Golf 2012

tee time

Golf 2012 Thursday March 15, 2012 Columbus, Indiana

Contents

Hot new golf clubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mental toughness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Columbus pros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Mike David column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Tyler Duncan, page 4

Ryan Myers, page 14

Area tournament schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Rule changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Jeff Smith column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 New technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Ted Bishop column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Pro tour schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Golfing vacations, page 16

Taylor Gohn, page 20

©2012 by Home News Enterprises All rights reserved. Reproduction of stories, photographs and advertisements without permission is prohibited. Stock images provided by © Thinkstock.

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The Republic, Columbus, Ind., thursday, mArch 15, 2012 3

Professional aspirations The Republic file photo

North grad Duncan hopes to make golfing his job

By Ted Schultz tschultz@therepublic.com

As Tyler Duncan trekked to Puerto Rico with the Purdue golf team for the fourth consecutive February, a little bit of reality began to sink in. Life as he knows it is about to change.

The senior, a graduate of Columbus North High School, is just a few months away from the end of his college and amateur golf career and the beginning of what he hopes will be a long and lucrative professional career.

“It hasn’t really set in too much,” Duncan said. “It set in a little bit more with the trip to Puerto Rico. That’s the last time we’ll be there for that event, so it kind of makes you think.

“I guess maybe after spring break, it will set in more, and when people are talking about going back to school next year, and you’re not going to be back, it will really hit me.”

By that time, Duncan will have turned pro and will be preparing for this year’s PGA Qualifying School, which begins in September.

“Pretty much ever since I started playing, I always wanted to play professional golf,” he said. “That’s just a goal of many. Whether or not you’re fortunate enough is something that many people don’t accomplish.”

If Duncan continues to play the way he has over the past year, the odds are good that he’ll make it on the PGA Tour. Last summer, he won the Indiana Amateur at Otter Creek and captured his fourth Columbus city title. He finished in the top 10 in four of five college events in the fall and took seventh in the tourney in last month’s spring opener in Puerto Rico.

“I’d say I’ve definitely started playing my best golf in the last year,” Duncan said. “I’ve definitely had my best college year this year. To go out and have your best year as your last year is something you always want to have.”

Duncan said he likely won’t try to defend his city title and has a family vacation planned for the week of the Indiana Open. If he qualifies for the Palmer Cup — the team will be named

4 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

April 25 — he’ll play in that event June 25 to 28 in Northern Ireland instead of defending his Indiana Amateur crown.

“When I’m going to turn pro and what events I’m going to play in is still to be decided,” he said.

The latest he’ll turn pro, he said, will likely be in early July. He isn’t certain about his chances at making the PGA Tour on his first try through Q-school.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Duncan said. “There’s a lot of things involved.

It’s kind of like I guess playing your best at the right time. You have to get things falling your way and then take advantage of it.”

Those who have seen him grow up are confident about his chances.

“He has the ability,” Greenbelt pro Steve Cohen said. “As with any of the kids going from high school to college to turning pro and trying to make the pro ranks, it’s all about dedication and passion. They have to really, really want to get to the next level.”

“I think he definitely had the drive to do this,” North coach Doug Bieker

added. “All of these steps along the way have been part of his goals. He had the drive to accomplish those things. After a three-hour practice with the team, he would go work out for an hour-and-ahalf. Not a lot of high school kids have that drive.”

One who did was Duncan’s uncle, Andy Johnson, who like Duncan, is a former state high school champion at North. Johnson played collegiately at Ball State and now plays on the Nationwide Tour.

“Comparing the two boys as they grew up, it was easy to see that Tyler was going to be very successful, also,” Cohen said.

“One of the things I said when Tyler was in high school was, ‘One day, we’ll see him on TV,’” Bieker added. “I meant that then, and I mean that now.

I think he’ll keep working toward that.

I’m not surprised at his success. He’s a tremendous young man, and he’s had the models around him at how to succeed in golf and in life, and I think he’s done that so far.”

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New weapons for your golf bag

By Paul Hoffman n For The Republic

Some of the clubs listed on Golf Digest’s 2012 Gold Hot List. Prices listed are street prices. Information: http://hotlist.golfdigest.com.

Drivers

Callaway RAZR Fit. $400. Lofts: 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5. The first Callaway driver to offer adjustable weights and a rotating hosel. Users can change the center of gravity with the sole weights and adjust the face angle using three hosel settings.

The face has been redesigned to save weight (four grams) and improve off-center ball speed.

Cobra AMP. $300. Lofts: 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5. The AMP has three face-angle settings, but the real trick is how the swing weight, face curvature and shaft length change depending on the loft. Swing weights get lighter and shafts get longer as lofts increase to give slow swingers more speed and fast swingers more control.

Cleveland Classic. $300. Lofts: 9, 10.5, 12.

Despite the retro look, Cleveland’s emphasis on less weight in drivers continues, including two models that are 30 to 50 grams lighter than many competing drivers. All three feature a Miyazaki shaft that weighs less than 55 grams and an allrubber Golf Pride grip that’s just 25 grams.

Nike VR-S. $300. Lofts: 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5, 13. The variable-thickness face is designed to increase forgiveness on off-center hits. The adjustable head has eight face-angle settings across a 4-degree range. The sole contours are intended to reduce drag and improve speed in conjunction with a sub-60-gram shaft.

Ping Scottsdale B60. $140. Classic Ping design putter with heel-toe balance and 340 gram head weight. Other features similar to the Wolverine.

Nike Method Core 2i. $130. Combines soft polymer and milled steel grooves to generate faster, more controlled forward roll at impact. What you won’t get is backspin that causes skidding and hopping.

TaylorMade Ghost Manta. $160. Features TaylorMade’s new large performance mallet shape, which promotes great feel and excellent stability on mis-hits. It features a new rich and more durable white finish to eliminate glare and create a contrast with the turf for easy aiming.

The PureRoll Surlyn face insert promotes forward spin for a smooth, accurate roll and soft feel. The dual alignment lines frame the ball, making aiming easy and still maintaining a clean appearance.

Ping Anser Forged. $170. An 8620 steel body with dense tungsten sole and machined grooves for unmatched forged iron feel and forgiveness.

Hollow sole cavity softens the feel and positions the center of gravity for higher launching shots.

The progressive set design offers long iron forgiveness and more control in the short irons.

Titleist Vokey SM4 Black Nickel. $130.

Maximum spin from USGA conforming grooves.

Individual spin milled grooves. Micro milled edge face texture that provides spin on less than full shots. More durable grooves from a heat treatment on the impact area to preserve the spin milled grooves and micro mill edges. Slightly larger teardrop shape and progressive leading edge profile and topline radius through the range of lofts. Black Nickel finish.

Cleveland 588 Forged Satin. $130. Versatile design for performance in any lie or turf. Soft yet solid feel of 1025 Carbon Steel. Precision forging process provides the highest level of manufacturing consistency. Tour Zip Grooves are milled to the maximum groove dimensions while conforming to USGA groove requirements. Laser milled technology provides surface roughness to maximize spin. Satin finish clubhead.

Putters

Ping Scottsdale Wolverine C. $170. Centershafted mallet style putter with face balance and 370 gram head weight. Soft yet solid feeling response of the new thermoplastic elastomer insert with face appliqué will help with distance control and accuracy. High-contrast alignment aids and improved sightlines allow you to take dead aim. Satin PVD finish and polished sole help reduce sun glare and provide a smoother stroke.

Wedges

Titleist Vokey SM4 Oil Can. $130. Features 17 precise, individually cut and 100 percent inspected grooves that maximize groove geometry and push groove edge radius to the conforming limits. SM4 wedges also feature a new shape inspired by Vokey’s original 200 series. With 21 loft and bounce combinations and five different sole grinds, these wedges represent the next generation of the most renowned scoring clubs in golf.

6 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

Fairway woods

Tour Edge Exotics XCG-5. $300. Features an innovative titanium cup face and crown, a beta titanium face insert for added distance, and a heavy tungsten sole plate that provides 68 percent of the club head’s total weight. It is the only fairway wood on the market to use a titanium cupped face and tungsten sole. The combination delivers driver-like distance with remarkable forgiveness.

TaylorMade R11S. $230. This reincarnation of the R11 sports a flat-white crown color, as well as a black PVD face that improves the accuracy and alignment off the tee. The white crown makes the club head appear larger and has been shown to make golfers more confident in their swings.

There is the 5-way Adjustable Sole Plate technology. Then there is Flight Control Technology, which allows golfers to change the orientation of the club head with the shaft.

Callaway RAZR X Black. $200. Precision face thickness control in each club increases the sweet spot size and produces higher ball speeds for increased distance. Traditional shape with dark graphics for a sleek look. Stainless steel is heat treated for increased strength.

Titleist 910F. $250. The most technologically advanced fairway head design provides straighter, more consistent shots from the fairway or tee. Dual angle SureFit Tour hosel technology allows you to set loft and lie independently to optimize ball flight, and for draw or fade bias for increased shot control. Increased fitting options with interchangeable shafts and rear weight screw. Compact head with a black PVD paint finish inspires confidence at address. Designed for a hot, solid sound and feel.

Mizuno JPX-800 Pro. $800. Flaunts an Under Cut Forging technique for superb distance as well as a low deep center of gravity for forgiveness.

The Grain Flow Forging process provides soft and consistent feel while the Modal Analysis and Harmonic Impact Technology ensures optimum sound. These irons ensure clean and full impact strokes. The triple cut sole design enhances your shot from whichever angle you choose to use.

Mizuno MP 59. $1,000. Delivers full cavity forgiveness in a player’s half cavity design. During the Grain Flow Forging process, the pure titanium material is forged into the muscle of the MP-59 to deliver a 5 percent larger sweet area compared to the MP-58. The lightweight characteristics of the pure titanium allow for the ideal amount of thickness behind the impact area to deliver consistent solid feel while simultaneously providing a dramatic increase in perimeter weighting for enhanced playability.

Cleveland 588 CB. $1,000. Forged 1025 carbon steel heads designed with a Tour-inspired shape and V-sole, thin topline and minimal offset for enhanced shotmaking and versatility. The milled “Tour Zip” grooves push the limits of USGA regulations to provide optimal spin, while four microgrooves between each scoring line deliver maximum allowable surface roughness.

Ping G20 Hybrid. $175. The offset hosel design gives a high launch angle and low spin for accurate shots. The 17-4 stainless steel head has redistributed weight that lets you deliver high-end performance. For a better control, this club has a flatter lie angle that allows you to play confident shots. The sole camber allows for smooth transitions even for those difficult-to-play shots. The blended crown design offers easy alignment.

Features exceptional ground impact.

TaylorMade RocketBallz Tour Rescue. $160.

Sole positioned Speed Pocket is the ultimate springboard for distance. Ultra-light shaft and low center of gravity promote launch for increased ball speed. Larger head, finished with white matte, makes launch and alignment easy. It features an open face angle, neutral flight bias, tour shaft options and Speed Pocket, which boosts Coefficient of Restitution and ball speed dramatically.

Adams Idea a12. $170. Features the patentpending Velocity Slot Technology, which creates a spring-like effect across the entire face of the club to increase forgiveness and improve launch conditions. Produces a higher launch and more ball speed than the previous generation, Idea a7 Hybrid, while not increasing spin, thus increasing distance.

irons

TaylorMade R11. $800. Inverted Cone Technology promotes faster ball speed and distance on off-center hits. A weight port is permanently placed in the center of the back of an iron head during production to guarantee that each iron has the same swing weight. The center of gravity location is optimally positioned in the center of the face between the toe and heel. Ultrathin face thickness promotes faster ball speed and distance in the R11 long and middle irons. Multi Functional Sole is beveled at the back to make it perform from a variety of lies. Low and deeper center of gravity that makes it easy to launch the ball on a powerful and penetrating flight.

Hybrids

Callaway RAZR X Tour Hybrid. $160. A clubface with zero roll produces a higher launch angle on shots hit lower on the face, increasing distance with softer landings. Precision shaping of the clubface thickness increases the size of the sweet spot and generates hotter ball speeds for longer distance. Less offset than the standard RAZR X Hybrid to enhance workability.

The Republic, Columbus, Ind., thursday, mArch 15, 2012 7

Mental toughness is crucial ingredient for golf success

By Greg Seiter For The Republic

Are you tough enough to play golf?

While the game certainly requires a degree of flexibility, strength and endurance, physical aggressiveness is not needed or encouraged, for that matter, on any level of play.

However, mental toughness is another topic all together.

In fact, Dr. Rob Bell, a certified consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, believes so strongly in the significance of golf ’s mental game that he Dr. Rob Bell wrote a book about it, “Mental Toughness Training for Golf.”

“All you have to do is play the game to realize how mental it is,” said Bell, who provides sport psychology in the Indianapolis region. “It’s the most mental sport there is.”

Bell says golf is a relentless combination of highs and lows.

“There’s so much pain and failure, and yet there’s so much perfection at the same time,” he said. “If we’re on the range, we’ll hit perfect shots, but on the course, trying to hit a ball to an exact spot is impossible. The 4.5 inch cup is completely disproportionate to the size of the playing field.”

Jeff Smith, director of instruction at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, agrees.

“I think there’s an awful lot of people who would tell you it’s 99 percent mental and 1 percent physical,” he said. “I don’t believe that it’s quite that high, but it’s definitely a mental and emotional game.

“If you can be under control of your emotions for four hours so that you can prepare well for every shot, you stand a very good chance.”

But with the potential for such an extreme degree of positive and negative results from shot-to-shot and from green-to-green, consistent emotional control can be challenging for even the world’s greatest players.

Smith recommends that golfers focus their attention in short bursts.

“A lot of people try to concentrate

The doctor’s advice In a Feb. 6 online blog post (http:// blog.stack.com/2012/02/06/areyou-mentally-tough/), Dr. Rob Bell provided the following questions to assist readers in assessing their levels of mental toughness.

1. How strong is my passion for the game?

If you are mentally tough, you are totally passionate about the game. It is difficult at times to really enjoy the tough practices and workouts, but passion for the sport always drives your commitment toward improving and strengthening your resolve.

for all four hours, and it’s impossible,” he said. “But if you can get them to concentrate on the thing that matters right then and there for 25 to 30 seconds, all good things are possible.”

In addition to streamlining and simplifying in-game focus efforts, Bell believes intensified practice sessions can help golfers improve their mental toughness.

“Practice should be more difficult than competition. You should sweat more in practice,” he said. “If practice is easy, you’re not working on your mental game.”

Establishing goals and practicing stress management are also important.

“Have a goal for every practice. That means practices are going to be structured,” Bell said. “If we have a goal, we’re striving for something, and if we put ourselves under stress in practice, we learn what’s going to happen and how we’re going to handle it.”

Smith says people have a tendency to

8 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

be too hard on themselves when they’re playing golf.

“When I go out and play with some of my students, I watch them. I see their reactions when they hit a poor shot,” he said. “It stems from a fear of not being as good as they want to be or from putting too much pressure on themselves.”

Bell agrees.

“The thing about golf is that we’re all going to fail,” he said. “I just want us to fail in practice so that we can learn to overcome that feeling when we’re out on the course.”

Deep breathing can also help.

“The only time people really focus on breathing is when they get stressed, but breathing should be part of a routine,” Bell said. “Breathing and meditation are geared toward relaxing the mind.

“Breathing is one of the easiest things we can do. In fact, it’s something we already do.”

Diet is important, too.

“We get our energy from food so we can be mentally tough, but if we’re hungry, we won’t be able to focus,” Bell said. “On the other side, you can’t have a full stomach when you’re going out to play.”

Ultimately, a golfer’s attitude is probably the greatest contributor to that individual’s mental toughness.

“It’s a game, and if the game isn’t fun, we need to examine why we’re playing,” Bell added.

“Improving mental toughness takes practice. You need to focus on preparation.”

2. Do I believe in myself?

When you believe in your coaches, your teammates and yourself, you develop a level of trust. At some point, when you encounter adversity, doubt may enter your mind, but having confidence in yourself will help you overcome it. Also, during pressure moments, you will be confident enough to want the game on the line.

3. Can I let go of mistakes easily?

Mental toughness means not letting mistakes bother you. Sure, you will get upset when you mess up, but re-focusing and re-grouping before the next play are an essential element of mental toughness.

4. Do I make my teammates better?

If you are mentally tough, you will make your teammates better. This requires you to be a good teammate, even when you are not playing your best. Your attitude and behavior rub off on your teammates. You need to assess how to make others better.

5. Do I make good decisions off the field?

Mental toughness means staying disciplined in your off-the-field decisions. John Wooden, legendary basketball coach at UCLA, said that mental toughness is about our “character as a person,” not just our ability to make plays.

Learn about the pros in Columbus Chad Cockerham

Steve Cohen

Course: Otter Creek.

Course: Greenbelt.

Age: 37.

Age: 57.

Hometown: Seymour.

Hometown: Bloomington.

College: Mississippi State.

College: Indiana University.

Favorite golfing memory: Becoming a PGA member.

Favorite golfing memory: Attending Masters in 1997 when North Vernon native Spider Miller played.

Biggest accomplishment in golf: Becoming a PGA member.

Career timeline: Director of golf, Otter Creek Golf Course (2003-present); head golf professional, Otter Creek (1998-2002); assistant golf professional, Otter Creek (1996-98).

Biggest accomplishment in golf: Being involved with teaching two high school boys state champions (Andy Johnson and Tyler Duncan) and a girls state runner-up (Taylor Gohn).

Career timeline: head golf professional, Greenbelt Golf Course (1977-present); assistant golf professional, Otter Creek Golf Course (1976).

Jeff Smith Course: Otter Creek (teaching pro).

Age: 46.

Hometown: Fort Wayne.

College: Indiana University.

Favorite golfing memory: Scoring a double-eagle in the 1995 Bryan Invitational at Bryan Park in Greensboro, N.C. Biggest accomplishment in golf: Helping others.

Career timeline: director of instruction, Otter Creek Golf Course (2010-present); director of golf and operations, Harrison Lake Country Club (2003-10); head golf professional, Rolling Hills Country Club, Monroe, N.C. (19982003); head golf professional, Pine Tree Golf Club, Kernersville, N.C. (1996-98); assistant golf professional, Bryan Park Golf Course, Greensboro, N.C. (1993-96).

The Republic, Columbus, Ind., thursday, mArch 15, 2012 9

professional opinion

It’s time to reintroduce the game

G

olf has been experiencing a supply and demand problem for several years now, especially in Indiana where we are grossly overbuilt. The number of courses rose dramatically through the 1990s, while the overall growth of the game leveled off.

This put a number of Indiana courses in a position where they were forced to discount to compete.

To compound the problem, the economy taking a downturn in the mid2000s meant that people were playing fewer rounds of golf and overall there are fewer golfers. Statistics show that the number of golfers has dropped from 31 million to 26 million in the United States.

More competition, fewer players and fewer rounds of golf all add up to a difficult environment for golf course operators. But the drop in the number of people playing the game is of an even greater concern. With people’s time

Mike David and resources at a premium, something must be done to ensure that the game of golf re-establishes itself as a viable, family-oriented, leisure activity that anyone can enjoy.

The PGA of America has taken the lead in the battle to reinvigorate the game by commissioning a study. The Boston Consulting Group surveyed random people across the country and came up with some pretty amazing numbers that provide some hope for the future of the game.

The BCG study found that 90 million

Americans have played golf in the past and enjoyed the experience. Of those 90 million, 70 percent have expressed some interest in playing again. Also, the study found that there is a significant number of people who have never played the game but would like to try and a number of current players who want to play more golf.

From the BCG study the PGA of America has established the Golf 2.0 initiative. Golf 2.0 is an aggressive, dynamic, strategic plan designed to grow the game to 40 million golfers by 2020. Whether that lofty goal is met or not is somewhat secondary to the core goal of changing the tide from losing players every year to showing an increase in the number of people playing.

The three core strategies of the Golf 2.0 initiative are to retain and strengthen the core golfers, engage the lapsed golfers and drive new players to the game.

While the PGA is leading the charge, the rest of the golf industry has pledged its support to the Golf 2.0 initiative.

The PGA Tour, USGA, LPGA, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Club Managers Association and National Golf Course Owners Association are just a few of the organizations supporting Golf 2.0.

What happens now?

It is important to keep in mind that Golf 2.0 is an overall initiative from the leaders in the golf industry to reinvigorate and grow the game of golf. It is also important to note that the Golf 2.0 initiative will continue to evolve.

The core messages that will be delivered from Golf 2.0 initiatives are that golf is a fun family activity, it is affordable, it doesn’t have to include a full 18-hole round, it’s healthy and it welcomes women.

Consumer advertising over the next several months will focus on these five key areas and highlight the fact that golf is a game that can be played by virtually every age group and it is a healthy way for a family to spend quality time together, something that few other sports offer.

The cost and time factors are road-

10 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

blocks currently mentioned as to why people don’t start playing or play more golf. Statistics show that the median cost for 18 holes at a public facility in 2010 was $28, and 70 percent of all golf courses are public facilities. Golf is more affordable than is often perceived.

From a time commitment standpoint, programs such as a nine and dine, six holes after 6 p.m., parent/ child four-hole events and other timesaving, alternative golf options will be delivered by numerous golf facilities to encourage people to play more.

A large push from the Golf 2.0 initiative will be geared toward women and golf. Research shows that women want to play golf to spend more family time, but also that golf can be a valuable business tool that provides professional networking benefits.

Finally, with more Americans trying to live a healthy lifestyle, golf is a perfect sport for the masses. Golf can be played by people of all ages and body types. Health and fitness experts stress that taking 10,000 steps per day, the equivalent of 18 holes or five miles, will improve your overall fitness.

The first step to implement the Golf 2.0 initiative was the recent introduction of the Golf 2.0 Player Development Playbook that the PGA of America is providing to its 27,000 PGA members and apprentices nationwide.

The Player Development Playbook is complete with step-by-step processes that can be followed to introduce new programs to encourage new golfers to play and current golfers to play more.

Additional playbooks are in the final stages of development and will be rolled out in the next few months.

Those playbooks will focus on knowing your customer, growing junior golf and connecting with women golfers.

To launch the Golf 2.0 initiative, four main programs will be featured in 2012: Get Golf Ready (1 and 2), Tee It Forward and the PGA Sports Academy.

Get Golf Ready is a way to bring adults into the game in a fast, fun and affordable way. It is a nationally branded golf experience that provides beginning players with a series of five see DAVID on page 18

area Tournament schedule

April 22-23

IGA Mid-Am Team Championship

Otter Creek

April 30

Indiana PGA Southern Open

Harrison Lake

May 13

IGA Stroke Play Series No. 1

Otter Creek

May 18-19

IGA Four-Ball

Legends

June 4

Indiana Open Qualifier No. 1

Legends

June 4

Indiana Amateur Qualifier (District 8)

June 6-7

June 7

Girls Team Championship

Shadowood

June 7

IGA Junior Prep Tour

Dye Course

June 13

Indiana Open Qualifier No. 3

Shadowood

June 18

USGA Junior Amateur Qualifier

Otter Creek

June 29-30

IGA Public Links

Shadowood

July 18-20

Women’s State Amateur

Otter Creek

July 19

IGA Junior Prep Tour

Dye Course

Oct. 13-14

Hoosier Junior Championship

Otter Creek

IGA Senior Team Championship

Shadowood Hillview

The Republic, Columbus, Ind., thursday, mArch 15, 2012 11

By Paul Hoffman For The Republic

know the game’s

new rules

Golfers should like some of the rule changes the USGA passed this year.

The biggest changes are eliminating the penalties for a ball that moves through no fault of the golfer after it has been addressed, and for smoothing out a bunker before playing from it, if that action doesn’t improve the player’s lie.

The details of these changes are:  Ball Moving After Address (Rule 18-2b). A new exception is added which exonerates the player from penalty if the ball moves after it has been addressed when it is known or virtually certain that the player did not cause the ball to move. For example, if a gust of wind moves the ball after it has been addressed, there is no penalty and the ball is played from its new position.  Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions (Rule 13-4). Exception 2 to this rule is amended to permit a player to smooth sand or soil in a hazard at any time, including before playing from that hazard, provided it is for the sole purpose of caring for the course and Rule 13-2 (improving lie, area of intended stance or swing or line of play) is not breached.

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Both of these changes were applauded by local officials, and both were brought about by changes in course design or maintenance, said Chip Essig, a member of the PGA Rules Committee since 1998 and director of golf for Hickory Stick Golf Course in the Center Grove area.

He said the Ball Moving After Address change was made mainly because the speed of the greens has increased so much in recent years. Fast greens used to be measured at 7 to 8 feet by a Stimpmeter, while many are more like 10 to 12 now, Essig said.

Because of the extremely fast greens, a ball is more easily blown off its mark by heavy winds. Because this is no fault of the player, the USGA decided it was unfair to penalize a player when something like this occurs.

“I think this is really a great addition,” Essig said. “... Now, if you know or it is virtually certain that you didn’t cause it to move, you are not penalized.

It makes it more fair in my opinion.”

“You see this on TV all the time,” said Chad Cockerham, head pro at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus.

“It makes a lot of sense, and I think it’s time to do that one.”

It is important to note, however, that gravity is not a reason for escaping a penalty. If a player addresses the ball, and the ball starts to roll downhill, he or she is still assessed a penalty.

“It has to be wind or water or a dog or another competitor or something like that that causes it to move,” Essig said.

Footprints in the sand

The Ball in Hazard rule change resulted from so many courses adding such large bunkers, according to Essig.

“Some of these bunkers are 200 yards long by 50 yards; they’re such big bunkers, this only makes sense,” Essig said. “You don’t have to go back and slow up play after your shot ... as long as smoothing your footprints is the sole reason and it’s for improving the course.

“It makes total sense for the pace of play with these big bunkers. It can be a three- or four-minute savings.”

Essig said the prohibition on smoothing sand before a shot resulted from a concern that golfers could “test” the sand. But he said that raking is not “testing” and that players in a big tournament would have already played practice shots out of the sand and know how they play.

“It doesn’t affect the skill of the play-

er,” Cockerham said, echoing Essig’s approval of the rule. The Otter Creek pro saw firsthand how this rule affected the Columbus City Golf Tournament two years ago.

First-round leader Jeff Cowall was assessed a two-shot penalty for taking a rake into a bunker before his shot during the final round at Otter Creek. He did so because someone in a previous group had not raked it in the first place, and he was trying to fix someone else’s mistake. He ended up tying for second place, three shots behind the winner.

Another rule change this year, not expected to play much of a role, amends Time of Starting (Rule 6-3a) to provide that the penalty for starting late, but within five minutes of the starting time, is reduced from disqualification to loss of the first hole in match play or two strokes at the first hole in stroke play.

Previously, this penalty reduction could be introduced as a condition of competition.

Essig said this rule had been in effect at all statewide and higher events anyway, and some smaller events had used it, too.

Advances in video technology led to a revision of the rules last year.

Previously, if a player turned in a signed scorecard, and a video later showed that he had unknowingly broken a rule and did not take a penalty, he would be disqualified. Now, the penalty has been reduced to two strokes. This is a rule that most likely will only be used at large tournaments where video coverage is available.

“There was some confusion as to exactly when the stance has been taken,” Essig said. “This is a nice clarification.”

Cockerham would like to change the rule about dropping a ball in a hazard, especially when there is casual water.

“It (ball) almost always plugs (into the sand),” he said. “Any time you have to drop a ball in a bunker, you should be able to place the ball.”

Many players can be intimidated by the rules of golf, Cockerham said. But he said there are a lot of resources to go

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Change of address

Another big rules change concerns the definition of addressing the ball.

No longer does the definition have anything to do with taking a stance; it simply means that a club has been grounded in front or in back of the ball.

to that break them down well.

“If you just take a little time to read the common ones, it will really help with the enjoyment of the game,” he said.

Being one of the people charged with formulating the rules, Essig knows how confusing it can be to try to read them. He said that the rules committee continually works at making them more readable. But at the same time, he said the words have to be exact and that they have to cover any type of course condition the world over.

The USGA, which governs the game in the United States and Mexico, and the R&A, which governs the game in the rest of the world, conduct rules meetings separately. The two groups come together and establish a code of rules to be used worldwide. These rules are set in four-year cycles, with the latest rules in effect from 2012 to 2015.

Essig said that many rule changes that seem good on the surface would end up causing more problems than they solved, and they are discarded.

“It’s a lengthy, entailed process,” he said. “A lot of times you come to the conclusion that the rule may not be perfect, but it’s the best we can do.”

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local golfer

gets grip

on business side of game

By Jess Huffman jhuffman@therepublic.com

Ryan Myers’ fixation for golf led to his fixation with fixing golf clubs from his parents’ garage in Columbus.

Myers turned a hobby into a profitable business of golf repair and supply. The 24-year-old Columbus East grad and former University of Indianapolis golfer is finishing college classes, majoring in entrepreneurship, marketing and supply chain management. All the while he’s continuing a job that’s one-of-a-kind in Columbus.

Myers takes your broken golf clubs and fixes them.

Re-gripping, re-shafting and re-finishing is business, and business at Ryan’s Grip and Repair is good.

“It’s definitely very beneficial,” Myers said. “Last year, I had one of the biggest years I’ve ever had.”

Myers does business with golf courses in Indiana, repairing their members’ clubs and supplying equipment to the courses.

He’s assembled a set of Japanese clubs made of 24-karat gold to suit a customer. The clubs would have cost $6,000

photos by Andrew Laker

Ryan Myers’ golf repair business has taken off since he first set up the operation in his parents’ garage.

professional opinion

Don’t think yourself into misery

I

n my years of playing and teaching golf, I have had many rounds ruined by stressing and thinking about every movement on the course.

I have heard from many (almost all) of the golfers that I have worked with that they have tried too hard, thought too much or just put too much pressure on themselves that they could not come close to their best performances.

Golfers let dozens of unnecessary thoughts cloud what our subconscious knows instinctively. I’ve seen countless players stand on the first tee with their driver and think things like, “Don’t hook it like I was doing on the practice tee,” or “Do I have the ball teed up to the right height?”

Over-thinking is certainly high on the list of the things that kill good golf scores. Thinking about what you are

Jeff Smith doing or how you are doing it while performing any physical action is somewhere between difficult and impossible, and will most likely never produce the results that you are looking for.

Does anyone believe that Peyton Manning actually thought about how far back to cock his arm or how tightly to hold the football when he saw Reggie Wayne breaking free on a post route to the end zone? Of course not. Does any-

14 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

one believe that Indiana University basketball player Cody Zeller is thinking about the position of his wrist when he is going hard to the basket for a dunk?

Of course not.

Unfortunately, golf is a stationary game where the golfer has time to allow thoughts to creep into their minds and corrupt the athletic process. During a four-hour round of golf, the player actually spends about three minutes actually hitting shots. The swing itself takes about two seconds, and the usual prep time per shot should be only about 30 seconds (that’s a maximum for you slow players out there). There is a lot of other time for the mind to wander into too many things about how to perform.

The problem is many golfers cannot seem to stop from doing this. Those players who are truly looking to per-

form better on the course need to clear their heads of this kind of mental interference and focus on what they are about to do with the next shot.

Over the last 18 years, I have helped many players get out of this mental oncourse funk by helping their golf swing and their process of hitting a good shot and how they think on the course. But good coaching isn’t enough Playing good golf is done by learning a great way to play and then playing it again and again. When you are on the course, concentrate on what you are doing, not how you are doing it. Just play and enjoy without thinking about it at the time. You can groove your move while on the practice tee.

Jeff Smith is director of instruction at Otter Creek Golf Course.

“”

in Japan, Myers said, but he built them on a $3,000 budget.

“He obviously saved a few thousand,” he said.

At about 13 years old, Myers started tinkering with his own golf clubs, regripping them and repairing broken ones. He eventually graduated to buying parts and assembling sets of his own.

“I still have the first golf club I ever did,” he said. “Obviously, it looks horrible since I was so young. But it was a lot of fun.”

Myers incorporated Ryan’s Grip and Repair in 2006. By 2008, he’d branched out from his beginnings with Otter Creek to more than 30 courses.

“Growing up in golf, I’ve played in a lot of different golf tournaments throughout the summer, a lot of different places,” Myers said. “Pros have recommended me to other golf courses, and then I’ve also just cold-called people.”

In many ways, he is the local golf mechanic.

He gets about two deals a day done during the summer. That’s 26 clubs to either re-grip or re-shaft.

Re-gripping is the easier of the two

My senior year in high school ... I started going to all the classes, learning everything and then starting to do it on the customers’ clubs.

— Ryan Myers

common jobs for Myers. He knifes off the grip, slaps on a new one and lets each club sit for about two hours. After a set of 13, the job is done.

Re-shafting requires Myers to remove a club’s head with a blowtorch, clean it out and put on a new shaft. He waited till the time was right to begin handling blowtorches.

“I started to do everything that I do now my senior year in high school,” Myers said. “That’s when I started going to all the classes, learning everything and then starting to do it on the customers’ clubs.”

Myers attended Maltby Clubmaking Academy shortly before beginning college and has accumulated 125 hours of

Myers puts a new grip on a golf club.

schooling in the trade.

He played college golf for the Greyhounds, blossoming his business while blossoming his game.

Last summer, he ranked in the top 16 of Indiana amateurs, making him eligible to play in the Indiana Golf Association Challenge Cup at the Brickyard Crossing, which weaves in and around the world’s most famous

2.5-mile oval.

Staying close to the game is fun for Myers, and it’s also good for business.

He gets to know the pros and potential customers through what he considers a fun time, an enjoyable marketing campaign. There’s something to be said for word-of-mouth marketing, and Ryan’s Grip and Repair is nothing if not evidence to support its positive effects.

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Get away from it all — and take your clubs

By Jess Huffman jhuffman@therepublic.com

Whenever Otter Creek head golf pro Chad Cockerham needs a golfing vacation, he drives to French Lick, where three courses, a casino and luxurious lodging offer all he needs to unwind.

“In that two- or three-hour trip, that’s got to be the No. 1 destination, by far,” Cockerham said.

“When I need to get away for a couple days, that’s generally the direction I head.”

Hillview Country Club pro Kedric Perkins prefers the Gatlinburg, Tenn., area, teeing off from lush fairways with the Smoky Mountains as the backdrop.

Greenbelt pro Steve Cohen suggests giving courses in northern Kentucky a try. Though Cohen doesn’t go there himself, he’s heard from his Greenbelt members rates are great.

“I have groups that go to northern Kentucky” Cohen said.

“They’re not great golf courses, but they’re more of a destination.”

Golfing destinations are tucked away in all corners of the Midwest.

From Indiana to Kentucky to Tennessee, the heartland has no shortage of popular places to get away for a bachelor’s party, birthday party or no party at all.

Need a few ideas? Here are a few that local golf pros recommend:  French Lick. Two hours from Columbus, the French Lick Resort offers lodging, dining and the French Lick Casino, not to mention the nearby West Baden Springs Hotel, a popular spot for wedding receptions and banquets.

It has three golf courses: the Pete Dye Course, Donald Ross Course and Valley Links Course.

“There’s nothing like a Dye course in the state of Indiana,”

Pete Dye Course at French Lick 16 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

Cockerham said. “You can just stand at one tee, and you can just see for miles and miles.

“That facility is just amazing right now.”  Park City, Ky. Drive about two hours, 45 minutes south on Interstate 65 to the Park Mammoth Resort, equipped with a course winding through the caves and lakes of south central Kentucky. A winery, restaurant and lodging are near the course.

Shooting sports are available at the Rockcastle Shooting Center, part of Park Mammoth’s 2,000 acres. A lodge overlooks Kentucky’s historic cave region.

“You get a group of 20 guys; you do the package deals,” Cohen said. “You get three days of golf, breakfast and dinner.”  Gaylord, Mich. Founded in 1924, the Gaylord Country Club is one of northern Michigan’s oldest golf clubs.

Its parkland design is reminiscent of the early 20th century. The club offers package deals of three rounds of golf, two nights and lodging for $114 per person.

“Northern Michigan is great — up in Gaylord, Traverse City, places like

Park Mammoth Resort in Kentucky

that,” Cockerham said. “That’s well worth a trip.”

That trip is a long one, though. It is about seven hours from Columbus north on I-65. And you might want to wait till later in the season for the warm weather.

Cold weather brings the northern brethren south in the early spring, a fact Cockerham benefits from every March

and April.

“Typically, Michigan and northern Ohio (golfers) are pretty common for us early in the season,” he said. “Guys can get a three- or four-week jump on the season.

“We get guys that will drive five or six hours and come and stay the weekend for sure.”  Laconia. Wait, where?

If you’ve never heard of Laconia, don’t feel bad. The population was 50 as of the 2010 Census. But the small Indiana town has a major attraction for visitors — golfing and gambling. Hidden within southern Indiana, about 35 miles southwest of Louisville, Chariot Run is an equestrian-themed golf course near the banks of the Ohio River and Caesars Horseshoe Casino Hotel.

It’s about a two-hour drive from Columbus.  Florence. At the Belterra, guests are treated with GPS-enabled golf carts to use as they wind through the course’s lakes and more than 2,000 trees. Another casino-and-golf destination similar to those in French Lick and Laconia, Florence is a two-hour drive from Columbus.  Gatlinburg, Tenn. Recommended

by Perkins, the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area is loaded with golf courses within the mountainous terrain of Tennessee. Scenery is the seller, and quality courses such as Gatlinburg Golf Course make the trip worthwhile.

The downside is, it’s a long road trip to central Tennessee, about a sevenhour drive from Columbus.

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The Republic, Columbus, Ind., thursday, mArch 15, 2012 17

Technology subtracts some variables from game

By Jess Huffman jhuffman@therepublic.com

When Chad Cockerham takes his laser out, he’s not getting ready to play Star Wars. He’s golfing.

The Otter Creek head pro pulls an electronic measuring device out of his golf bag and measures distances to holes, hazards and fairways. Although his gadget looks like a video camera, the only thing it’s shooting is a laser.

It’s technology golfers dreamed of decades ago. With lasers and GPS devices, golfers can know the course like they’ve never known it before.

Distances are determined to bunkers, greens and flags with devices small enough to fit in the hand.

“You can point and click and you’re there,” Hillview Country Club head pro Kedrick Perkins said. “You’re getting the pin with the laser.”

Perkins carries a laser, as does Otter

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Creek teaching pro Jeff Smith. PGA Tour caddies use them during practice rounds, but they’re banned during actual play.

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event, they all have them,” Cockerham said. “All of them do. The caddies are using them to make their books with.

When players play practice rounds, they want to know exact yardage.”

Lasers and GPS systems cost in the ballpark of $200 or $300. GPS systems have the course mapped out and follow your action and distances from the greens, but they can’t identify distance to the pin because it often changes.

“You basically have a listing of a map of predetermined points,” Cockerham

said. “The downside is you don’t actually get a true distance to the flagstick.

You get front, middle, back (of the greens).”

The lasers were once difficult to use, Greenbelt pro Steve Cohen said. But as technology has improved, so has their handling ability.

“It used to be you had to hold them real still because you’re basically aiming at a flag. Or maybe there’s a hazard out of the fairway, you want to see how far you need to go to get around it,” he

david continued from page 10

be implemented into existing junior golf programs. The curriculum includes golf skills, fitness and nutrition, sportsmanship, rules and safety, and golf and near golf experiences. The golf and near golf experiences reinforce the thought that golf does not always have to be 18 holes.

Friends, Family and Fun is the overall theme for the Golf 2.0 initiative that has been embraced by the entire golf community and is now being rolled out to the golfing, and non-golfing, public.

While it remains to be seen whether 40 million golfers by 2020 is achievable, the PGA of America, along with the rest of the golf industry, has taken an important step toward revitalizing the game of golf and encouraging current golfers to play more and non-golfers to take up the sport.

lessons for just $99. The program provides participants with an introduction to the game and gives them the basic fundamentals of the golf swing. It also gives participants a general understanding of how to act, where to go and what to do when you visit a golf facility.

A Get Golf Ready 2 program refines those skills learned in the basic GGR program.

Tee It Forward encourages golfers to play the course at a length that best suits their abilities. All too often egos get in the way of fun on the golf course.

Tee It Forward allows a golfer to have more fun and to play faster, two key components involved in why people are not playing more golf.

Finally, the PGA Sports Academy is an exciting and interactive approach to growing junior golf participation. The elements of PGA Sports Academy can

Mike David is executive director of Indiana Golf Office.

said. “Anymore … you don’t have to be quite so still. They’ve been easier to shoot the distance to where it’s accurate.”

Golfing technology is spreading to cellphones. There are several downloadable apps available that give you GPS capability. Otter Creek’s new mobile website offers a free one of its course.

New technology is emerging in golfing education. Pros teach with launch monitors, which resemble games of Wii, except the players are smacking real golf balls into a screen. A nearby monitor shows where the golf ball would travel.

Smith said he’ll have the freshest teaching gadget in his hands soon — an electronic measuring device that tracks your swing.

“It will track exactly where the golf club is traveling, and then all of its motions, all of its rotations … during the course of a golf swing,” he said.

“It’s pretty impressive technology. I’ll have it here in April.”

When sports and technology combine, there’s often a debate. Pro golf is no exception.

Critics claim lasers and GPS systems take the human element out of the

2012 GREEN FEES

sport. The thing is, it doesn’t matter.

“Those guys have so much information at the ready by the time they go, it really doesn’t make a difference,” Cockerham said.

A similar debate is ongoing over long putters. PGA Tour players like Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson have all been known to at least tinker with the taller putters.

By using a longer putter, some believe you’re steadying your stroke.

“It takes something out of the stroke,” Cockerham said. “It removes a variable. It really takes your hands out of it.”

Appropriately named, long and belly putters are anchored to a golfer’s stomach, allowing him to stand up straight and use more of his arms than hands.

“It’s the stability of a tripod as opposed to two legs,” Cockerham said.

Smith recommends long putters to elderly golfers or players with back pain, but not to professionals.

“I think if you gave them any piece of equipment and said you’re allowed to use this, they would adapt to it,” he said. “But they still have to rise above all other parts of the game, so I’m not sure the advent of a longer putter is really going to help them long term.”

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going good for

Gohn

The Republic file photo

College sophomore shooting for the pin at Missouri

By Ted Schultz tschultz@therepublic.com

Taylor Gohn burst onto the college golf landscape as a freshman last year with a Big 12 Conference AllTournament performance.

That ninth-place finish has the sophomore graduate of Columbus North High School hoping for even bigger things this spring. She had three top-30 finishes last spring and was Missouri’s third-leading scorer at 77.4.

“I started out a little rough, but I played better in the spring,” Gohn said. “That was my goal — to place in the Big 12 every year, and I did it my freshman year, so I was happy about that. I’m excited to see how I finish this year, and I’m excited to get my top 10 spot back.”

This year’s Big 12 Championships will be April 27 to 29 in Lawrence, Kan. Gohn led the Tigers to a thirdplace team finish last season.

“I think it’s just kind of a push for me and my team,” Gohn said. “If you play well in conference, you can get a bid to regional, and that’s kind of my driving force — to see how well I can do. It really pushes me in the summer to work hard because having that little taste of success last spring makes me want it more and more.”

“A big turning point for her was the Big 12 Championship last spring,” Missouri coach Stephanie Priesmeyer said. “She was All-Big 12, which for a freshman is a big accomplishment. She came out of qualifying in the spring and was really playing well and consistent.

She showed a lot of growth in her second semester.”

Gohn is averaging 77 through three

events in the fall and two this spring.

Priesmeyer, a former basketball and golf standout at Seymour, said Gohn is extremely coachable.

“It’s very easy to coach her in a tournament,” Priesmeyer said. “If she has any questions, you really make her feel confident in her decisions, and she can execute the shots.

“She’s definitely one of our best competitors,” she added. “We can usually count on her to be one of our scorers. She’s had some really good rounds for us and has been one of our most consistent players.”

Coming off a tie for ninth in the Sir Pizza Cards Challenge in Miami, Gohn is looking forward to spring break tournaments in Arizona and Georgia the final two weekends of March. Missouri will then have three weeks off before the Big 12 Championships.

Gohn is also looking forward to a couple of big tournaments this summer — the Indiana Women’s Open July 2 and 3 at Hickory Stick in Greenwood and the July 18 to 20 Women’s State Amateur at her home course of Otter Creek. She finished second in the state open in 2010 and led the state amateur after the first round the same year.

“I just know that I’m coming home to work on my game in Columbus,” Gohn said. “I’m really excited for the State Am because it’s back home, and I feel like I’m a lot better than I was.”

After growing up playing at Greenbelt, Gohn has called Otter Creek home since high school. “In the summer, all I want to do is play golf or practice,” she said. “I don’t want to do anything else.”

For now, Columbia, Mo., is Gohn’s home, and she’s happy with that.

“It’s definite to me that I made the right choice to come out here,” she said. “It’s a good fit for me, and things seem to be falling into place.”

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professional opinion

Get Golf Ready helps beginners W

e were down to the last five minutes of the fifth and final Get Golf Ready session on a scorching July evening. Darlene Knight had progressed nicely through the first three Get Golf Ready lessons, but quite frankly she had hit the wall in her next couple of sessions.

I could sense the frustration that was building, and my fear was that she would never come back to The Legends Golf Club when we finished that night.

Darlene is a diminutive figure, probably no more than 4 feet 10 inches tall and of slight build. She had signed up for Get Golf Ready with a friend, Carolyn Clow, and the two women were looking to golf as a new activity.

Darlene could not handle the length of a driver or even a three wood.

When we practiced tee shots, we used a hybrid. The last couple of GGR sessions found Darlene hitting low, roping hooks that often never left the ground.

Ted Bishop When I teach beginning women, l recommend the baseball or 10-finger grip. This seems to be a natural placement of the hands on the golf club for women. It also gives them a better chance to release the club at impact.

Darlene had developed a bad habit of letting her hands slide apart on the golf club, which compounded many of her impact problems.

In a last ditch effort to save this golfer, I changed Darlene to an interlocking grip in the final minutes of the GGR session. On her first swing with the new

grip she launched a nice high 135-yard shot with a slight draw. She looked back at me and exclaimed, “Oh, my God!” We repeated the process, and Darlene hit five great shots in succession. As we walked off the range tee, it was apparent that she had suddenly developed a new excitement and attitude toward the game. She wanted to go into the golf shop and look for a new set of clubs.

Darlene returned to The Legends with Carolyn on several occasions. In fact, they signed up for Get Golf Ready 2 sessions.

This is the essence of the most exciting player development program I have been involved with in my 35 years of golf. For only $99, the student receives five lessons, 1.5 hours each. Get Golf Ready features an “on course” experience. Clubs are not needed.

Talk to GGR graduates and they will tell you that this program eliminates the barriers of cost and intimidation —

especially for beginning women.

The most compelling statistic regarding Get Golf Ready is that 84 percent of graduates stay in the game during the first season. They will spend money somewhere in golf, and the vast majority of that is driven to golf facilities in the form of green fees, golf carts, golf merchandise, range balls, food and beverage and more golf instruction.

Get Golf Ready is offered at The Legends Golf Club, Otter Creek Golf Course and Hickory Stick Golf Course.

Beginning golfers will be exposed to putting, chipping and full swing golf techniques. Also, all participants will get on-course experience in every session. Many facilities offer Get Golf Ready for all types of players.

Just $99 gets you five 1.5-hour lessons with a PGA pro.

Ted Bishop is vice president of PGA of America, located in Franklin.

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The Republic, Columbus, Ind., thursday, mArch 15, 2012 21

Associated Press photos

pro tour schedules

Phil Mickelson

Michelle Wie

PGA Schedule

LPGA Tour Schedule

March 15-18 — Transitions Championship, Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course), Palm Harbor, Fla. March 22-25 — Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla. March 29-April 1 — Shell Houston Open, Redstone GC (Tournament Course), Houston.

April 5-8 — Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC, Augusta, Ga. April 12-15 — RBC Heritage, Harbourtown GL, Hilton Head Island, S.C. April 19-22 — Valero Texas Open, TPC San Antonio (AT&T Oaks Course), San Antonio April 26-29 — Zurich Classic, TPC Louisiana, New Orleans May 3-6 — Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C. May 10-13 — The Players Championship, TPC Sawgrass (Players Stadium Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. May 17-20 — HP Byron Nelson Championship, TPC Four Seasons Resort, Las Colinas, Texas.

May 24-27 — Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Colonial CC, Fort Worth, Texas May 31-June 3— Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio June 7-10 — FedEx St. Jude Classic, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.

June 14-17 — U.S. Open, The Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco June 21-24 — Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Hartford, Conn.

June 28-July 1 — AT&T National, Congressional CC (Blue Course), Bethesda, Md. July 5-8 — The Greenbrier Classic, The Greenbrier (The Old White TPC), White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. July 12-15 — John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill. July 19-22 — British Open, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Lytham, England July 19-22 — True South Classic, Annandale GC, Madison, Miss.

July 26-29 — RBC Canadian Open, Hamilton Golf & CC, Ancaster, Ontario Aug. 2-5 — WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Firestone CC (South Course),Akron, Ohio Aug. 2-5 — Reno-Tahoe Open, Montreaux Golf & CC, Reno, Nev. Aug. 9-12 — PGA Championship, Kiawah Island (Ocean Course), Kiawah Island, S.C. Aug. 16-19 — Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, N.C. Aug. 23-26 — The Barclays, Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y. Aug. 31-Sept. 3 — Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.

Sept. 6-9 — BMW Championship, Crooked Strick GC, Carmel, Ind. Sept. 20-23 — Tour Championship, East Lake GC, Atlanta Sept. 28-30 — The Ryder Cup, Medinah CC (No. 3), Medinah, Ill. Oct. 4-7 — Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open, TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas.

Oct. 11-14 — Frys.com Open, CordeValle GC, San Martin, Calif.

Oct. 18-21 — The McGladrey Classic, Sea Island Resort (Seaside Course), St. Simons Island, Ga. Oct. 25-28 — CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, The Mines Resort & GC, Selangor, Malaysia Nov. 1-4 — WGC-HSBC Champions, TBD, China Nov. 8-11 — Children’s Miracle Network Classic, Walt Disney World Resort (Magnolia, Palm), Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 22 The Republic, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, MArch 15, 2012

March 15-18 — RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, Wildfire GC, Phoenix.

March 22-25 — Kia Classic, La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.

March 29-April 1 — Kraft Nabisco Championship, Mission Hills CC, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

April 18-21 — LPGA LOTTE Championship, TBD, Honolulu.

April 26-29 — Mobile Bay LPA Classic, RTJ Golf Trail (Crossings Course), Mobile, Ala. x-May 5-6 — HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup, TBC, Rio de Janeiro.

May 17-20 — Sybase Match Play Championship, Hamilton Garm GC, Gladstone, N.J. June 1-3 — ShopRite LPGA Classic, Seaview GC, Galloway, N.J. June 7-10 — Wegmans LPGA Championship, Locust Hill CC, Pittsford, N.Y. June 21-24 — Manulife Financial LPGA Classic, Grey Silo GC, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

June 29-July 1 — Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Pinnacle CC, Rogers, Ark. July 5-8 — U.S. Women’s Open, Blackwolf Run (Championship Course), Sheboygan, Wis. July 26-29 — Evian Masters, Evian Masters GC, Evian-les-Bains, France.

Aug. 9-12 — Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, Ohio.

Aug. 17-19 — Safeway Classic, Pumpkin Ridge GC (Ghost Creek), North Plains, Ore. Aug. 23-26 — CN Canadian Women’s Open, Vancouver GC, Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Sept. 6-9 — Kingsmill Championship, Kingsmill Resort (River Course), Williamsburg, Va. Sept. 13-16 — Ricoh Women’s British Open, Royal Liverpool GC, Hoylake, England.

Sept. 20-23 — Navistar LPGA Classic, RTJ Trail (Senator Course), Prattville, Ala. Oct. 12-14 — Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Golf & CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oct. 19-21 — LPGA HanaBank Championship, Sky72 GC (Ocean Course), Incheon, South Korea.

Oct. 25-28 — Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship, Sunrise Golf & CC, Taipei, Taiwan.

Nov. 2-4 — Mizuno Classic, Kintetsu Kashkikojima CC, Shima-Shi, Japan.

Nov. 8-11 — Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Guadalajara CC, Guadalajara, Mexico.

Nov. 15-18 — CME Group Titleholders, TwinEagles GC (Eagles Course), Naples, Fla. x-unofficial event.

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