What a great November we’ve had so far!
The weather here has been good, and golfers are getting in some nice bonus rounds this fall at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course. The weather has been better than October, which has brought out golfers in short sleeves and shorts.
I can’t believe it, but the Indian Summer I had asked for finally arrived this year. The weather for the weekend looks good, with temps in the 60’s. Give us a call and make a tee time this weekend as we now have reduced rates.
The PGA TOUR resumes this week at Disney with a few veteran players needing good showings to keep their cards for next year. Don’t know if you are aware of it, but the PGA TOUR event that was to be played two weeks ago in Mississippi was rained out and not rescheduled. That threw a few curve balls for some players who needed to make some money to be exempt.
On the Q-School side of things, former Indiana resident James Sachek, a Zionsville High graduate, made it through the first stage with four solid rounds of 2-under par to move on to Stage 2. Good luck to James.
Tiger is down under in Australia after Phil Mickelson beat him last week in China. Tiger played a very bad opening nine holes, and Phil played well. This week, Tiger is playing in the Australian Masters at one of the best courses in the world, Kingston Heath. Reports are that thousands came out to watch Tiger play a practice round Monday after the beat-down he got in China.
As for me, I am off to California for the Straight Down Fall Classic tournament in San Luis Obispo. I am playing again with Joe Hillman.
The tournament format is one pro and one am best ball at scratch (no handicap). Once again, a strong field has been invited, with the likes of tour professionals Loren Roberts, Dan Forsman, Mark Wiebe, Kevin Stadler, U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson), Roger Tambellini, Charley Hoffman and Chris Tidland, just to name a few. It also sounds like Fred Couples might play again.
The proceeds from this tournament this year go to ALS. One of the former winners of this event, Don Woodward, has been stricken with ALS, and 25 percent of proceeds will be donated to ALS research. The event kicks off this Friday, Nov. 13 with a Pro-Am in honor of Don. They are calling it the Woody Pro-Am, and it promises to be great event.
If you would like to see more info on the tournament and Straight Down clothing products, visit www.straightdown.com.
Until next time, get out and enjoy this bonus weather. And GO COLTS – BEAT THE PATRIOTS!!!!
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
Fall has arrived, and the leaves have already started to change colors. Golf here at the Brickyard goes on but with a slight twist. We must aerify our course annually to have optimum playing conditions. With aerification, the course gets beat up a little bit, but we do reduce our greens fees rate. As much as we would like to put off this process, we need to get it done so the healing process will not take as long and the course will be ready in the spring.
The PGA Tour Championship came to a close last weekend at East Lake CC in the heart of Atlanta, a fantastic course. Tiger Woods won the FedEx Cup. No surprise there, as he was the odds-on favorite to win. Phil Mickelson won the tournament with a great rally past Tiger on Sunday, shooting a 5-under 65 for a three-stroke win over Tiger.
After the Tour Championship, the Fall Series starts for the boys on the tour and usually the fields tend to be a little weaker as the rest of the players jockey for position on the money list to be in the top 125 and be exempt for next year. If they don’t finish in the top 125, it is back to Q-school. That is no fun for those who have been there.
There are few local guys trying first-stage qualifying: Brett Melton, Andy Winings and Justin Hueber. Brett is a club pro from southern Indiana. Andy and Justin just got out of college and turned professional, and they have been traveling playing in different pro events. Both had to go through pre-qualifying, and both made it easily. Good luck to those players. You can follow the Q-school action online at www.pgatour.com in October.
Most events in Indiana are just about over as the Indiana Golf championships concluded last week at Rock Hollow golf club in Peru. There were four divisions, and I competed in the Senior division. As has been the story most of the year, my play from tee to green was pretty good, and it just seems like I am not making any putts. I actually switched putting styles back in August and had some early success, but lately it has been frustrating not to make a few putts that you feel like you should be making.
During the next few months, I will have a few opportunities to play in some events that are typically competitive but fun at the same time. I will play at Scioto CC in Columbus, Ohio, which is the course where Jack Nicklaus grew up playing, and also will return to California for the Straight Down Invitational in November. This time also will allow me to work on some new swing thoughts and also figure out the putting stroke.
But there are still some events to be played here at Brickyard Crossing. Our men’s club year-end tournament is coming up Saturday, Oct. 3. We also are offering our unlimited golf membership this year: If you join now you for 2010, you will receive the rest of this season free as a bonus for joining. For more information on our memberships, call us at (317) 492-6417.
Remember, there is still great golf weather, and we will keep the course open as long as the weather will allow!
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
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
It is finally official: I am a Senior!
I survived the birthday party weekend and teed it up early Monday morning, July 13 in the Monticello Open. My first round as a 50-year-old proved to be quite interesting. I played well with the exception of three par 3’s. I played the 9th, 12th and 15th holes, all par 3’s, 7-over par and only shot 4-over par. I am not going into details about those holes, but it was ugly.
Next up is the Senior Pro-Am here at the Brickyard beginning Thursday, July 16, and I am teaming up with Skip Runnels. It is a scratch, best-ball tournament and concludes Friday, July 17.
Now onto the big tournament, The British Open. The Open, as it is called, is being played this year at Turnberry in Scotland. Everyone is saying the course is moderately easy and that Tiger has the edge. Some kind of stat says that every time that the Open has been there that the No. 1 ranked player has won.
You need to remember that strange things happen at The Open. Things to look for are the possible re-emergence of David Duval. He is a former Open winner and is coming off a U.S. Open performance that has him full of confidence. Or how about Todd Hamilton a few years ago?
But let’s not forget that the European Tour is full of talent with some new young guns and the veterans who know how to negotiate The Open courses and pressure. This one should be enjoyable to watch, as most the players not all that familiar with the course.
My picks for this Open are going to be some of the young Euros such as Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer. Can Padraig win a third Open? Of course, the best bet is Tiger.
Phil Mickelson is stopping his consecutive streak of majors in order to be with him wife and now his mother, who are both fighting breast cancer.
Next week NASCAR comes to town for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and Brickyard Crossing will be busy with events. The week starts out with the Bob and Tom Fuzzy Navel Open. Fuzzy Zoeller will be here to help raise money for Riley’s Children Hospital. That event is followed by the Business at the Brickyard golf day. This is a partnership between the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Brickyard to introduce golf as a business tool.
Then there are open tee times Thursday, July 23, the last day before the cars start running on Friday.
Check out our Web site for all the action coming up here at the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The U.S. Open is over, and Lucas Glover is the new national champion. Congratulations to Lucas.
To me, The Open ended with not much drama. The only drama was if Lucas was going to hit a 5-iron or 6-iron off the tee? I can’t imagine that on the 72nd hole of a major that you could hit a 6-iron, which is what Glover decided on, and then hit a 9-iron on the green and win the U.S. Open.
Other good stories emerged from the Open such as David Duval’s return to form and his bid to win the Open. Then you have the go-for-broke play of Ricky Barnes.
But without a doubt, the play of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods down the stretch will be talked about. In Tiger’s case, I think it was the putter. He made no putts and missed more putts inside 10 feet than he has in his whole career. Phil was definitely charged by the New York fans, and he obviously feeds off that. His preparation for this event was more casual than usual. His wife’s health is his main concern and the golf has become secondary, so the theory of trying to hard sometimes is definitely in play. We wish the best to Amy and Phil.
Tragedy also has struck here on the Indiana golf scene as Beth Smith, wife of PGA Tour player Chris Smith, was killed last Sunday in a car accident. Their two children also were in the car and are hospitalized. The Smith’s are one of Indiana’s best-known golfing families, residing up in Peru. They own Rock Hollow Golf Club. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and the entire Smith family.
This Tuesday, June 30, is a big day for me as I attempt to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open. The good news is the qualifier is here at the Brickyard. The bad news there are 101 players attempting to qualify for three spots.
The U.S. Senior Open is being played at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. It would be special for me to qualify as I was an assistant at Crooked Stick under Jim Ferriell back in 1985. I think a 4-under 68 will get the job done.
After the qualifier, the Indiana State Open begins July 6 with a Pro-Am and then the actual tournament will be July 7-10, all at Brickyard Crossing.
Remember the Brickyard is one of America’s best public courses you can play, so book your tee time and come out and play the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The U.S. Open has started and now has stopped. Play has been suspended for the day, and it will resume at 7:30 Friday morning. So it is going to be boring day here, with no golf to watch.
I watched a few holes Thursday morning, which was Tiger’s group as it teed off at 8:06 a.m. In his group were Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington. They completed six holes and will start on #7 Friday morning. The conditions were really rough, with gusty winds and a constant rain that eventually turned Bethpage Black’s fairways and greens into streams.
The scores were about what everyone thought they would be – somewhere around 1-under or even par. Scores probably will not go low due to the conditions and the length of the course. Throw the rain and the wet rough in the mix, and the course is probably playing two to three shots harder.
I would like to welcome fellow professional and Hoosier Craig Bowden to our blogging team. Craig has been on Tour quite a few years, and if you recall, he came to the Indy 500 this year. Check out his blog as he is playing in the Open and blogging from there all this week. Indiana University player David Erdy, who is from Evansville, also got in the Open as alternate. Good luck to both players this week.
It is less than two weeks until the Brickyard hosts the U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and the field here is strong. One Tour player is entered, left-hander Russ Cochran, and also a few former Tour players such as Ralph Landrum, who led the U.S. Open at Oakmont. There are quite a few fellow Indiana professionals, along with some other club professionals from the surrounding states. There are 101 entries, with only three advancing to the championship at Crooked Stick Golf Course in Carmel, Ind. It will probably take 4-under to secure a spot and maybe 2- or 3-under for the last spots. It all depends on the weather. The course is going to be setup from the back tees with difficult hole locations. If the course is soft, it will play longer, but the greens will be more receptive for approach shots. Spectators are welcome, and there is no admission charge.
After the qualifier, we go right into the Fourth of July week and then the Indiana State Open on July 7-10. Here in Indianapolis, we have had some type of rain nine of the last 11 days. We could use a break from the rain and let things dry out a bit so we can keep up with our mowing.
With no U.S. Open action going on Thursday, the rain has stopped and the sun is out in Indiana. This would be a good time to get some practice in to get ready for the qualifier and State Open. My knee is feeling a lot better but is still sore when I walk up and down hills.
Check out our Web site soon as we are going to be announcing a new promotion and an event in conjunction with the State Open.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
After my last blog, I got back into doing some practicing and also went down to French Lick to play Pete Dye’s new monster course. But before that happened, I had a little injury problem that had to be taken care of in the last week, so here is what happened after the last blog.
On the last Saturday in May, my friend from bowling and ESPN commentator Randy Petersen was in town, so we played that day. I was playing pretty good, and then I hit a shot on the 16th hole and felt something in my left knee give like it was buckling. The pain went away, and I finished the round.
But on Sunday, my knee was really sore. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go to French Lick on Monday. I put a brace on it and went to French Lick to play the Pete Dye Course and then play the Ross course on Tuesday morning. I got to the range on Monday and tried to hit a few balls, and it just wasn’t working. So I improvised and came up with an arm swing to play that day.
The problem was every time I shifted my weight to the left leg on the follow-through, a sharp pain and what felt like my knee buckling occurred. I finished the day and headed home to get it looked at by a doctor.
I went to Ortho Indy on Thursday and saw Dr. Kollias and got some X-rays. He then sent me Friday morning to get an MRI to see if I had actually torn my meniscus or some ligaments. On Tuesday, I got the call from Dr. Kollias with good news, bad news.
The good news is there are no tears or damages to the ligaments or meniscus. The bad news is I had a bad bruise on the outside of my left knee that was causing some swelling and pain, and the big issue is a cyst in my tibia bone in which my knee sits atop and where all my weight is placed. So that was some relief, but I will have to address the cyst at some point in the future. There is still some discomfort there, especially when walking up hills and side slopes. I have been released to start playing again and will do so in the coming days.
Meanwhile back at French Lick, the new Dye course is very good and very hard depending on the tees you choose to play. We chose to play the course at 6,700 yards and found it very challenging. Pete found the 36 high and low spots and put a tee and green on those spots, so about every hole is either uphill or downhill.
The views are spectacular. The clubhouse sits atop the highest point and is an old, colonial-looking farm house from which you can see all around the course.
After we finished our first round, we decided to play a scramble from the back edge of every tee which equates to over 8,000 yards. We had two groups, so the first hole was a 519-yard par 4 downhill into the wind, and no one got it on the green in two. The course from the back tees has six par 4’s that are over 500 yards and has a 300-yard par 3 with junk left, a lake right and a layup area about the size of a small bathroom. To play your own ball from all the way back might take all day.
Rumor has it that the lowest score shot from the back tees is reportedly 86. We want to thank Jan Tellstrom, the professional, for taking good care of us on our visit and also to Dave Harner, the director of golf, for his hospitality. The fee to play the course is little salty at $350 per player, but your foursome does get a nice wooden box set with a bottle of whiskey, four shot glasses and four premium cigars.
My advice is to take the shot of whiskey before you pay the fee and then another shot before you tee off. It is definitely worth the trip to play – and don’t forget there is a casino there, too!
Last week on the Tour, Tiger showed that he still is the player to beat as he won the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. If you notice a trend here, Tiger seems to bring his best game to all the majors, obviously, but he really turns it on when he plays at Arnie’s Bay Hill tournament and at Jack’s Memorial tournament.
By the way, did you see the skins’ game they had at the Memorial? They had a chip-off to determine a winner between Jack, Tiger, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink. Of course, Tiger chipped it in to win the most skins.
It has been one year since Tiger won a major and then had surgery, so I am going to go out on a limb and pick Tiger for the U.S. Open again as it is being played at Bethpage Black, which is extremely long and difficult, just how Tiger likes them.
Phil Mickelson also made his return this week at Memphis in preparation for the Open. Phil has been off tour since his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Congratulations also go to Bedford native Craig Bowden, who qualified for the Open this week at Columbus, Ohio. If you recall, Craig came to the Indy 500 this year and has been friend of ours for a while. Craig made the cut at Bethpage the last time the Open was played there.
Back here at the Brickyard, the course conditions are awesome. Our superintendent, Jeff Stuart, and his staff have done an outstanding job of keeping the course in what I call tournament condition. We have the U.S. Senior Open qualifying at the end of this month and then the Indiana State Open the second week of July.
Remember, Brickyard Crossing is open to the public, and we have Twilight Golf with reduced greens fees daily beginning at 4 p.m. Check our Web site for upcoming specials.
The Brickyard Senior Series returns on June 18, hosted by our Pro Emeritus, Rollie Schroeder. Visit www.brickyardseniorgolfseries.com for more information. Don’t forget Father’s Day is coming up, and a great gift would be a round of golf for your father. Better yet: Book a tee time for you and your father and play on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21!
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
May is in full swing here at the Brickyard. The first weekend of qualifying is over, and congrats to the Penske organization for winning the prestigious pole for the Indianapolis 500 set to run May 24.
The Players Championship finished last week. Pretty shocking that Tiger did not win. As a matter of fact, Tiger never threatened as he got off to a bad start and never recovered.
Tiger was interviewed after the round and explained how he was hitting these “high right spinners,” which means there is something new in the swing that isn’t working. Some people are saying the bulking up of his upper body is hurting him. I think maybe a new swing will be brought out at the U.S. Open next month. You can’t play the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black with a high slice and ankle-deep rough.
Here at the Brickyard, we have enjoyed some good golf activity although the weather has not been the greatest. But we have been getting by.
Next week is a big week leading up to the race. The big event of the week for us is the annual The Rollie golf tournament. This tournament is in honor of my father, who was the professional here for 39 years. He just rolled into town last weekend and will spend the summer here and then head south when the weather turns cool around October.
We are pleased to announce that this year’s tournament is being sponsored by IZOD. There are also a few associate sponsors that help out with food and beverage, such as Jug’s Catering and IMS Food and Beverage. The tournament couldn’t be a success without them, and a big thank you goes out to all of them.
A sad part of this month is that two of the biggest supporters and participants of The Rollie, and also when it was known as the annual Race Drivers tournament, are not with us anymore. Those two gentlemen are Jug Eckert and Lloyd Ruby.
Jug always supplied the food and drink for the after golf party and awards. Lloyd always worked behind the scenes getting other drivers to play, getting the accessory companies to donate items and basically made sure that everyone had as good as time as he did. Those two will be sadly missed.
Until next week, keep it down the middle and don’t forget the Brickyard is open during qualifications this weekend.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing