For Germantown golfers, Blackstone Creek course 'an advantage'

If you were doing a location search for Troy Schmidt, chances are you'd be landing somewhere around Germantown High School where his kids went to school, go to school and where he coaches golf -- or the nearby Blackstone Creek, which he co-owns and where he works.

GERMANTOWN, Wis. - The sport of golf has been and continues to be very good to one Germantown family.

As the co-owner of Blackstone Creek Golf Club, Troy Schmidt has a lot of responsibility for hosting a WIAA sectional. As the coach of the Germantown High School team, he tries to help his players perform at their best amidst a deep field of teams with state berths on the line. As the dad of the Warhawks' top player, he wants to provide as much support as possible. Luckily for Schmidt, he can do all his jobs at the same time in the same place.

"I really like being around the kids and just, introduce the game, what I know, try to make them better, but I like what golf teaches them more in life," said Schmidt. "I've really learned from these kids. They go out there, and they're going to have challenges on the golf course. They're going to have some difficulties. It's how they handle it, so it's watching these young kids grow from freshmen and sophomores, maybe not great swings, great players, but they really develop as players and as individuals. I really enjoy that part of it."

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Schmidt also enjoys the meritocracy of golf, especially as a dad/coach.

"I have coached other sports when the kids were younger, and there's always that, 'Is your kid playing because you're the coach or is he playing because he's earned it?'" said Schmidt. "Golf is great because it's a score, and so it kind of takes the coach out of it."

The par 71 layout of Blackstone Creek is essentially a second home for the Schmidts.

"It is, really is," said Schmidt. "I've played out here since I was probably 6 years old and loved it. Always a fair test out here," said Cody Schmidt. "Scoreable if you're hitting it well, but it can be challenging. He actually bought the course the year I was born. It became Blackstone in '06, and I was born in '06, so had it the whole life. Awesome."

"It's awesome," said Cody Schmidt. "Love it. Couldn't be any better."

"It's been an advantage having the golf course right here for the golf team," said Troy Schmidt. "I know a lot of coaches struggle finding places for kids to practice and play, so we've had a huge advantage by me owning it and coaching and allowing the kids to come out here and play."

The youngest of three golf-playing Schmidt boys, Cody, qualified for the WIAA state tournament in 2023 for the first time.