Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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GREENS RACER Getting started Back in the 1960s, <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> got involved in the racing field. “I was a little guy <strong>and</strong> grew up around it,” says his <strong>son</strong>. The younger <strong>Coker</strong> attended Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in Gainesville, Fla. He also attended Hawley’s Indy school, which consisted of two days of classroom instruction <strong>and</strong> driving a rear-engine dragster that ran 8-second ETs (elapsed times) at 145 mph. Over time, <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> drifted out of racing. But he earned his living as a service manager at a GM dealership. “About 33 years later, we decided to build another car,” <strong>Troy</strong> <strong>Coker</strong> says. <strong>Mike</strong> found a job at Wolf Run, moving him closer to his <strong>son</strong>, <strong>and</strong> the father-<strong>son</strong> team set out to burn up the track. Their first race was in September 2004. It was <strong>Coker</strong>’s first time in the driver’s seat <strong>and</strong> they did pretty darn well for a rookie team. <strong>Coker</strong> Racing qualified in the No. 5 spot in a field of 12. This past September, they ran the same race again, qualifying at No. 2 but getting eliminated in the semi-finals. That’s not bad for a couple of guys who spend more time with mowers than in their car. “I’m definitely not thinking about dollar spot on Number 12 green.” – <strong>Troy</strong> <strong>Coker</strong>, on what goes through his mind while in the driver’s seat With all the costs involved from fuel <strong>and</strong> oil to hotel rooms <strong>Coker</strong> Racing spends $500 to $1,000 per race, depending on how far they travel.“I would say we spend somewhere around $7,500 annually,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. They have a crew of two to four people at each race,depending on their schedules.The team includes Donny Canevit, a civil engineer from Fiatt, Ill.; Steve Petty, a welding inspector from Canton, Ill.; Curt Gover, a FedEx <strong>work</strong>er from Brownsburg, Ind.; <strong>and</strong> <strong>Coker</strong>’s girlfriend, Sarah Selvy,a student who also <strong>work</strong>s at Plum Creek part-time. “Dad <strong>and</strong> the crew do most of the maintenance on the car at the races, <strong>and</strong> I take care of the logistics <strong>and</strong> the driving,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. The course Naturally, golf is <strong>Coker</strong>’s life off the racetrack. Plum Creek is an 18-hole, semi-private, upscale daily fee course. Designed by Pete Dye, it was built in 1997. The course has 35 acres of PennLinks bentgrass fairways, 4 acres of Penncross bentgrass tees, <strong>and</strong> 4 acres of A-4 greens. It is a links-style course. “We have 55 acres of bluegrass primary rough <strong>and</strong> 30 acres of native grass areas,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. There are four sets of tees playing from 7,000 yards at the “tips” to 5,300 yards at the “forward” set of tees. <strong>Coker</strong> has one assistant superintendent <strong>and</strong> one equipment technician, plus PHOTO BY JOHN BRAGG two full-time employees for a total of five. During peak sea<strong>son</strong>, he has a crew of 14 or 15 full-time sea<strong>son</strong>al people, two-part time rough mowers <strong>and</strong> three part-time “weekend warriors.” “I consider myself lucky that our ownership <strong>and</strong> management allow me to turn our maintenance facility into a race shop on nights <strong>and</strong> weekends,” <strong>Coker</strong> says. “They also allow me to store my trailer <strong>and</strong> car at our shop in the parking lot, as well as use my company truck to haul the trailer <strong>and</strong> car to the races.” His father’s course, Wolf Run, opened in 1989. It is an extremely difficult private club in Zionsville. In fact, Golf Digest ranks it No. 3 in the state of Indiana <strong>and</strong> Golf Week pegged it at No. 18 in America’s Best Modern Golf Courses. Steve Smyers is the course architect, <strong>and</strong> he still is active at the club. Wolf Run is a links type club a true golf club with 18 holes <strong>and</strong> a good practice area, but no country club amenities. 12 Golf Advantage Winter 2006
Down the track The Greenskeeper grabs some serious competition somewhere in the Midwest about six times a year. <strong>Coker</strong> Racing also runs it a couple of times a month at the Indianapolis Raceway Park. “To get some seat-time,” <strong>Coker</strong> explains. His racing schedule will start again in April. However, <strong>Coker</strong> is thinking about taking the car to Bakersfield, Calif., in March to race against some of the big names. That would eat up a lot of vacation time, however — not to mention a sizable amount of his racing budget. “With our schedule in the golf course business, we don’t get to get out as much as we would like to,” he says. Look for The Greenskeeper at tracks around Indianapolis; Bowling Green, Ky.; Cordova, Ill.; <strong>and</strong> other Midwest events. If you’re quick, you just might see <strong>Coker</strong> flying by. <strong>Coker</strong> Racing Sponsors Bayer Environmental Science Scott Parker Gr<strong>and</strong>ma – Wilma <strong>Coker</strong> Homes by Dave Thomp<strong>son</strong>, Fishers, Ind. Junior <strong>and</strong> Shirley Mibbs Kenney Outdoor Solutions/Toro, Indianapolis Midwest Technology Institute, Lincoln, Ill. Brian Huff Plum Creek Golf Club, Carmel, Ind. River Glen Country Club, Fishers, Ind. Simplot Partners Scott Calvert Syngenta Brian Winkel Turf Specialties Corp. Ginny Smith www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 13
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Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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