Cindy Brochman will be honored Sunday, September 12, 2010 at the 13th annual Bob-n-Broc' Speedgolf Tournament. Brochman, a former speedgolf champion, passed away in December 2009 after a year-long battle with stomach cancer.
[Photo: Cindy flies down the 18th fairway at the 2005 Minnesota speedgolf tournament. Photo courtesy: Cary Kangas.]
This year's Bob-n-Broc' will take place at
Rich Valley Golf Course in Rosemount, Minn. Immediately following the speedgolf tournament, there will be a 9-hole, shotgun-start, (slow) golf tournament. The tournament proceeds with benefit the Cynthia Schroeder Brochman Memorial scholarship at Saint Olaf College.
Kevin Brochman (kjbskier@msn.com or 651-231-0779) is looking for participants for both tournaments as well as volunteers to help facilitate the event. Please contact him if you would like to participate. Bob-n-Broc' founder Cary Kangas says, "The whole event is a blast. You've got to see it to believe it!"
In December 2009, shortly after Brochman's death, her family established a scholarship in her honor at her alma mater, Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. The endowment for Brochman is now at $13,730–just over half-way to the goal of $25,000.
[Photo: Cindy at the 2005 Chicago speedgolf tournament. Photo courtesy: Cary Kangas.]Additional donations to the scholarship fund will be accepted at the tournament. Donations may also be made online at the
Saint Olaf College website. Be sure to check "Other" under "Designation" and write "Cynthia Schroeder Brochman Memorial Scholarship" under "Comments and Special Instructions."
Cindy golfing in Hawaii, April 2009.
[Photo courtesy: Kevin Brochman.]
It will surprise absolutely no one who knew Brochman to learn she was very successful at speedgolf immediately upon taking up the sport. Here are some of her results over the years, as shared by Cary Kangas.
| Year | Tournament | Bracket | Place |
| 2005 | Hit & Run* | Under 44 | 1st |
| 2005 | Chicago# | Women | 1st |
| 2006 | Hit & Run* | Under 42 | 2nd |
| 2006 | Chicago# | Women | 1st |
| 2007 | Hit & Run* | Under 45 | 2nd |
| 2008 | Hit & Run* |
30-45 | 2nd |
*Bob & Broc'
#Chicago Speedgolf Classic
History of the Bob-n-Broc'The Bob-n-Broc' was formerly called The Hit & Run. It was renamed this year in memory of two pioneers of speedgolf in Minnesota, Bob Feldman and Cindy Brochman. According to tournament founder Cary Kangas, "The Bob-n-Broc' is the country's oldest speedgolf tournament."
Kangas explains the history of the Bob-n-Broc' as follows:
"Bob Feldman was a dear friend of mine. He died a couple years ago from a type of leukemia linked to exposure to agent orange from when he was in Vietnam.
"Bob was a golfing buddy of mine. In 1988, we both took up running and ran races together. In the early 1990's, Bob found an article in
Runner's World magazine about miler
Steve Scott who had just set a
record for the fastest round of golf. We were immediately interested in the idea and gave it a try. I consider Bob the founder of speedgolf in this area.
"After trying speedgolfing on our own a bit, in 1998 I decided to host a tournament to get others to try it. I got about 10-12 friends and co-workers (including Bob) to participate.
"I have continued to hold the tournament every year since then. The average number of participants is in the 10-12 range each year. It is mostly locals, but we have had people from Oregon and Virginia here as well. Roscoe Shaw, our speedgolf friend–and an
F.O.C.–from Virginia says, 'Speedgolf is the slowest growing sport in America.'
"A few years ago (2005), I wanted to bolster participation. I routinely run the
Trail Mix in Bloomington. So I printed some business cards with information on speedgolf, plus my contact information, and left them on the picnic tables by the Trail Mix finish line that year.
"A week later I got an email from Cindy asking about speedgolf. She and Kevin first participated in 2005 and then every year through 2008."
[Photo: Cindy, in a familiar position: accepting awards, at the 2005 Minnesota speedgolf tournament. Photo courtesy: Cary Kangas.]A few years ago Brochman and Kangas were interviewed by KSTP-TV photojournalist John Gross. The result was this
fun report on speedgolf. Kangas recalls of that day, "She almost got a hole in one while he was filming the story."
About SpeedgolfThe rules of speedgolf are simple. Participants play a round of golf, but they must run between strokes. Golfers do not have to run fast. At the end of 18 holes, the player's time (in minutes) is added to their golf score to determine their speedgolf score. The player with the lowest combined score wins. [Example: player shoots 93 in 61:40, your score is 154:40.]
A good golfer who runs slow will typically beat a marginal golfer who runs fast.
For more detailed information about the rules of speedgolf check out the web site for
Speedgolf International.
Last week the WomenTalkSports blog network added Gabriele Anderson to their Professional Athlete Directory. For those of you who don't know, Anderson runs for the elite, post-collegiate Team USA Minnesota. She was also a standout during her tenure as a University of Minnesota Golden Gopher distance runner.
More recently, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak declared Saturday, July 19, 2008 "
