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May 26th 2009 - When you look at a football field it’s hard to believe that it only takes a short wedge to cover the distance, goal line to goal line. That’s a pretty manageable shot in golf. Put Peyton Manning up on the Colts’ goal line and that distance seems like forever!
This Friday, May 29, from 1-6 p.m. at The Legends of Indiana GC, the Indianapolis Colts will re-unite with the Indiana PGA for their annual promotion of golf in Central Indiana at the Play Golf America Day. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Colts will join Indiana PGA pros in free 10-minute lessons, club fitting, an autograph session for kids in a unique and intimate day of golf and football!
Created to showcase the game of golf in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, Play Golf America days are presented by the PGA of America with presenting sponsor American Express. These events are conducted at the local level and there will be 55 such events across the United States in 2009.
“Obviously, we are thrilled at the promotion of golf, integrated with people outside of the industry, as is the case with the Indiana PGA event,” said Ron Stepanek, Director of Player Development for the PGA of America. “The fact that the Indiana event actually has an NFL presence is unique. There are six other PGA Sections that involve NFL teams in the Play Golf America promotion, but Indiana is the only Section in the country that actually gives participants the opportunity to interface with the players and coaches. We, at the national level, appreciate the support of the Indianapolis Colts in making this one of the PGA’s most successful and popular events.”
The Colts involvement has been orchestrated by Craig Kelley, Vice President of Public Relations, himself an avid golfer and member at The Legends. “The Colts are happy to be involved in the Play Golf America program for the past four years. I think we gain a deeper appreciation each year to the benefits of our participation. Our players and coaches always enjoy the opportunity. I tip my cap to the Indiana PGA for involving the Colts and giving us the chance to be with kids and help them become exposed to a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime,” said Kelley.
This year’s Colts’ lineup will include the following players.
Anthony Gonzalez, Wide Receiver: Now in his third year with the Colts, “Gonzo” has become an integral part of one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses. In 2008, he appeared in 16 games and caught 57 passes for 664 yards and 4 TD’s. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate at Ohio State.
Jim Sorgi, Quaterback: In his 6th year with Colts as their backup quarterback, Sorgi has posted impressive numbers when given the opportunity to play. Sorgi played college football at Wisconsin and finished his career as the school’s leader in passing efficiency.
Melvin Bullitt, Defensive Back: Also in his third year with the Colts, Bullitt led the team with 4 interceptions in 2008. He was an outstanding performer on Colts’ special teams. Bullitt graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in leadership and education.
Jamie Silva, Defensive Back: The Boston College grad majored in communications and was a contributing member to the Colts special teams in his rookie season last year. He had 18 tackles in a college game against Florida State and was named the MVP of the Champs Sports Bowl with 10 tackles and 2 interceptions against Michigan State.
Tim Jennings, Defensive Back: He appeared in 16 games last season with the Colts. Jennings recorded 74 tackles, 56 solo, 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. He was a three-year starter at Georgia and was an All-SEC first team selection.
These players will sign autographs for kids 18 and under from 4-4:30 p.m. (one item) at The Legends swimming pool. Sorgi, a returning participant of Play Golf America Day, will address the youth contingent on the value of preparation- something he knows well as Manning’s backup!
Friday’s activities will also include a Demo Day beginning at 1 p.m. This will feature Titleist, Cobra, Callaway, TaylorMade, Nike and Mizuno. Golfers will be able to test the latest and greatest from golf’s industry leaders.
Indiana PGA pros will be offering FREE 10-minute lessons all afternoon. Don’t be fooled! You can receive a life changing tip during those 10-minutes. As a teacher, I can attest that many problems can be identified in the first ten minutes of any golf lesson.
The lineup of Indiana PGA golf professionals is star-studded! Don Essig III, recently inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame will join son, Chip as well as Ryan Ford, Scott Downing, Roger Lundy, Tony Clecak, Keith Clark, Chad Cockerham, Jeff Smith, Steve Cohen, Jon Chapple and me in providing free 10-minute lessons from 1-6 p.m.
And from an entertainment standpoint, ESPN 1070 The Fan, will be doing a live radio remote broadcast from 3- 6 p.m. featuring Eddie White and Bob Kravitz. Both have great short games- literally! There is never a dull moment with these two!
Golfers will also be able to enjoy a special $25 green fee on Friday at The Legends. It’s an additional $14 per player to ride. Call 317/736-8186 for tee times. Play golf, get a free lesson, hit some new clubs and see some Colts! Now it just doesn’t get much better than this! See ya Friday at The Legends!
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Ted Bishop with caddy while playing Augusta 2009
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April 9th 2009 - Each spring, the Masters represents a rite of passage in golf. The official beginning of a new season dawns with the passing of The Masters. There is some spell binding quality that Augusta National Golf Club has on the psyche of golfers everywhere. No televised sporting event can match the beauty, color and serenity of the Masters.
Gary Player once said, “The Masters is the only tournament I ever knew where you choke when you drive through the front gate.” The trip down Magnolia Lane may be the most dreamed about entrance in sports. Sam Snead once said, “If you asked golfers what tournament they would rather win over all others, I think every one of them to a man would say the Masters.” Late at night after Tiger Woods record-breaking victory in 1997, Earl Woods looked in on his son and found him curled up in bed, asleep with a smile on his face, his arms wrapped around his green jacket.
The Masters today gives the impression of having existed forever, probably because it is played on the same course each year. In fact, it is the youngest of the four majors. The British Open is seventy years older, the U.S. Open is thirty-nine years older, and the PGA Championship is eighteen years older. Exactly, when The Masters became a major championship, as opposed to when it was first held, is a matter of debate.
Horton Smith won the inaugural event in 1934. The club could not afford to pay the winner or any of the other top finishers until seventeen members chipped in for the purse. The winner in 1946, Herman Keiser, had to be told his plaque would be along shortly, just as soon as the club could come up with the silver.
The club survived those early adversities because of the perseverance of its two founders: Clifford Roberts and Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones, Jr. They were respectively, Augusta National’s first chairman and its only president.
It is usually said that Jones conceived the club and Roberts financed it, but one could argue that the roles were reversed- that without Jones’s immense popularity the enterprise would never have attracted enough financial support to survive. Without the vision and stubborn determination of Roberts the club would have folded and the Augusta National Invitation Tournament would never have grown into the modern Masters.
Founded at the beginning of the Great Depression, the club faced financial ruin repeatedly during its first fifteen years. As the club was being formed in 1931, the first business plan called for 1,800 members, each who would pay dues of sixty dollars a year. The initiation fee was $350. Roberts was from New York and had anticipated attracting a national membership. Three years later, as the first Masters got underway; the club was 1,724 members short of that goal.
Alister MacKenzie, the designer of Augusta National Golf Club, was an English physician of Scottish ancestry. He also designed Cypress Point on the Monterey Peninsula in northern California. Unfortunately for Mackenzie, the financial troubles of Augusta National prevented him from being paid his full design fee before his passing in 1934. In later year’s, Roberts paid MacKenzie’s widow the balance owed by Augusta National.
One of the club’s best hopes for raising money in the early years was to sell building lots on which members might construct winter hones. Roughly a third of the property was reserved for that purpose. For the most part, the lots occupied the areas west of the second fairway and east of the tenth and eleventh.
Some twenty years later in 1952, only one lot had been sold. Local real estate agents would not return Roberts’ phone calls. The Masters had established itself, the club was on firmer financial footing and Roberts decided that development was a mistake. W. Montgomery Harrison had built the only house, which was located behind the green at number one. He built a mansion which was highly visible. In 1977, an anonymous Augusta National member bought the property, tore the house down and deeded the land back to the club.
Some would say that the legend of the Masters was launched in 1935 when Gene Sarazen holed a four wood for a double eagle on the fifteen hole during the final round, which was proclaimed “the shot heard round the world”. CBS televised its first Masters in 1956. Many would credit Arnold Palmer and his heroics in the late 1950’s and 1960’s as being a modern day architect for Masters fame.
The youngest major is also the oldest modern one. Many key features of professional golf tournaments were introduced in Augusta. The Masters was the first golf tournament at which there was room for 10,000 autos to be parked on the club grounds. It was the first tournament that spared spectators from having to lug a bulky program around; daily pin sheets with a diagram of the course on the reverse side were supplied gratis.
The Masters was the first 72-hole tournament to be scheduled for four days. It was the first tournament to be covered live on worldwide radio. It was the first to use bleachers- which Roberts preferred to call “observation stands.” It was the first to rope galleries and to allow only players, caddies and officials inside the ropes. It developed the first on-course scoreboard network, in which scores were gathered over dedicated telephone lines as they occurred. It introduced the now universal over-and-under par scoring system with red and black numbers.
And finally, in the early years, the Masters participants played in the afternoon so Augusta National Golf Club would be open for member play on mornings during the tournament. Today, members can play until the Sunday before the Masters.
Roberts and Jones were men before their time and this week we enjoy their legacy!
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November 12th 2008 - BISHOP ELECTED NATIONAL OFFICER
November 8th 2008 -
Ted Bishop, the Director of Golf at The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin, Ind., was elected as Secretary of the PGA of:: continue »
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July 9th 2008 - Effective in July 2008, The Legends of Indiana Golf Club is announcing a new and unique approach to Family Golf! The facility which is known as “Indiana’s Host to Championship Golf” has installed new,:: continue »
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Please visit the link listed to book your own tee times if for some reason we don't answer the phone. You will be allowed to book times after hours as our computers are never shut off. Thank you for visiting our new link, we hope you enjoy the upgraded technology!! Book tee times
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Gift certificates are available if you
call the Golf Shop at 317-736-8186.
You can choose the amount!
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Friday, July 3rd, 2009
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Franklin, IN
Last Updated: Jul 3rd 8:00 PM
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71° F
Feels Like
72° F |
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Wind: From NW 3 MPH
Relative Humidity: 63%
» extended forecast
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