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The Outing Concludes

Everybody was so unique at this outing and I enjoyed meeting everybody so much. Sorry that I was not as social as I would have liked to be. I am going through a VERY hard time in my life.

Putting4Bird: awesome guy. I wish I could have had more conversation.

MaryC: what a sweet and beautiful person. I felt really at peace around you.

Ddec: wonderful guy to play golf with and I wish I could share a round where I was playing half way decent.

Yokos: smiles all over the place. Great attitude on the course and just fun to play a round with. He bought me a drink at iBar. How cool is that?

White Rhino and Bama: very fun people to be around. They have some very awesome interactions.

Danilo: guy is a beast with cigars. He witnessed my worst round ever and had a good attitude through it all. The guy knows how to take a drop haha.

OEM: I always enjoy a round with this guy.

Fildini: did not get to spend nearly enough time with this guy. Sorry buddy. We did get to see an awesome floating cigar.

PRGuy: we got to spend a little time together and it was not long enough. I hope to see you at the next one.

RXGus: great to meet the guy that won my putter. You had a great outfit on Saturday. I love how seriously you take golf. We are going to have to share a round together soon.

Duey: If he were a redneck... Haha. One hell of a guy. I really enjoyed hanging out with you Duey.

Spank: thanks for everything bro. I appreciate our conversations about travels and food.

Thanks: I didn't get to hang out with you at all this weekend and that is truly a shame. We will have to catch up at the next outing.

9ironMan: another person I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with. Huge thanks for letting me borrow the phone charger!

Hawk: thanks for encouraging me with my putter bro. That is something that I really needed to hear.

Bulldog: you are the man! I really enjoyed talking tattoos with you. I also really enjoyed seeing you sink that putt.

RBelbin: Another person that I didn't spend nearly enough time with. I really hope you make it to the next outing and maybe we could hangout on the range so I can feel inadequate haha.

Future Mrs. Ddec. You are a truly beautiful woman and I wish you both the best of luck on your future together. I can't wait to see wedding pictures posted on here because we are all family now.

WhiteAndNerdy: I don't think we even got to meet. We need to remedy this on the next outing.

AMollerud: it was a pleasure meeting you sir. You are incredibly giving and I really appreciate that quality. You didn't know me at all and you still took the time to talk to me.

Staticline: I don't think I ever had the opportunity to meet you. Thanks for the advice about not playing the tips. +1 on that.

The Calloway fellas: Thanks again for leading the way. I can't wait for my next round with you guys.

Gray and KellyBo: great seeing you in FL. Lets grab a round very soon. You are very welcome in my house any time.

Finally GG and JB: you guys are rock stars. There is nothing that I can say to explain my thanks.

I hope I didn't forget anybody. Please forgive me if I did.

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A big thank you to THP (JB/GG) for a great outing. The resort was awesome. The people were even better. The golf courses were great.

Saturday Demo: I didn't have my laptop with me and couldn't check THP to confirm demo times. For some reason I thought it started at 10. Dang it. But, I did get to hit some balls and try out the TM Supertri, which is what I wanted to hit. Too bad the launch monitor battery died, which is what I really wanted to get on with my driver.

Saturday golf: Me and the Mrs. with adwillingham and his father (welcome to THP, DAD!). Two great guys. Them coming to this outing made me reminisce about golf outings my brothers and I have taken with our dad. My wife seriously thought they were brothers, which I also heard from other members. Champions was a beast of a course. I don't think any hole had a "safe" area off the tee box....trouble on both sides. But it was great. The round took 5 hours and we were the next 2 last group. I felt sorry for the last group that was behind us. They were only a 3-some and didn't finish 18. Dudes, I promise you we were waiting on the group ahead of us most of the day and even on 17 green we had to wait for them to finish. The round ended great, though. ADWILLINGHAM chips in on 18. My wife follows that up with a chip in. My birdie chip lips out and I save par, and Dad gets up and done, nailing about a 12 footer to close out the round. What a way to end a round.

Saturday night: We were late to the dinner....fashionably. haha. (note to JB/GG for the next outing - Never put a woman in one of the last groups when there is another event planned soon after). Dinner was awesome. The bruschetta bar lived up to the hype. We sat with Andy The Pro and his wife. They both, also, were very nice. And it worked out great since the THP Prize Wheel got moved to the back of the room, that put us in the front row. A great place to be when your number gets called. RXGUS had been talking all night about the Mizuno's and lo and behold, what did I win, AND who was I paired with for golf the next day? "DIVOT MATT" is forever ingrained in my brain. And, watching Bama try to get in his newly won travel bag was priceless!

Sunday demo: Once again, I show up late, just after the putting contest, and everyone's rehashing the 100 foot triple tier, triple break, quadruple grain change monstrosity of a putt that BULLDOG made. Sorry I missed it, bulldog. Repeat it for me at the next outing. I have a fitted Odyssey Sabretooth and I not generally a club tinkerer. But, I grabbed a RIFE mid-mallet and hit the green and now I may be putter shopping. DAMN YOU RIFE!

Sunday Golf: Me and the Mrs with Gray Golf and RXGus. What a great group. Mrs. Staticline later regretted not bringin the FLIP Camera and recording RxGus's entire round. That dude is funny and has and endless amount of oxygen in his lungs. Gray Golf was the prototype of a southern gentleman....very nice, polite with some great lines. Hey Gray, let's go get some S.O.S. next time were in the same town! Gray, sorry about aiming you incorrectly on the par 5 where none of us knew where to aim. I didn't know you were going to "pure" it and hit it 50 yards farther than every other drive you'd hit that day. LOL! RxGus hits the ball pretty good. Once he figures out his approach shots, he's not far from some rounds in the 70's. Mrs. Staticline played much better this day and beat all of us, shooting an 81. She goods shots AND bad shots go straight.

Monday golf: 2 groups had early teetimes for The Squire. RxGus had an early flight and needed to play fast. So, he and i went off as a twosome at 7:30, first golfers on the course. Gotta love that. We were done at 10:30. The only slow down was letting 2 old timers pass us on 4 who wear probably wondering what those young whippersnappers were doing in there way. Rx and I probably would've played a lot better if we didn't play so fast. But, he got his only birdie of the w/e during that round. So, it worked out.

Thanks again to THP, Mizuno and all the other companies that donated items towards the outing. I look forward to future THP outings and see everyone again and meeting new members.
 
staticline said:
A big thank you to THP (JB/GG) for a great outing. The resort was awesome. The people were even better. The golf courses were great.

Sunday Golf: Me and the Mrs with Gray Golf and RXGus. What a great group. Mrs. Staticline later regretted not bringin the FLIP Camera and recording RxGus's entire round. That dude is funny and has and endless amount of oxygen in his lungs. Gray Golf was the prototype of a southern gentleman....very nice, polite with some great lines. Hey Gray, let's go get some S.O.S. next time were in the same town! Gray, sorry about aiming you incorrectly on the par 5 where none of us knew where to aim. I didn't know you were going to "pure" it and hit it 50 yards farther than every other drive you'd hit that day. LOL! RxGus hits the ball pretty good. Once he figures out his approach shots, he's not far from some rounds in the 70's. Mrs. Staticline played much better this day and beat all of us, shooting an 81. She goods shots AND bad shots go straight.

Thanks again to THP, Mizuno and all the other companies that donated items towards the outing. I look forward to future THP outings and see everyone again and meeting new members.
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Stat -- I would love to do the SOS gig with ya anytime! About the direction on that par five hole, I had no clue where the hole was and thought it was quite comical. :D What I do know is the Stat's are great folks and I look forward to seeing my buddies at the next outing!
 
I have been putting off this write up all day- mostly because that means I am admitting my trip is really over. Next thing you know, I'll be admitting I have to go to work tomorrow and that is just unpleasant.

Thursday:
I arrived at the airport and got on the road early. Rolled into WPB airport an hour before my roommate/buddy for the week Bama. I took the time to eat a nice fish and chips lunch and have a Guinness or two at the "pub" in the airport. Once Bama arrived we had to wait for the shuttle. I was REALLY nervous at this point... It was like the first day of school. Will I fit in? What if the kids don't like me?What if I do something really embarrassing? Is Bama really that short? Turns out I had absolutely no reason to be nervous. The conversation with Bama on the way to the resort (via a residential condo neighborhood somewhere in WPB) was just like I had known the guy for quite some time- and we hadn't had a ton of interaction on the board before hand either.

Once we were in PGA national we settled in and decided to go get some drink. While on our way out to the pool to find Danilo, we sidled up to this tall guy when Bama noticed his THP hat. Introductions were exchanged and off we went to the ibar for drinks and good company. When White Rhino showed up we decided to eat off site, piled into a van and headed to PF Chang's. Dinner was fantastic and it took all of 30 seconds before Bama and WR were exchanging insults. I will forever call WR "Santa" under my breath where only Bama can hear me! The other person that needs to be acknowledged here is Mia (Danilo's girlfriend). Not only did she tolerate all of our golf talk, insults, and college humor- she seemed to enjoy it. She must be a saint to witness what she did that night and not immediately make plans to leave the resort 3 days early!

After dinner we were all beat- there were some drinks exchanged and some new people met and then off to bed for the night.

Friday was breakfast with the crew above plus 9-Iron and Adamsgirl. It was essentially a repeat of dinner the night before- lots of fun and more than a few insults. I quickly learned to just sneak in a little comment here or there... I would hate to have the wrath of both Bama and WR turned on me. Mike and Ashley are FANTASTIC people. I am sad that I spent so much time on the resort with them but still didn't have the quality of interactions that I would have wished. We broke breakfast and then to the range to warm up for the first of the rounds. This was my FIRST round since a major swing change and I never felt comfortable with it. I went off first with Bama and Danilo. This was a GREAT round of golf despite how poorly we all played. The Haig was in fantastic condition and the course whooped my butt. After the round we grabbed a giant lunch (open faced hotdog COVERED in 2+ bowls of chili... It was help yourself!) and then waited out the rest of the arriving THPers. I met so many people that night I can't keep it all straight. The night was a complete blurr (and not solely because of the alcohol). People turned in pretty early and I was no exception... big things the next day!

Saturday
Woke up early and busted out my best Bobby Jones impression which I had been planning since I signed up for the outing. Pictures are out there- but just let me say I had a TON of fun with this outfit... now I have to figure out what to do at the next one! I had breakfast with most of the crew from the day before. Demo day was sooo overwhelming. I hit pretty much every iron and every driver- but my primary focus was shafts for my driver. I found one I liked and brought it out with me for Saturday and Sunday rounds.The most painful moment of the outing came when I had to hand that shaft back to JB. After a quick lunch I went out for my champions round with OEM Kevin, Dave, Tim. The round itself was something to forget- I didn't break 100 and I had a total of 12 bunker shots throughout the day. That said, the company was great. I was in a cart with Dave and I have nothing more to say than he is a JOY to play with. I was playing some awful golf through the front nine and after a particularly bad hole he waived over the beer cart- handed me a beer, patted me on the back and said "Now let's just have fun". The man has game and he easily posted the best score in our group. I was lucky enough to keep pace with him through the first 14 holes but the bear trap kicked my butt while he tamed it. I do feel like I owe him a stroke though- one of the holes we had a blind forced carry- when he asked for the layup number I quickly did my math wrong and threw out a number. RIGHT in the middle of the drink. He just shrugged it off while I felt awful about it... pretty much says it all about him right there. It was also nice to get to meet legend of OEM and join him for a round of golf. While he didn't play all that well it was pretty easy to tell he has game. He played the course the right way in regards to course management- it just so happened it didn't reward him that day. I would love to see him swing it on a good day though, it would be VERY pretty. Tim was a hoot and one of my favorite people that I met the entire trip. Between several good laughs on the course, I also had a chance to meet his wife and swap stories out on the smokers porch beside Ibar later in the weekend. Tim- If you are reading this you really need to pick a name and get on THP. This place could use a guy like you! A highlight of the round was all four of us within 10 ft of each other on the fairway at hole #12. It was pretty impressive.

Dinner was fantastic and I ate myself well beyond stuffed. I was glad to see my Roomie win the Machine putter and of course I was totally crushed when I didn't win MY Mizzy Irons! The contest was great and I am so pleased that everyone enjoyed their "gifts". Duey must had really treated the golf god's well on the Champion because the man's name was called more times than I can count. Ultimately he walked away with his dream prize and a very real threat to play it on the course the next day. JB put a stop to that pretty quick. The rest of the night was filled with good times and good drinks. I missed most of the fun regarding ddec and Uncle Daddies Drunk Arnold Palmer's- I imbibed a bit too much and couldnt remember the room number... I opted to not knock on every door in the hotel to find it.

Sunday
Putter Demo day was a blast. I found a couple putters that ended up on my radar but for the most part I was very specific with what I rolled and didn't branch out all that much. A seemore popped onto my list as well as a custom Clay Long that I can only dream about winning. For the putting competition I came SOOOO close on my second putt- I thought it was in. I had even started my running tiger fist pump when the ball rolled on by the cup. From that point on my knees were shaking and my stomach was a wreck. I put my last putt to 6 inches and thought I had the damn thing won only to be outdone two people later by Bulldog who managed to sink the thing. Watching it go into the cup was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.... I couldn't look away. After the demo day Putting4Bird came buy and gave me a bit of a present- his old MP57s that had been displaced by the Burner 2.0 irons. Told me I could game them, take them home and that we would settle up later.

I teed it up on the Palmer with Gray Golf, Staticline, and Mrs Staticline. After how I played the day before I was really nervous about this course. Word on the street was both Staticline and his wife had serious game- and they certainly did. I traded drives with Staticline for the better part of the day but my iron's left a little bit to be desired. Those 'new' Mizuno's are a lot of fun to play but they may be just a hair to much for my crappy swing. Staticline and his Wife were just a joy to play with- both were very even keeled and played very steady golf. Good drive, good approach (or a nice recovery) make the putt and move on. I hope that I can have that sort of game some day. I remember sitting in the cart with Gray while Holly was on the tee. Doug walked up and pointed across a corner Holly belted it out over the marsh into a tight little fairway. Did I mention that girl has game? The same day I shared a cart with Gray and I could make an entire post about those 5 hours. I wanted to meet Bill since before I came on the outing as he and I had exchanged a lot of PMs over the past several months. He certainly did not disappoint! Every ride to every ball was a comedy act and I haven't laughed that much for that long in a really long time. He is a true southern gentleman and I am anxiously awaiting the next time I get to tee it up with him again. It WILL happen again if I have anything to say about it.

That rest of the night was full of good drinks and a lot of goodbyes. It was sad to see so many people leave. I was able to watch my Colts dominate and heckle WR about the Giants, share a pipe with Tim, and catch up with a lot of people I had only just brushed paths with. There are more stories here than I can even recall- and I am happy to have each one of them.

Monday:
I had an early flight out and needed to play a quick round. Staticline and I got on the course at 7:32 and had finished 18 by a little after 10 am. I played the best round of my weekend despite the fact that I was exhausted and my swing felt like Jello. I started to loose a lot of balls to the right as my body just shut down on my swing. That said- my putting picked up and my game somehow improved. This was also my first round without that wonderful shaft and it showed... I was no longer keeping up with Doug on the tee like I did the day before. I am still impressed with Doug's demeanor on the golf course and not once did he rub in the fact that he won the mizzies in the raffle (he waited till he was back on the forum to do that!). I wish I had playing partners like him in my area. We finished so early that I was able to go back and catch Bama, Yoccos, WR, and SethO for a hole or two before I left.

People
There is just too many to list here. I didn't meet a single person I didn't want to play a round with and there so many I wish I could have gotten to know better. Just know that I appreciated every moment with every person at the outing. I can't wait for the next one to renew old friendships and fill in the gaps that were left from this outing.

Lastly,
Thanks to THP for organizing this outing and for all of the labor and time that you put in. You two deserve every 'perk' you get and I can't think of two better people to have building something like this forum. You are class acts and do things the right way. I am proud to have met you and am already looking forward to the next one!

-RxGus
 
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RxGus said:
Tim- If you are reading this you really need to pick a name and get on THP. This place could use a guy like you!
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He joined under the name Captain Golf today.
 
I just got home about 30 minutes ago and I have ben reading all the stories posted so far and I am laughing all the way. To all those who have said such nice things about "Rhino" I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I think it was Yoccos who said it best, I never in my life thought I would meet so many fine people and establish such great friendships as I have through this forum and further at this outing. My initial comments are like so many before me have stated, those that I got to hang out with, I had a fantastic time with you all and look forward to seeing you again. Those that I did not get to chat with much at this outing, I hope to at the next one. As you can be damn sure the Rhino will be at that one!!! More to come later, gotta sort through pictures and get my head straight what I want to say. In one sentence, this probably was one of the best weekends of my life and I thank all who were part of it and all who made it posible for making it what it was.
 
Can't wait til the next one so I can meet all of you. Money and work kept me from coming this time but I'm gonna start saving for the next outing now. JB just make sure I don't have a room near an elevator so Ddec doesn't mistake my room for the elevator. :D
 
P4B, what a great gesture in giving those irons to RXGus, you are simply a class act and I'm blessed to call you a friend.

WR, glad you made it home in one piece. You were a blast to finally meet and thank you for lunch in the bear trap, what a guy you are.

TC, man if it was not for you I would not have been there. I didn't even buy you a beer. I owe you a ton.

Spank, thank you for the Cinderella shoes, the taxi service, the stay at your house and the fantastic cooking. You are a prince, a short prince but royalty all the way! lol.

Uncle Daddy, I've not mentioned this one yet, but before I left he came over and handed me a chestnut. Little did he know that this was way more special than I can say. My grandfather gave me one when I was a young kid, maybe 11 or 12. He told me it would bring me luck for my entire life and never could I lose it. Well I lost it a couple years ago. I was devastated. I have very little to remember him from and now I have this to remember you and him. Thank You!

There are many others I could point out and still miss half the field. I met a ton of great people and had the time of my life.

I'm about the luckiest person in the world as I get to go on fishing outings, hunting outings, golf outings and the occasional business outing thats more fun than work. But, I have never felt the camaraderie and sense of family and friend that I felt on this trip. To all of my new friends (everyone at the outing), Thank You All.
 
I meant to ax, did anyone get snake bit by ol Gray? :banana:
 
solidkjames said:
I meant to ax, did anyone get snake bit by ol Gray? :banana:
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SJ -- The only one that got snake bit was myself when I entered the bear trap! I have no doubt a huge part of my arse got bit off by the Bear :hungry:
 
White Rhino said:
I just got home about 30 minutes ago and I have ben reading all the stories posted so far and I am laughing all the way. To all those who have said such nice things about "Rhino" I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I think it was Yoccos who said it best, I never in my life thought I would meet so many fine people and establish such great friendships as I have through this forum and further at this outing. My initial comments are like so many before me have stated, those that I got to hang out with, I had a fantastic time with you all and look forward to seeing you again. Those that I did not get to chat with much at this outing, I hope to at the next one. As you can be damn sure the Rhino will be at that one!!! More to come later, gotta sort through pictures and get my head straight what I want to say. In one sentence, this probably was one of the best weekends of my life and I thank all who were part of it and all who made it posible for making it what it was.
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It was so much fun sharing time with you and watching you and Bama's Las Vegas act. :zsimpsons:.. I particular like the comment you told Bama after he hit you with the Quote: Hey big guy you are just going to get bigger, and you countered with Quote: Well at least I can get bigger, there is no way in hell you are going to get any taller. UnQuote. You are one of those big old huggy bear type guys with the never ending smile that wins peoples hearts. I have no doubt that Kelly and I will see you at many more golf outings in the near future. After chatting with you on Facebook many times in the last few months you are just the person you betray. We call em good old boys down South. My pleasure was to meet the Rhino and it was indeed a treat.
 
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Gray Golf said:
It was so much fun sharing time with you and watching you and Bama's Las Vegas act. :zsimpsons:.. I particular like the comment you told Bama after he hit you with the Quote: Hey big guy you are just going to get bigger, and you countered with Quote: Well at least I can get bigger, there is no way in hell you are going to get any taller. UnQuote. You are one of those big old huggy bear type guys with the never ending smile that wins peoples hearts. I have no doubt that Kelly and I will see you at many more golf outings in the near future. After chatting with you on Facebook many times in the last few months you are just the person you betray. We call em good old boys down South. My pleasure was to meet the Rhino and it was indeed a treat.
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Thank you Gray! and let me say you are the southern gentleman I expected you to be. Let me correct one thing you said and that was the famous quote to Bama. It went like this, " I might be fat but I can lose weight, but you are short and will always be." I do indeed alo look forward to seeing you and Kelly at other outings down the road.
 
It's funny, I didn't hit as much equipment as I thought I would on Demo Day 1. I was busy test driving the new Burner irons, as well as a pre-release driver line that P4B and I will be reviewing, and a super secret hybrid that I must OEM at some point or another. Beyond that and some wedges on Sunday I wasn't a big equipment junkie like the last outing. I really liked walking up and down the range meeting with people and answering any questions they had for me.
 
If thats the driver I'm thinking of I'll be OEMing when it comes out. P4B brought it over after and told me to give it a couple swings. He had a hard time getting it back, lol.
 
I wanted to take a few minutes to write about a topic that was sort of a big debate when were sharing our suggestions for future outings last April. The "Stay and Play" vs. making our own hotel arrangements and meeting on the course.

There is no doubt that I spent a little more money this weekend than if I had split a room at the Best Western, drank beer I bought at the gas station, and ate dinner at Applebees or JB and GG's house. That said, the convenience and sheer luxury of the resort was something that I completely loved.

It was just awesome to be able to wake up in the morning and walk downstairs to eat (and see everybody), then stumble out the range. The golf staff was awesome in every way. They shuttled us around so we didn't have to walk, they stored our bags and put them on the right cart, and they made sure we had everything we needed. Once the round was over, all I had to do was hobble to my room to shower, and then walk back to the iBar where everybody was telling stories about their golf experiences. When I was ready to crash, I had a 100 yard walk to a comfy bed. No driving, no crowding 40+ people into THP Headquarters, no worrying about where your were going to meet up.

To me, the resort experience was AWESOME. It was a first for me and I can't wait to do it again. I'm cheap, but every once in awhile you need to pamper yourself and that's what it offered. Add the incredible golf courses and you really have a huge winner.
 
+1000 hawk!
 
Great post Hawk! A trip like this does require a little bit of foresight, but with a little planning, it should be no big deal to attend. I want to play at PGA Nation again.
 
SethO said:
Great post Hawk! A trip like this does require a little bit of foresight, but with a little planning, it should be no big deal to attend. I want to play at PGA Nation again.
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Agreed. The golf was something special. There is really no way to describe the feeling of looking down the first hole on the Champ. It gave me goosebumps.
 
hawk you make some wonderful points. imo, to successfully pull off an outing with this many participants it has to be hosted at a stay n play, otherwise you'd only see some folks at the demo portion or if you were lucky enough to be paired with them. these outings are suppose to be about equipment, golf, and the ability to demo things, but in the end, it's about having conversations, forging friendships, and so much more than golf, it's just the golf that brings us together. i'm afraid that would be lost with an outing of this magnitude if we were all staying at a resort. of course it worked for the spring one b/c there were only like 20 of us, but it'll never be like that again, and i for one am excited about what's next.
 
We will be starting a new thread today asking questions about the next outing.
 
SethO said:
Great post Hawk! A trip like this does require a little bit of foresight, but with a little planning, it should be no big deal to attend. I want to play at PGA Nation again.
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I'm with you on that one Setho. I'm sure a lot of people would want to see new courses each time, but PGA did a great job and I want revenge on those courses.

Count me in though, were ever it is. (If the Lords willing and the creek don't rise).

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab
 
Like everything else in life the "outing experience" is a work in progress and with each one that is done, things are learned to make the next one even better. I agree with hawk about the conviences and the pampering provided at this outing and also about tc's comment about the outing is about conversations. I had said from the beginning that while the thought to play these courses was awasome, and the demo day was probably going to be (and was) spectacular, what I looked forward to the most and what I will take away from this outing is the people I got to finally meet and the solid friendships I have made.
 
it sure is Duey haha
thedue said:
If thats the driver I'm thinking of I'll be OEMing when it comes out. P4B brought it over after and told me to give it a couple swings. He had a hard time getting it back, lol.
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