Belle Haven Country Club is one of nearly 200 golf facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region to host Patriot Golf Day activities over the Labor Day weekend and will collect donations for the Folds of Honor Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides educational scholarships to the families of servicemen and women who have been disabled or killed in service to their country.

Supported by both the PGA of America and the U.S. Golf Association, Patriot Golf Day offers a variety of activities that may include a golf scramble event, a visit from local veterans and their families or even a complimentary golf clinic by the facility’s PGA professional. Golfers at participating facilities are encouraged to donate the minimum of $1 on Patriot Golf Day to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation.  To locate a participating facility, people are encouraged to visit www.PatriotGolfDay.com/register.  

"Our MAPGA Professionals and their members and patrons have really responded to this great program,” Jon Guhl, executive director of the Middle Atlantic PGA Section, said in a news release. “With such a high military presence in this area, golf has found a way to honor our true heroes and we hope this year builds on the success that has been achieved so far, with almost $13 million raised in the last five years through PGA-staffed facilities."

Of the more than one million dependents of fallen and wounded military service men and women from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts alone, 87 percent do not qualify for federal education assistance, according to the organization. Patriot Golf Day allows the Folds of Honor Foundation to present an ongoing tribute to service members by ensuring that the families of fallen and wounded warriors have hope for the right educational start to life and best future possible.

Major Dan Rooney, a former F-16 fighter pilot, PGA professional and USGA member, came up with the concept of Patriot Golf Day and founded the Folds of Honor Foundation in 2007, following his second of three tours of duty in Iraq. With the help of PGA Professionals across the country, Folds of Honor has been able to award more than 3,500 educational scholarships in the last five years.