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SPORTS
“Old Fashioned Service” Imports & Domestics Superior Auto Service employs ASE Master Mechanics to provide diagnostic and repair services on all American, European & Asian vehicles. We install premium and original equipment parts only!
We Specialize in Mechanical Restoration of Classic Cars, including: Mercedes Benz Rolls Royce Muscle Cars
Owner Bill Marion, a certified ASE Master Mechanic, has been repairing vehicles in Vero Beach since 1987 at the same location.
1212 23rd St., Vero Beach, FL 32960 (772) 569-1410 www.verobeach.com
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Superior Auto Service Family Owned and Operated
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Grapefruit Open Golf Tournament held each December -- one day and at Pointe West the next. Last year’s tournament attracted 62 players ages 8 to 18, with the girls division won by Players Club member Kendall Hedgecock. According to Gustafsson, the two-day format should attract golfers from around the state to the Junior Grapefruit Golf Classic. “Since it is 36 holes this year,
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New At Golf ) equipment and a tennis-like ball. “Teaching younger kids how to golf has definitely helped me, but more importantly it has helped the younger kids,” Gustafsson said. “Being able to help kids has given me a broader perspective on golf and it helps the younger generation get into the game.” Gustafsson, who plays golf competitively year round throughout the state -- and abroad as well -- is also a charter member of the Indian River Golf Foundation Players Club. This club participates in a joint venture tournament program with the Treasure Coast Junior Golf Tour, which holds local tournaments for golfers ages 6-to-18. These members are also cross-eligible for all Amateur Athletic Union golf events. The Junior Grapefruit Golf Classic this September will build upon last year’s inaugural tournament with a new two-day format. It will be held at Vero Beach Country Club -- home of the Annual
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PHOTO BY MICHAEL BIELECKI
Indian River Golf Foundation chairman Roger Van Dyke and Tyler Nagy look on as Blake Schmalenberger demonstrates how to use SNAG golf equipment.
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From kindergarteners to the brightest youth golf talent in Vero Beach, the Indian River Golf Foundation acts as a facilitator not only for the sport, but also for children in general. Through its group of over 250 players since forming in 2008, the foundation keeps local boys and girls swinging with various after-school and competitive programs. Chairman Roger Van Dyke, who retired as head pro at Hawks Nest Country Club in 2007, says his organization is designed to help young golfers by making the game fun and within their sometimes meager pocketbook to enjoy. “The IRGF is designed for the long-term, and in my opinion, is making a serious impact,” Van Dyke said. “Our foundation is determined that every event has to be subsidized by sponsorships. We can’t ask kids to pay for everything.” In the spirit of creating a longterm love of the game for young golfers, a junior golfer advisory committee was created. Vero Beach High School junior and golf team co-captain Fredrik Gustafsson has been on the committee since the foundation’s inception. “The members on the junior advisory board have a pretty good say on the junior programs with the middle school kids,” Gustafsson said. “We give the IRGF input on drills to do with the kids and make it more fun with them.” Gustafsson donates his time two to three times per week by instructing kindergarten through second-grade children in the Indian River Golf Federation’s G-Ball program, which features a form of golf using plastic SNAG (Starting
it will be ranked on the national junior golf scoreboard,” Gustafsson said. “Because of this, the good junior players from south and central Florida will come to play. It is going to be a great tournament.” In fact, it was Van Dyke’s intention to grow the Junior Grapefruit Classic, along with an AAU Florida Championship Tournament, into prominent local events. “The Indian River Golf Foundation looks at the bigger picture, and tries to do things that help us locally like the Junior Grapefruit Classic,” Van Dyke said. “Now that we’ve expanded it to a twoday tournament and it is an official tournament (affiliated with National Junior Golf ), we’re looking to catch the eye of college golf coaches. “We’ve become affiliated with AAU golf and all of our activities are AAU sanctioned,” added Van Dyke. “We just received word about two months ago that Sandridge and Point West will host the AAU Florida Championship. These two events will really put Vero Beach on the map for junior golf.”
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BY MICHAEL BIELECKI VERO BEACH NEWSWEEKLY
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Organizers hoping to make Vero a destination for youngsters to come and play
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Indian River Golf Foundation supporting junior golfers