Cold and dreary weather sums up the last week here in Indy. The weather was a little better over in Columbus where I played at Scioto CC last weekend. The golf course was great and it definitely has the character to hold another major. The format over there was a two best ball of a fivesome at scratch, no handicap.
Of course most of the players were from Ohio and naturally I took a lot of ribbing about IU football. But I did remind them about our Colts and how we were looking forward to Anthony Gonzalez getting back on the field this season. The Colts are off to a good start again and have this week off to rest. Sometimes when they have a bye week some of the players will get in a little golf but the weather has been less than ideal for golf, high 40s and rain has been the norm here since last week.
The IndyCar Series season ended last Saturday evening with Dario Franchitti winning the race at Homestead and also winning the series championship. Congratulations to Dario and to the Target Chip Ganassi Racing Team on a great season. Dario’s teammate Scott Dixon finished second in the championship.
The PGA Tour is in Las Vegas as the players make a run for the top 125 and exemptions for next season. The Nationwide is in Florida with Craig Bowden trying to stay in the top 25 to earn an exemption onto the tour next season. Craig opened with a 1-under-par 71.
Back to Vegas, one of the leaders after the first round is Tom Pernice Jr. Tom just turned 50 here a few weeks back and won his first Champions Tour event and now is in contention to win on the regular tour.
The President’s Cup ended last weekend with the United States team winning in somewhat of a dominant fashion. To start the week off all the media wanted to know was the situation between International Team captain Greg Norman and his wife Chris Everett. It was reported they had separated after 18 months of marriage and Greg had just had surgery on his shoulder. Greg’s response to the questions was very classy and to the point, they were there to play golf and his personal life would not be discussed that week.
After the matches were over there was a little flap over Anthony Kim and his social life the night before the single matches. Kim played Robert Allenby and beat him 5 and 3. Kim was well under par for the match and Allenby said that Kim was out until 4a.m. that morning. Long story short is that they have made up and decided to move on. U.S. captain Fred Couples did a great job of getting this team together and having them play their best golf. Fred definitely needs to be a Ryder Cup captain in the future. Fred had some great assistants with him in Jay Haas and none other than basketball great Michael Jordan.
That is about all that is going on in the golf world and I would like to send a get well wish to our friend Bill Schumaker from Columbia City, Indiana. Bill had heart surgery a week ago and is recovering nicely. Bill is an Indiana Golf Hall of Fame member and has won every possible professional tournament in Indiana along with a PGA National Club Professional Championship.
The weather has got to turn back to at least normal and we still are waiting for that Indian summer we always have here in Indiana. Book a tee time and get out and play some golf before the snow flies.
I’m back from the tournament grind and glad to be at my desk after playing in our Section Championship.
Congratulations to Todd Smith of Rock Hollow in Peru, Ind., on capturing the 2009 Indiana Club Professional Championship last week at French Lick. The courses proved to be very difficult, and the Ross course has some very tricky greens. The last two rounds of the tournament were played on the new and very demanding Pete Dye Course at French Lick.
As for my play, it all came down again to putting. I hit the ball well from tee to green but only made one medium-length putt that I shouldn’t have. I have not tallied how many putts I had for the tournament, but it was a lot. For the three rounds, I think I three-putted about eight times, most of them from under 30 feet and not that difficult.
The course got to a lot of people because it is very visually intimidating. It is very long and the greens are not overly large, but it is very difficult to get the ball close to the hole. The scores were a bit higher than I expected, but I was happy with my ball hitting.
Nevertheless, I ended up finishing tied for 21st, not bad for a senior , but I didn’t qualify for the National Club Pro Championship next June. My next big event will be the Senior Club Professional Championship qualifier in September at Harbor Trees in Noblesville, Ind.
Congratulations also go out to Jack Barber, the head professional at Meridian Hills Country Club here in Indianapolis, as he was named the National PGA Professional of the Year by the PGA of America.
Speaking of the PGA, how about Tiger not winning the PGA last weekend? I would have lost my house and everything else if I could have bet on him winning.
I must say that Tiger was very classy in his post-tournament interviews as he said that Yang played very well and did all the right things to win. Tiger went on to say that he hit the ball extremely well and just had a horrible day of putting.
Sounds so familiar!
It just goes to show that no matter how good you hit the ball, it is all about putting. So I am going to do some practice putting drills and work hard to get ready for the Senior Professional Championship coming up after Labor Day.
Keep checking the Web site here at the Brickyard as we get ready for Labor Day weekend. Now that the days are getting shorter, Twilight Golf will move up an hour, to 3 p.m., after Labor Day.
We will have pretty busy couple of weeks leading up to Labor Day as the Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race comes to the Speedway Aug. 28-30. If you didn’t see these guys on the bikes go around here last year, you need to check it out. It is crazy how fast they go and how low they lean the bikes over in the corners, and the only thing protecting them is their specially made leather uniforms.
Over Labor Day weekend, we will participate in Patriot Golf Day here at the Brickyard. We will ask golfers to donate $1 to the Folds of Honor foundation to help families of our service men and women who have lost their lives in the fight for freedom around the world.
This is a very worthwhile cause in which the PGA of America and its Play Golf America programs endorse. They really are the leaders for this cause. For more information on the Folds of Honor and Patriot Golf Day, visit www.patriotgolfday.com.
School has started here in Indiana, and that means fall is just around the corner. There still are beautiful golf days ahead, so don’t put up the clubs. Get out hit some range balls and book a time here at the beautiful Brickyard Crossing.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Tiger wins again at Firestone. Tiger Woods came back from missing the cut at the British Open and played in the last Buick-sponsored event on Tour and wins. Then he goes to Akron, Ohio, home of Firestone CC, and wins the Bridgestone Invitational, which is one of the World Championships.
He basically ripped Warwick Hills apart after an opening round of 71 and talk of a second straight missed cut. He fired 63-65-69 to dust everyone off and moved to Firestone, where he beats Paddy Harrington on the 16th hole of the last round with a birdie to Paddy’s triple bogey after a slow play warning. The slow play warning on the group was actually issued by a European official.
Now Tiger is at the last major of the year, the PGA. The PGA is being played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Tiger is major-less since the U.S. Open in 2008. What are the odds he wins? Hazeltine will play at – are you ready for this? – 7,674 yards. That’s right over 7,600 yards for a major championship.
How long must golf courses be to hold a major event? The great old venues of yesteryear are now obsolete. Courses like Merion, where Ben Hogan won, are no longer considered for a major. I have to agree with Pete Dye that equipment and technology have made most courses obsolete. Some courses would have to spend millions in renovations to be even considered for a tournament. Our golf course is listed at 6,995 yards from the back tees, and if we moved pins and tees around it would be well over 7,200. After just having the Indiana State Open here, it is obvious that our course, which is 15 years old, is somewhat short compared to the distance that players hit it today.
With that, let’s move onto some other golf items such as the “summer break” that the LPGA is on right now. The last time the ladies played in the U.S. was July 12, which was the Women’s U.S. Open. The next event here for them is the Solheim Cup in Chicago. The LPGA definitely is hurting, and next year is not looking real strong for that tour as it fights to keep tournaments and sponsors. Just like all golf tours, the economy is hurting the LPGA as corporate America watches its image and spending.
Another item coming up at the end of the month that I am going to touch on is Patriot Golf Day. It is a very noble charity that was started by Major Dan Rooney, a PGA professional and fighter pilot. You can visit the Web site at www.patriotgolfday.com and learn more. We will talk more about this as the event nears on Labor Day weekend.
This coming week, the Indiana Professionals Championship will be played at the French Lick Resort. It is a 54-hole tournament that will be played on the Donald Ross and Pete Dye courses at French Lick. We will play 18 on the Ross and 36 on the Dye.
Remember, the Dye course can play over 8,000 yards. We will probably play it at about 6,800-6,900 (I hope!). Posted in this blog are a few photos from my last visit there in June.
This event is a qualifier for the National Club Professional, which happens next June at French Lick. There will probably be about seven spots or less for the tournament. I have been fortunate enough to play in two National Club Pros and one regional Club Pro in my career. I hope to add another one this year along with a Senior Club Professional Championship spot in September.
It’s time to go hit a few balls and get prepared for next week. Brickyard Crossing is in championship condition, and tee times are available daily. Visit us online and be sure to keep checking our Web sites for information concerning the Brickyard and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
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
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
After some disappointing golf in Florida, it was off to the annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. The Show, as it is called, is the largest golf-related exhibition that I know of in the world. It takes up the entire Orange County Convention Center, with anything and everything that could be related to golf and some things that are not.
There was not much buzz this going into The Show as there has been in the past other than a few new drivers were debuting and Titleist’s revamped ProV1 golf balls.
The Show starts out with an outdoor demo day at Orange County National Golf course. Every major manufacturer was there except for Taylor Made, which has one of the hottest drivers on the market now with the R9. The entire course’s practice facility was being used, and if you have ever been to OC, then you know how large it is.
All the manufacturers large and small had their equipment there to demo. We walked around and looked at all the major companies and spent a little more time talking to our good friends at Bridgestone. They had their ball-fitting challenge equipment there and were slammed with people getting fitted for the right golf ball. They don’t have any new clubs coming out this year, but some of their staff players are using some prototype drivers from Japan.
If you have not been through this ball fitting, it is well worth the time to see if you are playing the right ball. As a matter of fact, we will be trained by Bridgestone to do this on our equipment we have here at Brickyard Crossing. Check our Web site in the future for dates when we will conduct ball fittings and more this season.
Back to The Show.
So demo day was quiet but interesting. A few Tour professionals were there, including Trevor Immelman and Suzanne Petersen for Nike Golf. Both put on a little clinic promoting Nike’s new clubs the Victory Red and the new Dymo driver, which is adjustable. It allows you to change both the loft of the club and the face angle. In other words, the shaft can be inserted at three different angles to change the playability of the club. The Taylor Made R9 does the same thing.
A few more Tour pros made appearances, the biggest being Boo Weekley, who was promoting his new Boo line. The Boo line, as you might expect, features camouflage. Just think camouflage shirts so you can hide after you a terrible shot.
The opening day of The Show was pretty quiet. No hoopla like in past years, just a lot talk among industry folks about the economy and how it has affected golf. I would say that attendance overall for the show was down somewhat, and some companies participated in demo day but did not have floor space at the convention.
On the last day of The Show, I spent most of my time in the teaching aids and what I call gadget area checking out the latest products. The teaching aids are truly the fun part of The Show since you see something that definitely helps your students.
One of the items that will help me is a putting aid called Putt Easy (www.easy-waygolf.com). The next product is a little more complicated, the Golf Achiever. The Golf Achiever has multiple functions. It can be a club-and ball-fitting tool along with swing analysis, and most importantly, it also can be a simulator at a reasonable price. It would be pretty cool to have the Brickyard as a simulator course.
On the clothing side of The Show, not much new out there. Materials are about the same: Every company has tech wear (polyester).
That’s it for this week. Next time, we will talk about getting ready for golf here in Indiana and talk about what’s happening on the PGA Tour.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
First, I must apologize for not writing a blog during my recent journey to Florida to play in a tournament and attend the PGA Merchandise Show.
It was my one-year anniversary of blogging, which has been fun. I’m looking forward to continuing this feature in 2009.
Let’s start with the golf. I teamed up again with the veteran Larry Ziegler for the Winter Senior Junior Championship at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla. We got a couple practice rounds in, and the weather was great. But as we looked toward the forecast for the tournament, a cold front with high winds was heading our way.
The first round of the tournament started out slow for us as we made the turn only 1-under par. The winds were really starting to pick up as we had an afternoon time, which means that our second round would be in the morning, when the cold front arrived with stronger winds.
We finished the second round with a 4-under-par 68, and we both felt good about the round except for not making any putts longer than 8 feet. Our ball-striking was pretty good, and we just didn’t make any putts.
The next morning was absolutely brutal. The high temperature for the day – 62 degrees – was recorded at 7 a.m., and the wind was whipping at 30 mph with gusts over 45 mph.
Needless to say, it was tough.
We started OK, making pars on the first three holes. Then some unfortunate events happened. We had things like our balls ending up in divots, started three-putting, and before you know it, we were 3-over par on our first nine and really struggling.
Larry started the back nine with a birdie, and I thought that would be the turnaround. Wrong. We proceeded to bogey the next two holes from about 100 yards or so.
At that point, we just tried to keep it under 80 and finish the round with out hurting ourselves. We ended up shooting an embarrassing best ball of 79 and obviously missing the cut.
I must say I enjoyed playing with Larry. As I told him, I think we were probably the oldest team in the field at a combined total of 117 years.
But I will not miss those back tees, as this was the last time that I would be playing as the junior member of the team. So goodbye back tees, and hello Senior tees next year.
As always, Larry kept working with me on my short game, and he also emphasized how important it is to stay in shape and, more importantly, maintain your flexibility. So my goal now is to continue working on my short game as I struggle with wanting to flip the club head at the ball to help it up in the air, which is just totally wrong.
The other important thing I will work on is regaining my flexibility, which will help me with some distance.
Next week I will talk about the PGA Merchandise Show and the happenings from Orlando from last week. Till next week, you just might see me in the gym.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Short blog this week due to the upcoming holiday. A couple things on the radar here at the Brickyard are an important upcoming event and a change to our Twilight Golf program start time to 3 p.m. starting on Labor Day, as the days get shorter.
The earlier start to Twilight Golf should allow players a little more time for that late-afternoon round here at the Brickyard.
In talking about Labor Day weekend, I want to let everyone know about a very worthwhile endeavor called Patriot Golf Day that will take place across the country next weekend at golf courses across the United States.
Patriot Golf Day is an initiative of the PGA of America, of which I am proud to be a member. We are asking every player who comes to a participating Patriot Golf Day course to donate $1 to the Patriot Golf Day Fund. In return, the facility will then donate that money to the Folds of Honor Foundation.
Folds of Honor was created by Major Dan Rooney, an F-16 fighter pilot and also a PGA Professional. The Foundation was created to provide educational scholarships for dependents and spouses of veterans who have been injured or perished in the line of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The program was started in 2007 and raised $1.1 million in its first year. Visit www.foldsofhonor.org for more details and visit www.patriotgolfday.com to locate a participating course. Patriot Golf Day runs Aug. 29-Sept. 1.
We also are selling a special Patriot Golf Day hat here at the Brickyard.
Last week, I mentioned the Indiana Club Professional Championship at the Country Club of Indianapolis. Jim Ousley of Tippecanoe Country Club in Monticello, Ind., won the tournament. Congrats to Jim and also congrats to Denny Hepler of Warsaw, who had a rare double-eagle (albatross) on the par-5 eighth hole.
As for my play, it wasn’t the best. I had a little trouble with the putter, and definitely my concentration was poor, at best. I need to follow some of my own advice and get out and practice the short game.
Make sure that you get out Labor Day weekend and support Patriot Golf Day.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The big argument in golf after the PGA Championship is: Who is the No. 2 player in the world? We all know Tiger is No. 1.
My thoughts are Padraig Harrington. Paddy wins two majors in a row, and Phil Mickelson stumbles, so it should go without saying that Paddy is No. 2.
Do you think Tiger was sitting home these last two majors wondering, “What if?” Probably not, but I bet he wanted to be there and play two of the most difficult courses in championship golf.
This now leads me to another question: Why is golf not an Olympic sport? Golf has been around forever.
Sorry for not writing a blog last week; we were a little busy with a few events surrounding the race. A few of the drivers played last week in the Chevrolet Media Day golf tournament. It seems like more drivers are playing than in the past. This takes in account drivers from Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series.
Not a whole lot going in golf with the exception of the U.S. Senior Open out in Colorado this week. One of my good friends, Bob Stephens from here in Indy, qualified and shot a very respectable 71 in the first round. Bob does a little practicing here at the Brickyard and has won numerous amateur tournaments here in Indiana.
Speaking of the Senior Open, the Senior Open comes to Crooked Stick Golf Club in suburban Indianapolis next year, and the tournament is looking for volunteers. Contact the tournament office at (317) 571-8742 or visit www.2009ussenioropen.com if you would like more info on being a volunteer.
We have some events coming up here at the Brickyard. The annual IGA-PGA Challenge Cup is Thursday, Aug. 7. This event pits the top amateurs in the state against the top PGA Professionals.
The event is 36 holes in which the morning round is a two-man team best-ball match play, and the afternoon is single-match play. This similar to the Ryder Cup but is only one day. The amateurs have been beating us here lately, so the professionals need to step up and lay one on the amateurs.
I am fortunate to be able to play in this event and am honored to be on the team and to also host this event that is sponsored by the Greg Norman Collection. Speaking of Greg Norman, how about his play in the British Open and the Senior British Open?
The PGA Championship is coming up in about a week. The venue this year is in Detroit at Oakland Hills. This is a very long and demanding course, and I am going to give you a couple of picks I think might do well in next week’s blog.
The Tour is at Firestone CC this week for the Bridgestone Invitational. If you haven’t heard, we are a Bridgestone-exclusive facility and have been now for two years. You can read more about this on our Web site.
Back to the tournament at Firestone. Last year I was invited to the tournament as a guest of Bridgestone. They rolled out the red carpet. I got to stay right at the course in the guest rooms above the clubhouse. Then on the first round of the tournament, I was an honorary observer with Sam Foley, our business manager here at the Brickyard, and walked inside the ropes with a group. Our group consisted of Michael Campbell, Paul Casey and Scott Verplank. They were all nice. Not a lot of conversation, but they hit some golf shots.
Being that close, you watch every move they make, then immediately try to copy that shot or swing. I watched really close when they missed a green to see if I could pick up anything that would help me with my short game.
I did notice that on their shots around the green out of high grass that the clubface did not necessarily open up as much as what I thought it would, so I came back to the Brickyard and practiced that. It did help my short game a little.
Firestone CC is an awesome course that I got play about a month after my visit, and it is one tough, long golf course. The thing people don’t realize is that there are two other courses there that are just as good, and it is definitely worth the visit to play.
I’ll give my picks next week for the PGA, and if you get a chance, try some Bridgestone products. Their golf balls are as good as it gets, and their irons are pure.
Don’t forget that golf is a game of a lifetime.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing