Lt. Colonel Dan Rooney - Golf With Jay Delsing

Jay Delsing spent 25 years on the PGA Tour and is a lifetime member of the PGA Tour and PGA of America. Now he provides his unique perspective as a golfer and network broadcaster. It's time to go On The Range with Jay Delsing. On The Range is brought to you by Pro and Golf. Hey, good morning, St. Louis. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host, Jay Perley. Good morning. What's happening over there? What is it happening over here?

This is such a roll, baby. I'm so excited about this show. We have formatted a show like Around the Golf.

The first segment is called On The Range. It's brought to you by Pro-Am Golf. My buddy Dan Kirchhoffer is now the president over at Pro-Am Golf. If you need anything, anything in the world of golf, call him at 314-781-7775.

We're skipping all of our social media outlets. Wait, wait a second. Pro-Am Golf. I just got my Cobra driver, regular shaft. At least you didn't go to Senior Shaft, so I appreciate that. And a Leupold Laser.

A Leupold Laser. I am ready to roll because, meat, I'm headed down to Arizona, baby. We know. We know. Who doesn't know that already, Perley?

All right, screw your vacation. First of all, I want to thank Bob and Kathy Donahue with Donahue Painting and Refinishing. They have been a great friend and great supporter of the show.

314-805-2132. If you need anything inside, outside, they do it safely, professionally. They're cool people. They match you with your creativity, and when you talk about them, they're such a match here with your personality, this show, and those guys. So they're great folks.

All right, I've got this entire show. You and I are both extremely interested in supporting the vets. Absolutely.

Extremely. Both of our fathers fought. My dad fought in World War II, and your dad fought in the Korean War, and we did not fight in anything. I've got a long interview with Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney. He is the CEO and founder of Folds of Honor. This dude has raised over $150 million for the children of our fallen heroes, the men and women, and helping these heroes get back into society to make their way back. It's exactly the same stuff that Faraday does, and I just can't do enough to try to help these guys. Jay, you always talk about growing the game, and I know that's the passion, and that's kind of the mission behind this radio show, but I'll tell you, a close second is supporting the military. So talk a little bit about, if you don't mind, and I know you don't want to boast on it, but I want you to, and I know Meade wants you to, what's going on with Faraday and some of the things that you guys have helped with? Well, through the gigantic generosity of my buddy, Jim Sowers, and Marc Kohn, supports the show, supports a lot of things I do. He's a true patriot, and he got together with Matt from Electrolux and Matt Weber, and they got together $50,000 for three service dogs for Faraday's Troops First Foundation, and these dogs are now being, they're in the final stages of their prep, and then after the first of the year, they actually get to meet their heroes, and it is just an incredible, incredible union and an incredible partnership that just changes these guys and gals' lives. Game changer.

Yeah. You and I have been through this before. We listened to one of these heroes thanking us for, we supplied a couple of dogs for some money that we had raised, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was incredible how grateful these guys were, and it was such a humbling experience.

It just made me feel just terrific. Well, keep on going, and you've got a great story behind this whole thing with Dan Rooney, and I can't wait to talk a little bit about it. Yeah, Dan is a great guy. He just wrote a book, Flying Into the Wind, and that's his second book. There's just, I mean- He talked a little bit about that, and I already downloaded it. I've got a long road trip coming up.

I'm going to listen to it. Where did you meet Dan? We've both heard about him for a while. How did this relationship with the Jade Elson Golf Show and Dan happen? Well, Dan and his friend Glenn just reached out and said, hey, Dan would like to come on the show. And I'm like, wait, Dan Rooney? Dan Schmo? What are you talking about? Just for the record, me and I aren't buying that story.

Yeah, no, that's exactly what happened, and I said, I can't have Dan Rooney on the show. I'm way too busy. No, I'm just kidding. I was like, my gosh, for sure. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, for sure. And I've known of Dan, but I have never done any of the Folds of Honor stuff for him. It just never worked with my schedule, but I sure will now. We've all seen through the summer when the American flags come out on the golf courses and stuff. So I mean, one of the messages we said we wanted to make sure happens in this show is hopefully this show helps the listeners have a little bit different perspective next time.

I absolutely honored it when it came out to our golf courses, the courses that I've played through the years. But I'll tell you what, after listening to the interview that you did with Dan and his books and all the other things he's accomplished, I have a completely different perspective, clearly elevated, even though it was already important, elevated. So looking forward to more information. All right. So Pearl, we're going straight into the Dan Rooney interview.

It's a longer than typical interview, but I really think you're going to enjoy it. So Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney from Folds of Honor. Is it his time? Yes! There it is!

Can you believe it? Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney is brought to you by Golden Tee. I have the honor. There's not enough superlatives for me to go through this, but Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney is sitting with me. He's the founder of the Folds of Honor.

He is, oh my gosh, a list. I could, you know, we could, we could sit down and talk about the awards and things that you've won, Lieutenant Colonel, but in my world, see, I'm a girl dad and I have, I don't have a full infield. I have four daughters and you have a full infield. So man, I'm a little jealous. Oh, I know. Yep.

Five daughters. I got to have two tee times every time we go play golf. So you know, you're winning then. Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's just jump in.

Gosh, there's so much fun stuff to cover. Dan, tell us a little bit about the story of the Buckland family. And it was kind of the way that I understand it, the genesis of how Folds of Honor was started, created. Yeah.

And I call them moments of synchronicity, Jay, or chance for the purpose where God put you someplace and inspires you in that moment. And you know, I'm thinking, I didn't, you know, just, just get up off the plane and leave and not do anything, but it wasn't in the cockpit of an F-16. It was actually a commercial airliner. And I was flying from Chicago here to Grand Rapids, Michigan to my day job as a Class A PGA Pro. And we pull up to Grand Rapids and it's about midnight at this point, the captain comes over the PA and announces we're carrying the remains of an American hero that we have Brock Buckland on this flight who'd been killed in Iraq and his identical twin brother, Corporal Brad Buckland was in first class and had brought him, brought him home.

And the captain made a request that night, Jay, that everybody stay in their seats until his remains have been removed from the right cargo hold. And, you know, I've seen a lot of bad stuff done three combat tours in Iraq and understand that freedom isn't free, but I'd never seen that side of war. And I watched that Buckland family on the darkest night of their lives, his brothers, his parents, his wife, and his four year old son. And, you know, that really hit you as a parent. And so we opened the show and I think it's every military member's greatest fear is if you don't come home, what happens to my family? You know, if I don't land after a fighter jet, sorry, I'm still flying in the Air Force Reserves, you know, what would happen to Jackie and my five girls and, you know, saw this unfold in front of me and ceremony cleans itself up and about, you know, five minutes and I stand up and to see that more than half the people are gone, right, nowhere to go except that blanket of freedom we'll sleep under tonight, courtesy of Brock Buckland and, you know, the 1 billion veterans who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms in this country.

And that was a really hard moment for me, I was very disappointed to be in, you know, be an American and always emotion stirring up. And I felt a hand and I've no doubt, you know, looking back 13 years, it was the hand of God. And he called me on this mission that would become Folds of Honor. And it was the beginning of, you know, an awesome ministry to provide scholarships to spouses and children who've had somebody killed or disabled, defending our freedoms in Iraq and Afghanistan. As I said, I'm, you know, thank God I was on that flight.

And, and I would say I would thank those people if I saw the ones that got off because that is ultimately would push me to action. Oh my gosh, there's so much for you to for us to talk about. I know you've got a course in Tulsa called the Patriot. I also know you had the privilege of sitting down with Jack Nicholas who says he had the privilege of being with you, as you guys redesigned a golf course in the eastern shores of Lake Michigan called American Dunes. Man, you're, you're this web that you've created, but is really, really spreading.

I love that term rev. And you know that the J that the neat part about this place that the jack and I have created that will open up next May is that it was the original birthplace of Folds of Honor. So my family had this little golf course called the Grand Haven Golf Club on the shores of Lake Michigan, that beautiful piece of land and you know, sand dunes and lots of trees and about 200 yards off the lake right in the middle of the state on the obviously on the west side. And we had gotten to a crossroads and I think like so many stories in our lives, it's from the ashes that the greatest things come, right, the greatest triumphs are preceded by the greatest challenges.

And, you know, we didn't know what to do with the golf course, it was losing money every year. And I went and sat with Jack at the Bears Club. And I was like, Jack, here's why I want to save this place because it's where Folds of Honor started. And it's just such a reverent, you know, event that occurred there. We wouldn't be here today without this little golf course. And, you know, he rolled in right away and said, Hey, Dan, I'll waive my $3 million fee.

You get your friends, I'll get my friends. And let's see what the art of the possible is. And what started out as a we're going to, you know, redesign this place, it turned into a complete reimagination. And I'm telling you, when this thing opens in May, it's going to be like a spaceship landing in the world of golf. From the just pure golf perspective, right, you and I sitting here, we love great golf.

I mean, this thing is in rare air, man, it is it is phenomenal. How good this golf course is kind of scary. We got the slope rating back last week, 148. And the back nine was a 151 slope rating. So to put that in the listeners context, so that's a tougher slope rating than Augusta, right? If it if it was, you know, people guess at the slope there, they don't ever have the USGA. And but I mean, it is really challenging, but it is just spectacular in the sand dunes. And we literally mean jack deforested about 100 acres of trees scraped every piece of topsoil off of this site and straight in started with straight sand. And I got to watch, you know, the greatest of all time design every hole and contour by hand, isn't that sketch it out?

I mean, old school, I mean, Barbara's like, I haven't seen him do this in 20 years, Dan. Then just to show how passionate he is about this place. And it's public golf course, and it'll open May 2, in Grand Haven, Michigan, about two hours from Chicago to kind of cage your geographical brain around the location of it. But what really sets it apart is it's, you know, the first golf course in the history that we certainly know of, that has been built for a cause and that 100% of the profit that's made from this place will go back to benefit the folds of honor.

So in fact, it's you know, it's a charity that's taken shape as American dooms. And it'll be a place where people pilgrimage I think from all over that believe in God and country and golf and supporting our military. And we'll, as I said, I just think it's going to be such an amazing story that will be told next year. And we're really excited and, you know, blessed to be able to take that walk with my hero as a young man. Jack has always been my hero. And I said, it's very dangerous to get to know your hero, right?

Because chances are, you're going to get let down because we put people on such a pedestal. But I will tell you that, you know, he and Barbara are 100 times the people that I ever imagined watching him on the TV set growing up. Okay, that's going to do it for the on the range segment. Don't go anywhere. We got more Dan Rooney on the front nine. This is golf with Jay Delsing. Let your local farmers insurance agent Ed Foglebach put his experience to work for you. Ed Foglebach proudly serves the St. Louis City, County and metropolitan area and any of their families and businesses and is ready to review your existing policies or provide a no obligation quote today. Call the Foglebach agency at 314-398-0101 to get smarter about your insurance. Again, that's the Foglebach agency at 314-398-0101.

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Visit home.goldent.com to learn more. This is Jay Delsing. My show golf with Jay Delsing can be heard on one on one ESPN on Sunday mornings from nine to 10. But also check out my site jdelsongolf.com or one on one espn.com for my great guest list. That's golf with Jay Delsing Sunday mornings, nine to 10 on one on one ESPN. Grab your clubs. We're headed to the front nine on golf with Jay Delsing.

The front nine is brought to you by the Ascension charity golf classic. Hey, welcome. Hey, welcome. Another game out.

That's what happened. That was a little start for golf with Jay Delsing. Hello.

Welcome back. This is golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host Jay, and we are going to the front nine brought to you by the Ascension charity classic. Guys, circle your calendar now. September 6 through 12.

Norwood Hills. Be there or be square. It's going to be phenomenal. I'm going to be there. Can't wait. Can't wait.

Walking shoes. Can't wait. Prepped, pumped, and ready to roll.

Can't wait. Can I walk with you and yell up early? I think you should caddy for me. Let's do that.

I need a protein bar like on a six hole, the 12th hole and 18 just to make sure you make it. Couple bottles of water. We're good. Couple bottles of something.

Rub his feet in the middle of the round. We got to thank Whitmore Country Club for sponsoring this, being the title sponsor of our show again for the second year. Man, are things going well at Whitmore.

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All right. I'm going to name a few, but the people, Bill Brungart is the membership director. Bummer is out there. They've got, they've just got a great staff of people that are looking to try to take care of you. There's 90 holes. You get access to the Missouri Bluffs and links to Dardeen and the golf club of Wentzville. No cart fields, cart fees. They're already included in the membership. There's no food or beverage minimum, so you're not going to be nickeled and dimed.

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Bummer is terrific. They run golf leagues and skins games, members tournaments, couples events. The holiday parties are rocking. You got to call them at 636-926-9622. Hey Jay, I know a little bit about the golf business waiting list. It's been many years in general since there's been waiting listed golf properties. These folks are doing it right.

They really are. So call those guys, talk to Bill today. All right. We are going to pick up the Dan Rooney interview, uh, where we left off. Well, here it comes. Oh my goodness.

In your life, have you seen anything like that? Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney is brought to you by Golden T. So Dan, let's talk a little bit about a couple of the books that you've written. I know that you just released your second book fly into the wind and it's how to harness faith and fearlessness on your ascent to greatness. I didn't get a chance to read the whole thing, but I page through quite a bit of it. And man, there were so many things that stuck out in my mind. We got to talk a little bit about the acronym, uh, CAVU, which is ceiling and invisibility unlimited. But that letter you wrote and put in the book that you wrote to Jackie. I think it was on your second tour that I wasn't, you know, it didn't even dawn on me because I'm not in that space with you that you wrote this letter each time you go on a tour to Iraq in case you don't return. Oh my God. It just, it blew me up. Yeah.

And I had to get her permission obviously to share that. But, uh, those are the, in, in the spirit and, and sharing that and we'll, we'll kind of unpack the book here after that. But, um, you know, there aren't many jobs, you know, when you go off to play us open, you don't write your life a letter that says, Hey, if I don't come home, right. Um, and, uh, when we go to combat, it is it's tradition, you know, where it's very dangerous and you hope you're going to come home. Um, but you know, there's a chance you won't and you write a letter and you give it to your best buddy that would then pass it on if, uh, if you don't make it home. And I included, uh, that letter was actually for my third tour of duty in Iraq, uh, with her permission and, um, to give people perspective on, uh, wow.

Yeah. It's, um, there's, you know, it's an all volunteer military. There's a half a percent of this country that puts on the uniform and says, you know what, Jay, I love you. I love this country. I'm willing to die for you.

And that's, that's what it's translated. And I'll tell you the scariest thing I've ever done in combat is the, you know, three times I left home, kissing my wife and my girls. Goodbye. Um, doesn't compare to, you know, flying 10 hour night missions in Iraq and getting shot at dropping bombs.

Um, leaving your family is, is the hardest thing. And, uh, you know, thank God I've made it home on a whole on, on all my deployments. And as I mentioned, still flying fighter jets and my takeoffs of match my landings and, uh, always peripheral and never take that piece of our business for granted. Oh my gosh. I, I have nothing to add to that. I just don't.

I mean, when you compare the U S open to going on a mission, I mean, we're, we're not even in the same planet. Yeah. Um, so you want to talk about the book?

Yes. I'd love, please talk about the book. I was just fascinated. Um, Dan, your first book, a Patriots calling it's, um, uh, living life between fear and faith, um, was fantastic. And it came out earlier this year, but on, I think on November 10th is when the second book, um, came out and you also have a television show on Fox called fly flying into the wind on Fox nation.

And man, you've got some terrific guests. So, I mean, please tell us about all of this or we're just, I'll just shut up and listen to you. No. Well, I would say that, you know, the inspiration for it is set in the title, both the Fox nation show on the book fly into the wind and as fighter pilots, Jay, we always take off into the wind because we need resistance to ascend. And the premise of this is our lives are no different, right? Challenge and resistance are inevitable. We will face them. And what we do in those moments will, will define your life.

And the, you know, the great people that I've had on the show, whether it's a Faraday or a Greg Norman or a Herschel Walker and urban Meyer, a Jack Nicholas, I mean, these people you admire, I will tell you they are better at dealing with life when it's not going their way than anybody else. That is how you summit the mountain. That's how you would send to the highest levels in life. And, you know, to, to bifurcate these to the book, um, you know, I went through a really challenging 10 year period in my life and, you know, most people would never know it, right. Cause we put our face, you know, put our face on to go out in the world, but that's the, the hard thing about struggle is it become, become so isolating.

And we've got 20 veterans a day right now committing suicide every day. Um, and it was my hope to, you know, share very openly and humbly some of my struggles, uh, more importantly, this code of living that I built inside the confines of my life storm that helped me get through it and not only survive, but thrive. And at its core, you know, I engineer a code of living that it's about resilience and about winning the day, regardless of the external circumstances in our lives. You know, so many people look for, you know, motivation or affirmation existentially, and these are intrinsic things. And I think that's a big issue with, with people when, when they get depressed and they get down is if you're looking to the world, you're going to be disappointed.

People will never understand. You'll never get the pats on the back that support you think you've got to find that intrinsic fortitude within your own heart and your own mind. And this code of living that I call CAVU, which is a fighter pilot acronym in the book, but it's ceiling and visibility unlimited.

So those are those infinite blue skies that we love to go fly fighter jets. And, and the goal of this book is to help people get there in their lives. And regardless if you were struggling like I was, or, or you're winning every day I think in my heart of hearts, I know that there are things in this book that can, you know, change people's life forever. And it's only, we've been out, you know, two and a half weeks and the testimonials that, that I'm getting are just such an affirmation of the, you know, the, the fly into the wind that to create a book and get it out there. And it's just my hope and prayer that it will continue to, to help people, you know, fight through their storm or find their way to their best life.

And I've been so blessed with, with people that have come into my path that have helped me, have shaped me and the experiences that God has given me to, to put them down on you know, on a few pages in a, in a book. And I think that probably Jay, the best skill fighter pilots have, and the most unique skill we have is our ability to process copious amounts of information at high speed, and then prioritize them. And modern day life is like flying a fighter jet, right?

Everybody's drinking through a fire hose. There's never enough time. And this book forces the reader to slow down to eventually speed back up, but really look at their life, where they've been, where they are, and where they want to go and hopefully provide a really clear roadmap of the stuff that really matters. And tactical ways to prioritize those unconditional things in, in our life, and provide a, you know, an executable blueprint to to achieve kabu. So really excited about the book.

And as I said, prayerful that God will take it to right places. Oh, my gosh, I can't wait to get through the whole thing. Dan, you know, one of the things that when you start thinking about 1800 hours of flight time that you have as an F 16 pilot, and what you just said there, you and you, you said it in a in a way that almost, gosh, I want our listeners to appreciate what you were saying, the amount of time that you have to make decisions when you're getting inundated with information is really, really critical. And what I can say from my own past experiences, my valleys have taught and forged me much more so than when I've won.

I've learned so much more about myself down in the lows than in the highs. Yeah, 100% right. And that's the that's the human story. But people that have been successful like you, Jay, you you learn to appreciate the value of the valley, right of flying into the wind.

And I think in this world where, you know, there's an accountability void, you just look at all the unrest, everybody's pointing fingers every direction except for themselves. And I'm a firm believer that we are connected by God in way more ways than we realize. And that this ultimate path to fulfillment starts with making ourselves better in order to better all of humanity.

No, I mean, it's it's without a doubt. I mean, what's good. You know, we want the good for our our neighbor.

It's going to only make us better. It's it's we don't live in a vacuum. It's it's it's a tough time. There's been some really difficult times that we're going through with the pandemic and some of the craziness with our leadership or lack of leadership. It's just it's been a tough time.

Yep, it it has. But as we said, I mean, those these difficult times will define us. And I talk about that in the book and what you do every day, the multiple times that life is not going your way is going to write your legacy.

Not it's easy to do the right thing when when you're winning to your point. The resilient spirit is comes into play when we're pushing it uphill. And we're, you know, flying into the wind and just embracing that internally is is such a paradigm shift for for most people that hope that they get from the title of the book. And then as you jump into the book, there's a lot of tactical everyday stuff you can apply to your own life. Yeah, which is just wonderful. He did talk to us a little bit about the fact that you've been kind of the motivational voice behind a couple of Ryder cups. I I this probably isn't as important as the stuff in the book. But I think it's interesting for our listeners to hear what it's like to be in the room of a Ryder cup team.

Let's, so this is a funny discussion, right? Very cool, right? Because I'm a golf fan.

I'm a golf geek, you know, admire all these guys. And I was the first time was actually in Valhalla. So I'm going to age myself here a little bit. And so 2008, and they actually pumped me into the team room from Iraq. And it was really cool because 41 and 43 presidents, they were both in the room at the time. And I didn't know this, right.

But I'm I am in the thick of combat, and we're able to share some, you know, messages about representing our country, etc. And we all remember they went on and famously won that at Valhalla. And so a couple years later, Cory Pavan reaches out to me and he's like, Hey, he's like, Newton. And then he was like, Hey, will you come to Wales with us? And I'm like, Oh, my gosh.

Yeah, I'm all in. And so I got to go to Wales be, you know, an honorary captain was gave the motivational full talk to the team there. And it was the only Ryder Cup in history that went to the final day to the final match to the 17th hole. And we ended up losing and so I've never been invited back to a Ryder Cup since it was a it was an awesome run short lots of fun. But yeah, what a what a what a great memory.

And I got a picture hanging in my office right in front of me here with me and the entire Ryder Cup team from Wales and one of the coolest moments of my whole life as a golf fan for sure. Wow, that Dan Rooney stuff is just so awesome. That's gonna wrap up the front nine.

Don't go anywhere. We've got more Dan Rooney. We've got them on the back nine.

We got a little bit on the 19th hole, the Michael Bolton 19th hole. This is golf with Jay dosing more Dan Rooney in a minute are your workouts more fun than this? Well, if they are, then I want to sign you to an endorsement deal with me. I'm looking for anyone and everyone who makes working out a blast.

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Or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Check out some of my great guests like Ozzie Smith or build a wit or David Faraday. That's golf with Jay delsing Sunday mornings from nine to 10 on one on one ESPN. Don't miss the hottest rookie class in PGA Tour champions history stars like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and more competed Norwood Hills Country Club September six through the 12th. Join legends Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Hale Irwin to celebrate the PGA Tour champions newest event professional golf returning to St. Louis in 2021 The Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson tickets, clubhouse passes, hospitality suites, pro and foursomes on sale now visit ascension charity classic.com. Okay, so you and your family are looking to join a country club? Well, I need to recommend to you with more country club. They've got 90 holes of golf in the membership out there. You have access to the Missouri Bluffs, the links to Dardin the golf club of Wentzville, and all the cart fees are already included in your membership.

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We're halfway there. It's time for the back nine on golf with Jay Delcey. The back nine is brought to you by focal block agency with Farmers Insurance. All right, welcome back to golf with Jay delsing Pearly is with me Brad Barnes is taking great care of us here and we are on the back nine brought to you by the focal block agency with farmers at focal block is a terrific guy. He's got a pile of kids.

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They are terrific people. We are not going to waste any more time Pearl. We're going right back into this this chat with me. Perfect. Maybe yes, sir. Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rooney is brought to you by golden T. Talk to us a little bit about your nickname noon and I know it's got to be from caddyshack.

Yeah, so you have no say in your call sign whatsoever. So you go through and I talked about this in the book is you go through a program to become a fighter pilots two and a half years long. The government spends eight million dollars per pilot training us and from start to finish only four point eight percent of the people will make it through the training.

So by far the most expensive highest attrition rate of any training in the US military. And so you run the gauntlet. I make it through my training. I get my f-16 I show back up in my squadron. I'm all excited and we we affectionately call it all thrust and no vector because I mean you're just larger than life is a twenty something year old kid with a forty five million dollar fighter jet and just to keep you in your place the first name tag they give you says F and G on it and just and it stands for something new guy and you wear the name tag for the first year plus in the squadron and you're I mean you're taking out the trash you're making the popcorn you're cleaning the bar.

I mean you are the lowest form of existence to reset your place in the food chain. And so the day comes when you're finally going to get your call sign after you perform successfully in combat and and so it's in the room and a lot of the ceremony is top secret. I can't tell you have to kill you but suffice it to say we have nothing to do with our call sign.

And so I come in and they're okay they take my name tag off they give me a new name tag it has Noonan on it. Obviously Danny Noonan is from the greatest movie of all time and I still love all the movie five times. Yeah I watched that movie five times a year and Top Gun five times a year.

These movies shaped my life. And my wife my wife looks alarmingly like Lacey Underall which I didn't realize it but I channeled that since I was like nine years old and started watching Caddyshack. Well done. Yeah.

Visualization works. Oh I know Lacey Underall was my first crush but yeah we won't get there first girl naked too on the beta player. Yeah so I end up with call sign Noonan because it's a play on your name right. So Danny Noonan first name Dan I'm a golf pro fighter pilot end up with Noonan and it's been a great run.

I got you know 21 years and hopefully be able to fly here for another three or four years as long as the old back holds up. And yeah so Noonan is and I would say Jay if you ever need a fighter pilot as a general rule the cooler your call sign is the bigger tool you are in a average complete tool right. Right. You meet some guy that you know has a call sign pig face or something he's probably the best fighter pilot you've ever met. I love it.

I absolutely love it. It's a self-deprecating culture that that we live in but it's a it's a it's a really good one. And not not politically correct but we're having a little fun here. So one of my closest buddies I was just with flying two days ago to give you an example of fighter pilot culture and his call sign his call sign is a donkey. And because his his his mother was a gook and his wife is a honky.

And so they call him donkey. And so it is. Right. Right. It's a robust group right. All in great fun. Don't throw any spears if you're listening out there.

I did not name him. But but they're they're pretty darn funny. Yeah. It teaches a thick skin doesn't it Dan. Holy smokes.

Armadillo skin as we call it down here in Oklahoma J. Dan. So your life experiences my gosh I look at myself and think of the people that I've met in the places I had no business going and playing golf and having dinner with with folks and I can only imagine you know you you think and feel the same way. Midwestern kid you know should be pinching himself with some of these life experiences. Is there anything from the world of the fighter pilot. I mean all those hours all those missions. Is there anything that that sticks out in your mind is something that you can relate to us. I mean my take it and from what I know of you it's probably every time you landed you know it was a quick prayer and a sign of the cross and thanks for getting me back here safely because it's so dangerous but I have nothing to really compare that to just knowing you and knowing what I know about you it seems like that's probably something about what it would go like. So then so I'm going to tell you a story you wouldn't think you'd hear. I'm going to give you a golf fighter pilot story but I would say you know being a fighter pilot the the addiction I have is you feel so alive just just life just coursing through your veins and there's some moments of terror in there but I've never you know felt a higher level of satisfaction than you know when I land and I shut down after a great sortie and you I mean you get it right you've gone out there and you know shot a 65 and a in a tour event or one and and that emotion like you're so keyed up and you're so juiced and that sense of satisfaction when you finish and you come off of that like intense emotional high and you're sitting there you know pure kind of peace in that juxtapose and I this is a really fun story but we did a this a few years ago we did a low level down the California coast we're about 500 feet off the off the Pacific Ocean about a mile off the coast and you're you know looking at all these multi-million dollar houses going by and fly with my my buddy with me rookie and he looks over he's like man you know what I'd give to live in one of those houses and I'm like yeah bro I agree but everybody out on those houses is sitting out there having a cup of coffee pointing at us right now when we fly by and saying man what I wouldn't give to be able to do that yeah you're damn right yeah and it's one of those things it's like you know being a great call for like yourself or being a friend about you cannot buy it you have got to earn it this these are things that are not given that that rare area and so this day the flight plan was pretty interesting is we were going down to Monterey and we were gunning to go out and tee it up at Cypress Point and I'm like hey we need to do a recce run before we do that so we took the two f-16s and we flew over number 16 at Cypress Point at about 500 feet full afterburner makes make this turn around there's a single out there and all by himself on 16 green and he is you know literally you know thinks he's fallen over and died and gone to heaven he just gets this low pass on the greatest hole in the world I'm sure he's still telling this story someplace I never met him don't know who he is and and then we we spin back around because we cannot we can't land anywhere on Monterey because we have to have a longer runway the Jets have to have security so we go back to San Francisco and it's like 10 o'clock in the morning Jane it's one of those Chamber of Commerce San Francisco days where the fog is burning off of the city and it's you know burning off the Golden Gate Bridge and I call up to San Francisco approach and I'm like hey brave one and I go brave one that's our call sign I said I'd like to request maneuvering airspace in San Francisco Bay from 500 to 3,000 feet for the next 10 minutes and basically that's like we can fly our Jets anywhere we want in San Francisco Bay and they'll protect the area right and this guy you can just see the smile on his face through the radio and he was like brave one standby and comes back about two minutes later because he had to coordinate he's like brave one welcome to San Francisco cleared as requested and so we we tear it up inside of San Francisco Bay you know flying over Alcatraz all this we go and land the Jets at Moffett and we drive from from San Francisco out to the Monterey Peninsula and tee it up with a really good buddy of mine Robert Trent Jones Jr. who designed the Patriot Golf Club for us here in Tulsa that I started and in a member and just have this glorious day and we go over to Spanish Bay that night and pour just you know massive glasses of Cabernet and eat big steaks man I have you're killing me on this story this is terrific yeah I'm looking at rookie who's also a scratch golfer we flew a ton of combat together and I looked at him and I said this might be the best day of my entire life and so when you when you ask me you know what what story could you share that combines being a fighter pilot with you know the the epicenter of golf and doing the things that we love that is the day that you know is etched in my soul that I am grateful for God for no reason you know to your point a guy from Stillwater Oklahoma should ever have gotten that experience but man am I grateful for everything that being a fighter pilots given me everything the PGA of America and being a golfer has given me and just you know live every day not as grateful as I should be but I really try to have a grateful heart every morning when when I wake up well that's gonna wrap up the back nine and man an f-16 hey one time I was taken off from Terre Haute Airport two f-16s were behind me and I was actually in front of them I take off and I knew they were behind me I was so bloody nervous I take off and I turn south quickly and all of a sudden I can hear the calls and they're gonna take off and I know these guys were laughing their butts off and be taking off and my plane was just rattling as these guys are just blowing the blowing my dust off behind me I can't have fathom what those guys feel when they go through all that the rush of run of flying those things no I can't either that's gonna wrap up the back night so don't go anywhere we're gonna finish this Dan Rooney interview on the Michael of ultra 19th hole this is golf with Jay Dawson the management team at Marcon would like to give a shout out to our 500 plus employees and their families their diligence and commitment to each other our process and our company are so good that we are obligated to state it publicly we are so grateful for each and every one of you you have all contributed to our success and your dedication is imperative to the continued growth of our company thank you for your efforts Marcon is the largest distributor of general electric appliance parts in North America here's a shout out of thanks to the Marcon customer service team nationwide every day helping thousands of Marcon customers find the parts they need to keep America's home 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welcome back this is golf with j delsing perley is with me and we are at the mikkelobe ultra 19th hole man kyle leininger scott ginger my buddies down in anheuser-busch they have taken great care of us this year we really appreciate ultra being involved in the show and um gosh we uh we still gotta we still got just a few more minutes of this dan rooney interview so let's just catch the tail end of this dan rooney interview arnold palmer is the master there it is a win for the ages that was a great putt jack finishing off and what a day it's been for him a round of 65 lieutenant colonel dan rooney is brought to you by golden tee well dan tell everybody how we can get the book where we can find you how we can support folds of honor i know that we already have a very robust uh midwest presence for folds and saint louis is um already um doing some really nice things but we're going to get better and we're going to keep supporting this cause yeah so um we'll start with a book um fly into the wind literally you can buy it anywhere that they sell books amazon walmart sam's club target books a million barnes adobo um go out there you know i've talked enough about the book but i got about 10 books on my night stand j that always sit there and the thing they have in common is each one of those books has given me one thing that changed my life every day since i read it um and in my heart of hearts um i think this book will do that for people when they buy it there is one thing in here that will change you every day for the rest of your life um and that was kind of the the bar i set when i wrote this and i mean i poured everything i have into this book fly into the wind everything i've got for 47 years and i'm sure it'll change 10 years from now but this book can have a profound impact on your life if you slow down enough in this crazy world to to read it and you're honest with yourself so fly into the wind and i give a percentage back to folds of honor for everyone that's sold so you can not only hopefully have a positive impact on your life but also the life of a military spouse or child that we send to school and the show is out on fox nation so you can go out on fox nation and and check out some just again amazing real life practical advice on how to live your greatest life but also make it through the challenges there and if you want to make a straight donation to folds of honor folds of honor.org is is there right there in st louis two of our biggest partners in america snooks grocery stores are massive supporters of what we do they donate over a million dollars a year so if you're going to get your groceries to the holidays make sure you go to snooks and and get your groceries there my great buddy dave peacock is the the president and then anheuser bush is donated about 18 million dollars since we started our partnership with them eight years ago and i'm really good at this mission this is your call to duty like go drink some cold beer and change a life and it doesn't get any easier than that and it's just been a privilege to be with you obviously i'm a huge fan of yours j and everything you've done as a golfer and and st louis is literally my second hometown there is so much good stuff happening for folds up there and st louis we're just blessed to to spend some time with you especially around the holidays and you know my parting shot will be we've all been flying into the wind this year regardless of who you are at some level 2020 2021 is it's going to be the best year humanity has ever seen around the world that is my prediction and it's going to be a slow fuse that is starting to be lit right now with this covid vaccine and we're going to get that thing out to the world in in a huge way and in the us in a huge way in these next couple months and you mark my word when you're popping your cold budweiser on july 4th well this this country is going to be in in and i think one of the greatest places it's ever been and sometimes in life we got to get sick to get well and i think we're going to see a lot of unity i think we're going to see a lot more love appreciation for the stuff that matters and this whole covid thing like so many instances in the world we live in the brightest lights come from the darkest places and i think we're getting ready to have a supernova event it's humanity in the months to come in 2021 and just praying praying for all of us oh my gosh amen to that my brother yeah that sounds just fantastic man that is dan rooney he is the founder and ceo of folds of honor he's our guest today on golf with j dalston dan rooney thanks again so much j pleasure i will see you in american dunes this summer with your new bionic knee hitting the long draws that uh that you hit happy holidays merry christmas and happy new year you too man i'll tell you what i don't know where to start i know we don't have a whole lot of time to talk about dan rooney but i just think about patriot golf day i think about how this guy first of all how about the way that you give nicknames was that really cool so the the dumber the nickname the better the worse the worse whatever however you want to describe it your nickname is the better the pilot you were that absolutely caught me big time i loved there's a whole different perspective on nicknames for me yeah yeah that was terrific and um just the fact you know pearl he's he's he's got this association with the pga of america that no one else has ever had just um i gotta tell you pearl this reminded me of the time that we were on the airplane with our dads oh boy and we had the get out the uh get out the nap the uh the tissue paper we we had but we had that baby we had that one um uh u.s service man on the plane with us coming back from iraq and megan's daughter for the first time and it wasn't as dramatic as dan's story on how foals of honor was created by those for us but but what a cool experience that was for us and what the the the okay let's re-enact that for a second because we're on this little tiny plane there's only about 40 50 seats on this plane flying from minneapolis up to international falls to go fishing with our parents all of a sudden this guy sits down he's obviously in his fatigue so we know something's going on we start talking to him he's showing us pictures of his time in iraq afghanistan we started asking him questions and no matter what we said he said no sir the country's crap no i said well that picture looks on it no sir the country's crap we asked him about his family a little bit his service that kind of stuff everybody on the plane was clapping for this guy everybody was on the plane was partying with this guy it was a blast we opened the bar yes we did for everybody in the plane we bought everybody a cocktail in honor of this guy it was so and he had a couple and he was going to meet his daughter who was born while he was deployed we couldn't believe it so we you know we let him get off the plane first yes we did we not we did the whole plane let him get off first just just incredible he's out there hugging his wife and you know a little oh it's just terrific just absolutely terrific it's it's part of these what these servicemen and women do for us and what it means to us john with uh uh maybe it's uh besides the fact that we love our country the fact that we never were engaged in any sort of conflict that way and our parents were and there's i don't know what it is exactly but it's something and it means a lot to me and it's so fulfilling to be able to meet these guys and and and uh try to help them in any way we can absolutely there there's just so much behind all of the efforts and i think uh dan rooney's uh efforts towards uh the golf courses i'm just gonna have a different perspective you've got a different perspective there's so many cool things that that went on with all of this and uh everything about this kind of kind of pumps me up yeah that's great well gosh that's gonna wrap up the show you know what everybody had to love they didn't get they didn't have to listen to you and i much this week they got there's a bonus right here colonel dan rooney well that's going to wrap it up i want to thank again bob and kathy donahue 314-805-2132 anything you need for your house inside outside they do a phenomenal job next week we got a best of show so uh we'll talk to you then this is golf with j delsing hit them straight st louis