Michigan Golf Journal June 2021

American Dunes Risk-reward is an often-over- used phrase in golf. No risk, no reward of a possible eagle or short birdie putt – which is not even on the same planet compared to the risk of transforming a local popular golf course and turning it into a national golfing beacon to draw people to Michigan to help the families of fallen soldiers – which is exactly what Lt. Col. Dan Rooney did with his new best friend, Jack Nicklaus, as the pair developed the highly- praised American Dunes in Grand Haven during the past three years. “It was something I wanted to be a part of, it was that simple,” Nicklaus said at the grand opening press conference May 2. Yet, creating American Dunes – to become a huge source of funding for the non-profit group Folds of Honor to provide scholarships for children of fallen soldiers, which Rooney founded and developed – from a previous ‘bowling alley’ course where golfers tunneled through the thick trees on both sides of every fairway, into a wide open, wind-swept dunes golfing experience, was nothing simple at all. “You know, when you jump into a project of this ambition … and you come to a day like this everyone is like, ‘oh wow, look at what happened. This story is unbelievable, it’s a honeymoon.’ But, it was hard ,” Rooney said after a long pause, literally as his shoulders slumped a little and he let out a small sigh, as if most of the weight finally disappeared from his broad shoulders that day. Rooney, Nicklaus and their multiple supporters When a Childhood Hero Turns Out to Be Real Behind the scenes at American Dunes By Tom Lang Continues on next page >>