November 19, 2020 • 24 mins
In this episode of the Clubhouse with Shane Bacon, Shane opens up sharing his thoughts about Dustin Johnson winning the Masters. Then Shane invites Lt Colonel Dan Rooney, who is the Founder of the Folds of Honor Foundation! Lt Colonel Dan Rooney opens up talking about partnering with Jack Nicklaus to redesign his golf course and then shares the Folds of Honor story, its impact and where it's at today in 2020. Check out DanRooney.com for more information. You can follow Dan on Twitter @LtColDanRooney and Shane @ShaneBacon.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Clubhouse with Shane Bacon, a production of
I Heart Radio. Welcome to the Clubhouse with Shane Bacon.
I am your host, Shane Bacon, and got a real
special one today. Honor to have this man on the
(00:21):
podcast for the first time. Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney joins
the Clubhouse. Of course, the man behind folds of honor
and has served our country and is I'm gonna say,
one of the most positive humans I've ever chatted with
or encountered. This is my second time being around him.
It's infectious when you're in his presence, even his voicemail,
(00:45):
which you know, voicemails are the worst things in the world.
Nobody likes to leave them, Nobody likes to record their
own voicemail messages. And Dan Rooney has a positive voicemail
message when you call. That is unheard of. So pump
to have Dan on. He's got a new book out
today called Fly into the Wind, and I think you're
going to really enjoy the book. I think you're really
gonna enjoy the conversation about life and and what came
(01:09):
out of this book and a lot of golf stuff
in it. Of course, he's a huge golf for a
plus handicap, a ton of talents that he's been playing
a ton of golf during quarantine. So real honor to
chat with somebody like Dan Rooney, who, again I just think,
is is really a model for you know, America. He's
an unbelievable person and what he's done throughout his career,
(01:31):
in his life and what he continues to do is
uh is really really impressive stuff. So big thanks to Dan.
So I haven't touched on Dustin Johnson's win on Sunday
at the Masters, and I just wanted to speak on
a couple of things with Dustin. You know, it's the
second major title. Before Sunday, it was all about his
major misses and very little, if any about how many
times he's closed in non majors, which brings me to
(01:51):
my point. So, the modern world of golf, I feel
like needs a bigger weight to the mon non major events.
And I'll explain the Trial Championship this year for instance.
Right in twenty five years, when we look back on
Dustin Johnson's career, the Travelers Championship win in two thousand
twenty isn't gonna stand out. I mean, he's got FedEx
Cup titles and w GC titles and now a Masters
(02:12):
in the US Open and FedEx Cup. I mean, he's
got a lot of these big time wins, and he's
won in Rivieria, and you know, he's one. He's finished
the season with wins. He's he's even one international. So
something like the Travelers Championship in two thousand twenty is
going to get lost. That's just inevitable. But the strength
of field at the Travelers Championship this year was the
same strength of field as the Masters. Now, winning the
(02:36):
Travelers Championship to these players and to the media and
golf fans isn't as big. It isn't as big a
career achievement as winning a Green jacket, but it's as
hard in terms of who you have to beat as
it is winning two Masters. What I'm starting to think
is we need to have some sort of a five
(02:57):
star system or a weighted system like a letter grade
and a event, a B event, a C, e vent
a D event that helps people like me know how
big a win was. I need to see something tangible
to understand the modern victory because major championships became major
(03:19):
back in the day because that was the time everybody
came together, I mean the Europeans, Australians, Asian players, the
studs from South Africa, all around the world, they would
all converge to play a US Open or Masters or
occasionally a PGA Championship. Even that took a while for
all the players to get that interested in, especially international players,
and of course the Open Championship which been around forever.
(03:39):
So that was why those those events were considered major championships.
That was the biggest event with the best players and
the most international field. Well we get that all the
time now. International players live in America. They called the
PGA Tour their main tour. When you play a Travelers
Championship and you have these studs from Australia and the
great players from Europe and Rory and Dustin and Justin
(04:00):
and all the all the names that you'd expect to
be at big events, I feel like that would be,
if you look through a weighted system, a five star win,
just like winning at Riviera would be a five star win.
Winning so many of the tournaments that Dustin has won
in his career. So that's my first point is the
majors are still the majors. And I'm not discounting the
fact that it is a bigger deal to win a
(04:21):
major than it is to win other events. I just
think that with the way golf is now, especially the
PGA Tour, it's tough to win any event, and it
is imperative that we explain why, because it's gonna get
lost in history. The Travelers Championship two thousand TWENTI is
going to get lost in history. We're gonna forget that.
The pandemic caused golf to shut down for you know,
(04:41):
three months, and then it returned and we had a
couple of events, and then everybody who was playing on everything,
so all those wins were probably wins and a half, Right,
is how tough it was to do that. Another point
to be made, And a friend of mine made this
to me the other day, and I thought it was
such a great point. Dustin Johnson one on the easiest
golf course the PGA Tour played this year. Right, it
(05:05):
was a super soft event in Boston. He shoots thirty under.
He almost won the week before on one of the
toughest golf courses the PGA Tour played. You know, he
shouldn't compete on these real tight, fairly short golf courses.
But it doesn't matter. Every golf course is winnable for
(05:26):
Dustin Johnson. I don't think you can say that about
anybody else in the world. I truly don't you can
say that about Tiger. Of course, Tiger went everywhere, but
Tiger won a lot at the same place as Tiger
won a lot of the courses that he liked. Now
Dustin has done something similar. He loves Rivieria. I mean
that's a golf course that simply suits his eye. He
loves Pebble Beach, a golf course that suits his eye.
(05:48):
But when you start to look into his victories, he
has one on all different types of golf courses that
typically play into the hands of non Dustin looking players.
And the only other point I want to make, and
again this is to try to help us understand how
impressive certain players are outside of the majors, because we're
so obsessed with how many major wins you have. Is
(06:10):
the world ranking, the world rankings, And I bring this
up because Destin Johnson, of course the world number one.
He's about to be world number one for his hundred
and fourth week of his career. Rory is at a
hundred and six weeks and uh, and then you look
up ahead of that and you've got Greg Norman, and
of course you've got Tiger Woods at a number that
nobody's gonna catch. It's crazy. Dustin is two twenty weeks
(06:32):
behind Greg Norman's number. That's about four and a half
years of being a world number one. It's an outside shot.
I feel like it's a decent shot that he's going
to catch that at some point if he stays healthy
and he stays committed, and it sure seems like he's
he's only going to get better, right, I mean, it's
only gonna get easier for him to feel And I
don't even want to say feel comfortable in these moments,
because I think he feels comfortable in any moment. But
(06:52):
just winning another major helps him win more majors. I
feel so the world ranking, a modern look at a player,
also helps us understand how impressive Dustin is. And when
you start to look at things like that, and you
start to look at the quality of his victories outside
of the major championships, I feel like the argument can
be made that Dustin is the best player of this generation.
(07:15):
You know, post Tiger, post VJ. You have Rory with
more majors, you have Brooks Capto with more majors, you
have Jordan's speed with one of the greatest seasons in
the history of golf. But what Dustin has done consistently
and for his entire career is something that we need
to appreciate, and I feel like we don't give enough
credit to consistency is something film. You know, we we
(07:35):
love to to bag on Phil Nicholson for never being
world number one and never winning a FedEx Cup and
never finished in the season, you know, with with I
feel like he's never had the money title either to
finish the season. But Phil's consistency since the early nineties
is something you can't compare with the Tiger and with
an Ernie and with a VJ. It's not what Fils was.
(07:57):
So Phil's consistency I feel like bumps him up a
little bit in terms of his career. And I feel
like Dustin is gonna be the same way. He should
be the same way. And while it is quote unquote
only two majors, what he has done in his career
is as impressive is anybody else that has played since Tiger.
I believe that and I think when you look past
(08:17):
some of the obvious things like his how many US opens,
how many masters as he wanted open? Has he won
a p G, A, no and no? Still he has
all these other examples to showcase his career. And so
that was my point. I just wanted to bring up
a little thing about Dustin. I feel like that was
that was what I wanted to say. I just had
(08:39):
a couple of points to be made. I feel like
we need to focus on those two things I would love.
I love the idea of a five star rating of
of events, so you kind of know what you're getting
when you go into the event, but who knows if
that will happen. That would be awesome. Uh that's that.
Let's get to our interview with Dan Rooney. I know
you've been thrilled and I'm assuming you have these pinch
(09:01):
me moments still despite how you know, known you are
and what you've done in your career. You've got a
golf course that you had Jack Nicholas help redesign American
Dunes Course in Grand Haven, Michigan. I know you're really
really excited. A lot of support goes goes to Folds
of Honor, with this project, Jack waived his his design fee.
I mean, it's just such a such a blessing to
(09:24):
have a friend like Jack Nicholas doing these awesome things
in support of what you're doing. Yeah, and that's a
great word. It's a blessing. And again I love tying
it back because this is a story in the book
and the chapter's force multiply and the concept of force multiply,
you know, by the military um perspective is you know,
it's one plus one is not equal to right. It's
(09:45):
when you can bring a group together that equals much
a much larger sum of impact. And the other part
of that so cool in the book is we've talked
about before about how often things have to be you know,
in the ashes, kind of like The Greatest Showman, one
of my favorite movies of all time. My buddies call
me that, by the way, the Greatest Showman, because I
have to completely destroy things in order for God to
(10:07):
build them back up. And this golf course is our
family golf course for twenty years. It's where we started
Folds of Honor. But it was on fumes. It was
not a good situation, and I went to Jack and
proposed this idea of American Dunes to completely reimagine um
the old Grand Haven Golf Club which sits in pure
(10:29):
sand dunes on Lake Michigan. Unbelievable site. Um. And uh,
you know he said yes and waved his three million
dollar fee and put together a bunch of my friends
and his friends. But has been a total fly into
the wind moment for two and a half years. Um.
Massive challenges which again this this linear equation in life.
(10:50):
If you want to do something great, just get ready
for the suck factor to be crazy high. Right, It
just is That is the way life works. And so
it to do it with Jack, total pinch me moment um.
But you know, day to day raising the money to
do this, saying all kinds of challenges along the way.
But it goes back to that concept, right when you
(11:12):
fly into the wind, that resistance ultimately allows you to ascend.
And we'll open American Dunes on May second, and this
place is going to be like nothing that has ever
happened in the game of golf, and its mission certainly
is to create awareness and raise money for Folds of Honor.
The golf that Jack has designed there and the sand
(11:33):
dunes is he used the term mystical. Um, it's going
to take its place um in in rare air in
the golf rankings. I'm convinced to that. But really the
impact of this place is what it stands for. And
you'll onboard American Dunes. The only way to get into
the site is through the Folds of Honor Memorial and
(11:54):
you'll actually walk in the bootprints that are cast in
the cement of soldiers who have been killed an action,
whose families are Folds of Honor recipients. And that's this
big nine foot open air tunnel that tells the story
of these families and the significance of this golf course.
And I always use the analogy like when you walk
(12:15):
into a church, no one has to tell you to
lower your voice. And that is the reverence of what
American Dunes in is. And you know, Jack and I
would call the church. People come to a church, they
make a pilgrimage because it's something they stand for, they
want to be connected to. And there's so many beautiful
(12:36):
layers and American Dunes and it's you know, it's a
public golf course, um, and we're so excited to you know,
do our Hello world with American Dunes in in May
of one, and I hope, I hope you will come
and join us and uh and see this place next
year and get out of the heat there in Arizona
in the summer. I've looked at some pictures online, and
(12:57):
you know, everybody that opens a new golf course loves
to tout it, as they should, they should be very
excited about it. But the pictures of this place, I mean,
it looks next level day and this place looks like
crazy good. It's it is, it is. I mean, it
literally is crazy good. And you know Jack has you know,
shared with me it's it's in the you know, in
(13:18):
the absolute top sites that he's ever had the opportunity
to be an architect on. And it's and it's really
very unjacklike, um, really organic, and it's in the dunes,
and um, it is just wildly special. And he is
he's just done an incredible job up there. Yeah, it's
it's excited to see it. I need to ask about
(13:40):
Folds of Honor. I know you've you know, talked a
million times about folds. You know, it's something you came
up with. It is it is an American story, as
I feel like so many American stories are these days.
It's started in a garage. You know, you you you
raised a million dollars your first year. You've improved lives
(14:00):
and what you're doing. Can you just talk about that
story of of you coming up with Folds of Honor
and how you came up with it and where it
is today in terms of what you guys are doing
in two thousand twenty and beyond. Yeah, I mean, folds
is It's my essence, right, um, it is. It's my
calling from God. I have no doubt and my dream
(14:21):
grown up, I'm gonna be a fighter pilot in golf
pro And I had no idea. God was just putting
those two things together in a unique way to to
open this stilhor called Folds of Honor. And you, I
mean you said that we started a vote garage, I
mean with nothing thirteen years ago. And our mission I
wrote it down and it was to honor the sacrifice
by educating the legacy. So translated that scholarships to spouses
(14:45):
and children who have had somebody killed or disabled defending
our freedoms. You know, suffices to say, I've I've done
three tours of duty in Iraq as an F sixteen
pilot and I've seen firsthand and freedom may free UM
and UH. I ended up back home actually going to
Grand Haven Golf Club which is now American Dunes, and
was on a commercial airline flight with Corporal Brad Bucklin
(15:07):
who was bringing his identical twin brother, Corporal Brock Bucklin
home and been killed in Iraq. And Brock had a
four year old son, and I watched them on the
tarmac um that night and literally felt God saying on
my shoulder and said, hey, you need to help this
this kid. And UM that has turned into now twenty
thousand scholarships. We've awarded about a hundred and thirty million
(15:30):
dollars and UH in the last thirteen years. And again
when we talk about the deepest meaning in life is
when something you love can manifest its way and makes
a difference. And that is you know, my relationship with
the game of golf and still are by far our
biggest national fundraisers Patriot Golf Day over a Memorial Day weekend.
(15:51):
We literally have a you know, a couple of million
people tee it up. We asked him to donate at
least an extra dollar when they play. We'd raised several
million dollars thanks or a partnership with PG of America
and the U. S g A on on that one. UM.
But it's just it's just an awesome ministry. I mean,
it really is taking care of these families, the children
(16:12):
in the spouses. And you know, one thing that we
really started to talk about this year that I've never
had before, UM, based on you know what's happening in
our recipients are minorities, and humble opinion of one with
you know, all the racial injustice and inequality in this country,
that education is um the only lasting bridge to equality
(16:35):
in this country, and Folds is really proud to be
doing something that's making a difference, not just you know,
being piste off and angry, uh and doing things that
aren't always that productive, but rather investing in the education
of minority families so you know they can go live
the American dream and contribute. We're going to take a
(16:57):
quick break and be right back. When you first put
this together and you're you know, throwing ideas against the
wall and trying to come up with ways to raise
money and raise awareness, did you ever think golf would
(17:20):
play this bigger role in what you're doing, because you
already mentioned some of the players that you're good friends
with that you know, wear it on their sleeve and
and they're they're so proud to be associated with it.
But you know, it's it's Patriot Golf Day, and it's
it's these golf courses that donate money and all these
players donating their time. Are you surprised how how impactful
golf has been in and as you mentioned your ministry here, yeah,
(17:44):
I think humbled is the word, right and and it
is when you The only explanation for this, right, um,
is that you know, when you're on the right path
in your life, when you're aligned with where God wants you,
there's extraordinary things that can happen. And this is you know,
folds of honor. Is that the perfect terrible if you will,
(18:05):
as an example for that. You know, I talk about
it in the book, and you know it's a really
key step that I challenge people in in the book.
Fly into the wind is um. We call it in
the Fighter pot World slow down to speed up. In
the very first chapter, UM forces people to really look
at their lives and be like, hey, am I where
(18:25):
I want to be? Am I aligned? With what I
should be doing, UM in my heart. And you know
if you are you're not. You feel that unrest, you
feel that uneasiness. That's God pushing you in a direction.
But you've got to slow down enough and really be
intentional about where you want to get to. UM. And
(18:46):
then I identify that in your life. And as I said, unpacking,
you know the rest of the lines of effort in
the book. The thing that I love about the magic
in there is they stack on one another to help
you get to that place. UM. But again, so often
life just happens, and UM, I'm just you know, when
I feel it in my heart, I know where I
(19:07):
want to go, and God put folds of honor in
my heart. You know, all glory to Him for getting
at where it is. UM. But you still, we've been,
as we call it in our world, single target track.
I mean every day, getting up at seven days a
week and getting in the fight on behalf of these families.
I'm gonna end it with a golf question, a topical
golf question, Dan, So I'm excited to hear your thoughts
(19:30):
on this. There's been one day night, there's been one
player that has taken over the PGA Tour in two
thousand twenty. I know here, you know I'm talking about here.
It's been a guy that has transformed his body and
is at a distance and muscle and it's Bryson's shambo.
What is what have your thoughts been watching this transformation
(19:52):
of a guy that not only has changed who he
is in and around golf, but is now changing the
way the best in world approach golf. I mean he's
he's literally breaking golf. I think over the last eighteen months,
how has it been for you watching what Bryson has
been able to do? So it's awesome. So Bryson is
a good buddy. Um a little moment of synchronicity that
(20:15):
ties us together. So he won his first professional tournament
tournament wearing Volition America, which is you know, the clothing
brand that I designed, that Puma make and it gives
back to folds. So we were connected there. But to
to watch him and I love this is don't be
a prisoner of common assumption in your life. And that's
(20:36):
that is what I love. His his reckless um attitude
toward conventional wisdom. And it is so easy to get
boxed in by other people. So easy to get boxed
in by yourself. And when someone comes in and just
you know, smashes the glass, um and looks at things
(20:58):
completely differently. I mean, it's just so exciting, right, and
it transcends golf, right, What a lesson for all of
us in every facet of our lives to evaluate what
we're doing and what makes sense, what doesn't make sense,
and don't be a prisoner of common assumption. Um, go
blaze your own trail. And uh, it has just been
(21:20):
awesome to watch him um do that and uh, yeah,
he's he's the most creative guy I think to ever
you know, play the game of golf. And that's crazy
saying it at his young age. What he has done
is Uh, there's just nothing short of fantastic. It's awesome
for the game, but reminds us all that, you know,
(21:43):
the art of the possible is sometimes bigger, almost always
bigger than we think it is. Well, Dan, I really
appreciate the time. It was an honor to talk to you.
Love the book, excited for it. November that comes out
flying to the wind, How to harness faith and fearlessness
on your assent to greatness? And to Dan's point in
the book, there's greatness in everybody, so everybody can ascend
(22:05):
the greatness. That's the key. Don't feel like because you're
not Bryson, you can't get there. We can all get there.
It's all in us. And I uh, I pulled a
lot from and I thought it was a great read,
and it was extremely positive and it opened my eyes
just some different thinking that I feel like I'm always
looking for. So I urge people grab the book, give
it a read. I think you'll be a fan. Thanks Shane.
And I would say that the greatest books I've ever read,
(22:27):
you take one thing out of it will change your
life forever. And I think Flying into the Wind um
will accomplish that for a lot of folks. And uh, yeah,
you can you head school, you can get it anywhere
books are sold, uh, Sam's and Walmart, um, all the
online retailers. And there's also an audio version that that
I had a lot of fun reading myself, which I
(22:47):
think just adds a whole layer of authenticity to to
what the book is. But man, blessed to be on
this journey of life with you, and my hope and
prayers that Flying to the Wind will help people, UH
find and chase their dreams and uh and get better. Well, Dan,
I appreciate it. I think people will really enjoy it.
Thanks again for the time, and hopefully I'll see down
(23:08):
the road all right saying God bless brother. We're gonna
take a quick break and be right back. A big
thanks to Dan Rooney for joining, A big thanks to
you for listening. Um, I really enjoyed that. He he is.
(23:29):
He is an unbelievable guy. He makes me want to
be more positive. I want to be happier. I could
be a little more Dan like, is what I gotta say.
But enjoy the week. Hope you guys get out and
play if the weather is cooperating. I had a friend
called me yesterday from the Northeast that said, if it's
thirty nine and sunny, is that still golf weather? I
said sure. I mean, you know it's up to you,
(23:51):
but I feel like there's enough layers that as long
as the sun's out and it's not snowing on you, you
you can probably play. So if you can get out,
get out, play, enjoy it, and if not, we'll be
back next week for another clubhouse. The clubhouse was Shane
(24:12):
Bacon as a production of i heart Radio. For more
podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to the Clubhouse with Shane Bacon, a production of
I Heart Radio. Welcome to the Clubhouse with Shane Bacon.
I am your host, Shane Bacon, and got a real
special one today. Honor to have this man on the
(00:21):
podcast for the first time. Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney joins
the Clubhouse. Of course, the man behind folds of honor
and has served our country and is I'm gonna say,
one of the most positive humans I've ever chatted with
or encountered. This is my second time being around him.
It's infectious when you're in his presence, even his voicemail,
(00:45):
which you know, voicemails are the worst things in the world.
Nobody likes to leave them, Nobody likes to record their
own voicemail messages. And Dan Rooney has a positive voicemail
message when you call. That is unheard of. So pump
to have Dan on. He's got a new book out
today called Fly into the Wind, and I think you're
going to really enjoy the book. I think you're really
gonna enjoy the conversation about life and and what came
(01:09):
out of this book and a lot of golf stuff
in it. Of course, he's a huge golf for a
plus handicap, a ton of talents that he's been playing
a ton of golf during quarantine. So real honor to
chat with somebody like Dan Rooney, who, again I just think,
is is really a model for you know, America. He's
an unbelievable person and what he's done throughout his career,
(01:31):
in his life and what he continues to do is
uh is really really impressive stuff. So big thanks to Dan.
So I haven't touched on Dustin Johnson's win on Sunday
at the Masters, and I just wanted to speak on
a couple of things with Dustin. You know, it's the
second major title. Before Sunday, it was all about his
major misses and very little, if any about how many
times he's closed in non majors, which brings me to
(01:51):
my point. So, the modern world of golf, I feel
like needs a bigger weight to the mon non major events.
And I'll explain the Trial Championship this year for instance.
Right in twenty five years, when we look back on
Dustin Johnson's career, the Travelers Championship win in two thousand
twenty isn't gonna stand out. I mean, he's got FedEx
Cup titles and w GC titles and now a Masters
(02:12):
in the US Open and FedEx Cup. I mean, he's
got a lot of these big time wins, and he's
won in Rivieria, and you know, he's one. He's finished
the season with wins. He's he's even one international. So
something like the Travelers Championship in two thousand twenty is
going to get lost. That's just inevitable. But the strength
of field at the Travelers Championship this year was the
same strength of field as the Masters. Now, winning the
(02:36):
Travelers Championship to these players and to the media and
golf fans isn't as big. It isn't as big a
career achievement as winning a Green jacket, but it's as
hard in terms of who you have to beat as
it is winning two Masters. What I'm starting to think
is we need to have some sort of a five
(02:57):
star system or a weighted system like a letter grade
and a event, a B event, a C, e vent
a D event that helps people like me know how
big a win was. I need to see something tangible
to understand the modern victory because major championships became major
(03:19):
back in the day because that was the time everybody
came together, I mean the Europeans, Australians, Asian players, the
studs from South Africa, all around the world, they would
all converge to play a US Open or Masters or
occasionally a PGA Championship. Even that took a while for
all the players to get that interested in, especially international players,
and of course the Open Championship which been around forever.
(03:39):
So that was why those those events were considered major championships.
That was the biggest event with the best players and
the most international field. Well we get that all the
time now. International players live in America. They called the
PGA Tour their main tour. When you play a Travelers
Championship and you have these studs from Australia and the
great players from Europe and Rory and Dustin and Justin
(04:00):
and all the all the names that you'd expect to
be at big events, I feel like that would be,
if you look through a weighted system, a five star win,
just like winning at Riviera would be a five star win.
Winning so many of the tournaments that Dustin has won
in his career. So that's my first point is the
majors are still the majors. And I'm not discounting the
fact that it is a bigger deal to win a
(04:21):
major than it is to win other events. I just
think that with the way golf is now, especially the
PGA Tour, it's tough to win any event, and it
is imperative that we explain why, because it's gonna get
lost in history. The Travelers Championship two thousand TWENTI is
going to get lost in history. We're gonna forget that.
The pandemic caused golf to shut down for you know,
(04:41):
three months, and then it returned and we had a
couple of events, and then everybody who was playing on everything,
so all those wins were probably wins and a half, Right,
is how tough it was to do that. Another point
to be made, And a friend of mine made this
to me the other day, and I thought it was
such a great point. Dustin Johnson one on the easiest
golf course the PGA Tour played this year. Right, it
(05:05):
was a super soft event in Boston. He shoots thirty under.
He almost won the week before on one of the
toughest golf courses the PGA Tour played. You know, he
shouldn't compete on these real tight, fairly short golf courses.
But it doesn't matter. Every golf course is winnable for
(05:26):
Dustin Johnson. I don't think you can say that about
anybody else in the world. I truly don't you can
say that about Tiger. Of course, Tiger went everywhere, but
Tiger won a lot at the same place as Tiger
won a lot of the courses that he liked. Now
Dustin has done something similar. He loves Rivieria. I mean
that's a golf course that simply suits his eye. He
loves Pebble Beach, a golf course that suits his eye.
(05:48):
But when you start to look into his victories, he
has one on all different types of golf courses that
typically play into the hands of non Dustin looking players.
And the only other point I want to make, and
again this is to try to help us understand how
impressive certain players are outside of the majors, because we're
so obsessed with how many major wins you have. Is
(06:10):
the world ranking, the world rankings, And I bring this
up because Destin Johnson, of course the world number one.
He's about to be world number one for his hundred
and fourth week of his career. Rory is at a
hundred and six weeks and uh, and then you look
up ahead of that and you've got Greg Norman, and
of course you've got Tiger Woods at a number that
nobody's gonna catch. It's crazy. Dustin is two twenty weeks
(06:32):
behind Greg Norman's number. That's about four and a half
years of being a world number one. It's an outside shot.
I feel like it's a decent shot that he's going
to catch that at some point if he stays healthy
and he stays committed, and it sure seems like he's
he's only going to get better, right, I mean, it's
only gonna get easier for him to feel And I
don't even want to say feel comfortable in these moments,
because I think he feels comfortable in any moment. But
(06:52):
just winning another major helps him win more majors. I
feel so the world ranking, a modern look at a player,
also helps us understand how impressive Dustin is. And when
you start to look at things like that, and you
start to look at the quality of his victories outside
of the major championships, I feel like the argument can
be made that Dustin is the best player of this generation.
(07:15):
You know, post Tiger, post VJ. You have Rory with
more majors, you have Brooks Capto with more majors, you
have Jordan's speed with one of the greatest seasons in
the history of golf. But what Dustin has done consistently
and for his entire career is something that we need
to appreciate, and I feel like we don't give enough
credit to consistency is something film. You know, we we
(07:35):
love to to bag on Phil Nicholson for never being
world number one and never winning a FedEx Cup and
never finished in the season, you know, with with I
feel like he's never had the money title either to
finish the season. But Phil's consistency since the early nineties
is something you can't compare with the Tiger and with
an Ernie and with a VJ. It's not what Fils was.
(07:57):
So Phil's consistency I feel like bumps him up a
little bit in terms of his career. And I feel
like Dustin is gonna be the same way. He should
be the same way. And while it is quote unquote
only two majors, what he has done in his career
is as impressive is anybody else that has played since Tiger.
I believe that and I think when you look past
(08:17):
some of the obvious things like his how many US opens,
how many masters as he wanted open? Has he won
a p G, A, no and no? Still he has
all these other examples to showcase his career. And so
that was my point. I just wanted to bring up
a little thing about Dustin. I feel like that was
that was what I wanted to say. I just had
(08:39):
a couple of points to be made. I feel like
we need to focus on those two things I would love.
I love the idea of a five star rating of
of events, so you kind of know what you're getting
when you go into the event, but who knows if
that will happen. That would be awesome. Uh that's that.
Let's get to our interview with Dan Rooney. I know
you've been thrilled and I'm assuming you have these pinch
(09:01):
me moments still despite how you know, known you are
and what you've done in your career. You've got a
golf course that you had Jack Nicholas help redesign American
Dunes Course in Grand Haven, Michigan. I know you're really
really excited. A lot of support goes goes to Folds
of Honor, with this project, Jack waived his his design fee.
I mean, it's just such a such a blessing to
(09:24):
have a friend like Jack Nicholas doing these awesome things
in support of what you're doing. Yeah, and that's a
great word. It's a blessing. And again I love tying
it back because this is a story in the book
and the chapter's force multiply and the concept of force multiply,
you know, by the military um perspective is you know,
it's one plus one is not equal to right. It's
(09:45):
when you can bring a group together that equals much
a much larger sum of impact. And the other part
of that so cool in the book is we've talked
about before about how often things have to be you know,
in the ashes, kind of like The Greatest Showman, one
of my favorite movies of all time. My buddies call
me that, by the way, the Greatest Showman, because I
have to completely destroy things in order for God to
(10:07):
build them back up. And this golf course is our
family golf course for twenty years. It's where we started
Folds of Honor. But it was on fumes. It was
not a good situation, and I went to Jack and
proposed this idea of American Dunes to completely reimagine um
the old Grand Haven Golf Club which sits in pure
(10:29):
sand dunes on Lake Michigan. Unbelievable site. Um. And uh,
you know he said yes and waved his three million
dollar fee and put together a bunch of my friends
and his friends. But has been a total fly into
the wind moment for two and a half years. Um.
Massive challenges which again this this linear equation in life.
(10:50):
If you want to do something great, just get ready
for the suck factor to be crazy high. Right, It
just is That is the way life works. And so
it to do it with Jack, total pinch me moment um.
But you know, day to day raising the money to
do this, saying all kinds of challenges along the way.
But it goes back to that concept, right when you
(11:12):
fly into the wind, that resistance ultimately allows you to ascend.
And we'll open American Dunes on May second, and this
place is going to be like nothing that has ever
happened in the game of golf, and its mission certainly
is to create awareness and raise money for Folds of Honor.
The golf that Jack has designed there and the sand
(11:33):
dunes is he used the term mystical. Um, it's going
to take its place um in in rare air in
the golf rankings. I'm convinced to that. But really the
impact of this place is what it stands for. And
you'll onboard American Dunes. The only way to get into
the site is through the Folds of Honor Memorial and
(11:54):
you'll actually walk in the bootprints that are cast in
the cement of soldiers who have been killed an action,
whose families are Folds of Honor recipients. And that's this
big nine foot open air tunnel that tells the story
of these families and the significance of this golf course.
And I always use the analogy like when you walk
(12:15):
into a church, no one has to tell you to
lower your voice. And that is the reverence of what
American Dunes in is. And you know, Jack and I
would call the church. People come to a church, they
make a pilgrimage because it's something they stand for, they
want to be connected to. And there's so many beautiful
(12:36):
layers and American Dunes and it's you know, it's a
public golf course, um, and we're so excited to you know,
do our Hello world with American Dunes in in May
of one, and I hope, I hope you will come
and join us and uh and see this place next
year and get out of the heat there in Arizona
in the summer. I've looked at some pictures online, and
(12:57):
you know, everybody that opens a new golf course loves
to tout it, as they should, they should be very
excited about it. But the pictures of this place, I mean,
it looks next level day and this place looks like
crazy good. It's it is, it is. I mean, it
literally is crazy good. And you know Jack has you know,
shared with me it's it's in the you know, in
(13:18):
the absolute top sites that he's ever had the opportunity
to be an architect on. And it's and it's really
very unjacklike, um, really organic, and it's in the dunes,
and um, it is just wildly special. And he is
he's just done an incredible job up there. Yeah, it's
it's excited to see it. I need to ask about
(13:40):
Folds of Honor. I know you've you know, talked a
million times about folds. You know, it's something you came
up with. It is it is an American story, as
I feel like so many American stories are these days.
It's started in a garage. You know, you you you
raised a million dollars your first year. You've improved lives
(14:00):
and what you're doing. Can you just talk about that
story of of you coming up with Folds of Honor
and how you came up with it and where it
is today in terms of what you guys are doing
in two thousand twenty and beyond. Yeah, I mean, folds
is It's my essence, right, um, it is. It's my
calling from God. I have no doubt and my dream
(14:21):
grown up, I'm gonna be a fighter pilot in golf
pro And I had no idea. God was just putting
those two things together in a unique way to to
open this stilhor called Folds of Honor. And you, I
mean you said that we started a vote garage, I
mean with nothing thirteen years ago. And our mission I
wrote it down and it was to honor the sacrifice
by educating the legacy. So translated that scholarships to spouses
(14:45):
and children who have had somebody killed or disabled defending
our freedoms. You know, suffices to say, I've I've done
three tours of duty in Iraq as an F sixteen
pilot and I've seen firsthand and freedom may free UM
and UH. I ended up back home actually going to
Grand Haven Golf Club which is now American Dunes, and
was on a commercial airline flight with Corporal Brad Bucklin
(15:07):
who was bringing his identical twin brother, Corporal Brock Bucklin
home and been killed in Iraq. And Brock had a
four year old son, and I watched them on the
tarmac um that night and literally felt God saying on
my shoulder and said, hey, you need to help this
this kid. And UM that has turned into now twenty
thousand scholarships. We've awarded about a hundred and thirty million
(15:30):
dollars and UH in the last thirteen years. And again
when we talk about the deepest meaning in life is
when something you love can manifest its way and makes
a difference. And that is you know, my relationship with
the game of golf and still are by far our
biggest national fundraisers Patriot Golf Day over a Memorial Day weekend.
(15:51):
We literally have a you know, a couple of million
people tee it up. We asked him to donate at
least an extra dollar when they play. We'd raised several
million dollars thanks or a partnership with PG of America
and the U. S g A on on that one. UM.
But it's just it's just an awesome ministry. I mean,
it really is taking care of these families, the children
(16:12):
in the spouses. And you know, one thing that we
really started to talk about this year that I've never
had before, UM, based on you know what's happening in
our recipients are minorities, and humble opinion of one with
you know, all the racial injustice and inequality in this country,
that education is um the only lasting bridge to equality
(16:35):
in this country, and Folds is really proud to be
doing something that's making a difference, not just you know,
being piste off and angry, uh and doing things that
aren't always that productive, but rather investing in the education
of minority families so you know they can go live
the American dream and contribute. We're going to take a
(16:57):
quick break and be right back. When you first put
this together and you're you know, throwing ideas against the
wall and trying to come up with ways to raise
money and raise awareness, did you ever think golf would
(17:20):
play this bigger role in what you're doing, because you
already mentioned some of the players that you're good friends
with that you know, wear it on their sleeve and
and they're they're so proud to be associated with it.
But you know, it's it's Patriot Golf Day, and it's
it's these golf courses that donate money and all these
players donating their time. Are you surprised how how impactful
golf has been in and as you mentioned your ministry here, yeah,
(17:44):
I think humbled is the word, right and and it
is when you The only explanation for this, right, um,
is that you know, when you're on the right path
in your life, when you're aligned with where God wants you,
there's extraordinary things that can happen. And this is you know,
folds of honor. Is that the perfect terrible if you will,
(18:05):
as an example for that. You know, I talk about
it in the book, and you know it's a really
key step that I challenge people in in the book.
Fly into the wind is um. We call it in
the Fighter pot World slow down to speed up. In
the very first chapter, UM forces people to really look
at their lives and be like, hey, am I where
(18:25):
I want to be? Am I aligned? With what I
should be doing, UM in my heart. And you know
if you are you're not. You feel that unrest, you
feel that uneasiness. That's God pushing you in a direction.
But you've got to slow down enough and really be
intentional about where you want to get to. UM. And
(18:46):
then I identify that in your life. And as I said, unpacking,
you know the rest of the lines of effort in
the book. The thing that I love about the magic
in there is they stack on one another to help
you get to that place. UM. But again, so often
life just happens, and UM, I'm just you know, when
I feel it in my heart, I know where I
(19:07):
want to go, and God put folds of honor in
my heart. You know, all glory to Him for getting
at where it is. UM. But you still, we've been,
as we call it in our world, single target track.
I mean every day, getting up at seven days a
week and getting in the fight on behalf of these families.
I'm gonna end it with a golf question, a topical
golf question, Dan, So I'm excited to hear your thoughts
(19:30):
on this. There's been one day night, there's been one
player that has taken over the PGA Tour in two
thousand twenty. I know here, you know I'm talking about here.
It's been a guy that has transformed his body and
is at a distance and muscle and it's Bryson's shambo.
What is what have your thoughts been watching this transformation
(19:52):
of a guy that not only has changed who he
is in and around golf, but is now changing the
way the best in world approach golf. I mean he's
he's literally breaking golf. I think over the last eighteen months,
how has it been for you watching what Bryson has
been able to do? So it's awesome. So Bryson is
a good buddy. Um a little moment of synchronicity that
(20:15):
ties us together. So he won his first professional tournament
tournament wearing Volition America, which is you know, the clothing
brand that I designed, that Puma make and it gives
back to folds. So we were connected there. But to
to watch him and I love this is don't be
a prisoner of common assumption in your life. And that's
(20:36):
that is what I love. His his reckless um attitude
toward conventional wisdom. And it is so easy to get
boxed in by other people. So easy to get boxed
in by yourself. And when someone comes in and just
you know, smashes the glass, um and looks at things
(20:58):
completely differently. I mean, it's just so exciting, right, and
it transcends golf, right, What a lesson for all of
us in every facet of our lives to evaluate what
we're doing and what makes sense, what doesn't make sense,
and don't be a prisoner of common assumption. Um, go
blaze your own trail. And uh, it has just been
(21:20):
awesome to watch him um do that and uh, yeah,
he's he's the most creative guy I think to ever
you know, play the game of golf. And that's crazy
saying it at his young age. What he has done
is Uh, there's just nothing short of fantastic. It's awesome
for the game, but reminds us all that, you know,
(21:43):
the art of the possible is sometimes bigger, almost always
bigger than we think it is. Well, Dan, I really
appreciate the time. It was an honor to talk to you.
Love the book, excited for it. November that comes out
flying to the wind, How to harness faith and fearlessness
on your assent to greatness? And to Dan's point in
the book, there's greatness in everybody, so everybody can ascend
(22:05):
the greatness. That's the key. Don't feel like because you're
not Bryson, you can't get there. We can all get there.
It's all in us. And I uh, I pulled a
lot from and I thought it was a great read,
and it was extremely positive and it opened my eyes
just some different thinking that I feel like I'm always
looking for. So I urge people grab the book, give
it a read. I think you'll be a fan. Thanks Shane.
And I would say that the greatest books I've ever read,
(22:27):
you take one thing out of it will change your
life forever. And I think Flying into the Wind um
will accomplish that for a lot of folks. And uh, yeah,
you can you head school, you can get it anywhere
books are sold, uh, Sam's and Walmart, um, all the
online retailers. And there's also an audio version that that
I had a lot of fun reading myself, which I
(22:47):
think just adds a whole layer of authenticity to to
what the book is. But man, blessed to be on
this journey of life with you, and my hope and
prayers that Flying to the Wind will help people, UH
find and chase their dreams and uh and get better. Well, Dan,
I appreciate it. I think people will really enjoy it.
Thanks again for the time, and hopefully I'll see down
(23:08):
the road all right saying God bless brother. We're gonna
take a quick break and be right back. A big
thanks to Dan Rooney for joining, A big thanks to
you for listening. Um, I really enjoyed that. He he is.
(23:29):
He is an unbelievable guy. He makes me want to
be more positive. I want to be happier. I could
be a little more Dan like, is what I gotta say.
But enjoy the week. Hope you guys get out and
play if the weather is cooperating. I had a friend
called me yesterday from the Northeast that said, if it's
thirty nine and sunny, is that still golf weather? I
said sure. I mean, you know it's up to you,
(23:51):
but I feel like there's enough layers that as long
as the sun's out and it's not snowing on you, you
you can probably play. So if you can get out,
get out, play, enjoy it, and if not, we'll be
back next week for another clubhouse. The clubhouse was Shane
(24:12):
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