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
Happy Fourth of July to everyone.
The holiday weekend is usually slow for the golf course, and this weekend is no exception. Everyone likes to play in the morning and then go parties and so forth in the afternoon. So it is a great time to get a friend, spouse or family together and play a little golf this weekend!
Professional golf kicks off this Monday thru Thursday in the Indianapolis area with the Indiana State Open being played at Prairie View in Carmel. Yours truly is in the field, and I am looking forward to my first competitive event of the summer here in Indiana.
My expectations are not really high, seeing how I have not been playing or practicing much at all. I hope to get in some practice time this weekend. My pairing for the first two rounds is a pretty strong one: I am paired with Jeff Cook, a four-time Indiana Open champion and former PGA Tour player.
Finally the rain has stopped here in Indianapolis, for at least a day, and the forecast is a little more promising after this weekend.
Brickyard Crossing will open for play on Tuesday, March 25. We already have a few players signed up.
The course is starting to green up a little after our superintendent, Jeff Stuart, and his crew mowed fairways and greens. Jeff does a great job here at the Brickyard keeping the course in tournament condition for everyday play.