Almost daily, Basic Supervisor Doug Bell has a brand new inspiring story to inform about American Dunes, the military-themed golf course in Grand Haven, Mich., the place one hundred pc of the income help Folds of Honor.
Due to its mission, American Dunes attracts veterans and their households to cease by, even when they don’t seem to be enjoying golf. What they see and expertise can typically be overwhelming emotionally – the stroll by means of memorial partitions with the boot prints of fallen troopers on the bottom, the merch within the professional store, the plaques on every tee field sharing extra tales of fallen troopers, the enjoying of Reveille (morning flag elevating), Retreat (night flag reducing) and Faucets (each afternoon at 1 p.m. when golfers are requested to cease enjoying and pay their respects).
In June, an F-16 Pilot stationed with the Ohio Nationwide Guard in Toledo stopped by to go searching the golf store. A local of close by Muskegon, he was so moved that he instructed Bell he wish to do a flyby in his fighter jet sometime. Certain sufficient, the pilot with the decision signal ‘Sanka’ made a few passes Aug. 11 above the American Flag in entrance of the clubhouse.
The flyby was an magic second in an extended line of them that Bell has witnessed since American Dunes opened in 2021. It is not hyperbole to name American Dunes ‘America’s most inspirational golf course’.
The patriotic story and trigger behind American Dunes is prepared for its nationwide TV debut. The 7,213-yard course is prepping for its signature occasion – the second annual Folds of Honor Collegiate Golf Match, which will probably be televised on Golf Channel Sept. 4-6 for the primary time. Eighteen Division 1 and Division 2 males’s golf groups, together with Michigan State, Florida State, South Carolina, Arizona; the three service academies (Military, Navy, Air Pressure) and others will compete for the championship. All three rounds will probably be televised dwell from 4-7 p.m. EDT.
Each greenback spent at American Dunes helps Folds of Honor, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit group that gives instructional scholarships to the spouses and kids of army members who’ve fallen or been disabled whereas serving in america Armed Forces. It expanded its mission to incorporate first responders in 2022. Each the course and the charitable mission are the imaginative and prescient of Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, whose household owned the previous Grand Haven Golf Membership on which American Dunes now sits.
Nicklaus, who waived his design charge, made the redesigned course playable for all golfers. With a lot scraped, uncovered sand, it seems visually intimidating.
In 2022, the College of Illinois shot a complete rating of 10-under par throughout unseasonably chilly fall climate, good for a 15-shot victory over Arizona and FSU. A brand new earlier date to kick off the autumn collegiate season ought to permit for hotter climate. A number of new tees and a few course modifications for the match ought to make the problem even harder this 12 months. Bell stated the Folds of Honor Collegiate may develop to incorporate ladies’s groups subsequent 12 months.
“Visually, it seems to be onerous. It seems to be superior, however you must hit it crooked to seek out the sand,” he added.
Tickets to attend can be found to print for free here. Nonetheless, donations are always welcome to help one in every of golf’s most inspiring causes.
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