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
It just wasn’t meant to be.
Senior Open qualifying was last Tuesday, July 2, and it was my debut as a senior. On Sunday and Monday before the qualifier, I went to Lake Forest, Ill., to play in the Chicago Children’s Memorial Hospital Pro-Am. I have played in this event for about five years or so, and it is one of the largest fundraisers for the hospital, raising more than a million dollars from this event.
I thought it would be a good idea to get some competitive golf in before the qualifier. I played Sunday and Monday and played pretty well.
Three of us – George Arvanitis of the Country Club of Indianapolis, Jason LePage of Broadmoor Country Club and myself – flew up to Chicago and back through O’Hare Airport.
We all checked our golf bags at O’Hare, tipped the skycap and headed in to get on our flight back to Indy. We left on time and got to Indy by 10:15 p.m. and went to the baggage claim area and waited for our clubs.
Well, of course, the only set of clubs not to make it was mine. I explained the situation to the baggage rep for United, and he said that the clubs were still in Chicago and should be on the next flight at midnight. I told him to call me, and I would come back and pick them up.
Of course, no phone call. On Tuesday morning, I am calling the baggage number with my claim number, and the clubs had still not been located. Plan B was now in effect because I know now that my clubs are gone.
I started putting together a set of some clubs that I may have used most recently maybe five years ago. I didn’t have the driver that I had been using most of the year or the putter I had been using with a lot of confidence.
Bottom line: I just didn’t have any confidence in the set of clubs I put together. To say the least, I was very frustrated.
I ended up shooting 78 and missing a playoff by six shots. There were two players tied at 71 for medalist honors, Scott Morris and Steve Rogers, and two players tied for the last spot at 72. The two players in a playoff for the last spot were Russ Cochran and Quinn Griffing. Russ got the last spot when he birdied the first playoff hole and Quinn made a par.
Congratulations to Scott, who is a professional out at Ironwood here in Indy, and Steve, who played his college golf at Indiana University. Russ is from the Champions Tour, and Quinn is from Fort Wayne, Ind.
The frustration showed in my first few holes as I bogeyed numbers 2 and 4 and did not hit an iron shot till hole No. 7. I settled down and realized that my original thought of having to shoot 68 or 69 was way too low. The wind was blowing, and the pace of play was really slow, so I figured I needed to shoot even par to have a chance.
I three-putted the ninth hole to shoot 3-over on the front nine and still felt like I had a chance. I made a bad par on 10 as I drove it about 10 feet from the green and did not get it up and down for a birdie, which would have got me started.
I made pars on 11 and 12 and then hit a terrible shot on the par-3 13th and made a triple-bogey. From there I knew it was over and made pars the rest of the way out to shoot 78.
It was just one of those days where nothing positive happened to get my round going, and my confidence was ruined by playing without my usual clubs.
That day is over, and now we turn our attention to the Indiana State Open being played here at the Brickyard starting Tuesday, July 7 through Friday, July 10. This might be the strongest field ever with a lot of college players and also players who just turned pro after completing college.
Some notables considered older guys also are here, such as four-time champion Jeff Cook, Bill Schumaker, Denny Ford, Todd Smith and myself. Although I will not be 50 until Saturday, July 11, I am now one of the old guys.
I hope to be blogging daily and reporting on the action. The golf course is in excellent shape, and we had some rain on the Fourth of July to soften up the course and make it play longer. But more importantly, the rough will be long and lush. I think the scores will be low, and it will probably take 10-under to win the tournament, if not better.
Other staff members here at the Brickyard that are playing in the Open are Jeff Williams, my assistant professional, and Sam Foley, business development manager.
Good luck to all this week. The course will be open to the public Thursday and Friday after Open play, so book a tee time and see how you fare on a tournament course.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Happy New Year to everyone, as this is my first blog since going bust in California back in November.
As the saying goes, out with the old, and in with the new. That is more true these days as the economy has hit everyone pretty hard. Here at the Brickyard, we say goodbye to a part of our operation we have had since 1963, the Brickyard Crossing motel.
The motel was built in 1963 and has housed many a celebrity, including The Beatles back in 1964. They did not play golf here, but they did create quite a stir when the fans found out they were staying here. The motel housed quite a few golf stars as the PGA Tour played here in the 60s and the Champions Tour back in the 90s.
For 2009, Brickyard Crossing Golf Course will ply host to many events, including the Indiana State Open along with the U.S. Senior Open qualifier. The Senior Open championship will be played at Crooked Stick in nearby Carmel, another Pete Dye design. The Senior Open qualifier will be my first event as a senior, and that will be nice to have it on my home course.
Once again, I am heading to Florida to play in the National Senior Junior Championship with good friend Larry Ziegler. The tournament is team, best-ball event and features teams from all over the country. Larry is fun to play with and knows a ton about the golf swing, so I always walk away learning something new.
I will keep you posted on how we are doing. The tournament starts Monday, Jan. 19 and finishes on Jan. 22. After the tournament is over, we head up to Orlando for the PGA Merchandise Show, which is the largest golf show that I know of in America. This is where you see anything and everything that is remotely related to golf.
That is it for now. Remember to do some stretching in the winter months to keep your golf muscles in shape.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Cold weather has slowed business down here for the last week or so but a promising forecast for this weekend should bring some golfers out. Like most courses in our area we have aerated our course. I know all golfers hate this fall ritual but it is one of those necessary evils that we must do so that we can achieve optimum turf conditions next spring. With that being said a lot of courses have dropped their rates for the fall and there are some bargains to be had.
Focus on the PGA tour now is players attempting to keep their cards and stay in the top-125 money list. Fellow Hoosier and Brickyard Crossing blogger Chad Collins is in that mix as he tries to win enough money these last 2 events to jump up to the 125.
Another Hoosier, Jeff Overton, was in the top 125 and playing really well, that is, until he went to Phoenix for the PGA Tour stop and had to have an emergency appendectomy. What a terrible break, as Jeff had played really well this fall and was well on his way to securing his card for the 2009 season. But the main thing is that Jeff recovers and gets well soon.
If you don’t get to the top 125 you then get to try Q-School. It is the most grueling tournament in golf. There are two stages and then the finals where only 25 players get their tour cards for 2009.
Our good friend and former Hoosier Jim Gallagher Jr. is going to give it a try again this fall. Jim is just about as old as I am and wants to stay competitive to give the Champions Tour a chance here in a few years. Speaking of the Champions Tour, Hal Sutton made his senior debut last week. Some interesting players are turning 50 here in the next year.
In a few weeks I head off to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for a tournament hosted by Mike Rowley, president of Straight Down Clothing Company. The tournament is a scratch Pro-Am. My partner is Joe Hillman from Wolf Run Golf Club. This tournament is one of the biggest and best tournaments I play in.
Mike invites about 40 club professionals from around the country and then has 20 or more touring pros from the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. I have not seen the list of players yet but I know the last few years Tom Lehman, Charley Hoffman and Paul Goydos have competed. When the field is set I will let you know who is playing.
‘Til then get out and play some golf and check out the Brickyard!
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Editor’s Note: Brickyard Crossing PGA Head Professional Jeff Schroeder is blogging from the PGA Winter Championships sponsored by Taylor Made-Adidas in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He is playing in the tournament with friend and former Champions Tour standout Larry Ziegler.
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Now that the PGA Merchandise Show is over, one of the nice things that the PGA does is to offer a series of winter tournaments for us to play. They are called the PGA Winter Championships sponsored by Taylor Made-Adidas. The tournaments are held at the PGA Village complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
I am fortunate enough that the Brickyard allows me to stay down and play in one of these events this week. The event I am playing in is the Senior Junior Team Championship. I am playing this year with my good friend Larry Ziegler. Larry is a past Champions Tour member and a huge racing fan. Larry played all the Senior Tour events at Brickyard Crossing and now only plays in a few events during the year.