May is here, and the racetrack is officially open for practice for the Indianapolis 500.

Of course, we have had some rain the first part of the month. The MAC Championship finished Saturday, May 2, and Kent State won the conference in a convincing manner. The tournament started out with 36 holes on Thursday May 1 but was delayed due to rain. They finally got started around 10:30 a.m. with a shotgun start, and believe it or not, they got 36 holes in before dark.

In the second round, Kent State blew the field away by shooting a school record 17-under-par as a team. Their scores were 66, 68, 68, 69 and 74. They count the best four out of five scores. This was an impressive score from our back gold tees in wet, soft, breezy conditions. My Ball State Cards got off to a slow start and picked up in the third round but faltered to a sixth-place finish.

I ventured down to Fuzzy Zoeller’s new course, Champions Pointe, in Henryville, Ind. This is a good course that has a good variety of holes with trees and then some open holes and some water that definitely comes into play on the closing holes.

I actually hit the ball OK, but I missed a few fairways, and the rough was just brutal. It was long and wet, as they had rain almost all last weekend, and we played on Monday so the rough was not cut. Every time I missed the fairway it led to a bogey or even a double-bogey like I had on the eighth hole. I ended up with a 78 but just chipped it horrible all day.

So after a couple of competitive rounds, I know I have to take my own advice and start working on my short game. During May it is tough to get any practice time in with all the events going on, but a few minutes around the putting green should be doable. I keep telling everyone to work on their short game and here I am ignoring my own advice. So it is back to what my father made me do when I was a junior: Work on my short game or he would not let me play a round.

This past weekend, the May festivities of our Centennial Era kicked off with the Centennial Era Balloon Festival presented by AT&T Real Yellow Pages and a Saturday evening concert by Josh Kelley and Ryan Cabrera.

Josh and Ryan rolled in about 6 a.m. in their bus from a show in Cleveland the night before and wanted to play some golf that day. So we teed it up at about 10 a.m. Saturday behind the last round of the MAC.

Josh played college golf at Ole Miss for a year before embarking on his musical career. Josh is a 4 handicap and obviously doesn’t get to practice much, but he definitely can play and could be a scratch player with a little practice. He hits it high and long.

He gets to play in all the cool events. He just got through playing in the Hootie and the Blowfish tournament and played in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Ryan, on the other hand, is not so good, but he has fun playing and after about three or four holes he started hitting some good shots. He and their manager, Gabe, had a little game going. It was stroke play, and Ryan beat him pretty good the front side. They kept the match going on the back nine, but I have to admit they have their own set of rules and scoring system.

All and all, we had a great time with them. They were really into the Speedway and the golf course and were amazed at the size of the facility. Plus I was a big hit with my 16-year-old daughter, Lauren, as she got to meet them and get her picture taken with them. Thanks, Josh and Ryan.

The PGA Tour this week is at the famed TPC at Sawgrass. I played this course about two years ago, and it is tough. A few bad swings, and you are on your way to a high score.

Not sure what is going on with Tiger’s game. He has had some uncharacteristic bad finishes to rounds that I thought would not happen. Maybe it’s the layoff or he might be working on something new since The Masters. Time will tell, and the old saying is the cream always rising to the top.

As I sit here, I can hear the IndyCars practicing over at the Speedway. Remember, you can come out here during this month and play while the cars are practicing. We even have golf available during qualifications. The exception is that the golf course will not be open on Pole Day this Saturday but will be available the other three qualifying days.

Good luck to all the drivers this month as they prepare for the greatest race in the world, the Indianapolis 500. Check out our Web site at www.brickyardcrossing.com for other news and events going on here at The Brickyard.

Jeff Schroeder

PGA Head Professional

Brickyard Crossing