Records show Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter made 17 reservations at Buffalo Trace Golf Course during or near normal business hours over the last five months.

JASPER, Ind. — An Indiana sheriff who’s already at risk of losing his law enforcement certification is facing more criticism this week. Some people in Dubois County are questioning how many tee times he reserved at the local golf course.

According to an open records request, Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter reserved 17 tee times at Buffalo Trace Golf Course in Jasper between May and September of this year. Buffalo Trace is owned by the city of Jasper.

Twelve of the reservations were squarely during normal business hours and on weekdays. Five of them started between 8:20 and 8:50 a.m. This included seven tee times during the month of July.


“If any one of us regular people would be going to golf 17 times while we have a job –during working hours– we would be fired immediately,” Dennis Tedrow, chair of the Dubois County Democrats, said. “The people of Dubois County need to realize this is not okay.”

Tedrow has called for Kleinhelter to resign over his commissary spending from 2019 to 2023, and information FOCUS uncovered in September about the way an Indiana State Police investigation into him ended.

Kleinhelter is a Republican, and several elected Republicans in the county have declined to give FOCUS any comment.

Kleinhelter responded over email last week about any concern regarding his tee times. 

“As Sheriff, my role demands availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I am often called to respond to incidents at any time, whether during the day or night, at the office, attending church, or spending time with my family,” he wrote over email.

He also said these reservations have to be made ahead of time online and, “I cannot speak to how often I played, as my Sheriff responsibilities do come first.”

FOCUS was also at a County Council meeting Monday night where Kleinhelter was present to answer questions about his last three months of commissary spending. Some of the councilors asked for additional information about some of the expenses. 

“No matter who’s in that position, it’s an obligation of ours –as a council– to make sure that we’re responding to that state code –to that statute– and asking for those receipts. So, anything we would ask of Sheriff Kleinhelter, we’d ask of anyone in that role,” Meredith Voegerl said, a Republican on the county council.