Short blog this week due to the upcoming holiday. A couple things on the radar here at the Brickyard are an important upcoming event and a change to our Twilight Golf program start time to 3 p.m. starting on Labor Day, as the days get shorter.
The earlier start to Twilight Golf should allow players a little more time for that late-afternoon round here at the Brickyard.
In talking about Labor Day weekend, I want to let everyone know about a very worthwhile endeavor called Patriot Golf Day that will take place across the country next weekend at golf courses across the United States.
Patriot Golf Day is an initiative of the PGA of America, of which I am proud to be a member. We are asking every player who comes to a participating Patriot Golf Day course to donate $1 to the Patriot Golf Day Fund. In return, the facility will then donate that money to the Folds of Honor Foundation.
Folds of Honor was created by Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 fighter pilot and also a PGA Professional. The Foundation was created to provide educational scholarships for dependents and spouses of veterans who have been injured or perished in the line of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The program was started in 2007 and raised $1.1 million in its first year. Visit www.foldsofhonor.org for more details and visit www.patriotgolfday.com to locate a participating course. Patriot Golf Day runs Aug. 29-Sept. 1.
We also are selling a special Patriot Golf Day hat here at the Brickyard.
Last week, I mentioned the Indiana Club Professional Championship at the Country Club of Indianapolis. Jim Ousley of Tippecanoe Country Club in Monticello, Ind., won the tournament. Congrats to Jim and also congrats to Denny Hepler of Warsaw, who had a rare double-eagle (albatross) on the par-5 eighth hole.
As for my play, it wasn’t the best. I had a little trouble with the putter, and definitely my concentration was poor, at best. I need to follow some of my own advice and get out and practice the short game.
Make sure that you get out Labor Day weekend and support Patriot Golf Day.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The big argument in golf after the PGA Championship is: Who is the No. 2 player in the world? We all know Tiger is No. 1.
My thoughts are Padraig Harrington. Paddy wins two majors in a row, and Phil Mickelson stumbles, so it should go without saying that Paddy is No. 2.
Do you think Tiger was sitting home these last two majors wondering, “What if?” Probably not, but I bet he wanted to be there and play two of the most difficult courses in championship golf.
This now leads me to another question: Why is golf not an Olympic sport? Golf has been around forever.
It is Thursday and about 2 p.m., and I am in the middle of our IGA-PGA Challenge Cup matches between the amateurs and PGA Professionals of Indiana at Brickyard Crossing.
My partner this morning was Ryan Ford from the Legends of Indiana golf course in Franklin. Our opponents were Brian Harris, from Kokomo, and Ross Cossart from Knightstown. Ross also goes to Ball State University, my alma mater.
The match was kind of uneventful in that both teams played OK. The match was halved after 18 holes, meaning that it was a tie and each team got a half a point for the tie.
This afternoon is singles, and I will play Brian Harris. Brian is a good player who has played in a lot of USGA events, plus he is a businessman who doesn’t play every day like the college kids. It should be a good match, and I will report back later.
It looks like the pros are getting beat again after the morning four-ball matches.
The PGA Championship is going on. I have not seen any scores, but I figure at the end of the day Singh, Michelson and the big boys from across the pond will be atop the leaderboard. I read where the grounds crew was using rakes to rake the rough so it would stand up. Now that has got to be brutal to hit out of.
That is it for part one of the blog this week. More to come.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Sorry for not writing a blog last week; we were a little busy with a few events surrounding the race. A few of the drivers played last week in the Chevrolet Media Day golf tournament. It seems like more drivers are playing than in the past. This takes in account drivers from Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series.
Not a whole lot going in golf with the exception of the U.S. Senior Open out in Colorado this week. One of my good friends, Bob Stephens from here in Indy, qualified and shot a very respectable 71 in the first round. Bob does a little practicing here at the Brickyard and has won numerous amateur tournaments here in Indiana.
Speaking of the Senior Open, the Senior Open comes to Crooked Stick Golf Club in suburban Indianapolis next year, and the tournament is looking for volunteers. Contact the tournament office at (317) 571-8742 or visit www.2009ussenioropen.com if you would like more info on being a volunteer.
We have some events coming up here at the Brickyard. The annual IGA-PGA Challenge Cup is Thursday, Aug. 7. This event pits the top amateurs in the state against the top PGA Professionals.
The event is 36 holes in which the morning round is a two-man team best-ball match play, and the afternoon is single-match play. This similar to the Ryder Cup but is only one day. The amateurs have been beating us here lately, so the professionals need to step up and lay one on the amateurs.
I am fortunate to be able to play in this event and am honored to be on the team and to also host this event that is sponsored by the Greg Norman Collection. Speaking of Greg Norman, how about his play in the British Open and the Senior British Open?
The PGA Championship is coming up in about a week. The venue this year is in Detroit at Oakland Hills. This is a very long and demanding course, and I am going to give you a couple of picks I think might do well in next week’s blog.
The Tour is at Firestone CC this week for the Bridgestone Invitational. If you haven’t heard, we are a Bridgestone-exclusive facility and have been now for two years. You can read more about this on our Web site.
Back to the tournament at Firestone. Last year I was invited to the tournament as a guest of Bridgestone. They rolled out the red carpet. I got to stay right at the course in the guest rooms above the clubhouse. Then on the first round of the tournament, I was an honorary observer with Sam Foley, our business manager here at the Brickyard, and walked inside the ropes with a group. Our group consisted of Michael Campbell, Paul Casey and Scott Verplank. They were all nice. Not a lot of conversation, but they hit some golf shots.
Being that close, you watch every move they make, then immediately try to copy that shot or swing. I watched really close when they missed a green to see if I could pick up anything that would help me with my short game.
I did notice that on their shots around the green out of high grass that the clubface did not necessarily open up as much as what I thought it would, so I came back to the Brickyard and practiced that. It did help my short game a little.
Firestone CC is an awesome course that I got play about a month after my visit, and it is one tough, long golf course. The thing people don’t realize is that there are two other courses there that are just as good, and it is definitely worth the visit to play.
I’ll give my picks next week for the PGA, and if you get a chance, try some Bridgestone products. Their golf balls are as good as it gets, and their irons are pure.
Don’t forget that golf is a game of a lifetime.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing