December 12, 2007

NEW ALBANY, OH — The #1 amateur golf tournament, the Carl Spackler Open, announced on Thursday a rise in overall travel by 13 percent when compared to Michigan. The choice venue specifically ensures travel time of participants in Virginia and New Jersey to be the longest in history.

"This is absolutely great news," said Captains Club member Pat Boland, Vice President of Red Tee Lottery. "Driving is all part of a golf trip, but this is a welcome change for St. Louis."

The 12.7 percent rise was determined based on mileage to/from Peru for our 43 senior members attending at least 3 years. The average drive time for Peru is 14.8 hours, which includes Jason Watson in Houston, TX. It was compared to Raleigh when senior members traveled an average of 15.5 hours and Michigan with 13.14 hours.

The Indiana venue elevates the eight-year drive time average by 2.8 percent to 13.3 hours per participant.

The selected lodging is 90 minutes from Indianapolis International Airport (IND) and 3 1/2 hours from Columbus International Airport. Rock Hollow Golf Club is a 5-minute high-speed drive from the Best Western.

"There are one-way fares through Skybus Airlines as low as $10 from Richmond and Greensboro to Columbus," said Brian Long. "I would be glad to help with Columbus ground transportation on Wednesday morning and Sunday from anywhere or early Monday morning on Skybus. There are plenty of guys in Columbus that would do the same."

Captains Club member Jason Watson presently has the most mileage in Spackler history. He averages 18.26 hours per year if he drove every year by vehicle. Bob Morris has 18.16 hours. Tom McCauley, who sat out the Michigan commute, averages 17.88 hours. Mike Trojanowski averages 16.42 hours.

Senior member Chris Lashley, who sat out the Michigan venue, presently has the least mileage in Spackler history with 8.12 hours round trip over 4 venues. Senior member John McAninch is averaging 9.88 hours over 4 years. Senior member Scott Miller averages 10.56 hours over 4 years. Jeremy Myers averages 11.06 hours over 7 years.

"The goal is to keep the average under 14 hours," says Brian Long. "The future plans include 2009-2011 venues to be east of State College, PA."

The 2008 Carl Spackler Open Championship began its official registration on November 15. Checks must be mailed to Rick Dosky whenever committed golfers are ready. The initial non-refundable non-transferable deposit is $120. There are 43 spots remaining.