybe it needs to be formed a new kind of way. I don’t know.”
93.7 The Fan’s Paul Zeise argues that the Steeler Way isn’t the way anymore because it’s a different generation of players. And it’s not a Steelers-only issue, it’s leaguewide. What was once about winning is now about publicity and money.
“… The whole idea of culture, of winning culture, of winning being a valued thing to most of these young guys, it’s gone,” he said on the Dec. 14 “Paul Zeise Show.”
Zeise pointed to how, decades ago, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers was all about winning. And for a while now, it’s been all about money and exposure.
“It’s all about getting my bag. Gotta get my bag. Wanna get mines. Want to get my hits on TikTok and want to get my hits on snapface and Instagram and all this other stuff. That’s what it’s about.”
“Twenty-five years ago, guys played because they love the game. Twenty-five years ago, winning actually mattered,” he said. “Now, not so much. And the younger we get, and the more generations we get — and I hate to use it because it’s a cliche, but the further deeper and we get into the whole everybody-gets-a-trophy culture, guess what, the less of a winning culture we’re going to have.”
No matter how the Steelers have lost their way, it’s hard to see an end in sight. And for the generations of fans who lived when it was an honor to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s a sad time.
.@PaulZeise says there is no more "Steeler way" and it's more than just the Steelers, it's a league-wide thing.
The foundation collects donations that goes towards scholarships to military families.
At 12 years old, Dan Rooney had dreams of being a golf professional and a fighter pilot.
Fifteen years ago above Lt. Col. Dan Rooney’s garage, Folds of Honor was born. The goal was to give back to military families who has had someone killed or disabled in combat through the power of the PGA of America and the sport everyone loves.
The foundation collects donations that goes towards scholarships to military families. Since the foundation started, it has granted 44,000 scholarships or $220 million worth of education.
Our Averee Dovsek sat down with Lt. Col. Dan Rooney to learn more about what Folds of Honor does. Take a look below.
If you love golf, your country and want to thank the 1% that has fought for this country visit Folds of Honor’s website here to learn more or make a donation.
Inspired and uplifted. Thankful and touched. A most amazing 18 holes. And it had nothing to do with the golf.
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – Everything stopped.
Bartenders, cooks and waiters came from the clubhouse and stood silently on the patio at American Dunes — a new golf course that feels like a July Fourth party held at a monument for fallen soldiers.
Up and down fairways, golfers paused and took off their caps. Those on the patio faced a giant American flag that loomed over the course.
A trumpet played “Taps” over the loudspeaker system, which happens every day at 1 p.m. – 1300 hours, standard military time. It was followed by 13 chimes, representing the 13 times a flag is folded at a military funeral.
I kept standing, the emotion building in my gut.
I’m not much of a golfer but playing American Dunes was a surprising, incredible, inspiring and reverential experience. It’s like going to Washington, D.C., to visit the monuments — you walk away feeling pumped up with patriotism and awash with thankfulness for those who fought for our freedoms.
The golf course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and it’s simply beautiful, but the golf was actually secondary for me.
Because of what this place stands for.
Walking in the paths of those who served
You feel it as soon as you arrive at this course in west Michigan, built on the sand, not far from Lake Michigan.
You walk across the parking lot toward a memorial in front of the clubhouse. Nicklaus’ words are emblazoned on an 8-foot wall: “I love the game of golf, but I love my country even more.”
His “Bear” logo was changed to Red, White and Blue.
Nicklaus waived his normal $3 million design fee to turn the Grand Haven Golf Club into American Dunes because this course is unlike any other. The profits are given as scholarships to the children of fallen military members through the Folds of Honor Foundation.
The memorial looks like an open-air tunnel, the walls covered with 13 plaques honoring fallen soldiers. You walk down the path, reading about the soldiers — and it hits you in your gut.
You look at the ground and the soldiers’ boot prints are cast in bronze; it’s as if you are walking with them.
Or maybe, they are walking with you.
A soldier’s boot print is cast in bronze on the grounds of the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan. Photo by Rodney Coleman-Robinson/Detroit Free Press
“This place is so special,” said Wesley Bauguess, whose husband, Army Maj. Larry Bauguess, was killed in action while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in 2007 in Pakistan.
A plaque there honors him.
“There’s just a sweet spirit there,” Wesley Bauguess said. “The course is majestic, but there is a deeper meaning. I think it is exceptional. American Dunes is pristine. Just breathe in the patriotism, breathe in the respect for our country and breathe in the respect for our service members.”
Wesley Bauguess’ two daughters have been given scholarships from American Folds, a foundation that has given out more than 29,000 scholarships worth about $145 million — 41 percent to minorities.
“A Folds of Honor scholarship far outweighs the dollar value,” Bauguess said. “It represents a group of amazing patriots who are remembering Larry. They’re remembering his daughters. They’re remembering us as a family.”
A most patriotic welcome
The pro shop reminded me of a Team USA store at the Olympics. Everything is Red, White and Blue.
The bar is decorated like a fighter pilot lounge. A missile is fixed to the wall and it has been turned into the beer tap. If nothing else, military people remain resourceful.
The pro shop at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan. Photo by Rodney Coleman-Robinson/Detroit Free Press
Two miniature jets hang from the ceiling and the walls are covered with pictures of fighter pilots.
I played American Dunes with three close friends from college. Before playing, we went to the bar, and one of my friends asked the bartender to give us the full experience.
“You gotta have a shot of Jeremiah Weed,” she said.
My friend ordered a round of Jeremiah Weed, a chilled 100-proof whiskey favored by fighter pilots.
We raised our glasses and downed the shots.
Smooth as kerosene.
Golfing for a purpose
The greens fees are steep at $150 a round but easy to justify, at least in my mind: it’s for the children of fallen soldiers.
The golf carts are decked out with a fantastic speaker system, a Bluetooth connection and a video screen with a GPS system that gives yardage to the hole.
But that screen did something surprising.
As we left the clubhouse and headed to the first hole, Nicklaus automatically appeared on video and talked about the mission of the course.
American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan. Photo by Rodney Coleman-Robinson/Detroit Free Press
At the first tee, a worker gave each of us a nickel without explaining why, just hinting we would need it later. I slipped it into my pocket and forgot about it.
The course was tough but fair, and nearly every hole looked like a picture out of a golf magazine.
Near each tee, different plaques honored a fallen service member and one of Nicklaus’ 18 majors.
“I wanted to put everything in this place; it was really sacred and important to me,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, the founder of Folds of Honor and the driving force behind American Dunes. “It’s the culmination of my life experience. American Dunes is the manifestation of my soul, as a PGA member and a pilot.”
Last fall at a news conference, Rooney leaned over and talked to Nicklaus.
“Have you ever been to a golf course opening like this in your career?” Rooney asked.
Nicklaus paused.
“I’ve never been to anything like this in my life,” Nicklaus said.
Rooney met with Nicklaus in February 2018 to discuss his vision and construction began in March 2019. The course opened this spring.
“We had weather issues,” Rooney said. “We had COVID issues. Literally, every week, there was another challenge or setback that presented itself. We got a massive windstorm that went through and did significant damage during construction. I mean, it was crazy, right. But we made it. And thank God we did.”
An honorable 18 holes
Near the 17th tee, there is a giant cross and players are urged to toss nickels in the grass in honor of the fallen, a long-standing tradition of pilots.
So I tossed my nickel at the monument.
I never served in the military but I covered the war in Iraq as an embedded reporter. I crossed the Iraq border in a truck, sitting on a box of explosives, shoulder to shoulder with Marines. I’ve stood on an aircraft carrier, watching jets take off. And I’ve sat in a bunker, wearing a gas mask, as missiles flew overhead.
A cross sits between Nos. 17 and 18 at American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. Photo by Jason Lusk/Golfweek
I’ve talked to commanders at the Pentagon, written about the injured at Walter Reed and have covered military funerals from Arlington National Cemetery to little towns across Michigan.
I can’t tell you how much respect I have for the military. They are true heroes, and I am in awe of their courage and sacrifice.
But the thing that always touched me, perhaps more than anything, was talking to the families of the fallen.
The wives — or husbands — left behind. The children growing up without a parent. Their sacrifice is profound.
When I finished this round of golf, I felt overwhelmed, thinking that in a small way, I was helping a family.
“It’s crazy because the golf course is so good but it’s the fifth thing somebody talks about,” Rooney said. “We wanted golf to be the reason they showed up but not the why. And I think that’s the thing that resonates in my heart. Most people talk about the memorial, they talk about the nickel in the grass, they talk about 1300. They talk about being in the bar. And they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, Jack. Yeah, we played one of Jack’s courses, and it was one of the best we’ve ever played in our lives.’ ”
It was that and more.
As you leave the course, you walk through the memorial one last time, past several slogans: “Freedom is not free.”
“Honor their sacrifice. Educate their legacy.”
When I left, I’ve never felt so good after a round.
Inspired and uplifted.
Thankful and touched.
It was the most amazing 18 holes of my life.
And it had nothing to do with the golf.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.
The new course in Michigan will donate profits to the Folds of Honor, helping children of fallen soldiers with academic scholarships.
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – American Dunes, the brainchild of U.S. Air Force Reserves Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney and the design product of Jack Nicklaus, officially took flight Sunday.
A fan of golf architecture should be forgiven for imagining commonalities between the course itself and many of the missions Rooney has undertaken in F-16 fighter planes.
Before a pilot takes off, the plane first must slowly taxi across level ground before hitting the throttles and blasting skyward. Free to move in new dimensions, the jet can twist and turn as the mission demands, with speed and demands increasing as the plane climbs.
American Dunes has a similar arc. After taxiing across the tarmac for the first three holes through defined corridors and past homes along the perimeter of the property, the layout climbs uphill to the par-3 fourth’s tee. From there, everything changes. The course soars into a newly revealed environment, a joyride of twists and turns through sandy dunes recently exposed by Nicklaus’ design team.
The par-3 fourth hole at American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan, is where the wide-open nature of much of the layout takes off. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Previously home to the Grand Haven Golf Club, which Rooney’s family owned for more than 20 years, much of the site has been cleared of more than 2,000 trees to reveal the rises and falls of those natural dunes previously hidden in the woods.
Big skies and panoramas have replaced narrow playing corridors – as many as seven holes are in view at once on the back nine – with natural-looking sandscapes seemingly everywhere. In truth, there’s plenty of width and playability off the tee for players who choose the proper tee boxes – after decades of Grand Haven Golf Club being known for all the trees and demands on accuracy they created, it might be hard for its former players to recognize this as the same land.
“Other than sitting on the same site, it’s a complete reimagination,” said Rooney, who three years ago asked Nicklaus to get involved. “And it’s a next-level, amazing design and nothing like the bowling alley, target golf we used to play out here.”
An entrance wall displays a quote by Jack Nicklaus, who designed the new American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Rooney was speaking at the conclusion of grand-opening festivities that included Nicklaus, Kid Rock, a squadron’s worth of pilots past and present, and a lineup of singers, television personalities and more. It was all to benefit the Folds of Honor, a charitable organization Rooney founded in 2007 to benefit the children of killed and injured U.S. military soldiers. Folds of Honor has since awarded academic scholarships to more than 29,000 children.
Forget the trees, the renovation, the golf altogether for a minute, Rooney would tell you. The mission wasn’t simply to remake an old course. The goal was to raise funds for those kids of fallen soldiers, and in keeping with that, all profits from American Dunes will be donated to Folds of Honor.
To reach the new clubhouse, players will walk through a shrine of sorts, with the images and stories of soldiers who died in service – their boot prints are etched into the pavement. There is a statement by Nicklaus along the walls of the entranceway, declaring, “I love the game of golf, but I love my country more,” in giant letters. There is scripture quoted, keeping in line with Rooney’s faith. There are images of fighter planes and folded American flags (hence the name of Folds of Honor), and of course a giant American flag towering over and beyond the concrete walls from alongside the ninth fairway. The walkway leads to a golf shop full of red, white and blue merchandise.
The walkway into the pro shop displays the stories of fallen soldiers above their boot prints embedded in the pavement at American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
There are more plaques dedicated to fallen soldiers on each tee box. There’s a white cross between Nos. 17 and 18 to further commemorate such losses. The clubhouse restaurant is set up as a fighter squadron bar. The entire place, in many ways, has the vibe of a Fourth of July parade combined with Memorial Day.
Simply put, it’s patriotism with the afterburners kicked on – just the way Rooney likes it.
“I love flying fast for freedom, and obviously Folds of Honor is God’s calling for my life,” said Rooney, who, besides still flying fighters and raising more than a hundred million dollars for charitable causes, is also a PGA of America golf professional. “And any significant thing in my life is connected to the game of golf. To be able to put those attributes all together, and to share that, well … This isn’t red or blue, it’s red, white and blue and a chance to celebrate the attributes that make this country special and that it was founded upon.”
A head cover for sale in the pro shop at American Dunes sticks to the patriotic theme of the new course in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Rooney partnered with four other investors to establish American Dunes LLC in renovating the layout, and Nicklaus agreed to waive what Rooney said was his typical $3-million design fee. Still, large donations were needed to make the renovation happen, and Rooney is a natural pitchman who was able to garner support. He recently shied away from guessing exactly how much money might be generated by the course for donation to Folds of Honor in the form of operating profits from the course, but if all goes to plan, it should be enough to benefit thousands more children.
As of the grand opening, more than 11,000 players had booked rounds in 2021 to play a new course none of them had seen. And while Rooney said the focus should be on Folds of Honor and not necessarily the layout itself, those players are in for a treat on a layout that stretches to 7,213 yards off the longest tees.
Especially on the back nine, which used to be the front. Nicklaus said Rooney suggested flipping the nines to finish across the best duneland on the property.
After No. 10 takes players away from the clubhouse and the nearby giant American Flag alongside the ninth fairway, the landscape stretches out on the downhill stroll along the 11th fairway. From there, players can see parts of Nos. 12, 13 and especially 17 running alongside, and much of the layout opens even more from there. Gone are the trees, replaced by long views across multiple fairways and greens.
A cross sits between Nos. 17 and 18 at American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. Players are urged to leave nickels in the grass at the cross, a long tradition of pilots at the gravesites of fallen soldiers. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
“He told me it was going to be named American Dunes, and I got here (the first time) and it was totally tree-lined with huge trees,” Nicklaus said. “I went, ‘Where are the dunes? Where are these things?’ And he said, ‘They’re underneath those trees. That means we had to take down some trees. … I’m usually a bit of a tree hugger, and I don’t like to take them down. But in this case, it was the appropriate thing to do.”
First to go were the trees planted in rows over the decades since Grand Haven Golf Club opened in the 1965. Rooney, the son of the course’s owners, knew there was great golf land beneath all that cover.
“This was Dan’s vision, and I said, ‘If that’s where you would like to go, then it’s my job to help you create your vision.’ ” Nicklaus said. “That’s what I do, and that’s what I enjoy doing.”
Nicklaus didn’t set out to build an overly demanding layout – don’t confuse this course with some previous Nicklaus courses built decades ago to test PGA Tour players while vexing recreational players. There are no extremely tiered greens, no overly burdensome forced carries across water. There are ponds, most on the front nine, but thoughtful amateurs can play around instead of necessarily over them.
No. 16 features a sandy cross bunker at American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
That doesn’t mean American Dunes is a pushover. Located near but not on the shores of Lake Michigan, the course can experience substantial winds. The 16th, in particular, is a long par 4 stretching 503 yards off the back tee, playing toward the lake and into the predominant breeze. A stretch of native sand juts across the fairway some 100 yards from the green. But unlike water, players can play from such a waste area, so instead of lost balls, it’s merely lost strokes for those either unfortunate or careless enough to deposit a ball in the brown sand.
Along with the rolling elevation changes, the sandy expanses are the defining features of the back nine. The native sand is extremely soft, almost powder-like, sometimes tough to escape and requiring skill and speed to keep the clubhead moving. There is plenty of room in most cases to avoid the sand if a player thinks, but that doesn’t make a shot from the waste areas any easier after a careless or poorly executed swing.
Besides the rolling duneland, sand – as seen here on No. 10 – is the prominent feature of American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
In all, the sandy waste areas and tumbling terrain create a raw, exposed sensation – very different from many of the courses Nicklaus built with plentiful water and nearly wall-to-wall grass decades ago.
“I like to let things evolve,” Nicklaus said. “… Sand is great to work with. If I could do every golf course, the rest of my golf courses, on sand, that would be my choice. …
“It’s all built on sand, so it’s going to drain fast. And we wanted to get a golf course that’s going to play fast (allowing the ball to roll), so even with some yardage it’s not going to play long. And hopefully, it’s fun.”
It all makes for a unique experience for those who might crave a mix of unfettered patriotism and solid golf.
“One thing Mr. Nicklaus always said to me, I want to get you a golf course that’s as good as the cause,” Rooney said. “I think we have that here.”
Jack Nicklaus designed American Dunes in Michigan, and all profits will benefit Folds of Honor and the families of fallen U.S. soldiers.
Ever had to bend an approach shot around a giant American flag? You might if you’re lucky enough to play the soon-to-open, Jack Nicklaus-designed American Dunes in western Michigan.
“We have the most unapologetic, massive American flag that sits in the middle of the conjoining fairways on nine and 10,” said U.S. Air Force Reserves Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney, who still flies F-16 fighter planes and who is the driving force behind American Dunes. “And there’s a local rule: It’s an unmovable obstruction. If you’re behind it, what a great story to tell.”
There will be many similar stories at the new course. Built to drive its profits to the Folds of Honor, a non-profit organization that provides academic scholarships to the children of wounded or killed soldiers, American Dunes promises to loudly and proudly salute those who have sacrificed while in military service.
American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan (Courtesy of American Dunes)
American Dunes opens May 2, and all profits from the course will be donated to Folds of Honor, which Rooney created in 2007 after sitting on a tarmac at the end of a commercial flight that also brought home the remains of a fallen soldier. The pilots of the flight asked that passengers remain seated while the casket containing the soldier was unloaded from the plane, but many passengers stood and began deboarding. Rooney wanted to find a better way to honor the sacrifice of that soldier and all those like him.
Folds of Honor was born, and in 2019 it awarded approximately $22 million in educational scholarships to more than 4,500 students, representing a 10 percent increase in scholarships from 2018.
Jack Nicklaus designed the renovated layout at American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan. (Courtesy of American Dunes)
American Dunes in an extension of that mission, Rooney said, and the patriotic theme will be everywhere. Players must walk through what Rooney called a massive Folds of Honor memorial on the way into the clubhouse. The boot imprints of fallen soldiers will line the walkway through 8-foot walls, on which hang the stories of those soldiers and their families as well as the origin story of Folds. A bell will toll 13 times at 1 p.m. each day to signify the 13 folds in the American flag when it is handed to a fallen soldier’s family, and the National Anthem will play daily.
“I’m telling you, people will walk into the golf shop with tears in their eyes. You will know immediately why this place is here,” Rooney said of the entrance. “If you were talking to a normal person about any other golf course, they would want to tell you all about the course. But the golf is just one character, certainly a main character but just one character in this story of American Dunes. It’s really not the only thing that sets it apart, because there’s a lot of great golf in the world.
“Nobody will be disappointed when they come play this course. … But what they’re going to tell their friends about is not simply the golf story. It’s the experience we created at American Dunes that is unlike anything else in the world. I always go back to the term reverent, and it’s so reverent.”
American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan (Courtesy of American Dunes)
The course sits on the site of the former Grand Haven Golf Club, which was built in 1965 and which Rooney’s family owned for 20 years. Rooney partnered with four other investors to establish American Dunes LLC in renovating the layout, and little looks the same after Nicklaus agreed to wave what Rooney said was his typical $3-million design fee and totally rethought what was a heavily wooded course just a few hundred yards from the shore of Lake Michigan.
Rooney called the new layout much more “natural and organic,” with long views across the rolling property’s nearly 100 feet of elevation changes in what is now a much bouncier, sandier environment.
“The site was there, but it was totally treed,” Rooney said. “And it was on sand, but there was not a bit of sand you could see anywhere. That was the brilliance of Jack coming in and saying we’re going to take out every piece of turf, take out every piece of topsoil, take down 100 acres of trees, and we’re going to turn this thing into American Dunes. In Jack fashion, man, it’s hard. The slope from the back is like 151. So it’s all the golf you would ever want. …
American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan (Courtesy of American Dunes)
“When Jack came up to see the site, they drove around the golf course on a beautiful afternoon in May, and when we finished he said, ‘Dan, you have no idea what you have here.’ Then we started the process, and it went from ‘Hey, I’m going to do a nice little redesign,’ to a complete reimagination. What drove that line of effort was that this golf course has the potential, and it has to be as good and as reverent as the cause. They literally stripped this dune environment.”
Rooney said Nicklaus made nine trips to the site, and Nicklaus’ wife, Barbara, told Rooney that the plans for the course were frequently found on the kitchen table as Jack plotted the design.
American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan (Courtesy of American Dunes)
“I’ve never seen Jack do anything like this course,” said Rooney, who besides being a fighter pilot is also a PGA of America golf professional. “You could put tee markers anywhere and play it at any length. It’s kind of informal, if you know what I mean. It’s just so natural.”
The patriotic and military themes extends beyond the golf course and the memorial at the entrance to the clubhouse. The restaurant is set up like a fighter jocks’ squadron bar, with the beer taps built into a hollowed-out Aim-9 Sidewinder missile that normally would be hung under the wing of an F-16. Rooney called it the “ultimate Budweiser bar,” as the brand will be favored after Budweiser has donated more than $18 million to Folds of Honor over the past decade.
“The hang, if you want to call it that, at this place is just over the top. It’s just fun,” Rooney said, adding that the experience can go even further when a lodge named The Camp opens in 2022 with 16 rooms.
American Dunes in Grand Haven, Michigan (Courtesy of American Dunes)
Many companies have donated course equipment or provided deep discounts to support Rooney’s mission, and others have donated to support construction. Rooney is a natural pitchman and fundraiser, and it’s easy to be swept up in his enthusiasm for the project, whether you be a golfer, a military supporter or both. With profits going to Folds, Rooney said it’s all worth it.
“This is a golf course where the objective, the unwavering objective, is to raise money and awareness for the Folds of Honor Foundation and support these families,” Rooney said. “That’s what truly sets this place apart.”
It’s a big year for Folds of Honor. After having top billing this past weekend once again at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the NASCAR race, the countdown is on to the May 2 opening of American Dunes Golf Club in Michigan. Later in May is the annual …
It’s a big year for Folds of Honor.
After having top billing this past weekend once again at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the NASCAR race, the countdown is on to the May 2 opening of American Dunes Golf Club in Michigan. Later in May is the annual Patriot Golf Day over Memorial Day weekend.
Jack Nicklaus, architect of more than 425 courses in 40 countries, has renovated what used to be Grand Haven Golf Club. It’ll reopen as American Dunes near the eastern shores of Lake Michigan. Grand Haven hosted the first golf tournament that would inspire the formation of Folds of Honor and Patriot Golf Day.
Once the tee sheet opens, all profits from American Dunes – a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course – will be donated to Folds of Honor.
Nicklaus is one of many giving an assist to Folds of Honor, which started in 2007 and has more than 28,000 educational scholarships for spouses and children of disabled veterans and fallen soldiers.
Over the weekend, the NASCAR race provided another great opportunity for Folds of Honor to remind sports fans what its mission is about.
Ryan Blaney celebrates his win in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 21, 2021, in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo: Curtis.Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Associated Press)
Folds of Honor was started by U.S. Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney, a pilot, who was once a decent golfer but not good enough to make a career out of it.
“Thank God I wasn’t a great putter because I probably wouldn’t have gone in the military, and Folds of Honor would have never happened,” Rooney once told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Rooney’s efforts are most evident every Labor Day weekend, when Folds of Honor conducts Patriot Golf Day to raise money that helps fund the scholarships. The deadline to submit a scholarship application is March 31.
Golfweek’s Jason Lusk contributed to this article.
A number of joyful Christmas tears were shed recently, thanks to some late contributions to Folds of Honor.
A number of joyful Christmas tears were shed recently, thanks to some late contributions to Folds of Honor, an organization that provides scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members.
Originally, it looked as if contributions from Patriot Golf Day and other Folds fundraisers would be able to fund about 3,500 scholarships this year, an impressive number, but less than the original projection.
A string of late contributions helped fuel an additional 1,000 scholarships, however, and the scholars were notified in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.
Since its inception in 2007, Folds has provided over 29,000 scholarships totaling more than $140 million. Patriot Golf Day, which takes place each year, is one of the largest fundraisers for Folds of Honor.
Here’s a look at some of the recipients who recently found out they’d be getting $5,000 for college.
Lt. Col. Dan Rooney is the founder and CEO of Folds and he’s also the only F-16 fighter pilot/PGA Professional. Rooney’s story is a fascinating one — he served as a motivated speaker for two U.S. Ryder Cup Teams and has helped to Jack Nicklaus in building American Dunes Golf Club, a course that will be wholly dedicated to the military. The course is expected to be finished in May 2021.
For Patriot Golf Day, golfers can donate extra money through their green fee at participating courses nationwide, and many courses will present cash donation boxes on their pro shop counters. Many courses also conduct fundraising tournaments and other events to support the cause, and interested parties can donate directly to Patriot Golf Day through foldsofhonor.org. In 2020, Folds of Honor joined forces with PGA HOPE – the flagship military program of the PGA of America’s PGA REACH foundation – to conduct the annual fundraiser.
Folds of Honor reported that in 2019 alone it awarded approximately $22 million in educational scholarships to more than 4,500 students, representing a 10 percent increase in scholarships from 2018. And while Folds of Honor has grown to include many corporate sponsors, Patriot Golf Day retains a special meaning for Rooney.
“Patriot Golf Day is how everything started with Folds,” said Rooney, who still flies F-16s for the U.S. Air Force Reserve and is a golf pro with an equity stake at the course he helped develop in Oklahoma, The Patriot Golf Club.
“I can tell you as a Class A PGA member, it is my proudest moment. It’s just so pure.”
Golfweek’s Jason Lusk contributed reporting to this story.
The Pittsburgh Steelers founder didn’t beat around the bush when approached about first becoming “America’s Team.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers have forever been known for representing a city of blue-collar, hard-working people. So when NFL Films approached owner Art “The Chief” Rooney 30 years ago about a gimmick, they were turned down.
After beating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl 10, then-commissioner Pete Rozelle went to Art’s son, the late Dan Rooney, to seek permission to dub the Steelers “America’s Team” in an upcoming NFL Films production.
When Dan addressed the topic with his father, Art’s response was simple.
“We are not America’s Team. We are the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
The Chief had spoken.
“We didn’t want that,” Dan recalled in a 2014 interview on Talk of Fame. “We’re Pittsburgh’s team. We feel strongly about that.”
The Chief didn’t like it. The Cowboys were next asked about becoming America’s Team. General manager Tex Schramm liked the idea and ran with it.
And that, kids, is how the Cowboys became America’s Team. Because the Steelers took a hard pass.
The Folds of Honor fundraiser is Labor Day Weekend, providing funds for scholarships to families of soldiers who made great sacrifices.
Wesley Bauguess knows loss. Her husband, Army Major Larry Bauguess, was killed in action while serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in 2007 in Pakistan.
She also knows she is not alone. That Larry’s sacrifice meant something that still matters. That people remember the loss.
U.S. Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney and his staff at Folds of Honor make sure of that.
Each year on Labor Day weekend, Folds of Honor conducts Patriot Golf Day to raise money that funds educational scholarships for the families of killed and disabled service members. The 501C-3 nonprofit organization, founded by the pilot Rooney in 2007, has provided almost $150 million in such scholarships to nearly 29,000 students.
Bauguess knows the value of the scholarships well. Both her daughters, Ryann and Ellie, received $5,000 a year from Folds of Honor to help pay for private lower education and now receive scholarships while attending private universities.
But it’s not all about the money provided by Folds of Honor and the millions of golfers who make donations.
The Bauguess family, with Larry, Wesley and daughters Ryann and Ellie, before Larry’s combat death in 2007 (Courtesy of the Folds of Honor)
“Knowing they value and honor our service members as much as we do, that just means the world,” said Bauguess, herself a former Army captain who served 10 years in the Medical Service Corps as a treatment platoon leader, medical company executive officer and combat health support officer for the 101st Airborne Division. “To go to a Folds of Honor event and participate in Patriot Golf Day and to see the red, white and blue and just to see how people still remember our service members, that outweighs the dollar amount of the scholarships in my opinion.”
Bauguess, a former high school and collegiate golfer at Appalachian State, became an assistant golf coach at the private high school her girls attended in North Carolina, eventually taking on the role of head coach for both the boys and girls teams. Her connections with golf run deep – she and Larry used to play together.
She has seen firsthand the power of Patriot Golf Day, which has expanded beyond a single day and is Sept. 4-7 this year.
“The love and the honor we receive, that’s just what makes it the best,” said Bauguess, who has become a featured speaker for Folds of Honor and wrote the book “God, Country, Golf: Reflections of an Army Widow.”
For Patriot Golf Day, golfers can donate extra money through their green fee at participating courses nationwide, and many courses will present cash donation boxes on their pro shop counters. Many courses also conduct fundraising tournaments and other events to support the cause, and interested parties can donate directly to Patriot Golf Day through foldsofhonor.org. This year Folds of Honor joined forces with PGA HOPE – the flagship military program of the PGA of America’s PGA REACH foundation – to conduct the annual fundraiser.
Folds of Honor reported that in 2019 alone it awarded approximately $22 million in educational scholarships to more than 4,500 students, representing a 10 percent increase in scholarships from 2018. And while Folds of Honor has grown to include many corporate sponsors, Patriot Golf Day retains a special meaning for Rooney.
“Patriot golf day is how everything started with Folds,” said Rooney, who still flies F-16s for the U.S. Air Force Reserve and is a golf pro with an equity stake at the course he helped develop in Oklahoma, The Patriot Golf Club. “I can tell you as a Class A PGA member, it is my proudest moment. It’s just so pure. Over Labor Day Weekend we’ll have a few million people make small donations while playing their most heroic round of golf and being part of something bigger than themselves.
“I tell ya, you look at all the unrest and all the struggles of 2020, there’s an even deeper meaning to Patriot Golf Day, to get out and do something positive for somebody else and also have fun. That’s the magic, right?”
Folds of Honor certainly has grown since he brainstormed the concept while sitting on a tarmac after a commercial flight that also brought home the remains of a fallen soldier. The pilots of the flight asked that passengers remain seated while the casket containing the fallen soldier was unloaded from the plane, but many passengers stood and began deboarding. Rooney wanted to find a better way to honor the sacrifice of that soldier and all those like him.
Folds was born, named for the creases in an American Flag after it is lifted from the caskets of killed soldiers.
“I have an interesting walk,” Rooney said. “As a 21-year fighter pilot, I’ve lost a lot of friends. But as the founder of Folds of Honor, I have lost exponentially more. We are there as an organization to not just say ‘I’m sorry’ but ‘Hey, I’ve got your six. We’re going to take care of your family.’ To be able to step in there and provide an education is so foundationally important.
“But the one thing I never expected starting this journey is, to a recipient, they say, ‘I couldn’t have gone to school without this scholarship, so thank you. But the fact that you continue to honor the sacrifice our family made is more meaningful than the money you’ve given us.’ ”
When a family loses a service member, that family is thrown into a strange and sometimes harsh new world. The regular drumbeat of military service stops. Social circles shrink. Life goes on, but it’s never the same.
“We have tough days, and we kind of get down a little bit, and we miss Larry every day,” said Bauguess, whose daughters were ages 4 and 6 when they lost their dad. “It’s interesting because people told us early on that we just have to get through that first year, but the firsts don’t stop. Here we are 13 years later, and I just moved Ellie to her freshman dorm and her dad’s not here, so that’s another first you have to go through.”
Bauguess said the Army treated her well and her family continued living on and then near Fort Bragg in North Carolina for several years after Larry’s death. She was immersed in the military culture, and she wanted her girls to experience that life. They eventually moved to Wake Forest, North Carolina.
“But that military connection was still very strong,” she said. “And when Folds of Honor came alongside us to let us know that Larry had not been forgotten, and that his life mattered, and to just know Dan with his military service … they just honor and remember. It fills my heart that Colonel Dan and his team don’t forget that. …
“I’ve seen it for many years that they do what they say they are going to do. They are a wonderful example of what right looks like.”
