When Dylan Meyer was seven-years-old, he would walk from his house across Petersburg Road to Thunderbolt Pass Golf Course. There, he would join the Evansville Central High School golf team for practice. 10 years later, he graduated from the same school and earned a scholarship to the University of Illinois. Soon after that, he finished 20th in the U.S. Open in his professional debut.
Proving that some things in life often come full circle, Dylan Meyer and his dad, Darren, just took over and will run Thunderbolt Pass.
Last winter, Meyer, who turned pro nearly seven years ago, was in Florida and struggling to find motivation to keep playing. "I was struggling with a little bit of burnout," Meyer said. After seeing Thunderbolt Pass stall financially and hearing they might be looking in a different direction, Meyer turned his attention to coming home to the course he grew up on.
He spoke about it with PGA Tour winner and former Illini teammate Nick Hardy. Hardy encouraged him to follow his passion. Hardy remembers Meyer talking about the course often and fondly during their college days.
The Evansville Airport Authority owns the course and partnered with Troon to operate it. Meyer approached the Airport Authority and worked out a deal to lease the course.
On Monday, Dylan and Darren officially signed the lease and took over the 18-hole, 5300-yard course.
The first order of business was a name change to The Farms. Meyer hopes the name will resonate in the Evansville community, where farming is integral to the economy. He hopes the name will make people think about more than just a golf course. The plan is to upgrade the restaurant and clubhouse so people can come for dinner or a drink.
Although it is a business and they will operate as such, Meyer's primary goal is to give back to a game that gave him so much. The plan is to build a place where juniors of all economic backgrounds can be introduced to golf. "I want to give the underprivileged kids in Evansville a place to learn the game,” Meyer said.
There are plans for an eight-week junior camp in the summer, and Meyer continues to work on ways to help build the junior golf community in Evansville.
To help Meyer start working towards that goal, our Drive Fore the Future foundation will purchase 10 sets of clubs for the course to give to juniors who can't afford clubs.
Meyer told me that although his pro career is on pause for now, he isn’t ruling out a return to competition at some point. "We will see when Q school time rolls around."
For now, Meyer is focused on returning The Farms to the glory days of his youth, and hopes more kids will find a home there.
