It is sad to say, but the golf season here in Indiana is coming to close quickly. We had a brief spell of good weather the last 10 days, but we also had a lot of rain mixed in with a few cold days.
With the golf season over, we look toward 2010 with great anticipation. The economy and weather early on and at the close of the season did us no favors. We had a rather mild summer with temperatures. Speaking of temperatures, we once again will promote “Pay the Temp” at the start of the new season and may bring it back for November. Stay tuned to the Web site for specials and other interesting golf items this fall and winter.
The PGA Tour is in Mississippi this week, and unfortunately the first round has been postponed due to heavy rain. See? Once again, weather is an issue in golf. Jim Gallagher Jr is in the field this week, and we wish him luck.
A couple of Hoosier golfers did really well this year on the Nationwide Tour, Chad Collins and Craig Bowden. Chad finished second on the money list, Craig 22nd. By virtue of their finishes, they both receive PGA TOUR cards for next year. Chad already was locked in for a card, but Craig had to play the round of his life last Sunday at Charleston, S.C., to stay in the top 25 and get his card. You can read about Craig’s last round in his blog he posted Monday.
As for golf in the Midwest, it is time to look at what can be done in the offseason to stay in shape and fine-tune swings. There are a couple of indoor places here in Indianapolis to hit some balls, and there are quite a few places to work out. Try to find some golf-specific workout programs to help you work on flexibility, and then do some toning on the old muscles.
This is a great time to look into putting together some golf trips with your buddies and head out of town to warmer places and get in some golf in the upcoming winter months. I think there will be plenty of deals out there on travel this year.
My annual trip to California is coming up in November to play in the Straight Down Fall Classic in San Luis Obispo. Last year, it was a strong field, with the likes of Fred Couples, Charley Hoffman , Dan Forsman, Jamie Lovemark, Jason Gore and Chez Reavie. The field has not been announced yet, but when it is, I will report on the entrants this year.
I am still hoping for that Indian summer, but we might be running out of time. Speaking of time, we move our clock back a hour here in Indiana this weekend, which means darkness will come that much earlier.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Fall has definitely set in here in Indy this week, with high temps around 60, cold winds and a chance for some heavy rain. That’s slowed down the golf here at the Brickyard.
Out on Tour, the Presidents Cup begins on Thursday with Fred Couples and Greg Norman as the captains of the U.S. team and International team, respectively. The event is being played at Harding Park in San Francisco. It is a public course and is rated one of the best in the country.
One of our bloggers here, Craig Bowden, at the Brickyard had a good week on the Nationwide Tour and moved into the top 25 on that money list. Craig had a solid tournament and needs to keep playing well to stay in the top 25, which will earn him a spot on the 2010 PGA TOUR. Check out Craig’s blog this week by clicking here.
Another Nationwide Tour player who was blogging for us is Chad Collins. Chad has enjoyed a really successful second half of the year and is guaranteed a spot on the PGA TOUR next year. Congrats to both players as we will have a few more Hoosiers out on Tour next year.
The Brickyard Crossing Men’s Club ended its season last Saturday. We had a little fun that day as the superintendent put some “fun” pin placements out on the course that day. The low score was 79 from the modified white tees. I played that day, and it was “fun.” The pins were in spots where we probably will never see them again. Hats off to Jeff Stuart , our superintendent, and his crew on giving us one of the best-conditioned golf courses all summer.
Even though the temperatures begin to fall this time of year, there still is a lot good golf weather left. It seems like we have been getting some early cool temps and then an Indian summer pops up, with some great 70- and even 80-degree days here in Indiana.
Provided the weather holds out, I am headed over to Columbus, Ohio, to play at Scioto Country Club. They have an event every fall called the Swat. The golf course is rated in the top 100 and was Jack Nicklaus’ home course when he was growing up. I have played there before, and I saw why he was such a great iron player. They have done some renovations to the course that I have not seen, and they are trying to get a major tournament there in the future.
My good friend Bill Stines is the professional at Scioto. He was the assistant there to Walker Inman, who the tournament is named after now. The format is interesting, as every team in the field plays each other a Nassau bet each day. This will be fun, and the course has so much history as it has hosted a U.S. Open, Ryder Cup, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Senior Open.
On the racing side of things, tune in at 4 p.m. (ET) Saturday to VERSUS as the season-ending race for the IndyCar Series is at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This should be a great race as three drivers go after the season championship. Good luck to Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti (both with Target Chip Ganassi) and Ryan Briscoe with Team Penske. This will be a great race to watch so tune in Saturday night on VERSUS.
Until next week, root for the U.S. team in the Presidents Cup and don’t put away the clubs just yet. There are still good days to come, and think about booking a trip to go play someplace, like the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Our last race of the year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was last weekend, with Jorge Lorenzo winning the Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race. But there is something else interesting happening here Thursday, Sept 3, as Grand-Am sports cars will test on the road course.
The neat thing about this is that the golf course is going to be open while the cars are testing. The weather this Thursday is forecasted to be sunny and in the high 70’s, a perfect day to play golf and see and hear some Grand-Am cars test here at the Speedway. Get online at our Web site or call (317) 492-6570 and book your tee time for that historic day.
On the professional side last weekend, Tiger finished second again. He missed a very makeable birdie putt to tie on the last hole. It just seems he is not making those big time putts of late. One guy who did make a big-time 20-footer was winner Heath Slocum. With that victory, he jumped to third in the FedEx standings. The course they played was called Liberty National in New Jersey, but the Statue of Liberty overlooks the course and you can see the New York City skyline. Congratulations also go out to the USA team that won the Solheim Cup.
This weekend is Labor Day, and the NHRA U.S. Nationals take place out at O’Reilly Raceway Park. We hope we get a few of our friends from drag racing to come out and play at Brickyard Crossing. The course here is in excellent condition, as it has been all year. Our superintendent, Jeff Stuart, and his staff have done an outstanding job of keeping the course in what I call “championship tournament” condition. The greens are quick, and the fairways are green and running, which makes for great conditions to play golf.
Back to professional golf, Nationwide Tour player Chad Collins has been on roll here lately. You remember Chad: He did some blogging for our site. Chad had been struggling a little, and then in a three-week stretch, he has two runner-ups and a fifth place to move into the top 15 on the money list and basically assure him a spot back on the PGA Tour next year. The top 25 get back on Tour. Good playing, Chad. Keep it going.
Next up for myself is the Senior Club Professional Championship next week at Harbor Trees here in Indy. If I play well enough, I could earn a spot in the National Senior Club Professional Championship in November down in Florida.
This weekend you also will hear and see a lot about the PGA’s Patriot Golf Day. This program will ask players around the country to donate to the Folds of Honor Foundation at participating courses. Brickyard Crossing is participating again this year, and we hope to double what we raised last year. For more information, visit www.patriotgolfday.com or www.pga.com .
Don’ t forget to play the Brickyard this Thursday and watch the Grand-Am cars test on the road course here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing