Buckjob
My Friend's Call Me Drew
hahahaha damn i miss you boys already!
2014 #TheKing Was Here - Video & Recap Thread
hahahaha damn i miss you boys already!
Buckjob
My Friend's Call Me Drew
HAHAHAHAHA GREAT TIMING.... i knew i forgot something in my recap..... well the 4 that went to a 7 to a 11 is now peeling and i have to finally go back to work in the morning so i'll be shaving my head with peeling skin on it probably later tonight. Hockey practice this morning was great with the helmet ripping some of it off.
Next time I'm back at the old homestead, I'll let you and Bret know for sure and we will stick pegs in the ground!
With all the fanfare about how much Buck's head was glowing, I forgot that you were looking pretty torched yourself...that sucks bro!
And I used sunblock all weekend. My Cherokee blood does 2 things, keeps me from drinking whiskey and getting faceburn lol. It was so worth it though, wish we were doing it again this weekend
Hell freaking yes to this!
One of the best things about this event as an outsider to the event is reading all the great emotions that come through during the recaps and memories, can really show you how much the event meant to each and every person involved.
You hit it right on the head, I am still on cloud 9 from this event
cpljohnst
Go Jackets! Go Sun Devils
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2011
- Messages
- 15,330
- Reaction score
- 111
- Location
- Villa Rica, Georgia
- Handicap
- 16.0 GHIN
Sunday Singles –
Ole Gray (Bill) vs Me
Saturday afternoon ended in the course bar with the reveal of Sunday singles match up. Harry and Chad placed Bill and I against each other and quickly proclaimed this the Champions Tour Match. We’d be playing along with Miller Time (Josh) and Sposey (Shane). I was excited about the pairing and the fact that Shane and Josh would be playing with us. Bill, Josh and I had shared the long ride down together and we’d be riding back to Georgia together later on Sunday afternoon. Bragging rights for the entire trip back would be on the line. Even bigger though was the fact that only 1 point separated Team Harry from Team Chad at the end of the Saturday round. Talk about pressure, knowing that any single hole might be the one that decides the match.
Bill is just a super nice fellow but I knew he would be giving me everything he’s got to put me in The Woodshed!
Bill and I started up pretty darn close and we were even in the match after 3 holes. I had a very good 4[SUP]th[/SUP] hole to break the seal and go 1 up in the match. I played a solid 6[SUP]th[/SUP] hole while Bill had a touch hole gaining another point to go 2up. This started a run of solid holes for me. I picked up a birdie on the 7th after reaching the par 5 in two to go 3up. Then another point on the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] and the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] to take a 5up lead at the turn.
I could feel Bill getting down on himself and we ran into the slow play roadblock created by Hashtag (just kidding, it was actually the group in front of them), so I chatted with him a bit on the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] tee to point out how well he had played several holes. I either made him feel better or pissed him off! He came roaring back on the back nine. Bill won the tough Par 4 11[SUP]th[/SUP] which is really hard hole according to Shane. He shared some of his zoological knowledge about marsupial sexual organs on the tee box! I could see Bill instantly putting that euphuism into his memory bank for future use when out with his buds at Lane Creek!
Bill went on to win the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] to take it to back to a 3 up lead for me. I barely escaped the 13[SUP]th[/SUP] with a tie, needing to make a 10ft putt. But that didn’t deter Bill as he won the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] a long par 5, shrinking my lead to a small 2points.
The tough par 3 15[SUP]th[/SUP] was next and I played one of my best shots of all the matches hitting hybrid to about 15feet. Bill was in trouble off the tee so I was able to take the hole and push back to a 3up lead.
Miller Time, Shane, Bill and I had a nice chat on the 16[SUP]th[/SUP] tee about how much stress we were all feeling. Again every single point was so important. We all knew it and it made the golf seriously fun but had our hearts racing! Welcome to #theking! Competitive golf that you can't simulate!
Hole 16 had a difficult back pin placement with water all along the left side. I hit my approach well right near the cart path and was faced with my most difficult chip of the weekend. Green slopping away from me with water long. Very little green to work with. Was able to hit a great chip landing on the fringe exactly where I wanted and finishing about 4ft from the pin. Bill gave me the hole and that secured a win in the match but points were still a stake. I went into the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] 4up. Bill and I split the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] but he came back strong and played one of his best holes of the day on the tough 18[SUP]th[/SUP] that was playing into the wind to gain a final point. Match finished with a 3up victory for Team Harry.
Was such a great foursome. Had a blast watching Shane and Josh go back and forth, tooth and nail.
Bill is one of my favorite all time people and we had a great match. One to make all the guys on the Champions Tour proud! We’ll both remember this one for a long time!
Ole Gray (Bill) vs Me
Saturday afternoon ended in the course bar with the reveal of Sunday singles match up. Harry and Chad placed Bill and I against each other and quickly proclaimed this the Champions Tour Match. We’d be playing along with Miller Time (Josh) and Sposey (Shane). I was excited about the pairing and the fact that Shane and Josh would be playing with us. Bill, Josh and I had shared the long ride down together and we’d be riding back to Georgia together later on Sunday afternoon. Bragging rights for the entire trip back would be on the line. Even bigger though was the fact that only 1 point separated Team Harry from Team Chad at the end of the Saturday round. Talk about pressure, knowing that any single hole might be the one that decides the match.
Bill is just a super nice fellow but I knew he would be giving me everything he’s got to put me in The Woodshed!
Bill and I started up pretty darn close and we were even in the match after 3 holes. I had a very good 4[SUP]th[/SUP] hole to break the seal and go 1 up in the match. I played a solid 6[SUP]th[/SUP] hole while Bill had a touch hole gaining another point to go 2up. This started a run of solid holes for me. I picked up a birdie on the 7th after reaching the par 5 in two to go 3up. Then another point on the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] and the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] to take a 5up lead at the turn.
I could feel Bill getting down on himself and we ran into the slow play roadblock created by Hashtag (just kidding, it was actually the group in front of them), so I chatted with him a bit on the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] tee to point out how well he had played several holes. I either made him feel better or pissed him off! He came roaring back on the back nine. Bill won the tough Par 4 11[SUP]th[/SUP] which is really hard hole according to Shane. He shared some of his zoological knowledge about marsupial sexual organs on the tee box! I could see Bill instantly putting that euphuism into his memory bank for future use when out with his buds at Lane Creek!
Bill went on to win the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] to take it to back to a 3 up lead for me. I barely escaped the 13[SUP]th[/SUP] with a tie, needing to make a 10ft putt. But that didn’t deter Bill as he won the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] a long par 5, shrinking my lead to a small 2points.
The tough par 3 15[SUP]th[/SUP] was next and I played one of my best shots of all the matches hitting hybrid to about 15feet. Bill was in trouble off the tee so I was able to take the hole and push back to a 3up lead.
Miller Time, Shane, Bill and I had a nice chat on the 16[SUP]th[/SUP] tee about how much stress we were all feeling. Again every single point was so important. We all knew it and it made the golf seriously fun but had our hearts racing! Welcome to #theking! Competitive golf that you can't simulate!
Hole 16 had a difficult back pin placement with water all along the left side. I hit my approach well right near the cart path and was faced with my most difficult chip of the weekend. Green slopping away from me with water long. Very little green to work with. Was able to hit a great chip landing on the fringe exactly where I wanted and finishing about 4ft from the pin. Bill gave me the hole and that secured a win in the match but points were still a stake. I went into the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] 4up. Bill and I split the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] but he came back strong and played one of his best holes of the day on the tough 18[SUP]th[/SUP] that was playing into the wind to gain a final point. Match finished with a 3up victory for Team Harry.
Was such a great foursome. Had a blast watching Shane and Josh go back and forth, tooth and nail.
Bill is one of my favorite all time people and we had a great match. One to make all the guys on the Champions Tour proud! We’ll both remember this one for a long time!
Ole Gray
Mayor of the Woodshed
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2008
- Messages
- 31,292
- Reaction score
- 100
- Location
- Watkinsville, Georgia
- Handicap
- Average
You're a good man cpljohnst... :friends: A good man who will take ya arse to the woodshed and lock the door. 
My buddy Barry has some serious golfing skills and is not embarrassed about whupping ya arse with them. We had a great foursome to enjoy that Sunday's singles matches.. The King will live on in my mind with so many awesome memories on and off the golf course. :thumb:
My buddy Barry has some serious golfing skills and is not embarrassed about whupping ya arse with them. We had a great foursome to enjoy that Sunday's singles matches.. The King will live on in my mind with so many awesome memories on and off the golf course. :thumb:
cpljohnst
Go Jackets! Go Sun Devils
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2011
- Messages
- 15,330
- Reaction score
- 111
- Location
- Villa Rica, Georgia
- Handicap
- 16.0 GHIN
#theking shoutouts –
Golfer Gal - Thanks to all you did behind the scenes Morgan to help #theking be everything it was. You are so awesome at what you do!
JB – Josh, it was great sitting down at lunch with you on Thursday. I always enjoy just listening to you talk about clubs, golf, THP and everything. It was great of you to pick up the lunch tab also. Thanks again. Know you were a one man show this week and you did amazing! It was a pleasure to see you throughout the rounds to hear updates about how the other matches were going. You seemed to have had an encouraging word for every member of the group I was in each time we passed. Thank you again for a weekend of golf that will stay with me forever!
Harry – My Captain! #boom with his drives and #boom with his wit. Quickest and funniest wit I’ve ever met. The hashtag Chad jokes in our team room had me in stitches. Thanks for everything you did for #theking. Callaway has my loyalty.
Jason – #theking of jabs and trashtalk for sure. He had it going in the team rooms and before rounds! Thanks for your activity in #theking threads. They engagement was real and awesome.
Scotty G – What a match we shared with Robbie and Curtis. That was back and forth and forth and back. So close. Loved seeing you hole out for Birdie on #8 from the sand. Best shot I personally witnessed at #theking. Thanks for coming out and spending time on the course with us!
Bill/Old Gray - Enjoyed the ride down and back with you my friend, and our match was one I’ll never forget. You have a heart of gold and are as good as they come. Looking forward to hearing you sing more Elvis sometime!
Josh/Miller Time - Can’t wait to see you hit single digits. No doubt in my mind it is going to happen and soon. Lessons were so awesome for you. The difference between your game from August and now is cool to see . You are hitting your driver so consistent. And your short game too! That lob wedge flop shot you hit on #16 in Sunday Single, took guts and nerves. What a great shot! Enjoyed the ride down and back and getting to know you a bit better. Sorry for my snoring at The Hampton! You had it from me and then from Ray! But I think the snoring is what got you the MVP!
Curtis/ArmyGolf – Swing your swing. Yours isn’t quite like anything I’ve seen before but it works for you. Really enjoyed meeting you and glad we were able to tee it up a couple of times from the practice round to the Saturday afternoon match. You even laughed at my bad Canada joke, see Canadians are the nicest people on the planet.
Bret/Golf4Life – You are so solid. On the course and off. You were very encouraging during our Alt Shot match even after the poor chips I hit that cost us holes. However, I think you were intent on seeing me fall in a pond or bunker on the front nine! What did your wife buy herself to celebrate winning #theking? Was very cool to see her active in the threads! Stay away from playing in The Fog, it doesn’t bring out your best!
Buckjob and War Eagle – had an incredible time sharing the dinner table with you guys Saturday night. Really enjoyed all the stories about Las Vegas and the golf talk in general. Buck- thanks for helping JB get the Captains Suites all set up! so glad I had you guys as teammates. Great golfers these two! And my favorite picture from the event -
Tadashi/Freddie Kong - You are such a generous dude. Watched you on the range giving tips left and right to Team Chad and Team Harry members alike. And your play was stellar. -3 69 in Sunday singles, hole out from 167 yards! Incredible golf my friend. And thanks for helping JB with the Suite setup! They were awesome.
Alek/CaptainCaution – Was a joy to play against you on Saturday, I hate to lose but it was fun seeing you play so well. Those lessons are going to take your handicap much, much lower!
JJ/Jessie - Your “Butter Cut”, or should I say “Crisco Cut” was money in our match. And your short game…wow! You are going to be going much lower and very soon. Every time I saw you last weekend you had a smile on your face. Could tell you were having the time of your life.
Sposey/Shane – Harder than a Opossum Pecker……The most eloquent description I’ve ever heard of a golf hole! You are so down to earth and just a good ole boy. You are also one of the most polite people I’ve ever, ever encountered. Hope we get to play together at another THP event. Would love it!
Ryan/Skibumgolfer – I’m not sure what I had in mind for what you would look like when we finally met, but I pictured you a bit larger in stature for some reason. You are large when it comes to being a nice guy though, and man, you hit the ball out there too! Enjoyed our practice round together. I want to thank you to for being so darn active in the build up to this event. Your participation was awesome.
Ray/TeedUpThoughts – I was so bummed to see you break your phone on Saturday morning especially after hearing about how well you played the entire weekend. How many times did you reach for your phone to post something? So glad you played great MR. MVP! You deserved something good to happen!
AKrobby/Robby - Was a pleasure to meet you. Such a solid attitude. You always seemed happy and we had a helluva good time in our Saturday afternoon match up. And that water shot on 18 on Sunday! Wow! I had a similar lie after my 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] shot found the water there, but I did not have the stones you had and took the drop.
Rancey/SparksJR - Such a nice guy. Unbelievable that a guy your size is shy. Enjoyed dinner with you Saturday night.
JimmyG – Man I regret it but I think you are the one guy I didn’t really get a chance to talk to over the weekend. I did see your tee shot on #1 Sunday, #boom. Can tell you are an awesome player. Hope to see you at another THP event and correct my mistake above.
ChampionsGate – The courses were great layouts. There was a bit of a poana problem in the fairways on the International but it didn’t really effect play. The National was fantastic. Really great shape. This was the first time I’ve played Greg Norman designed courses. I was impressed with the short par 4’s on both courses. Frequently short par 4’s are almost throw away designs, but every single one on these two courses had multiple options to play and really made you think. International #4 and #12 and National #4 and #17 are really great holes. Fun to play. Clubhouse food was awesome though the service was a bit slow at time. The lady working the bar was the exception, she was great.
Omni – Top Notch! Rooms were great and the amenities were super nice. Food was also excellent at David’s but service was a bit slow at times. Prices are a bit steep, but welcome to Orlando. It is what it is. Prices were equivalent to what you’d find at a Disney Deluxe, Universal Deluxe, Ritz, Waldorf and etc. Its what the market brings down there for a hotel in that category.
That brings my wrap ups to an end. What a great 5 day trip #theking was! The absolute best!
Golfer Gal - Thanks to all you did behind the scenes Morgan to help #theking be everything it was. You are so awesome at what you do!
JB – Josh, it was great sitting down at lunch with you on Thursday. I always enjoy just listening to you talk about clubs, golf, THP and everything. It was great of you to pick up the lunch tab also. Thanks again. Know you were a one man show this week and you did amazing! It was a pleasure to see you throughout the rounds to hear updates about how the other matches were going. You seemed to have had an encouraging word for every member of the group I was in each time we passed. Thank you again for a weekend of golf that will stay with me forever!
Harry – My Captain! #boom with his drives and #boom with his wit. Quickest and funniest wit I’ve ever met. The hashtag Chad jokes in our team room had me in stitches. Thanks for everything you did for #theking. Callaway has my loyalty.
Jason – #theking of jabs and trashtalk for sure. He had it going in the team rooms and before rounds! Thanks for your activity in #theking threads. They engagement was real and awesome.
Scotty G – What a match we shared with Robbie and Curtis. That was back and forth and forth and back. So close. Loved seeing you hole out for Birdie on #8 from the sand. Best shot I personally witnessed at #theking. Thanks for coming out and spending time on the course with us!
Bill/Old Gray - Enjoyed the ride down and back with you my friend, and our match was one I’ll never forget. You have a heart of gold and are as good as they come. Looking forward to hearing you sing more Elvis sometime!
Josh/Miller Time - Can’t wait to see you hit single digits. No doubt in my mind it is going to happen and soon. Lessons were so awesome for you. The difference between your game from August and now is cool to see . You are hitting your driver so consistent. And your short game too! That lob wedge flop shot you hit on #16 in Sunday Single, took guts and nerves. What a great shot! Enjoyed the ride down and back and getting to know you a bit better. Sorry for my snoring at The Hampton! You had it from me and then from Ray! But I think the snoring is what got you the MVP!
Curtis/ArmyGolf – Swing your swing. Yours isn’t quite like anything I’ve seen before but it works for you. Really enjoyed meeting you and glad we were able to tee it up a couple of times from the practice round to the Saturday afternoon match. You even laughed at my bad Canada joke, see Canadians are the nicest people on the planet.
Bret/Golf4Life – You are so solid. On the course and off. You were very encouraging during our Alt Shot match even after the poor chips I hit that cost us holes. However, I think you were intent on seeing me fall in a pond or bunker on the front nine! What did your wife buy herself to celebrate winning #theking? Was very cool to see her active in the threads! Stay away from playing in The Fog, it doesn’t bring out your best!
Buckjob and War Eagle – had an incredible time sharing the dinner table with you guys Saturday night. Really enjoyed all the stories about Las Vegas and the golf talk in general. Buck- thanks for helping JB get the Captains Suites all set up! so glad I had you guys as teammates. Great golfers these two! And my favorite picture from the event -
Tadashi/Freddie Kong - You are such a generous dude. Watched you on the range giving tips left and right to Team Chad and Team Harry members alike. And your play was stellar. -3 69 in Sunday singles, hole out from 167 yards! Incredible golf my friend. And thanks for helping JB with the Suite setup! They were awesome.
Alek/CaptainCaution – Was a joy to play against you on Saturday, I hate to lose but it was fun seeing you play so well. Those lessons are going to take your handicap much, much lower!
JJ/Jessie - Your “Butter Cut”, or should I say “Crisco Cut” was money in our match. And your short game…wow! You are going to be going much lower and very soon. Every time I saw you last weekend you had a smile on your face. Could tell you were having the time of your life.
Sposey/Shane – Harder than a Opossum Pecker……The most eloquent description I’ve ever heard of a golf hole! You are so down to earth and just a good ole boy. You are also one of the most polite people I’ve ever, ever encountered. Hope we get to play together at another THP event. Would love it!
Ryan/Skibumgolfer – I’m not sure what I had in mind for what you would look like when we finally met, but I pictured you a bit larger in stature for some reason. You are large when it comes to being a nice guy though, and man, you hit the ball out there too! Enjoyed our practice round together. I want to thank you to for being so darn active in the build up to this event. Your participation was awesome.
Ray/TeedUpThoughts – I was so bummed to see you break your phone on Saturday morning especially after hearing about how well you played the entire weekend. How many times did you reach for your phone to post something? So glad you played great MR. MVP! You deserved something good to happen!
AKrobby/Robby - Was a pleasure to meet you. Such a solid attitude. You always seemed happy and we had a helluva good time in our Saturday afternoon match up. And that water shot on 18 on Sunday! Wow! I had a similar lie after my 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] shot found the water there, but I did not have the stones you had and took the drop.
Rancey/SparksJR - Such a nice guy. Unbelievable that a guy your size is shy. Enjoyed dinner with you Saturday night.
JimmyG – Man I regret it but I think you are the one guy I didn’t really get a chance to talk to over the weekend. I did see your tee shot on #1 Sunday, #boom. Can tell you are an awesome player. Hope to see you at another THP event and correct my mistake above.
ChampionsGate – The courses were great layouts. There was a bit of a poana problem in the fairways on the International but it didn’t really effect play. The National was fantastic. Really great shape. This was the first time I’ve played Greg Norman designed courses. I was impressed with the short par 4’s on both courses. Frequently short par 4’s are almost throw away designs, but every single one on these two courses had multiple options to play and really made you think. International #4 and #12 and National #4 and #17 are really great holes. Fun to play. Clubhouse food was awesome though the service was a bit slow at time. The lady working the bar was the exception, she was great.
Omni – Top Notch! Rooms were great and the amenities were super nice. Food was also excellent at David’s but service was a bit slow at times. Prices are a bit steep, but welcome to Orlando. It is what it is. Prices were equivalent to what you’d find at a Disney Deluxe, Universal Deluxe, Ritz, Waldorf and etc. Its what the market brings down there for a hotel in that category.
That brings my wrap ups to an end. What a great 5 day trip #theking was! The absolute best!
Last edited:
- Thread starter
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I enjoyed the king journey with you Barry.
Buckjob
My Friend's Call Me Drew
Thanks for sharing that picture. It's a keeper just like Ryan is!
I wish were still at #TheKing right now!!! #NeedMoreKing
This week has been crazy busy so I've fallen behind a bit.
After killing the afternoon on Friday lounging by the pool at Croc's bar we were all itching to get into the Captain's meetings. At the appointed time we all went to the designated Captain's Suite and stood outside the door really not knowing what to expect, but know it would be awesome. As we entered the first thing I saw was Harry stand up and shout "Hey Guys!" and it was kind of the moment where it all hit me...we were playing golf with some guys who are a pretty big deal from Callaway.
I head someone say "help yourself to some BBQ" and I didn't need a second invitation. I had never had true BBQ before and went in not knowing what to expect but this stuff was freaking amazing! The beans were out of this world, the pulled chicken just melted in your mouth, and the burnt ends packed a punch of flavors I've never tasted before. Top it off with gobs of the "signature sauce" and it took all my self control not to eat myself into a meat coma. Knowing that some important golf was to be played the next day I forced myself to take it easy and eat just enough to have my fill, and then a little more.
Without further ado our Captain leapt into action with his felt marker and a whiteboard. Before he wrote anything down they proceeded to bash Hashtag and let us know that victory was imminent, I think there were a few jabs at TexasHacker thrown in there as well. In what seemed like a blur we had our pairings and our order and all seemed to be fine with everyone.
At this point we found our way to the Big Bertha drivers and the smiles were massive and the anticipation was killing everyone.
We headed up to Hashtags room to get the showdown started and have the matchups revealed. After a brief discussion about how handicaps were going to be applied we got right to it. I was to team up with Shane and face off against Ryan (Skibum) and Robby. We were giving them 16 strokes which seemed like a lot but for an event like this you just have to trust that the handicap system will do it's job.
We didn't have a ton of range time Saturday morning after some confusion with the tee times but maybe that was for the best. This morning the stars would align for Shane and I and we didn't know it but we were about to lay a friendly beat down on our opposition. We teed off last so that gave us a ton of time to get nervous, get over it, get nervous again, get over it again and by the time we actually hit our tee shots on 1 we were the only 4 on the teebox haha. All that worrying for nothing!
My partner Shane hit a beauty of a power fade right down the pipe meaning that my drive was inconsequential before I even hit it. The second shot on that hole set up great for me at 163 yards to a front pin with a left to right breeze coming steadily across the fairway. I leaned on a 7i and the ball was all over the pin, landing softly about 3 or 4 feet away giving us a great birdie chance. Shane dunked the putt and we were off with energy, momentum and a desire for more points.
We won the 2nd hole and Skibum and Robby converted an amazing up and down on the 3rd hole to get a half point.
We then proceeded to play extremely good ham and egg golf through the front 9 and were up by 6 points at the turn. We won the 10th, 11th and 12th I think but on 13 Ryan and Robby seemed to find a groove just as Shane and I showed a crack in the armor. On 15 Shane and I both plowed our drives way right into the crap and we only managed to find his ball, I tried a hero shot with a 4i out of the crap as Ryan/Robby were just off the green laying 2 and got a stroke on the hole and it didn't work out. I left Shane short sided with a massive bunker in the way so he got it safely up after which I left a 35' putt about 15' short. Son of a...
That hole would be the last glimmer of hope for the Hashtags as on 16 we got it back together for a win and then on 18 we put the hammer down. We hit the par 5 green in two with driver/7i and added one more point to our total.
This was a great match with 3 awesome guys. Ryan and Robby could have easily gotten down and depressed after the front 9 but those guys just kept swinging and applied some pressure on the back 9. I learned a lot about sportsmanship, competition, and friendship during this round and I will hold on to those virtues for a long time.
Shane and I just fed of each other the entire time. Everything from attitude to strategy to club selection we were on the same page. There are very few things in this world that would be more fun than a round of golf with Shane. I will remember those 18 holes for as long as I can Shane, thank you for the memories buddy!
After a quick lunch of fantastic chicken tenders, with Callaway picking up the tab (Thanks so much!!!), we were heading back out for another match. I was to play with Barry against Scotty G and AKRobby.
I was excited to play with Barry and I had already played a practice round with him and knew his game. Fairways and Greens baby! A guy like that is easy to play with and takes the pressure off in a huge way. I wasn't happy with my performance this afternoon and somewhere during lunch I lost the swing that was just killing it in the am round. Barry happily hoisted me up on his shoulders and carried us to a two point victory. The heat was just killing me and I became a wet noodle out there, but we kept on fighting.
This match was fierce and nobody could run away with it at any point. Whenever one team would get some momentum the other team would pull off an amazing shot to change the terms. Scotty's bunker shot hole out comes to mind as well as Barry's 25' downhill birdie putt. Barry already posted the hole by hole of this match so I'll spare you guys my perspective from the trees hehe.
Scotty is a great dude and just so chill. He has a poor choice in hockey teams (damn Bruins!) but I guess I can forgive him for that. He was easy to talk to, and such a pleasure to golf with. You can just tell that he has fun and nothing is going to stop him from doing so.
Robby really started to find his groove during this match and won two valuable points on the back 9 with some net birdies that we just couldn't answer. I was so happy to see him having a great time out there and his positive attitude is something that everyone could learn from. This guy is a class act through and through and watching him stick the daggers in us was a pleasure haha.
Sat night and Sunday to come!
After killing the afternoon on Friday lounging by the pool at Croc's bar we were all itching to get into the Captain's meetings. At the appointed time we all went to the designated Captain's Suite and stood outside the door really not knowing what to expect, but know it would be awesome. As we entered the first thing I saw was Harry stand up and shout "Hey Guys!" and it was kind of the moment where it all hit me...we were playing golf with some guys who are a pretty big deal from Callaway.
I head someone say "help yourself to some BBQ" and I didn't need a second invitation. I had never had true BBQ before and went in not knowing what to expect but this stuff was freaking amazing! The beans were out of this world, the pulled chicken just melted in your mouth, and the burnt ends packed a punch of flavors I've never tasted before. Top it off with gobs of the "signature sauce" and it took all my self control not to eat myself into a meat coma. Knowing that some important golf was to be played the next day I forced myself to take it easy and eat just enough to have my fill, and then a little more.
Without further ado our Captain leapt into action with his felt marker and a whiteboard. Before he wrote anything down they proceeded to bash Hashtag and let us know that victory was imminent, I think there were a few jabs at TexasHacker thrown in there as well. In what seemed like a blur we had our pairings and our order and all seemed to be fine with everyone.
At this point we found our way to the Big Bertha drivers and the smiles were massive and the anticipation was killing everyone.
We headed up to Hashtags room to get the showdown started and have the matchups revealed. After a brief discussion about how handicaps were going to be applied we got right to it. I was to team up with Shane and face off against Ryan (Skibum) and Robby. We were giving them 16 strokes which seemed like a lot but for an event like this you just have to trust that the handicap system will do it's job.
We didn't have a ton of range time Saturday morning after some confusion with the tee times but maybe that was for the best. This morning the stars would align for Shane and I and we didn't know it but we were about to lay a friendly beat down on our opposition. We teed off last so that gave us a ton of time to get nervous, get over it, get nervous again, get over it again and by the time we actually hit our tee shots on 1 we were the only 4 on the teebox haha. All that worrying for nothing!
My partner Shane hit a beauty of a power fade right down the pipe meaning that my drive was inconsequential before I even hit it. The second shot on that hole set up great for me at 163 yards to a front pin with a left to right breeze coming steadily across the fairway. I leaned on a 7i and the ball was all over the pin, landing softly about 3 or 4 feet away giving us a great birdie chance. Shane dunked the putt and we were off with energy, momentum and a desire for more points.
We won the 2nd hole and Skibum and Robby converted an amazing up and down on the 3rd hole to get a half point.
We then proceeded to play extremely good ham and egg golf through the front 9 and were up by 6 points at the turn. We won the 10th, 11th and 12th I think but on 13 Ryan and Robby seemed to find a groove just as Shane and I showed a crack in the armor. On 15 Shane and I both plowed our drives way right into the crap and we only managed to find his ball, I tried a hero shot with a 4i out of the crap as Ryan/Robby were just off the green laying 2 and got a stroke on the hole and it didn't work out. I left Shane short sided with a massive bunker in the way so he got it safely up after which I left a 35' putt about 15' short. Son of a...
That hole would be the last glimmer of hope for the Hashtags as on 16 we got it back together for a win and then on 18 we put the hammer down. We hit the par 5 green in two with driver/7i and added one more point to our total.
This was a great match with 3 awesome guys. Ryan and Robby could have easily gotten down and depressed after the front 9 but those guys just kept swinging and applied some pressure on the back 9. I learned a lot about sportsmanship, competition, and friendship during this round and I will hold on to those virtues for a long time.
Shane and I just fed of each other the entire time. Everything from attitude to strategy to club selection we were on the same page. There are very few things in this world that would be more fun than a round of golf with Shane. I will remember those 18 holes for as long as I can Shane, thank you for the memories buddy!
After a quick lunch of fantastic chicken tenders, with Callaway picking up the tab (Thanks so much!!!), we were heading back out for another match. I was to play with Barry against Scotty G and AKRobby.
I was excited to play with Barry and I had already played a practice round with him and knew his game. Fairways and Greens baby! A guy like that is easy to play with and takes the pressure off in a huge way. I wasn't happy with my performance this afternoon and somewhere during lunch I lost the swing that was just killing it in the am round. Barry happily hoisted me up on his shoulders and carried us to a two point victory. The heat was just killing me and I became a wet noodle out there, but we kept on fighting.
This match was fierce and nobody could run away with it at any point. Whenever one team would get some momentum the other team would pull off an amazing shot to change the terms. Scotty's bunker shot hole out comes to mind as well as Barry's 25' downhill birdie putt. Barry already posted the hole by hole of this match so I'll spare you guys my perspective from the trees hehe.
Scotty is a great dude and just so chill. He has a poor choice in hockey teams (damn Bruins!) but I guess I can forgive him for that. He was easy to talk to, and such a pleasure to golf with. You can just tell that he has fun and nothing is going to stop him from doing so.
Robby really started to find his groove during this match and won two valuable points on the back 9 with some net birdies that we just couldn't answer. I was so happy to see him having a great time out there and his positive attitude is something that everyone could learn from. This guy is a class act through and through and watching him stick the daggers in us was a pleasure haha.
Sat night and Sunday to come!
Barry thank you for the kind words! Pleasure meeting you man, I hope we can tee it up again real soon. And yeah...I'm not exactly a tall guy hahaha
Curt, I know I've told you this, but I really did enjoy watching you guys lay on the beatdown out there. It was a pleasure to see you both playing so well, and I never mind losing to good golf - good in this case, though, is an understatement!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Curt, I know I've told you this, but I really did enjoy watching you guys lay on the beatdown out there. It was a pleasure to see you both playing so well, and I never mind losing to good golf - good in this case, though, is an understatement!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
RECAP PART ONE: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Recap-Thread&p=2993671&viewfull=1#post2993671
RECAP PART TWO: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Recap-Thread&p=2994862&viewfull=1#post2994862
Part 3: Sunday Round and Farewells
Sunday started a little sketchy for me - something I ate or drank (who am I kidding, too much delicious greasy food and beer hahahaha) made me feel really bloated and crappy overnight, so I didn't sleep well at all and was a bit sick, so I had given some real thought at about 4 am to pulling out. But, I toughed it out, and Jesse and I headed over to the CG clubhouse to try and grab a bite to eat from the snack bar and hit some balls and the range and putt. After some team pics and a team selfie by Team Chad (Chad has some teenage girl tendencies hahaha), we headed over to the first tee and past the slightly disgruntled starter (not pleased that we weren't coming up in perfect order) to start the Singles matches. I was paired against Ryan/War Eagle, and playing with Alek/CapCaution who was playing Curt/ArmyGolf. Boy what a fun match this was with a fun group of dudes. Started off a little rough for Team Chad, as we both lost the first hole and I lost the second, but then we both improved and Curt and Ryan ran into a few rough holes for them. My driving was crap, but luckily my iron play and short game was pretty on point, and I was able to grind out some decent holes in the middle of the match to bring it to an eventual 1 up lead over War early in the back 9, with Alek up on Curt by 3 at that point I believe. Then Ryan showed that he had come to PLAY, and really started playing some good holes to grab the lead back, and I lost a few very close holes. The last hole was neck and neck, and we ended up squaring up on that hole and I lost 3 dn to War. Alek was really in the driver's seat for the entire back 9 after Curt started to hit some uncharacteristically bad shots, and he ended up winning 2 up. The match was closely and hotly contested the entire time, and I really had a blast despite my inability to hit a drive. Playing with Curt is always a pleasure, and Ryan is just a class act, a cool customer on the course and a great guy to chat to about golf or whatever. And Alek is totally a 17 handicap going on 9...such a sweet swing and hits it absolutely great. Once he gets that short game dialed in he's gonna be a force to be reckoned with. And a great guy with a great attitude to boot! Definitely can't wait to play with these guys again ASAP.
We came into the clubhouse third, and watched a very close match unfold for the last two pairings, eventually finding out that we had lost 8 dn overall to Team Harry. A little bummed of course, but it couldn't have happened to a better group of guys. Then came the awesome announcement that Ray and Josh would be the Team MVP's and get a years supply of Callaway balls, HOLY CRAP, AWESOME! We said bye to our newfound Callaway buds and sat down to a wonderful final lunch together as a group - many delicious chicken fingers were consumed And then found out Callaway had paid for several of our lunches already - can't tell you how much we appreciate that, guys! Barry came round and gave us each a ChampionsGate poker chip, which was just a classy move - every time I see that, I will think of this great weekend and of you, Barry. It was then, unfortunately, time to say goodbye to many of my new friends from both squads and head over to the hotel at the airport.
After checking in, we ended up heading over to Hooters for some food and drinks with Rancey, Alek, Jesse, and Ray (who had got his new awesome phone by this point... :laughing. Had a blast just talking about what we had experienced over the weekend and how lucky we felt, along with just chatting about life and golf in general - not to mention taking in a little scenery! And just like that, one of my best golf weekends ever, if not THE best, was over and Curt and I were saying adieu to our new buds and heading back to the hotel. We rose early the next morning to catch our flights and headed back home - although Curt tried to not make it when his flight out was delayed and he very nearly missed his flight to Seattle out of LAX, were it not for a very kind airport worker who drove him on a golf cart to his damn plane!!
I would like to thank Callaway, JB, and GolferGal for showing me an unbelievable weekend, and for providing all the awesome things we experienced. I won't soon forget the golf, the resort, and the food, and I will NEVER forget the friends I made down there on both sides of the fray. The King WILL return, and I know I'm not the only one who hopes against hope to return again for revenge!
...Oh and, congrats Team Harry I guess.
Shout outs to each of my compadres to come!
RECAP PART TWO: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Recap-Thread&p=2994862&viewfull=1#post2994862
Part 3: Sunday Round and Farewells
Sunday started a little sketchy for me - something I ate or drank (who am I kidding, too much delicious greasy food and beer hahahaha) made me feel really bloated and crappy overnight, so I didn't sleep well at all and was a bit sick, so I had given some real thought at about 4 am to pulling out. But, I toughed it out, and Jesse and I headed over to the CG clubhouse to try and grab a bite to eat from the snack bar and hit some balls and the range and putt. After some team pics and a team selfie by Team Chad (Chad has some teenage girl tendencies hahaha), we headed over to the first tee and past the slightly disgruntled starter (not pleased that we weren't coming up in perfect order) to start the Singles matches. I was paired against Ryan/War Eagle, and playing with Alek/CapCaution who was playing Curt/ArmyGolf. Boy what a fun match this was with a fun group of dudes. Started off a little rough for Team Chad, as we both lost the first hole and I lost the second, but then we both improved and Curt and Ryan ran into a few rough holes for them. My driving was crap, but luckily my iron play and short game was pretty on point, and I was able to grind out some decent holes in the middle of the match to bring it to an eventual 1 up lead over War early in the back 9, with Alek up on Curt by 3 at that point I believe. Then Ryan showed that he had come to PLAY, and really started playing some good holes to grab the lead back, and I lost a few very close holes. The last hole was neck and neck, and we ended up squaring up on that hole and I lost 3 dn to War. Alek was really in the driver's seat for the entire back 9 after Curt started to hit some uncharacteristically bad shots, and he ended up winning 2 up. The match was closely and hotly contested the entire time, and I really had a blast despite my inability to hit a drive. Playing with Curt is always a pleasure, and Ryan is just a class act, a cool customer on the course and a great guy to chat to about golf or whatever. And Alek is totally a 17 handicap going on 9...such a sweet swing and hits it absolutely great. Once he gets that short game dialed in he's gonna be a force to be reckoned with. And a great guy with a great attitude to boot! Definitely can't wait to play with these guys again ASAP.
We came into the clubhouse third, and watched a very close match unfold for the last two pairings, eventually finding out that we had lost 8 dn overall to Team Harry. A little bummed of course, but it couldn't have happened to a better group of guys. Then came the awesome announcement that Ray and Josh would be the Team MVP's and get a years supply of Callaway balls, HOLY CRAP, AWESOME! We said bye to our newfound Callaway buds and sat down to a wonderful final lunch together as a group - many delicious chicken fingers were consumed
And then found out Callaway had paid for several of our lunches already - can't tell you how much we appreciate that, guys! Barry came round and gave us each a ChampionsGate poker chip, which was just a classy move - every time I see that, I will think of this great weekend and of you, Barry. It was then, unfortunately, time to say goodbye to many of my new friends from both squads and head over to the hotel at the airport.After checking in, we ended up heading over to Hooters for some food and drinks with Rancey, Alek, Jesse, and Ray (who had got his new awesome phone by this point... :laughing
. Had a blast just talking about what we had experienced over the weekend and how lucky we felt, along with just chatting about life and golf in general - not to mention taking in a little scenery! And just like that, one of my best golf weekends ever, if not THE best, was over and Curt and I were saying adieu to our new buds and heading back to the hotel. We rose early the next morning to catch our flights and headed back home - although Curt tried to not make it when his flight out was delayed and he very nearly missed his flight to Seattle out of LAX, were it not for a very kind airport worker who drove him on a golf cart to his damn plane!!I would like to thank Callaway, JB, and GolferGal for showing me an unbelievable weekend, and for providing all the awesome things we experienced. I won't soon forget the golf, the resort, and the food, and I will NEVER forget the friends I made down there on both sides of the fray. The King WILL return, and I know I'm not the only one who hopes against hope to return again for revenge!
...Oh and, congrats Team Harry I guess.
Shout outs to each of my compadres to come!
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29 minute layovers with a cancelled flight = oh crap. It's a shame I didn't get that Delta employees name because she went waaay out of her way while on her lunch break to help me out. She's a saint.
sparksjr
Active member
nice recaps guys! been mowing and doing yardwork all day...not quite the same as a week ago!
#hangover
#hangover
Akrobby
New member
I'm sitting on a plane, heading from Orlando to Minneapolis, and just caught up on all the recaps I've missed over the last few days. It has been pretty much go,go, go for the last few days, and each night I would pick up my iPad and try and read some THP, only to wake up an hour or so later still holding my tablet. To pick up where I left off.
Friday. Those 6:50 -7:30 tee times were pretty way early, but there wasn't any complaining. We were happy to have the tee times to go out together as a group. I had feeling pretty rested after finally getting some decent sleep. I teed off with Ole Grey, Sposey013168 and Skibumgolfer. I played a bit better that day, but in all honesty, I'm not that good at the game yet. This will be my 4th season playing, and while I can hit some good shots, the consistency is just not there yet. I will keep playing and practicing though. I'd like to one day play in the MC. But I digress. The fog rolled in pretty thick on about the 2nd hole, and stayed with us until the 7th or 8th hole. It was hard to judge anything during that time, but we pressed on, and treated the round like a true practice round. Bill, Shane, and Ryan were such fun guys to play a round with. That was the theme of the whole weekend actually, playing golf with some of the finest gentlemen around.
After the round we had some lunch in the bar. No worries on that everyone, it was my pleasure. The waitress was struggling mightily, so I called an audible instead of it taking a half hour to get settled. After lunch I hit the range with a few others to work on a few things. That turned into a little banter, which turned into Brett Golf4life bring over his swingCaddy, and everyone that was there taking turns on it with each other's clubs. I hit Armygolf's Biocell driver pretty well. Tried Brett's SLDR, but didn't really have the feel for it.
After club swap we headed back to the hotel to clean up and rest up before team meetings. The wife (Kat) and headed for the lazy river. I enjoyed floating around that thing on a hot, sunny day. After that I met up for a few minutes with the group of THPers who had staked out a good view of all the scenery in the bar. Sposey and I took a few minutes to discuss some of the finer points of scenery watching, and our preferences in terrains, which is pretty similar.
The best part of the day was the captains meetings. Walking into the suite was sensory overload. Thought process goes like this: wow, this is big, great view, what is that smell. That smell was the barbecue from the seventh layer of heaven. Man, that was some good stuff. This was also the time we received some seriously cool swag from Callaway golf. The Bertha was quite a sight to behold, and I wanted to go hit it right then. We also received a couple of fine Callaway shirts to wear over the weekend, a cool BB hat, and a Callaway masters coin. We set our lineup for the next day, and then the guys from team Harry came up to the room. The banter going back and forth was priceless. After the festivities were over, a whole bunch of us convened to the putting green, where putts were rolled, stories were told, and everyone once again came together over this great game we play.
Everyone retired fairly early, as Saturday was the official start of the competition, and everyone wanted to be rested. More on that in my next installment.
THP #theking #imwithchad
Friday. Those 6:50 -7:30 tee times were pretty way early, but there wasn't any complaining. We were happy to have the tee times to go out together as a group. I had feeling pretty rested after finally getting some decent sleep. I teed off with Ole Grey, Sposey013168 and Skibumgolfer. I played a bit better that day, but in all honesty, I'm not that good at the game yet. This will be my 4th season playing, and while I can hit some good shots, the consistency is just not there yet. I will keep playing and practicing though. I'd like to one day play in the MC. But I digress. The fog rolled in pretty thick on about the 2nd hole, and stayed with us until the 7th or 8th hole. It was hard to judge anything during that time, but we pressed on, and treated the round like a true practice round. Bill, Shane, and Ryan were such fun guys to play a round with. That was the theme of the whole weekend actually, playing golf with some of the finest gentlemen around.
After the round we had some lunch in the bar. No worries on that everyone, it was my pleasure. The waitress was struggling mightily, so I called an audible instead of it taking a half hour to get settled. After lunch I hit the range with a few others to work on a few things. That turned into a little banter, which turned into Brett Golf4life bring over his swingCaddy, and everyone that was there taking turns on it with each other's clubs. I hit Armygolf's Biocell driver pretty well. Tried Brett's SLDR, but didn't really have the feel for it.
After club swap we headed back to the hotel to clean up and rest up before team meetings. The wife (Kat) and headed for the lazy river. I enjoyed floating around that thing on a hot, sunny day. After that I met up for a few minutes with the group of THPers who had staked out a good view of all the scenery in the bar. Sposey and I took a few minutes to discuss some of the finer points of scenery watching, and our preferences in terrains, which is pretty similar.
The best part of the day was the captains meetings. Walking into the suite was sensory overload. Thought process goes like this: wow, this is big, great view, what is that smell. That smell was the barbecue from the seventh layer of heaven. Man, that was some good stuff. This was also the time we received some seriously cool swag from Callaway golf. The Bertha was quite a sight to behold, and I wanted to go hit it right then. We also received a couple of fine Callaway shirts to wear over the weekend, a cool BB hat, and a Callaway masters coin. We set our lineup for the next day, and then the guys from team Harry came up to the room. The banter going back and forth was priceless. After the festivities were over, a whole bunch of us convened to the putting green, where putts were rolled, stories were told, and everyone once again came together over this great game we play.
Everyone retired fairly early, as Saturday was the official start of the competition, and everyone wanted to be rested. More on that in my next installment.
THP #theking #imwithchad
Awesome photo.
It was a crazy week/weekend for me, and what a good time to bump the thread with some more round recaps.
Saturday PM round:
In this round, I was paired up with Bill/OleGray in a match against Ryan/War Eagle and shane/sposey013168. This had to be Ryan's dream match, since he was giving both Bill and me #effingtenstrokes, and Shane 5 strokes.
I had a much better drive off of 1 than I did in the morning round, and Barry somehow found a water hazard on the far left side of the hole. With that, we were off, Dueling Banjos playing in the cart. We quickly jumped out to a 3 Up lead, but Shane and Ryan were able to take advantage of some mistakes off of the tee from us to cut it to 1UP after 6. After Ryan pulled his tee shot OB, Shane was able to benefit from a very luck bounce of off a fence post which kept him in bounds and in the hole. Those are some of the breaks you need to win a hole. As we went to work on the back nine, you could tell the heat was getting to the entire group. Water stations were empty, I found myself in a waste bunker the size of the Sahara desert, Bill cracked open a warm beer and put it on ice, and Ryan and Shane clawed their way back into the match, turning our 2 up lead into a 1 down deficit after 15. We squared the match on 16, and took a 1UP lead heading into the last. The whole group dug deep and put good balls into play off of the tee on the looooooong Par 5 18th. Some mental mistakes put a few balls in the water, but the end result was a half, and a 1up win for OG and myself. We were all exhausted, and were looking forward to some drinks and A/C.
This whole round was kind of a blur to me, but a few things really stood out.
Bill as my partner made for a great team. We are the same handicap, and we were able to keep each other going through the round, encouraging each other to stay away from the unneeded hero shots. Whenever I was out of a hole, Bill managed to find a way to make some shots, halving a few holes, and forcing our competitors to make good shots to earn their points. A true southern gentleman, I hope to play with Bill again sometime soon.
Playing with and against Ryan and Shane was a blast. They both have great games, and both have fun doing it. I don't think there was a time during the round where Shane wasn't smiling, and Ryan was always quick to dole out praise after a good shot, and encouragement after a poor one. He gave me some great advice about course management that I will carry with me as I work to lower my scores this year. To hear your thoughts on my swing really mean a lot. I have put in a lot of time this offseason, and to hear positive feedback from others is really meaningful.
Handicapping. I think there were some worries that handicapping the event would not lead to good things, but I think of all matches, this one was a great example of how the system can and does work. The whole afternoon we were remarking at how close the match was, and that it made for other great matches between golfers of different skill levels. If people are honest about their abilities, you can still get great competition, which I don't think you can find anywhere else.
So, after a long day of my first THP event, I got out to the lazy river. I was going to meet Ryan/skibumgolfer and Jesse/Jjmorris down there, but while I was waiting, I saw Hastag and ScottyG floating by, so I ended up joining them, and Ryan and Jesse caught up later. A couple of Miami Vices, a random job prospect in the lazy river (thanks to Hashtag for breaking the ice), and dinner at the sports bar with the guys, and it was time to rest up for a big day of singles matches.
Saturday PM round:
In this round, I was paired up with Bill/OleGray in a match against Ryan/War Eagle and shane/sposey013168. This had to be Ryan's dream match, since he was giving both Bill and me #effingtenstrokes, and Shane 5 strokes.
I had a much better drive off of 1 than I did in the morning round, and Barry somehow found a water hazard on the far left side of the hole. With that, we were off, Dueling Banjos playing in the cart. We quickly jumped out to a 3 Up lead, but Shane and Ryan were able to take advantage of some mistakes off of the tee from us to cut it to 1UP after 6. After Ryan pulled his tee shot OB, Shane was able to benefit from a very luck bounce of off a fence post which kept him in bounds and in the hole. Those are some of the breaks you need to win a hole. As we went to work on the back nine, you could tell the heat was getting to the entire group. Water stations were empty, I found myself in a waste bunker the size of the Sahara desert, Bill cracked open a warm beer and put it on ice, and Ryan and Shane clawed their way back into the match, turning our 2 up lead into a 1 down deficit after 15. We squared the match on 16, and took a 1UP lead heading into the last. The whole group dug deep and put good balls into play off of the tee on the looooooong Par 5 18th. Some mental mistakes put a few balls in the water, but the end result was a half, and a 1up win for OG and myself. We were all exhausted, and were looking forward to some drinks and A/C.
This whole round was kind of a blur to me, but a few things really stood out.
Bill as my partner made for a great team. We are the same handicap, and we were able to keep each other going through the round, encouraging each other to stay away from the unneeded hero shots. Whenever I was out of a hole, Bill managed to find a way to make some shots, halving a few holes, and forcing our competitors to make good shots to earn their points. A true southern gentleman, I hope to play with Bill again sometime soon.
Playing with and against Ryan and Shane was a blast. They both have great games, and both have fun doing it. I don't think there was a time during the round where Shane wasn't smiling, and Ryan was always quick to dole out praise after a good shot, and encouragement after a poor one. He gave me some great advice about course management that I will carry with me as I work to lower my scores this year. To hear your thoughts on my swing really mean a lot. I have put in a lot of time this offseason, and to hear positive feedback from others is really meaningful.
Handicapping. I think there were some worries that handicapping the event would not lead to good things, but I think of all matches, this one was a great example of how the system can and does work. The whole afternoon we were remarking at how close the match was, and that it made for other great matches between golfers of different skill levels. If people are honest about their abilities, you can still get great competition, which I don't think you can find anywhere else.
So, after a long day of my first THP event, I got out to the lazy river. I was going to meet Ryan/skibumgolfer and Jesse/Jjmorris down there, but while I was waiting, I saw Hastag and ScottyG floating by, so I ended up joining them, and Ryan and Jesse caught up later. A couple of Miami Vices, a random job prospect in the lazy river (thanks to Hashtag for breaking the ice), and dinner at the sports bar with the guys, and it was time to rest up for a big day of singles matches.