I’m back from the tournament grind and glad to be at my desk after playing in our Section Championship.
Congratulations to Todd Smith of Rock Hollow in Peru, Ind., on capturing the 2009 Indiana Club Professional Championship last week at French Lick. The courses proved to be very difficult, and the Ross course has some very tricky greens. The last two rounds of the tournament were played on the new and very demanding Pete Dye Course at French Lick.
As for my play, it all came down again to putting. I hit the ball well from tee to green but only made one medium-length putt that I shouldn’t have. I have not tallied how many putts I had for the tournament, but it was a lot. For the three rounds, I think I three-putted about eight times, most of them from under 30 feet and not that difficult.
The course got to a lot of people because it is very visually intimidating. It is very long and the greens are not overly large, but it is very difficult to get the ball close to the hole. The scores were a bit higher than I expected, but I was happy with my ball hitting.
Nevertheless, I ended up finishing tied for 21st, not bad for a senior , but I didn’t qualify for the National Club Pro Championship next June. My next big event will be the Senior Club Professional Championship qualifier in September at Harbor Trees in Noblesville, Ind.
Congratulations also go out to Jack Barber, the head professional at Meridian Hills Country Club here in Indianapolis, as he was named the National PGA Professional of the Year by the PGA of America.
Speaking of the PGA, how about Tiger not winning the PGA last weekend? I would have lost my house and everything else if I could have bet on him winning.
I must say that Tiger was very classy in his post-tournament interviews as he said that Yang played very well and did all the right things to win. Tiger went on to say that he hit the ball extremely well and just had a horrible day of putting.
Sounds so familiar!
It just goes to show that no matter how good you hit the ball, it is all about putting. So I am going to do some practice putting drills and work hard to get ready for the Senior Professional Championship coming up after Labor Day.
Keep checking the Web site here at the Brickyard as we get ready for Labor Day weekend. Now that the days are getting shorter, Twilight Golf will move up an hour, to 3 p.m., after Labor Day.
We will have pretty busy couple of weeks leading up to Labor Day as the Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race comes to the Speedway Aug. 28-30. If you didn’t see these guys on the bikes go around here last year, you need to check it out. It is crazy how fast they go and how low they lean the bikes over in the corners, and the only thing protecting them is their specially made leather uniforms.
Over Labor Day weekend, we will participate in Patriot Golf Day here at the Brickyard. We will ask golfers to donate $1 to the Folds of Honor foundation to help families of our service men and women who have lost their lives in the fight for freedom around the world.
This is a very worthwhile cause in which the PGA of America and its Play Golf America programs endorse. They really are the leaders for this cause. For more information on the Folds of Honor and Patriot Golf Day, visit www.patriotgolfday.com.
School has started here in Indiana, and that means fall is just around the corner. There still are beautiful golf days ahead, so don’t put up the clubs. Get out hit some range balls and book a time here at the beautiful Brickyard Crossing.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Two down, one to go – races, that is – here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard 400 was run last Sunday, with Jimmie Johnson winning for the second time in a row and third time overall. Jimmie was at the course Friday, July 24 to accept his ring for last year’s victory and to also announce the Jimmie Foundation golf outing to be played at a later date.
Boo Weekley showed up on Friday to check out the action at the Brickyard and got in a little golf that afternoon. Boo is exactly what you see. He is very friendly, courteous and just a lot of fun to meet and be around. He went over to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. and picked up a few items for a charity auction he is doing later this year. He picked a door and spoiler from the 88 car. Also from the Tour, our good friend Jim Gallagher Jr. and his son Thomas and friend Jake came to the race. It is always good to see Jim. Jim represented the Brickyard on Tour for a number of years and has always been a good friend to the IMS and Brickyard. Jim and the boys got in a little ball-hocking in the creek before the race and walked away with some nice golf balls. Our blogger from the Nationwide Tour, Craig Bowden, also came to the track to watch the race.
Speaking of the Gallagher’s, Jim’s sister, LPGA tour player Jackie Gallagher Smith, is here this week. Local company Allison Transmissions is entertaining some customers this week and decided to tie in some golf with their visit. Jackie, myself and the rest of the professional staff have been doing two clinics a day for their customers, then taking them out on the course for a round of golf. The clinics concluded Friday.
The U.S. Senior Open started Thursday at Crooked Stick, and the leaderboard is full of stars. Greg Norman got off to a good start and was tied for the lead with Joey Sindelar at 6-under par. This is going to turn out to be a very exciting tournament with plenty of birdies to be had, but Crooked Stick will jump up and bite you very quickly. Fuzzy Zoeller is playing, and fellow Hoosiers Randy Nichols and Scott Morris shot 75 and 76 in the first round, respectively. Randy was at 1-under when the Stick got him on No. 14 and No. 16 with double-bogeys.
As far as predictions, I think it is wide open. Weather right now has not been a factor as Thursday the rain stayed south, and the winds have been somewhat light. Scoring conditions should be ideal with good weather scheduled for the weekend.
Last Friday, I participated in the Meridian Hills Shootout and got to see the renovations that took place over the past year. I must admit: The course definitely got harder. During the shootout, I partnered with Pat Welch of Woodland Country Club, and we finished fifth. My putter was not very good as the first six holes are alternate shot.
Coming up here at the Brickyard next week are the Challenge Cup matches where the top amateurs in the state take on the top professionals. It is 36 holes and is contended very much like the Ryder Cup, with the morning being best-ball matches and the afternoon being singles matches. I am happy to report that I will participate. I was hoping to play in the senior division, but unfortunately I am in the regular division, so I have to say hello to those back tees once again.
I need to give a shout-out to my good friend and fellow professional Will Hutter. Will was the professional at Wolf Run and Sea Island and is now at the Governors Towne Club in Atlanta. Will had to have some surgery to remove a kidney on Tuesday of this week. Will is recovering nicely, and his results are very favorable. I want him to know that just because he is short a kidney, he is not getting any shots, no matter how much he whines!
Remember, the Brickyard is in awesome shape and tee times can be made daily through our Web site.
Until next week, keep practicing, and remember fairways and greens lead to lower scores.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
It’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard week here, and the course has been busy.
Fuzzy Zoeller was here Tuesday, July 21 for the Bob and Tom Fuzzy Navel Open golf tournament benefiting Riley’s Children Hospital in Indianapolis. As always, Fuzzy was very entertaining in his clinic, and then he was even more personable as he went around and played a hole with each group. Needless to say, they raised quite a bit of money that day for Riley.
It looks like Boo Weekley will be attending the race this weekend with a friend of ours, John Cunningham, who works for Bingham EST here in Indy. Along with Boo, our good friend Jim Gallagher Jr. and his son will be here this weekend to catch the race. Jim is a huge NASCAR fan.
Lots of activities going on Friday at the course, with hit a floating green on Hole No. 8 sponsored by Chevy. It is open to all fans and starts at 9 a.m. Those who hit a shot on the green qualify for the High Noon Shootout, with a chance at winning a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. Check out the Web site for more details.
Let’s talk about major golf now. What a heartbreak for Tom Watson last weekend in his playoff loss to Stewart Cink in the British Open. Cink has been on the verge of winning a major for a long time, and it was nice to see him win.
But I do have to admit that we hold a special spot here for Watson, seeing how he made his Senior Tour debut here at the Brickyard in 1999. He actually shared the lead after round one with a 66. That year, we had the Richard Petty Driving Experience come in and let the players drive a stock car around the track, and Tom got the Rookie of the Year award for his time in the car.
After Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is over this weekend, major championship golf arrives in Indy for the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club in nearby Carmel. If you don’t have tickets, yet you need to get some and watch the best senior players in the world take on Crooked Stick from July 27-Aug. 2.
The first round of the tournament begins Thursday July 30, with the final round Sunday, Aug. 2. Some of the best times to go might be the practice rounds, where you get up close a little easier and the players are much more relaxed.
I want to wish fellow Hoosiers Scott Morris and Randy Nichols good luck during the tournament. Scott qualified here at the Brickyard on June 30, and Randy qualified through his play in the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur. Randy was a semifinalist at Shady Oaks in Dallas last year. Both are great guys to play with, and I have enjoyed the pleasure of competing against both.
The field for this year’s Senior Open is very strong, with all the big names entered. I am sure Watson will be among the fan favorites, as he always is, along with Fuzzy and Greg Norman. It should be a great tournament, so don’t miss the chance to see these great players up close at Crooked Stick.
As for our playing here, I tee it up Monday with my assistant Jeff Williams in the Indiana PGA Pro-Assistants tournament at the Legends in Franklin, Ind. It is 36 holes, with a best ball in the morning and Pinehurst alternate shot in the afternoon. We hope to build on our top 10 finish of last year.
Until next week, check out all the racing action here at the Brickyard and book a tee time next week here at Brickyard Crossing and play one of the finest conditioned courses in the area.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The 2009 Indiana State Open ended Friday, July 10 with a fantastic round of 63 by Aaron Monson to claim the title.
First let’s recap Round Three, which ended Thursday after some morning rain and some real nifty pin placements. The course bit back after the first two rounds in which there were a lot of players under par. The tees got shoved back and course was a little softer, so it was playing longer. A lot of the players were talking how tough the finishing holes were playing. So the course got some respect back after the birdie fest the first two days.
At the end of the third round, it looked like it was just going to be a two-horse race between Chris Baker and Erich Johnston after Andy Winings fell back with score of 74. Johnston was leading Baker by one shot, at 13-under par. Monson was at 6-under.
Round Four began Friday with warm, humid temperatures. Monson go hot early and stayed hot as he shot a bogey-free 63. He birdied holes 1, 3, 8, 9 ,10, 12, 14, 15 and 16. He then two-putted from a different county on No. 18 to shoot 15-under for the tournament and then wait for the last group, with Johnston needing a birdie to tie. Johnston just missed his birdie attempt, and Monson won the 2009 Indiana State Open as an amateur. He just missed the course record of 62 set by Mike McCullough in 1999 during the Comfort Classic senior tour event.
Now that the tournament is over, the course is going to be setup similar to the Open championship this weekend. So book a tee time and come out and play the Open setup.
I want to welcome Allison Fouch to the blog team. Allison is a very talented LPGA player, and everyone should enjoy her blogs from the U.S. Women’s Open.
As for me, I have a birthday party to attend on Saturday – my own. So the next time I blog, it will be my first as senior. Hopefully my AARP card arrives, and I can get some discounts.
Fairways and greens to everyone, and my only birthday wish is for one-putt greens.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The first two rounds of the Indiana Open are in the books, and it has been a birdie fest here at the Brickyard, to say the least.
With the course being in excellent shape and little wind, the Brickyard was defensively from the young guns. These young guys bomb it over 300 yards consistently, and with fairways running fast, the par 5’s were short and the long par 4’s manageable.
As for my score, it all came to down to putting. I shot a pair of 75’s for a 150 total, missing the cut by two shots. Of course, I three-putted 17 and 18 to miss the cut, but I hit the ball well and just made a couple of mistakes that cost me from playing the last two days.
As the third round began Thursday morning, rain moved in and finally tapered off around noon. The tees have been pushed way back, and the pins are tucked nicely, so the scores could go up.
The leaders after the first two rounds were Chris Baker, Hooters Tour winner this year, and Andy Winings. Andy is the son of BG Winings, who is the golf professional at the Trophy Club in Lebanon, Ind. BG and I were college teammates at Ball State and have been playing together for the last 20 years, and every once in a while he takes me fishing.
Both Chris and Andy have turned professional since completing college, and I am sure they will be going to Tour School. There are quite a few good players chasing them, and it should be quite a shootout coming down the stretch on Friday.
We really need to give praise to our superintendent, Jeff Stuart. He has the course in championship condition, just like when we had the Champions Tour. So thank you to Jeff and all of his staff for providing such great playing conditions.
Remember that the course is open for play after the Indiana Open field has teed off, and the tournament layout also will be available over the weekend to test your skills.
Since this is my last event as a “regular” professional versus a senior, I can only say “goodbye to the back tees” on a regular basis. I am going to work on my putting, as it really let me down this week.
Until tomorrow afternoon, I will report back on the finish as I am headed out to watch the leaders play the back nine.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The U.S. Open has started and now has stopped. Play has been suspended for the day, and it will resume at 7:30 Friday morning. So it is going to be boring day here, with no golf to watch.
I watched a few holes Thursday morning, which was Tiger’s group as it teed off at 8:06 a.m. In his group were Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington. They completed six holes and will start on #7 Friday morning. The conditions were really rough, with gusty winds and a constant rain that eventually turned Bethpage Black’s fairways and greens into streams.
The scores were about what everyone thought they would be – somewhere around 1-under or even par. Scores probably will not go low due to the conditions and the length of the course. Throw the rain and the wet rough in the mix, and the course is probably playing two to three shots harder.
I would like to welcome fellow professional and Hoosier Craig Bowden to our blogging team. Craig has been on Tour quite a few years, and if you recall, he came to the Indy 500 this year. Check out his blog as he is playing in the Open and blogging from there all this week. Indiana University player David Erdy, who is from Evansville, also got in the Open as alternate. Good luck to both players this week.
It is less than two weeks until the Brickyard hosts the U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and the field here is strong. One Tour player is entered, left-hander Russ Cochran, and also a few former Tour players such as Ralph Landrum, who led the U.S. Open at Oakmont. There are quite a few fellow Indiana professionals, along with some other club professionals from the surrounding states. There are 101 entries, with only three advancing to the championship at Crooked Stick Golf Course in Carmel, Ind. It will probably take 4-under to secure a spot and maybe 2- or 3-under for the last spots. It all depends on the weather. The course is going to be setup from the back tees with difficult hole locations. If the course is soft, it will play longer, but the greens will be more receptive for approach shots. Spectators are welcome, and there is no admission charge.
After the qualifier, we go right into the Fourth of July week and then the Indiana State Open on July 7-10. Here in Indianapolis, we have had some type of rain nine of the last 11 days. We could use a break from the rain and let things dry out a bit so we can keep up with our mowing.
With no U.S. Open action going on Thursday, the rain has stopped and the sun is out in Indiana. This would be a good time to get some practice in to get ready for the qualifier and State Open. My knee is feeling a lot better but is still sore when I walk up and down hills.
Check out our Web site soon as we are going to be announcing a new promotion and an event in conjunction with the State Open.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
After my last blog, I got back into doing some practicing and also went down to French Lick to play Pete Dye’s new monster course. But before that happened, I had a little injury problem that had to be taken care of in the last week, so here is what happened after the last blog.
On the last Saturday in May, my friend from bowling and ESPN commentator Randy Petersen was in town, so we played that day. I was playing pretty good, and then I hit a shot on the 16th hole and felt something in my left knee give like it was buckling. The pain went away, and I finished the round.
But on Sunday, my knee was really sore. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go to French Lick on Monday. I put a brace on it and went to French Lick to play the Pete Dye Course and then play the Ross course on Tuesday morning. I got to the range on Monday and tried to hit a few balls, and it just wasn’t working. So I improvised and came up with an arm swing to play that day.
The problem was every time I shifted my weight to the left leg on the follow-through, a sharp pain and what felt like my knee buckling occurred. I finished the day and headed home to get it looked at by a doctor.
I went to Ortho Indy on Thursday and saw Dr. Kollias and got some X-rays. He then sent me Friday morning to get an MRI to see if I had actually torn my meniscus or some ligaments. On Tuesday, I got the call from Dr. Kollias with good news, bad news.
The good news is there are no tears or damages to the ligaments or meniscus. The bad news is I had a bad bruise on the outside of my left knee that was causing some swelling and pain, and the big issue is a cyst in my tibia bone in which my knee sits atop and where all my weight is placed. So that was some relief, but I will have to address the cyst at some point in the future. There is still some discomfort there, especially when walking up hills and side slopes. I have been released to start playing again and will do so in the coming days.
Meanwhile back at French Lick, the new Dye course is very good and very hard depending on the tees you choose to play. We chose to play the course at 6,700 yards and found it very challenging. Pete found the 36 high and low spots and put a tee and green on those spots, so about every hole is either uphill or downhill.
The views are spectacular. The clubhouse sits atop the highest point and is an old, colonial-looking farm house from which you can see all around the course.
After we finished our first round, we decided to play a scramble from the back edge of every tee which equates to over 8,000 yards. We had two groups, so the first hole was a 519-yard par 4 downhill into the wind, and no one got it on the green in two. The course from the back tees has six par 4’s that are over 500 yards and has a 300-yard par 3 with junk left, a lake right and a layup area about the size of a small bathroom. To play your own ball from all the way back might take all day.
Rumor has it that the lowest score shot from the back tees is reportedly 86. We want to thank Jan Tellstrom, the professional, for taking good care of us on our visit and also to Dave Harner, the director of golf, for his hospitality. The fee to play the course is little salty at $350 per player, but your foursome does get a nice wooden box set with a bottle of whiskey, four shot glasses and four premium cigars.
My advice is to take the shot of whiskey before you pay the fee and then another shot before you tee off. It is definitely worth the trip to play – and don’t forget there is a casino there, too!
Last week on the Tour, Tiger showed that he still is the player to beat as he won the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. If you notice a trend here, Tiger seems to bring his best game to all the majors, obviously, but he really turns it on when he plays at Arnie’s Bay Hill tournament and at Jack’s Memorial tournament.
By the way, did you see the skins’ game they had at the Memorial? They had a chip-off to determine a winner between Jack, Tiger, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink. Of course, Tiger chipped it in to win the most skins.
It has been one year since Tiger won a major and then had surgery, so I am going to go out on a limb and pick Tiger for the U.S. Open again as it is being played at Bethpage Black, which is extremely long and difficult, just how Tiger likes them.
Phil Mickelson also made his return this week at Memphis in preparation for the Open. Phil has been off tour since his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Congratulations also go to Bedford native Craig Bowden, who qualified for the Open this week at Columbus, Ohio. If you recall, Craig came to the Indy 500 this year and has been friend of ours for a while. Craig made the cut at Bethpage the last time the Open was played there.
Back here at the Brickyard, the course conditions are awesome. Our superintendent, Jeff Stuart, and his staff have done an outstanding job of keeping the course in what I call tournament condition. We have the U.S. Senior Open qualifying at the end of this month and then the Indiana State Open the second week of July.
Remember, Brickyard Crossing is open to the public, and we have Twilight Golf with reduced greens fees daily beginning at 4 p.m. Check our Web site for upcoming specials.
The Brickyard Senior Series returns on June 18, hosted by our Pro Emeritus, Rollie Schroeder. Visit www.brickyardseniorgolfseries.com for more information. Don’t forget Father’s Day is coming up, and a great gift would be a round of golf for your father. Better yet: Book a tee time for you and your father and play on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21!
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing