by Jeff Pederson
for The Beacon

When 24 of the world’s best golfers representing the United States and Europe squared off for the 43^rd biannual Ryder Cup team match play golf competition at Whistling Straits in Haven, the eyes of the golfing world were focused firmly on Sheboygan County Sept. 24-26.

Stationed very close to the center of the hustle, bustle and excitement of the prestigious event was a newly-created, golf-themed artistic mural located just outside the gate to Whistling Streets created by Sheboygan Falls native Beth Schueffner, along with her partner Dane Schumacher.

Featured on a barn located on the nearby property of Bob “Ziggy” Ziegelbauer, the eye-popping mural drew plenty of second looks and positive comments for the 2016 Sheboygan Falls High School graduate.

Schueffner’s involvement came via a mutual connection, who introduced her to Ziegelbauer, who in turn asked her to do a sprawling golf-themed mural on his barn to coincide with this year’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.

“I met Bob Ziegelbauer, A.K.A. Ziggy, the commissioner of the mural, through Keith Anderson, who did a mural for Ziggy a few years prior,” Schueffner said. “Ziggy wanted another larger mural done and Keith, a family friend, got us in touch. My partner, Dane Schumacher and I did the mural together,”

Ireland’s Royal Portrush Golf Course serves as the centerpiece of the mural, which incorporates a wide variety of artistic styles blending in unison to create a highly engaging visual spectacle.

BETH SCHUEFFNER (right) of Sheboygan Falls recently completed a golf-themed mural at a barn on the property of Bob “Ziggy” Ziegelbauer (center) adjacent to Whistling Straits Golf Course in Haven, which was featured during the 43rd Ryder Cup matches Sept. 24-26. Also pictured is Schueffner’s partner Dane Schumacher (left), who assisted in creating the mural. – Submitted photo

“Ziggy is a well-traveled golf fan,” Schueffner said. “His favorite course he had ever visited was the Royal Portrush Golf Course in Ireland. He is also a rather eccentric individual.

“Taking his ideas, I designed a vintage/art deco style postcard of the course incorporating the golfer, text, the ocean, scarries [small islands], the moon and constellations,” she said. “The constellation is actually a map of the course in Ireland, and there is other hidden imagery throughout the mural as well. Dane and I were able to explore many different ideas while painting this, and it was very successful.”

Schueffner said the mural is by far the largest work of art she has composed thus far during her burgeoning career as an artist.

“I have done some larger pieces of artwork in the past, but I had never done a mural before, and this one was very large,” Schueffner said. “I believe it is around 16 by 18 feet.”

Schueffner and Schumacher worked intensely onsite during the summer months leading up to the Ryder Cup in late September.

“We started this project in June, and it was just completed in time for the Ryder Cup, so it took us a few months to finish,” Schueffner said. “We were out there painting, rain or shine, about three days a week.”

The overwhelmingly positive response to the mural has been more than Schueffner could have ever imagined.

“Ziggy very kindly gave us passes to be able to be at his property during the Ryder Cup, as you needed one to even be on his property,” Schueffner said. “There were many visitors that came through, as he had live music, a pop-up bar and food trucks, all with our mural as the backdrop.

“People loved it,” she said. “We received many compliments and people took lots of pictures in front of it. It was featured on several news channels and served as a backdrop for interviews. Some golfers from Ireland actually visited and said that they loved it. It was very well received by Ziggy, of course, as well as his many guests that came to his unique property, which is known as Zig’s Golf Haven.”