I’ve been involved with the Yestingsmeier Cup since my daughter first played on the Indianapolis team in 2021. For those unfamiliar with the Yestingsmeier Cup, it is a match-play format golf tournament played yearly between teams of middle and high school aged golfers from Indianapolis and Evansville. The tournament is named in honor of long-time Ball State University golf coach Earl Yestingsmeier. The first match was played in 2007 and was won by Evansville. As of 2024, Evansville has won 10 times and Indianapolis has won 8 times.
The Yestingsmeier Cup is a unique event in that the competition is conducted in a Ryder Cup match style. During the tournament, players compete in three different styles of match play:
- “Best Ball”
- “Selective Drive/Alternate Shot”
- “Singles”
Read more about the details of each style of match play on the Rules of Play page of the Yestingsmeier Cup website. For many young golfers, match play is a fundamentally different format for competition compared to traditional stroke play that is the standard for most junior golf competitions.
Kudos to Bryan Crouch, Director of the Indianapolis Junior Golf Foundation and Course Manager at the Thatcher Golf Course in Indianapolis, for keeping this tournament alive and kicking for nearly 20 years. It is a unique tournament that those who compete in it will likely remember for the rest of their lives.