It looks like this golf season doesn’t want to end. Once again, the weather here in Indy has been better at the end of the year than the beginning. This weekend the temps are going to be in the middle to upper 50’s, which is really good for the week before Thanksgiving. If you can get and play this weekend, I would recommend it because it looks like next week the temps drop to normal for this time of the year. Still, November definitely has been better that October for golf.
The Straight Down tournament last weekend in San Luis Obispo, Calif., was great as always. The weather was OK, not as good as it has been in the past but definitely nice. The golf, on the other hand, was maybe not what we had forecasted.
Both rounds, my partner Joe Hillman and I got off to birdie-birdie starts. Both rounds we made two bogeys on the front nine from nowhere, mostly the result of not being aggressive or poor putting.
Poor putting has been the theme all year for me. When I get a good break, I don’t capitalize on it. Take my 10th hole at Straight Down, for example. It’s a par-5. In the first round, I caught the cart path with my tee shot, and the ball went an extra 150 yards to where I have a 4-iron to the green. I hit a good iron shot into the middle of the green and then three-putted for par.
It was kind of like that for the whole weekend. Get it under par, then chop up the easy holes and shoot over par in the second round to finish in the bottom third of the field. I will admit the course was set up as tough as possible, using difficult pin positions and speeding up the greens faster than normal.
But all in all, it was a great time. We got done in time to watch the Colts beat the Patriots. The tournament was won by a PGA TOUR player, Jeff Brehaut, who left from there to go to the second stage of TOUR qualifying school.
I also got to see some good players and watch their swings. I always try to do that when I go play in tournaments so maybe I can pick up something that will help me or the students I teach. I watched Loren Roberts, who swings so smooth and slow but still knocks it out there a good distance. Others that played were Scott Simpson, Kevin Stadler, Mark Wiebe, Roger Tambellini and Dan Forsman.
The second stage of PGA TOUR Q-School is going on right now, and a few Indiana players are competing, including Chris Baker, who finished second in the Indiana State Open here at the Brickyard this year. Also playing at Q-School is James Sachek of Zionsville, now residing in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Champions Tour finals are finishing today, and Quinn Griffing of Fort Wayne is the lone Hoosier who made it to the final stage. I just checked the scores, and Quinn came on strong the last two rounds and sits inside the top 20. He had rounds of 71-72-63-69. Quinn will not be exempt for the Tour next season, but he can qualify for the open events that are available. The top five are fully exempt, and then the next seven have conditional status. Trying to get on the Champions Tour is so difficult, but at least Quinn can go straight to the Monday qualifiers and skip the pre-qualifiers before each event.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving next week. That means the holiday season has officially begun. If you are looking for some great gifts for a golfer, don’t forget that the Brickyard Crossing Golf Shop has many items a golfer would love. One great gift is a gift card for a round of golf here at the Brickyard. Also, if that golfer has been struggling with their game or if you would like to introduce someone new to the game, buy them a golf lesson with one of our professionals.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing