Maj. Dan Rooney, founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation and Patriot Golf Day, and majority owner of The Patriot Golf Club, Tulsa, Okla., has been selected by the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) as the 2014 Donald Ross Award recipient. The award will be presented May 5, 2014 during the 68th ASGCA Annual Meeting in Tulsa, Okla. The award is named for ASGCA’s honorary first president, and is presented to an individual who has made a positive contribution to golf and golf course architecture.
A native of Stillwater, Okla., Rooney began his military career as an Air Force pilot. As a member of the Oklahoma Air National Guard he served three combat tours in Iraq, and has received many decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Medal, Anti-Terrorism Medal, Combat Readiness Medal and Air Expeditionary Medal.
A Class A PGA Professional golfer, Rooney devotes himself to assisting the families of those killed or disabled in service to the U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. Funds raised during Patriot Golf Day support the scholarships awarded to military families through the Folds of Honor Foundation. Since 2007, the Folds of Honor has raised more than $38 million and awarded nearly 5,500 scholarships.
“Maj. Dan Rooney’s focus and dedication to helping the families of fallen heroes and wounded veterans through golf is inspirational,” ASGCA President Rick Robbins said. “We in the industry know what the beauty of golf layouts and the challenge and fun of the game can do for players. Dan’s dedication puts that inherent good of the game to work by giving back to those who have sacrificed so much for our country.
“Dan has taken the next step in using the game of golf for good by developing a golf course dedicated to helping our military members and their families. Making The Patriot Golf Club a reality shows how far that dedication goes. Donating a portion of the joining fee to Folds of Honor, placing the foundation’s headquarters there and creating programming for wounded warriors shows that the development of the club was really for a higher purpose.”
The Patriot Golf Club motto, “Great Golf for the Greater Good,” is affirmed daily at 1300 hours. Bells toll 13 times in honor of the 13 folds that bring the American Flag to its triangle shape. The Patriot is the host site for The Patriot Cup held annually on Memorial Day and televised the Golf Channel.
The Donald Ross Award was established by the ASGCA Board of Governors in 1976. ASGCA www.asgca.org,