The Indy 500 is in the books, and congrats to Helio and Team Penske. It is back to golf here at the Brickyard, with a few events here in the next week or so.
A new event here at the Brickyard was completed this week, the Brickyard Crossing Senior Series hosted by Rollie Schroeder, our pro emeritus. This will be a monthly tournament for seniors to compete for prizes. More information on these events can be found at the Web site, www.brickyardseniorgolfseries.com.
The PGA Tour this week is in Texas at the Colonial, the Nationwide is in Raleigh, N.C., where we have couple of players with Brickyard ties competing. Chad Collins is back out on the road as you know if you have read his blog this week, and our old friend Jim Gallagher Jr. also is playing this week. Jim usually comes up for the race but called and said he was playing this week and wanted to stay home and practice. Another Hoosier professional on the Nationwide Tour, Craig Bowden from Bedford, stopped by last week to watch the Indy 500.
Our men’s and ladies’ clubs here at the Brickyard are in full swing with their seasons. The ladies played Wednesday, May 27, and the men have an event Saturday, May 30. If you would like more information on our clubs, visit our Web site at www.brickyardcrossing.com or give us a call at (317) 492-6572, and we will answer any of your questions.
This Monday, I will have the pleasure of playing the new Pete Dye course at French Lick, Ind. I have heard it is amazingly difficult and long. Rumor has it that the course record from the back tees (8,000 yards) is 86. Obviously, I will not be playing the back tees but hope to get a few photos of the views from the back tees.
The U.S. Senior Open qualifier is a month away and I need to find some game. So I need to get out do some practicing and especially do some stretching and walking. So don’t forget to get out hit some balls and play a round here at the Brickyard. Stay tuned for upcoming events and programs here at the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Another The Rollie golf tournament is in the books. We had a full field of over 150 players on a beautiful 80-degree afternoon May 20 at the Brickyard Crossing.
Our friends at IZOD provided a great gift bag for all the celebrities, and players and Jug’s Catering provided us with the traditional fried chicken and biscuits dinner.
I want to thank all the drivers for playing. We had about six current drivers, such as Graham Rahal, A.J. Foyt IV, Tomas Scheckter, Darren Manning and Ryan Hunter-Reay. We also had two former Indy 500 winners in Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal, plus Jerry Sneva, a former Indy Rookie of the Year. I also want to thank our friends from NHRA, drivers Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Melanie Troxel. Thanks to all the drivers for making The Rollie the golf happening of the month.
One big thanks goes to all the players for supporting the tournament every year. Check out the photos here on our Web site.
The biggest thanks goes out to the Hulman-George family for naming the tournament after my father, Rollie Schroeder, for his years of service here at the Speedway as their golf professional. Thank you Mari, Tony, Nancy, Josie and Kathi.
This Memorial day weekend is big here at the Brickyard. Friday was Miller Lite Carb Day, and the course is closed except for our Pace Car driver this year, Josh Duhamel. He is getting in a little golf before he goes back to practicing for the race Sunday.
Come Monday, it is back to usual business here at the Brickyard with golf starting at about 11:30 a.m. So after the weekend is over the course reopens for regular play, and I have to say our golf course is in the best shape ever. Thanks to Jeff Stuart, our course superintendent.
Remember the Brickyard is open for play starting Monday, and we will be coming up with some new promotions besides our daily Twilight Golf after 4 p.m. Lots of cool events scheduled here this summer, so stay tuned.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The Brickyard Crossing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway lost a good friend this week. Lloyd Ruby passed away this week at the age of 81.
Lloyd was a good friend of my father and our family, and he would come back every May to play some golf and attend the Indy 500. Lloyd was one of the drivers who helped keep the Race Driver’s Tournament going every year with my father, Stan Benge, Parnelli Jones and Jug Eckert. The tournament is now known as “The Rollie.”
The format is a scramble, and every year it was a well-known fact that USGA rules did not apply. The rules of the tournament were known as “Ruby Rules.” Strict golf rules were not followed; it was all about having fun.
If you ever got the chance to play with Rube, it was a golfing experience you would never forget. Mulligans were abundant, and the adult beverages were a must. The tournament always was held the day after Bump Day, and the drivers who participated came to have fun after a long month of working to get into the world’s greatest race, the Indianapolis 500.
There are many stories to tell about those golf tournaments, and I am sure at this year’s tournament a lot of Lloyd Ruby stories will be told. Lloyd was a true friend of the Brickyard Crossing and an even bigger supporter of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will be sadly missed this May by everyone here at the Brickyard.
The weather here in Indy has been good for March; we are still running our “Pay the Temp” special and are seeing a lot of new golfers here at the Brickyard. The NCAA Midwest Regional is in town this weekend, and we should pick up a few players from that. Other than basketball, right now the golf talk centers on Tiger playing this week at Bay Hill. I think he will have a good showing as he always has played well at Arnie’s tournament. After Bay Hill, everything will focus on The Masters, and will it be Phil or Tiger?
I got out last Saturday, March 21 and played here at the Brickyard with a few members, Gary Martin and Fred Hash, and Sam Foley, one of our teaching professionals. The course was in really good shape for March. Jeff Stuart and his staff did an outstanding job of getting the course ready for play.
If you have not read Jeff’s blog yet, do so and you will find out a lot of interesting facts about the maintenance of Brickyard Crossing and golf courses, in general.
I didn’t hit the ball too bad for the first time out since my disappointing play in Florida back in January. One of my goals this year is to try and practice more and play a round or two each week to keep in competitive shape as I near the 50 mark.
Remember, get out and practice a little before that first round of the year. This also is a good time to go see your local PGA Professional for a lesson. Getting a lesson early in the year can break some bad habits that you might have or even create that first time out.
Here at the Brickyard, we offer an array of programs and packages for lessons. Keep in mind that swing flaws cannot be fixed with just one lesson, so think about doing a series of lessons or – like we offer here – unlimited lessons for the season.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
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.