Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to everyone.
As the 2009 year is coming to a close, I thought we would put out one more blog for the year. The 2009 year was filled with ups and downs, but for the most part it was another good year in the world of golf here at the Brickyard.
We started the season here at the Brickyard with the “Pay The Temp” promotion on St. Patrick’s Day. The weather was perfect with temps reaching near 70 degrees. The course was packed. We continued that promotion through the month of March, and hopefully we will bring that back in March 2010.
During the season, Central Indiana was treated to some major golf as the U.S. Senior Open was contested at Crooked Stick in nearby Carmel.
On the PGA TOUR, we saw a new champion at The Masters in April as Angel Cabrera defeated Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry in a playoff to take home the green jacket.
The next major tournament was the U.S. Open in which David Duval made a dramatic comeback but just came up short, as did Phil Mickelson, to Lucas Glover. Lucas won his first major at Bethpage Black, a brutal golf course.
Next up was the British Open, and how can you forget Tom Watson and his historic run at the Claret Jug? Tom ended up losing in a playoff to Stewart Cink, but Watson won everyone’s heart with his play that week.
And finally the last major of the year saw Tiger Woods leading the PGA Championship going into the final round. But as it turned it out, maybe Tiger had a few other things on his mind as Y.E Yang went toe-to-toe with Tiger to capture the PGA Championship at Hazeltine.
And, yes, right now the most talked-about subject everywhere is Tiger Woods and his off-course adventures. Tiger has decided to take a break from golf indefinitely. Let’s hope he can work through these times and return to the course to entertain the fans.
I would like to say thanks to all who played the Brickyard this year and thanks to those of you who visited our Web site and read our blogs that featured not only myself but our Course Superintendent Jeff Stuart and PGA Nationwide graduates Chad Collins and Craig Bowden. Both Chad and Craig will play on the PGA TOUR next season, and we wish them luck as they start the new year. Thank you Jeff, Craig and Chad for your time and stories that I am sure everyone enjoyed. I know I did.
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to everyone, and we will talk to you in 2010.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
It is finally official: I am a Senior!
I survived the birthday party weekend and teed it up early Monday morning, July 13 in the Monticello Open. My first round as a 50-year-old proved to be quite interesting. I played well with the exception of three par 3’s. I played the 9th, 12th and 15th holes, all par 3’s, 7-over par and only shot 4-over par. I am not going into details about those holes, but it was ugly.
Next up is the Senior Pro-Am here at the Brickyard beginning Thursday, July 16, and I am teaming up with Skip Runnels. It is a scratch, best-ball tournament and concludes Friday, July 17.
Now onto the big tournament, The British Open. The Open, as it is called, is being played this year at Turnberry in Scotland. Everyone is saying the course is moderately easy and that Tiger has the edge. Some kind of stat says that every time that the Open has been there that the No. 1 ranked player has won.
You need to remember that strange things happen at The Open. Things to look for are the possible re-emergence of David Duval. He is a former Open winner and is coming off a U.S. Open performance that has him full of confidence. Or how about Todd Hamilton a few years ago?
But let’s not forget that the European Tour is full of talent with some new young guns and the veterans who know how to negotiate The Open courses and pressure. This one should be enjoyable to watch, as most the players not all that familiar with the course.
My picks for this Open are going to be some of the young Euros such as Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer. Can Padraig win a third Open? Of course, the best bet is Tiger.
Phil Mickelson is stopping his consecutive streak of majors in order to be with him wife and now his mother, who are both fighting breast cancer.
Next week NASCAR comes to town for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and Brickyard Crossing will be busy with events. The week starts out with the Bob and Tom Fuzzy Navel Open. Fuzzy Zoeller will be here to help raise money for Riley’s Children Hospital. That event is followed by the Business at the Brickyard golf day. This is a partnership between the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Brickyard to introduce golf as a business tool.
Then there are open tee times Thursday, July 23, the last day before the cars start running on Friday.
Check out our Web site for all the action coming up here at the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
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