The British Open has started, and the weather is just brutal for the players. Greg Norman, at 53 years of age, led as of early Friday morning.
What wild conditions they are having, and if you listen to interviews with the players who are playing well, they are not complaining about the weather. They’re just playing the course and what it will give them.
That raises another good point on the mental aspect of golf: Don’t let things that are out of your control influence your game. Play each shot and each hole at a time.
The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard starts next week, and the course has a few events related to the race. But this weekend we host The Golf Channel’s Drive, Chip and Putt. This event is for junior golfers age 7-14, both boys and girls. It is a great event and one that is we look forward to hosting every year.
On Wednesday, July 23, we kick off the race week with Business at the Brickyard. This is an event that we stage in partnership with the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.
It is one of the most unique events in the country in that we have a tournament with business leaders from the city, and we also conduct a golf school for those who need to learn golf as a business tool. As everyone knows, the majority of business deals are now being made on the golf course.
After that event, we have Chevrolet media day on the course Thursday, July 24 and then our friends at Miller Brewing have the course Friday afternoon for a little golf. Saturday and Sunday the course is closed due to race activities.
Today, Friday, July 18, I head over to Meridian Hills CC for their annual PGA Pro Shootout. Meridian Hills is one of the nicest clubs in town, and every year they have this event in which 20 pros are invited and split into two-man teams for a nine-hole shootout.
In a shootout, a team with the highest score on the hole is dropped from the competition until there are only two teams left on the ninth hole, where a winner is determined. If there are ties on a hole, those teams participate in a chip-off to determine which team advances.
The membership at Meridian Hills really puts on a great show, and there are upward of 200 spectators watching. Needless to say, it can get very nerve-racking, and some funny things (shots) will happen.
I have a pretty good track record in this event. I have won it six times, so I really look forward to playing.
Got to go for now. Keep your eyes on Greg Norman as he tries to make history and win the British Open. Also Jeff Overton, formerly of Indiana University and a Hoosier resident, also did well across the pond. Here in the States, a couple of other Hoosiers did well at Milwaukee, Chad Collins of Cloverdale and Jim Gallagher Jr., formerly of Marion. Andy Winings of Brownsburg also qualified nicely in the US Publinx tournament in Denver.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Happy Fourth of July to everyone.
The holiday weekend is usually slow for the golf course, and this weekend is no exception. Everyone likes to play in the morning and then go parties and so forth in the afternoon. So it is a great time to get a friend, spouse or family together and play a little golf this weekend!
Professional golf kicks off this Monday thru Thursday in the Indianapolis area with the Indiana State Open being played at Prairie View in Carmel. Yours truly is in the field, and I am looking forward to my first competitive event of the summer here in Indiana.
My expectations are not really high, seeing how I have not been playing or practicing much at all. I hope to get in some practice time this weekend. My pairing for the first two rounds is a pretty strong one: I am paired with Jeff Cook, a four-time Indiana Open champion and former PGA Tour player.
The PGA Tour resumed last week without a Tiger, and some old names showed up on the leader board, with Stewart Cink winning the event.
If you remember, Tiger beat Cink in the match play tournament at the beginning of the year. So if things happen the way they should, we will have some new faces winning tournaments and some familiar names winning.
This week at the Buick Open, which was always a stop on Tiger’s schedule, a Hoosier is atop the leader board after two rounds. Bo Van Pelt, a Richmond Ind., native, is leading at 14-under par. Good luck to Bo over the weekend.
Weather. We are back to that theme this past couple of weeks.
Brickyard Crossing has been closed for 3½ of the last 11 days. On every one of these days, Little Eagle Creek overflowed its banks and flooded the adjacent holes.
The first day we were closed was Saturday, May 31 – what a good way to end a month of rain already. All of our bridges were under water and impassable.
Believe it or not, we were open the next day and were able to get carts in the fairways by mid-afternoon. Then Wednesday, June 4, rain hit again. It looked much worse this time.
The race is over, and it’s back to golf here at the Brickyard.
It was great to see old friends come back to the Indianapolis 500 and also make new friends with the new set of drivers that have come over in the merger of the racing leagues.
Here is a short recap of the last week here at the Brickyard. First, The Rollie Golf Tournament presented by Tommy Bahama Rum on Wednesday, May 21 was a great time. We had good weather, a little windy, and a good time was had by all. Check out the pictures on our Web site. The tournament was won by Brad Benge, Bob Treash, Dan Rohn, Graham Cohen and NHRA Top Fuel driver Morgan Lucas.
This week has been busy here at the Brickyard despite the rain and cool temperatures.
Short blog this week due to activities here at the course, but the main thing is to tell you about a few happenings.
First, Indianapolis 500 veteran PJ Jones, son of 1963 “500” winner Parnelli Jones, got to town this week looking for a ride in the Indy 500. PJ, who loves to play golf, had a hole-in-one Monday on our 14th hole. His first ace ever. The strange thing is, it was on a par-4. That’s right, a 305-yard par-4 in what I would say soft conditions. It has rained here about every other day. If my memory is right, that is the second hole-in-one on that particular hole here at the Brickyard.
The month of May is here, and it is starting to happen around here. We have golfers, racers and fans all coming to the Brickyard for one reason or another.
In a paragraph or two, we are going to try and answer some of the most popular questions asked on a daily basis.
This week, the Brickyard is hosting the Women’s Mid-American Conference golf championships.
Weather once again looks like it might be a factor. It is windy and warm, but the forecast is calling for falling temperatures and a chance of rain.
My alma mater is here, Ball State, and today my old coach for the men’s team, Earl Yestingsmeir, came by, and I chatted with him for a while. He was men’s golf coach at BSU for 35 years. Besides being the golf coach, he also was the Sports Information Director at the school.
The Masters is over and Tiger Woods is on the DL for six weeks.
The Masters tournament was once again a great mental test for the professionals; Augusta is a golf course that has no rough to speak of and is one of the most intimidating courses the tour plays. It can leave the best players in the world scratching their heads and talking to themselves.
In the end, though, Trevor Immelman turned out to be the player of the week with the most determination and patience. Brandt Snedeker emerged as the feel-good story of the week. He also may be the next Tom Watson in the manner in which he plays. One thing that does somewhat stick out is the pace of play. I understand it is The Masters and a lot is on the line, but to be in twosomes and take almost five hours to play?
The Masters has started, and the stars are circling the top. But young guns seem to be trying to stave off the notion that Augusta is for veterans.
The thing about The Masters is that the tournament really doesn’t start till the back nine on Sunday. Most players are just trying to keep within striking distance for Sunday. My pick for the title, Tiger, is just where he needs to be for Sunday, hanging around.