After months of winter, stark and extremely cold, signs of spring are upon us, and many of you have begun to venture out to local golf courses. I, for one, felt the need to go to the driving range before I actually played golf, to make sure that I could still hit that little golf ball in the direction I intended to! (I found I could still hit the ball, though my short game is a bit iffy.) Though I didn’t get to play golf during the winter months, I did get to hit balls a few times by visiting the heated range of Riverside Golf Academy in Indianapolis. Lying between 38th street and I-65, near Coffin Golf Course, the Riverside Golf Academy offers a full range of practice facilities in good weather, and enough to keep you occupied in winter weather. Besides the heated range stalls, they also have a practice putting green and four indoor simulators, where you and the rest of your foursome can play any of 125 golf courses (including Pebble Beach and Augusta) for $25 apiece! And just a few steps away is a snack bar with many of your favorite beverages, and a big-screen TV. It’s just the right kind of place for a golfer to hang out all winter.
Now Terre Haute is going to have its own facility for golfers to hang out, and it’s scheduled to open this July. It’s called the Fore Seasons Golf Complex, and a group called CMP Midwest Properties is building it. It is replacing what used to be Stu’s Golf Course and Driving Range, and will be managed by Jon Holloway, the former pro at Hulman Links and Rea Park. The course is still there, but it is now called “Trinity Golf Course” and it is open for business. You’ll still be able to play under the lights, but they’re not on yet. The greens fees are $5 to walk 9 holes, or $10 to ride, and $10 to walk 18 holes, or $15 to ride.
The new restaurant, in the process of being built, will be called “Mulligan’s Sports Bar & Grill.” Besides offering beverages and a lunch and dinner menu, it will also feature many flat-screen televisions, an arcade, and pool tables. There will be seating for 150 patrons, plus two party rooms available for private outings. The Fore Seasons Golf Complex will also house an 18-hole miniature golf course called “Eagle Mountain Indoor Miniature Golf.” It will have a jungle theme, and will be lit by black lights! There will also be two golf simulators so we can play Pebble Beach (and many other courses) without having to deal with all the time and expense of traveling there! You’ll be able to make tee times for the simulators too.
In memory of one of the area’s best high school golfers, who died at the young age of 19 in a traffic accident in January while at Ball State, it is going to be called the “Travis J. Smith Double Deck Driving Range.” The first floor of the range will have heaters overhead, allowing for range practice all winter long. There will be 12 spots available for hitting in the heated bays. They also plan on offering an annual range membership, that will include the indoor and outdoor range bays, but the price is yet to be determined. It is a wonderful tribute to Travis, who would have used the facility every winter day, if it had been available when he was here.
Many other improvements are under way. The new putting green will be incorporated into a practice area, with some sand bunkers, and close to an area of the range that will be grass instead of mats.
Holloway plans on having clinics and camps for juniors this summer, and for women and beginners, too. He’ll be able to give lessons in the winter, too, now that there will be a warm facility for doing that! He won’t have a pro shop per se, other than for consumables like golf balls and tees. Along with four season lessons, he will offer club fitting and regripping and reshafting. For more information, or to set up a lesson or tee times for Trinity Golf Course, call (812) 234-9212.
I’m excited about the Fore Seasons Golf Complex opening in Terre Haute. And I’m proud of CMP Midwest Property LLC, whose mission is to “create more activity and excitement in our community, and to give back to a city that has been good to them.”
Quote of the day — “Golf is the only sport where the object is to play as little as possible.” – Charles G. McLoughlin, writer
On & Off the Course
On and Off the Course: New golf complex coming to town
- On & Off the Course
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
• Gary R. Wright
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Donna Lynn Strahla Bown
Donna Lynn Strahla Bown passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2013, with her children by her side.
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‘The Match’ pitting amateurs vs. pros recalled 62 years later
Quote of the Day: “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” — Ben Hogan.
Bubba Watson has had a busy fall. Not only did he play all the way to the final round of the FedEx Championships, and in the Ryder Cup, he also played in an event commemorating a very famous match played at Cypress Point in 1956, pitting two of the greatest golf pros at the time against two of the best amateurs.
Come to think of it, all four were some of the best golfers of all time. This year’s event was celebrating The First Tee’s exceeding $100 million in pledges to reach 10 million new young people. It wasn’t televised and kept very quiet; only 225 people were in the gallery.
One of the people in the gallery was Mark Frost, the author of a book titled “The Match,” which is about that match played 62 years ago that was re-enacted in modern terms last week. The pros in 1956 were Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and the amateurs were Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. It was supposed to have been a private affair, built around a wager by two millionaires, George Coleman and Eddie Lowery. -
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf from the wrong side of the brain
Imagine this scenario: a woman, small in stature (possibly freckled), walks into a hospital emergency room and says, “I have an emergency, I need a doctor quickly!” The admitting nurse, ever trying to be helpful, asks what the emergency is.
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Farmers looking at widely varying yields
Combines will roll through fields this weekend, bringing in the harvest from a summer with nearly no rain.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf debut in London would have been nice
As the Olympics get underway in London this weekend, I was thinking it’s too bad that the Olympic committee decided too late to add golf as one of the sports for this event; instead it will be added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Getting to Hoosier country’s best golfing venue part of the fun
If you are looking for Indiana’s premier golfing destination, then you should look no further than French Lick.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Indiana's Pete Dye courses worth the drive
You’ve probably heard of the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail throughout Alabama, but you might not be aware that Indiana has its own “Pete Dye Golf Trail” comprised of seven courses.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fathers typically a big influence on golfing sons
Some events fall naturally into place around holidays. The Fourth of July always falls somewhere during Wimbledon, giving all of the Yanks in attendance something to be boisterous about, to the chagrin of their hosts; The Masters often, but not always, ends on Easter Sunday, which is fitting since golfers find it such a reverent occasion.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Memorial just one of many visions of Jack Nicklaus
When Jack Nicklaus was a young man, the golfer he most admired was Bob Jones.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
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Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
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Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
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China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
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One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
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Today in History for May 19th
Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in Florida
Twiggy, the Water Skiing Squirrel
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Beyonce Is Pregnant!
SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch
See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion
Woman tricked into taking abortion pill
Emma Watson Goes Pantless
IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes
Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety
Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos
Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths
