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JDax;n8874035 said:
It was more of a cart rub, but it will get mentioned...
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Live Update Thread: 2019 Ben Hogan Experience
It was more of a cart rub, but it will get mentioned...
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Luckily that's on videoJB;n8874038 said:
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OhioGolfer;n8874042 said:
If was much funnier in person
A couple of boxes full of new clubs may or may not have arrived at my house. Unboxing video coming later this week.
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As promised! Thank you again to my teammates and everyone there. Big thank you to THP and Ben Hogan!
https://youtu.be/6EHPSeo_O34
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https://youtu.be/6EHPSeo_O34
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e1iterate, Great video!
Those Black PTx Pro's are Beautiful, also... you will not be disappointed in those equalizer wedges. They are the real deal!
Thanks for posting that
Those Black PTx Pro's are Beautiful, also... you will not be disappointed in those equalizer wedges. They are the real deal!
Thanks for posting that
e1iterate;n8892988 said:
Can't wait to watch after I get out of class
BigDill;n8893008 said:
Well you’re in luck sir
e1iterate;n8892988 said:
Great video! Thanks for reminding us who won.. looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the clubs! Btw, being that you basically have the exact setup as my order, if you would have pulled my missing utility iron out of there, we might have had to fight for it! :starwars:
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Wow. Just read through allot of this thread. Awesome.
I actually stumbled across this forum like a week or two before this event and almost couldn't believe what I was reading. I currently live in GA but grew up in Nashville. Played that course a few times as a teenager and remember what a challenge it was then. Mason Rudolph was head pro back then.
But to read about all the greatness that was this event was hard to believe but I joined in order to have a chance and that panned out!
Great group of folks here and I'm looking forward to meeting some of you, soon!
I actually stumbled across this forum like a week or two before this event and almost couldn't believe what I was reading. I currently live in GA but grew up in Nashville. Played that course a few times as a teenager and remember what a challenge it was then. Mason Rudolph was head pro back then.
But to read about all the greatness that was this event was hard to believe but I joined in order to have a chance and that panned out!
Great group of folks here and I'm looking forward to meeting some of you, soon!
Nice video! Love the finish on the irons!
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Well, it's September..:micdrop:Qwkz51;n8628784 said:Great recap JDax looking forward to part 4 sometime in September.Seriously, I love reading your recaps, they take me back to a fantastic weekend that almost didn't happen. Luckily little dude rebounded, and I was able to convince his momma to make the trip. I can't imagine the regret of missing this event!!
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I hear rumblings that there might be the closing update coming sometime before Thanksgiving.
Closing update?
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- #895
The Ben Hogan Experience- The Recap: Part 4 (Competition)
Life and Work have been crazy lately with health concerns for my wife and increased work responsibilities (not Smiter level crazy, but crazy never the less), so it has taken me sometime to get back to this and finish this write up. I thought about just moving on to something else, but the participants of this event want me to finish this recap, and finally have time to do so.
When last we talked, we covered the lead up, the practice round, and #ShaftGate. I also covered how I approached my role as Captain and the Rules that I attempted to enforce with my team (in an attempt to help them perform their best, and give them their best chance at winning). As a reminder, those rules were as follows:
The Rules that I gave my team were very simple:
Before I get into the competition portion, let me take a moment and discuss the great thing about THP Events as it relates to competition. There aren’t any losers at these THP Events or Experiences, the only losers are the people that sit on the sidelines and don’t sign up. The only losers are those that complain about those that were fortunate enough to be selected and don’t engage after selections to the events have been made. I can say this because, my fondest event memory includes me taking a beat down of epic proportions in a singles match at the Grandaddy.
Leaving the practice rounds, E1iterate and I both didn’t like our teams chances (just being honest). E1iterate didn’t know if JB’s body would hold up after coming in playing a lot of rounds from Shaft Up, and I didn’t think we would be able to withstand the possible reverse sandbag situation that I witnessed during the practice round. This event was so evenly matched, that it could come down to a few holes and if you aren’t popping where you should be, that could be difference in winning and losing the whole event. All the way to dinner, we took turns in poor mouthing each other’s chances and talking about some of the pre-shot routines of some of the participants. We had to hustle, because we needed to get the clubs in the room at the restaurant and get the participants their clubs.
Night One dinner was awesome, we had a private room at Peg Leg Porker, and great BBQ restaurant in the Gulch area of Nashville. We got all of the gear and swag in the room on time and waiting for the participants as they arrived. E1iterate and I received the same swag that the participants received (all of it is great, but the Ben Hogan backpack is the swag MVP). It was also announced at dinner that the winning team’s General would receive a full set of Ben Hogan clubs!!!!. I already wanted to win, but now I really wanted to win, because the Hogan clubs are legit. My team also gave me one of the cooler “Captain’s Gift” that I have ever seen at these events, an caddie’s jumpsuit to wear during the event. This was a great group of guys, and I knew that the next 2 days would be a blast.
The participants arrived at the course early Saturday morning and we went to the private member’s range to warm up and test their new gear. With a watchful eye, E1iterate and I watched our teams warm up. HawtCarl was doing HawtCarl things, hitting balls a country mile. Tyler is a real stick, and it was fun watching him grove shots. Jrt13 was Captain Tempo and silky smooth. JB was on a swing count but hitting it well. Ohio Golfer was trying really hard and his swing looked great. LLIB was finding something that would work for him, as was Jbuck31. While this was all happening, JBC3 was struggling to find his range, even with the custom Nippon shafts. Day One consisted of 2 18 hole matches with the front 9 being Shamble Best Ball and the second 9 being Shamble Combined Score. It was a hot day in Nashville and I only wore the caddie jumpsuit for the first 6 holes. E1iterate and I took to our separate carts and provided coverage to the forum and followed the action.
Day One was a blast, but the competition was a little anti climatic, as the chalk prevailed. Tyler & Jrt13 bested LLIB & Jbuck31 as JB & Ohio Golfer beat JBC3 & HawtCarl. The event was tied at 1-1 with 4 points available in the Sunday matches (3.5 points to win the event). Although the action unfolded like expected, E1iterate and I were emotionally invested, running around giving yardages, reading putts, doing everything that we could to give our team the edge. We left the course all square and took part in another night of fellowship and camaraderie with THP’ers.
The dinner after the first day of action was great, and held more announcements. The Ben Hogan Experience would return next year, and person that does the best job reviewing their equipment would win their way back into the event. Also, talk at dinner turned to a possible playoff, if the event was tied after the next day’s play. I like action, so a one hole winner take all proposition would be right up my alley, however, I liked my teams chances to win in regulation. I really liked the pairing of HawtCarl & jrt13 as the pressure would be off of HawtCarl to carry the pairing and that would make him a very dangerous Shamble partner. I felt that they could get both points that they would be playing for, so my thoughts and attention turned to the Tyler & JBC3 pairing and how to grind a halve a point out of those 2 matches. How to “get JBC3 out of Tyler’s way” became my sole focus.
To be brutally honest, through the practice round and Day One of competition JBC3 couldn’t find his swing with a search warrant. Every swing was an adventure, and I believed that the pre-shot waggle routine of moving the head of the golf club around the ball in a figure eight motion that resembled Maverick trying to lock on to a Mig 28 in Top Gun before he pulled the trigger was hurting his ability to find his groove. We committed to meeting up early at the range to attempt to band aid the swing and get him around the course. I arrived at the range the next morning with every swing aid in my considerable arsenal. To my shock, none of these swing training aids helped get JBC3 right. It was at this point that we decided to go to Plan B. I grabbed JBC3’s 7 iron and taught him how to hit punch shots with hit feet together, this move started to gain some traction so that would be our game plan on this day. Tyler would get them off the tee, and JBC3 would just bunt his way around the course advancing the ball forward. It was a gamble, but I felt that it could be enough, and it would have been enough if LLIB wouldn’t have been able to walk on water with his putter (more on that later).
I was confident that having JBC3 punch his way around the course would be enough to get a halve on one of those 2 matches, and if jrt13 & HawtCarl did what I knew they could do, Team Tyler would grind out a win 3.5 to 2.5. Make no mistake this was still a tall order because the math didn’t favor us, because of not playing enough rounds in the lead up and having to play as an 18 cap, JBC3 wouldn’t be popping on the penultimate holes of either 9, the par 3 8th & 17th respectfully. If you have been around THP for awhile, you know that numbers are my thing, and not popping on par 3s when you should be is a recipe for disaster.
The first two matches of Day 2 were Shamble- Best Ball. Mathematically this format provided Team Tyler our best chance to get the points that I believe that we needed, I felt if we could get 1.5 points from the morning session that we would go on to win the event. Day Two started off well for the HawtCarl & jrt13 pairing as jrt13 was dropping dimes and putting on a ball striking clinic. JB & Jbuck31 played well, but not well enough to catch HawtCarl & Jrt13 as they are playing out of their minds. They won their match, and attention turned to the Tyler & JBC3 v. Ohio Golfer & LLIB match.
And that match was a street fight, with Ohio Golfer being his unflappable self and LLIB doing exactly what he needed to do at the exact right time to do it. This match went back and forth, Tyler got cute with an attempted flop shot short sided on 4 costing us the hole. We arrived at 7 tee box 2 down with 3 to play, Tyler quickly cut the lead to 1 with a birdie on the 7th seizing the momentum for a moment, but that moment was fleeing. We matched to Par 3 8th with a chance to grind out the halve that we needed in the worst way.
To be continued...
Life and Work have been crazy lately with health concerns for my wife and increased work responsibilities (not Smiter level crazy, but crazy never the less), so it has taken me sometime to get back to this and finish this write up. I thought about just moving on to something else, but the participants of this event want me to finish this recap, and finally have time to do so.
When last we talked, we covered the lead up, the practice round, and #ShaftGate. I also covered how I approached my role as Captain and the Rules that I attempted to enforce with my team (in an attempt to help them perform their best, and give them their best chance at winning). As a reminder, those rules were as follows:
The Rules that I gave my team were very simple:
- Don’t become a Range Rat- Playing is better prep than grinding at the range.
- If you are going to grind, grind over your chipping & putting.
- Don’t over think your club order- Forgiveness is your friend & and don’t fall in the trap of over thinking shaft selection (more on this later).
- Don’t bother the event sponsor, they have a job too.
- Sign up for the Grint App, so I can follow your progress.
- Doesn’t matter what your Handicap ends up being, just make sure it’s honest.
- Have Fun, Soak in the Experience.
Before I get into the competition portion, let me take a moment and discuss the great thing about THP Events as it relates to competition. There aren’t any losers at these THP Events or Experiences, the only losers are the people that sit on the sidelines and don’t sign up. The only losers are those that complain about those that were fortunate enough to be selected and don’t engage after selections to the events have been made. I can say this because, my fondest event memory includes me taking a beat down of epic proportions in a singles match at the Grandaddy.
Leaving the practice rounds, E1iterate and I both didn’t like our teams chances (just being honest). E1iterate didn’t know if JB’s body would hold up after coming in playing a lot of rounds from Shaft Up, and I didn’t think we would be able to withstand the possible reverse sandbag situation that I witnessed during the practice round. This event was so evenly matched, that it could come down to a few holes and if you aren’t popping where you should be, that could be difference in winning and losing the whole event. All the way to dinner, we took turns in poor mouthing each other’s chances and talking about some of the pre-shot routines of some of the participants. We had to hustle, because we needed to get the clubs in the room at the restaurant and get the participants their clubs.
Night One dinner was awesome, we had a private room at Peg Leg Porker, and great BBQ restaurant in the Gulch area of Nashville. We got all of the gear and swag in the room on time and waiting for the participants as they arrived. E1iterate and I received the same swag that the participants received (all of it is great, but the Ben Hogan backpack is the swag MVP). It was also announced at dinner that the winning team’s General would receive a full set of Ben Hogan clubs!!!!. I already wanted to win, but now I really wanted to win, because the Hogan clubs are legit. My team also gave me one of the cooler “Captain’s Gift” that I have ever seen at these events, an caddie’s jumpsuit to wear during the event. This was a great group of guys, and I knew that the next 2 days would be a blast.
The participants arrived at the course early Saturday morning and we went to the private member’s range to warm up and test their new gear. With a watchful eye, E1iterate and I watched our teams warm up. HawtCarl was doing HawtCarl things, hitting balls a country mile. Tyler is a real stick, and it was fun watching him grove shots. Jrt13 was Captain Tempo and silky smooth. JB was on a swing count but hitting it well. Ohio Golfer was trying really hard and his swing looked great. LLIB was finding something that would work for him, as was Jbuck31. While this was all happening, JBC3 was struggling to find his range, even with the custom Nippon shafts. Day One consisted of 2 18 hole matches with the front 9 being Shamble Best Ball and the second 9 being Shamble Combined Score. It was a hot day in Nashville and I only wore the caddie jumpsuit for the first 6 holes. E1iterate and I took to our separate carts and provided coverage to the forum and followed the action.
Day One was a blast, but the competition was a little anti climatic, as the chalk prevailed. Tyler & Jrt13 bested LLIB & Jbuck31 as JB & Ohio Golfer beat JBC3 & HawtCarl. The event was tied at 1-1 with 4 points available in the Sunday matches (3.5 points to win the event). Although the action unfolded like expected, E1iterate and I were emotionally invested, running around giving yardages, reading putts, doing everything that we could to give our team the edge. We left the course all square and took part in another night of fellowship and camaraderie with THP’ers.
The dinner after the first day of action was great, and held more announcements. The Ben Hogan Experience would return next year, and person that does the best job reviewing their equipment would win their way back into the event. Also, talk at dinner turned to a possible playoff, if the event was tied after the next day’s play. I like action, so a one hole winner take all proposition would be right up my alley, however, I liked my teams chances to win in regulation. I really liked the pairing of HawtCarl & jrt13 as the pressure would be off of HawtCarl to carry the pairing and that would make him a very dangerous Shamble partner. I felt that they could get both points that they would be playing for, so my thoughts and attention turned to the Tyler & JBC3 pairing and how to grind a halve a point out of those 2 matches. How to “get JBC3 out of Tyler’s way” became my sole focus.
To be brutally honest, through the practice round and Day One of competition JBC3 couldn’t find his swing with a search warrant. Every swing was an adventure, and I believed that the pre-shot waggle routine of moving the head of the golf club around the ball in a figure eight motion that resembled Maverick trying to lock on to a Mig 28 in Top Gun before he pulled the trigger was hurting his ability to find his groove. We committed to meeting up early at the range to attempt to band aid the swing and get him around the course. I arrived at the range the next morning with every swing aid in my considerable arsenal. To my shock, none of these swing training aids helped get JBC3 right. It was at this point that we decided to go to Plan B. I grabbed JBC3’s 7 iron and taught him how to hit punch shots with hit feet together, this move started to gain some traction so that would be our game plan on this day. Tyler would get them off the tee, and JBC3 would just bunt his way around the course advancing the ball forward. It was a gamble, but I felt that it could be enough, and it would have been enough if LLIB wouldn’t have been able to walk on water with his putter (more on that later).
I was confident that having JBC3 punch his way around the course would be enough to get a halve on one of those 2 matches, and if jrt13 & HawtCarl did what I knew they could do, Team Tyler would grind out a win 3.5 to 2.5. Make no mistake this was still a tall order because the math didn’t favor us, because of not playing enough rounds in the lead up and having to play as an 18 cap, JBC3 wouldn’t be popping on the penultimate holes of either 9, the par 3 8th & 17th respectfully. If you have been around THP for awhile, you know that numbers are my thing, and not popping on par 3s when you should be is a recipe for disaster.
The first two matches of Day 2 were Shamble- Best Ball. Mathematically this format provided Team Tyler our best chance to get the points that I believe that we needed, I felt if we could get 1.5 points from the morning session that we would go on to win the event. Day Two started off well for the HawtCarl & jrt13 pairing as jrt13 was dropping dimes and putting on a ball striking clinic. JB & Jbuck31 played well, but not well enough to catch HawtCarl & Jrt13 as they are playing out of their minds. They won their match, and attention turned to the Tyler & JBC3 v. Ohio Golfer & LLIB match.
And that match was a street fight, with Ohio Golfer being his unflappable self and LLIB doing exactly what he needed to do at the exact right time to do it. This match went back and forth, Tyler got cute with an attempted flop shot short sided on 4 costing us the hole. We arrived at 7 tee box 2 down with 3 to play, Tyler quickly cut the lead to 1 with a birdie on the 7th seizing the momentum for a moment, but that moment was fleeing. We matched to Par 3 8th with a chance to grind out the halve that we needed in the worst way.
To be continued...
Last edited:
- Staff
- #896
The Ben Hogan Experience- The Recap: Part 4 (Competition) Continued
As a Roman Catholic, I know that in order to be cantonized as a Saint it has to be proven that you performed at least 3 miracles. On this day I would bear witness to LLIB making a case for canonization, and the first of these miracles would occur on the 8th hole. The 8th hole at Gaylord Springs in and of itself isn’t a hard golf hole, it normally plays between 155-165 yards from an elevated tee box, it has a trio of bunkers on both sides of the hole and a lake on the right hand side. It has a great bail out spot short right if you miss hit your shot, the only way to bring a big number in to play is to pull hook it into the lake, dump it into one of the bunkers, or 3 putt because the green is one the trickier reads on the golf course. What made this hole important during this match was the set up of the Par 4 9th hole. The 9th is a short Par 4 that is drivable for the longest hitters. On this day, the tee box on the 9th was up, making it very reachable for Tyler off the tee, and no one would be popping. I felt that if we could get the match to the 9th hole, my team had a distinct advantage to win that hole, but we had to get the match there.
Tyler’s tee shot into the 8th was great and it left us about 12 feet for birdie, Ohio Golfer’s tee shot came up left of the pin in the rough between the bunkers and the green. Both E1iterate and I were with our teams on this hole, only LLIB was popping and there was a lot of debate on their side on how to play the shot. They decided that LLIB would putt the ball out of the rough and just attempt to put it close to the hole. He didn’t hit a great shutt and left himself a tricky 10ft putt to par the hole. Both Tyler and JBC3 missed their birdie attempt and tapped in for par. Ohio Golfer also made par, and cleared the stage for LLIB to have a putt to win the hole with a net birdie and therefore the match. This was a hard putt, because it breaks back toward the river at the end (rather than the lake), and most people don’t see it and miss the putt. I knew that E1iterate would give him the right read, but it’s still hard to make yourself put it on that line… LLIB buried the putt and won the match. It was a dagger, but we weren’t done yet.
The event stood at 2-2 as we entered the afternoon matches of Shamble- Combined Score. This format flipped the advantage to Team JB as now everyone had to finish the hole and card a score. As in the morning matches, HawtCarl & jrt13 would not be denied and continued their sparkling play. The Tyler & JBC3 v. Ohio Golfer & LLIB match was another street fight with both teams trading punches without a hole being halved. Tyler & JBC3 would find themselves on the 17th tee 1up with 2 to play….
Next time we will cover the final 2 holes & The Playoff… To Be Continued in Part 5.
As a Roman Catholic, I know that in order to be cantonized as a Saint it has to be proven that you performed at least 3 miracles. On this day I would bear witness to LLIB making a case for canonization, and the first of these miracles would occur on the 8th hole. The 8th hole at Gaylord Springs in and of itself isn’t a hard golf hole, it normally plays between 155-165 yards from an elevated tee box, it has a trio of bunkers on both sides of the hole and a lake on the right hand side. It has a great bail out spot short right if you miss hit your shot, the only way to bring a big number in to play is to pull hook it into the lake, dump it into one of the bunkers, or 3 putt because the green is one the trickier reads on the golf course. What made this hole important during this match was the set up of the Par 4 9th hole. The 9th is a short Par 4 that is drivable for the longest hitters. On this day, the tee box on the 9th was up, making it very reachable for Tyler off the tee, and no one would be popping. I felt that if we could get the match to the 9th hole, my team had a distinct advantage to win that hole, but we had to get the match there.
Tyler’s tee shot into the 8th was great and it left us about 12 feet for birdie, Ohio Golfer’s tee shot came up left of the pin in the rough between the bunkers and the green. Both E1iterate and I were with our teams on this hole, only LLIB was popping and there was a lot of debate on their side on how to play the shot. They decided that LLIB would putt the ball out of the rough and just attempt to put it close to the hole. He didn’t hit a great shutt and left himself a tricky 10ft putt to par the hole. Both Tyler and JBC3 missed their birdie attempt and tapped in for par. Ohio Golfer also made par, and cleared the stage for LLIB to have a putt to win the hole with a net birdie and therefore the match. This was a hard putt, because it breaks back toward the river at the end (rather than the lake), and most people don’t see it and miss the putt. I knew that E1iterate would give him the right read, but it’s still hard to make yourself put it on that line… LLIB buried the putt and won the match. It was a dagger, but we weren’t done yet.
The event stood at 2-2 as we entered the afternoon matches of Shamble- Combined Score. This format flipped the advantage to Team JB as now everyone had to finish the hole and card a score. As in the morning matches, HawtCarl & jrt13 would not be denied and continued their sparkling play. The Tyler & JBC3 v. Ohio Golfer & LLIB match was another street fight with both teams trading punches without a hole being halved. Tyler & JBC3 would find themselves on the 17th tee 1up with 2 to play….
Next time we will cover the final 2 holes & The Playoff… To Be Continued in Part 5.
Last edited:
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I love it. I got so caught up in what I was doing that Sunday’s round is a blur.
Well done my brother.