Give back to Patriot Golf Day by playing golf over the holiday weekend at participating Michigan courses

Michigan has already played a huge role in Patriot Golf Day.

The Folds of Honor Foundation was founded in May 2007 by Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 Fighter Pilot and PGA Professional who owns Grand Haven Golf Club. A decorated military pilot in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, Major Rooney has served three combat tours in Iraq.

It was after his second tour, while a passenger on a commercial flight, that Major Rooney witnessed an event that would profoundly change his life. As the plane landed in Grand Rapids, the pilot announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have an American hero on board – Corporal Brock Bucklin. And his twin brother, Corporal Brad Bucklin, is accompanying him home from Iraq. As a sign of respect, please remain seated while Corporal Bucklin's family receives him in his final homecoming." Major Rooney watched through the window of the plane as the flag-draped casket was lowered. He saw a family waiting for Brock, and a little four-year old boy waiting for his father. This tragic homecoming inspired Major Rooney to create the Folds of Honor Foundation.

The fourth Patriot Golf Day®, over Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 3-6), will collect donations and raise awareness for the Folds of Honor Foundation. Patriot Golf Day, is the primary fundraiser for Folds of Honor which awards post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving our great nation.

Through events across the country since 2007, PGA Professionals have helped raise more than $5.3 million, allowing Folds of Honor to award 1,163 post-secondary educational scholarships.

Golfers are asked to donate at least $1 for each round of golf. Participating private facilities will accept donations. Non-golfers can also participate by making a donation to the foundation at its website at FoldsofHonor.org. As a proud supporter and Official Card of Patriot Golf Day, American Express will match donations made using an American Express® Card during Patriot Golf Day Weekend.

While registration is still in progress, there are currently more than 3,500 facilities registered to host Patriot Golf Day events nationwide, with roughly 120 of those in Michigan.

Here's a comprehensive list of participating Michigan courses compiled on Aug. 31. This list may not reflect a complete list of participating facilities. Many opted out to be promoted on PlayGolfAmerica.com, so contact your local facility to see if they are taking part in Patriot Golf Day.

Quail Ridge Golf Club Ada MI 49301
Pine River Country Club Alma MI 48801
Gull Lake View Golf Club Augusta MI 49012
Hawk Hollow Bath MI 48808
Cedar Farms Golf Club Battle Creek MI 49015
Battle Creek Country Club Battle Creek MI 49015
Cedar Creek Golf Course Battle Creek MI 49015
Hawk's Eye Golf Resort Bellaire MI 49615
Boulder Creek GC Belmont MI 49306
Blythefield Country Club Belmont MI 49306
Point O'Woods Country Club Benton Harbor MI 49022
Katke GC/FSU Big Rapids MI 49307
Falcon Head Golf Club Big Rapids MI 49307
Bloomfield Hills Country Club Bloomfield Hills MI 48304
Lost Dunes Golf Club Bridgman MI 49106
Brookwood Golf Course Buchanan MI 49107
Orchard Hills Country Club Buchanan MI 49107
IMA Brookwood Golf Course Burton MI 48509
Fellows Creek Golf Course Canton MI 48188
Pheasant Run Golf Club Canton MI 48188
Charlotte Country Club Charlotte MI 48813
Reddeman Farms Golf Course Chelsea MI 48118
The Golf Connection Clarkston MI 48346
Golf Club of Coldwater Coldwater MI 49036
Corunna Hills Golf Course Corunna MI 48817
Springfield Oaks Golf Course Davisburg MI 48350
Copper Ridge Golf Club Davison MI 48423
Rogell Golf Course Detroit MI 48219
Rouge Park Golf Course Detroit MI 48228
Chandler Golf Club Detroit MI 48213
Eagle Eye Golf Club East Lansing MI 48823
Escanaba Country Club Escanaba MI 49829
Glen Oaks Golf & Country Club Farmington Hills MI 48334
Tyrone Hills Golf Club Fenton MI 48430
The Coyote Preserve Fenton MI 48430
Apple Mountain Golf Club Freeland MI 48623
Wilderness Valley Golf Club Gaylord MI 49735
Otsego Club Gaylord MI 49734
Gaylord Country Club Gaylord MI 49734
Genesee Hills Golf Course Grand Blanc MI 48439
The Jewel of Grand Blanc Grand Blanc MI 48439
Grand Haven Golf Club Grand Haven MI 49417
Thousand Oaks Golf Club Grand Rapids MI 49525
The Mines Grand Rapids MI 49534
Watermark Country Club Grand Rapids MI 49546
Cascade Hills Country Club Grand Rapids MI 49546
Stonewater Country Club Grand Rapids MI 49518
Sunnybrook Country Club Grandville MI 49418
Fox Run Ctry Club Grayling MI 49738
Wicker Hills Golf Club Hale MI 48739
Diamond Springs Golf Course Hamilton MI 49419
Birchwood Farms Golf & CC Harbor Springs MI 49740
Hillsdale Golf & Country Club Hillsdale MI 49242
Faulkwood Shores Golf & C Club Howell MI 48843
Rackham Golf Course Huntington Woods MI 48070
Kalamazoo Country Club Kalamazoo MI 49008
Grand Prairie Golf Course Kalamazoo MI 49006
Chisholm Hills Country Club Lansing MI 48911
Garland Resort Lewiston MI 49756
Lost Lake Woods Club Lincoln MI 48742
Spring Meadows Country Club Linden MI 48451
Whispering Willows Golf Course Livonia MI 48152
Idyl Wyld Golf Club Livonia MI 48154
Fox Creek Golf Club Livonia MI 48152
Red Oaks Golf Course Madison Heights MI 48071
Deer Run @ Lakes of the North Mancelona MI 49659
Manistee Golf & Country Club Manistee MI 49660
Emerald Vale GC Manton MI 49663
El Dorado Golf Course Mason MI 48854
Branson Bay Golf Course Mason MI 48854
Golden Sands Golf Course Mears MI 49436
Menominee River Golf Club Menominee MI 49858
Sandy Ridge Golf Course Midland MI 48642
Currie Municipal Golf Course Midland MI 48640
Northwood University Midland MI 48640
Monroe Golf & Country Club Monroe MI 48162
Lincoln Golf Club Muskegon MI 49445
Whittaker Woods Golf Club New Buffalo MI 49117
Black Lake Golf Club Onaway MI 49765
Lakewood Shores Resort Oscoda MI 48750
Scenic Golf and Country Club Pigeon MI 48755
Timber Trace Golf Club Pinckney MI 48169
The Inn at St. John's Plymouth MI 48170
Hilltop Golf Club Plymouth MI 48170
Brae Burn Golf Club Plymouth MI 48170
Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Ctr Plymouth MI 48170
Bird Creek Golf Club Port Austin MI 48467
Gull Lake Country Club Richland MI 49083
Brookwood Golf Club Rochester Hills MI 48309
Forest Dunes Golf Club Roscommon MI 48653
St Clair River Country Club Saint Clair MI 48079
Berrien Hills Golf Club Saint Joseph MI 49085
Selfridge ANG Golf Course Selfridge MI 48045
Stoney Creek Golf Course Shelby Township MI 48316
Hidden Valley Golf Club Shelbyville MI 49344
HawksHead Links South Haven MI 49090
St. Ives Golf Club Stanwood MI 49346
Plum Brook Golf Club Sterling Heights MI 48312
Klinger Lake Country Club Sturgis MI 49091
Tecumseh Country Club Tecumseh MI 49286
Bay Meadows Golf Course Traverse City MI 49684
Treetops Resort-North Course Treetops Village MI 49735
Sanctuary Lake Golf Academy Troy MI 48085
Stonegate Golf Club Twin Lake MI 49457
Black Bear Golf Club Vanderbilt MI 49795
The Orchards Golf Club Washington MI 48094
Yankee Springs Golf Course Wayland MI 49348
Woodlands of Van Buren Wayne MI 48184
Twin Beach Country Club West Bloomfield MI 48323
Wuskowhan Players Club West Olive MI 49460
White Lake Oaks Golf Course White Lake MI 48386
White Lake Golf Club Whitehall MI 49461
Lyon Oaks Golf Club Wixom MI 48393

Michigan PGA Championship returns to Hawk Hollow and Eagle Eye

It's been a busy week for golf in Michigan as the tournament scene slowly grinds to a halt as football takes over. Here's catching up on a few things.

MICHIGAN PGA PREVIEW: Scott Hebert will attempt to win his fifth consecutive Michigan PGA Championship at the Hawk Hollow Properties in East Lansing August 23-25. Hebert has been the only winner since the event moved to the Eagle Eye and Hawk Hollow golf courses in 2006. Hebert set the course record at Eagle Eye, eight-under 64, last year and coasted to a 13-stroke win.

It was recently announced that Hebert, a six-time Michigan Open golf champion and the 2008 PGA Professional National Championship, will be inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. The 40th annual induction banquet is April 23, 2011 at The Danforth Place in Escanaba.

“Scott is our section’s most celebrated player,” Michigan PGA Executive Director, Kevin Helm said in a release. “He just returned home from playing in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights, he’s played in a number of PGA Tour events this year.”

Hebert’s four titles tie him with Grand Rapids’ Lynn Janson. Legendary golfers Chick Harbert (six championships) and Al Watrous (nine) are the only players in the history of this tournament with more wins. The field will feature 161 players in a 54-hole event. Players in the top 70 positions and ties will be vying for a piece of the $65,000 purse. The winner’s share is $7,000.

“We’re proud to host the championship and house the Michigan PGA Headquarters on our complex” said Alex Coss, General Manager of Hawk Hollow Properties. “PGA Professionals add so much to the game of the golf on the consumer level. It’s a privilege to have them playing here and receive such positive response to the quality of our courses.”

Past champions in the 2010 field include, two-time winners Brian Cairns from Fox Hills Golf Course, Steve Brady from Oakland Hills Country Club and Barry Redmond of Boyne Highlands. Other past champions include, John Traub of TNT Enterprises. Tom Harding of Kendall Academy of Golf, Joe Pollack of Boulder Creek Golf Club, Bob Makoski of Grosse Ile CC and Randy Erskine of Great Oaks Country Club.

HOLE IN ONE? If you celebrated a hole-in-one this year, you're eligible for the annual Detroit News/Golf Association of Michigan Hole-In-One Contest at Whispering Willows Golf Course in Livonia on Sept. 7. The tee opens at 7:30 a.m. and will remain open until there are no more contestants. Each contestant gets two swings for a chance at the grand prize: an Osprey Golf weekend getaway. The contest will be flighted by age. In addition, the Hole-In-One contest will be a fundraiser for the Folds of Honor program in the form of a raffle. Prizes include a stay-and-play package at Muskegon Country Club, golf at Meadowbrook Country Club, restaurant certificates and more. To submit entries, send your name, age, gender, phone number, and when and where you had your hole-in-one to sports@detnews.com. Also indicate what time you would like to participate in the contest (tee times start at 7:30 a.m. and run throughout the day) and if you are a GAM member.

LUCK OF THE IRISH: When Paul Sutherland pulled out of the Travis Pointe parking lot in Saline after playing in the GAM Father & Son tournament and headed home to Cleveland, Ohio, the last thing he expected was a call from his dad telling him he had won the grand prize at the tournament: A trip for two to Ireland from GAM sponsor Sullivan Golf & Travel.

“We had finished playing golf fairly quickly, and I knew we didn’t win our bracket because it was a frustrating day on the golf course, so I decided to head back home before dinner,” said Sutherland. “My dad called me a few hours later to tell me I won the grand prize and what it was. I was shocked! I never win anything!”

LUCKY CADDIE: Point O’Woods member Stan Andrei gave his caddie a nice tip after notching a hole-in-one July 23 at the Robert Trent Jones Invitational. Andrei received a Jeep Wrangler 4x4 provided by Don Brookfield Chrysler for his ace and gave it to his caddie Dave Maxey. Maxey suggested the 5-iron for the 165-yard par 3, and Andrei wasn’t sure it was enough club. Andrei told Maxey before he teed off that if he made the ace, he would give Maxey the choice of a big tip or the Jeep. Maxey, 23, who was driving the same car he has had since high school, chose the Jeep.

SUPER SUPERINTENDENT: Crystal Mountain Golf Course Superintendent Adam Ikamas has earned the credential of Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) from the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America (GCSAA). There are approximately 17,000 golf courses in the United States yet roughly 1,700 superintendents have earned the CGCS distinction. Ikamas, who has been Crystal Mountain’s golf course superintendent for seven years, is one of just 68 to earn certification in the state of Michigan, which has over 800 courses. An extensive certification program is required in order to earn this credential. Each applicant must submit a portfolio consisting of their responses to skill statements, case-study scenarios and submission of work samples. An on-site inspection of their golf facility is required as well as a rigorous six-hour examination covering everything from equipment and irrigation systems to project management and ethics and values. As we all know, Crystal Mountain's two courses are always in excellent shape. We can all thank Ikamas for his hard work.