arydolphin
GTHC!
First of all, I refuse to believe that JB actually wanted a hug, it seems impossible that he didn't go for the fist bump.
Second, that's a really cool moment that you guys got to share, thanks for sharing it with us.
Recap Thread - 2014 Morgan Cup
First of all, I refuse to believe that JB actually wanted a hug, it seems impossible that he didn't go for the fist bump.
Second, that's a really cool moment that you guys got to share, thanks for sharing it with us.
mikedean441
6X HOF
Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots
- Thread starter
- Admin
- #454
Not a strand of hair in the bunch. You know its Team THP when Mr. Kong has the longest hair.
- Staff
- #456
clearly it worked. I've never seen my opponents so confident in their games
DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
#FirstInFun
- Staff
- #459
That really was a fun night too.
DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
Can you post the picture of our biggest fan?
Parshooter36
New member
I'm not a big talker so this should be short and sweet, but I did want to officially get my thanks out to a few people that I got to connect with this weekend.
First off, a huge thanks to Josh, Morgan and any of the THP staffers that made this event possible. I never would have dreamed that a guy like me would have ever had the chance to experience something like this.
Next, thanks to the volunteers. They just killed themselves in the heat for hours on end making sure they captured everything they could.
I could never thank TaylorMade enough for the clubs and clothes they provided, but sending Kenn to be our tour rep was just as important. He made this weekend an experience to remember for sure.
MikeDean, Tadashi, DevRicus, Ddec, and WarEagle. You THP staffers are like celebrities at THP events, and I appreciated you guys making it a point to try and say hi even though your time is short.
Casor Hades and Rob, I greatly enjoyed our conversations about Finland, golf, and music. I have spent the last hour listening to Rob's band on youtube and it is fantastic, I will definitely be buying The Soundstrippers album!
Flog2424 I am very sorry you had to leave early, but I am glad we got a chance to talk on Friday. Hopefully the next time you are in the area we can get together for a round.
ADWillingham we had a great back and forth match and seem to have fairly similar games (except for the fact that you were bombing that BB off the tee!), I would love to tee it up again with you sometime.
My villa mates Canadan, DCBrad, WCBM, and Amart you guys absolutely made the weekend for me. Even though the golf didn't go my way, I got to spend my evenings laughing at your stories and having a great time.
To Dan and the rest of Team Albatross, I am sorry I couldn't get more points for the team than I did. I knew going in that the morning round on Saturday was my only real shot at a point, and I was just gutted when I let that half point slip away.
To my Sunday playing partners Spicoli, TNTCigarGuy, and MPeterson, I'm sorry I couldn't hold it together at the end there. I hope that didn't come off as being a sore loser, because thats not what it was. I knew going in that I had no shot at beating John, but as he began to close me out it just hit me that this seven month long journey was coming to an end and I just lost it.
In the end I went 0-3-1 in my matches which is disappointing to say the least. I played decent on Saturday and played really well on Sunday, but it just wasn't enough. I just don't have the length to keep up with internet golfers. Going into this I was focused mainly on the golf itself, but in the end the golf turned out to be a small part of this experience. The comradery and the overall experience itself far outweighed anything that happened on the course.
Thanks again to all that made this possible, it was a once in a lifetime experience!
First off, a huge thanks to Josh, Morgan and any of the THP staffers that made this event possible. I never would have dreamed that a guy like me would have ever had the chance to experience something like this.
Next, thanks to the volunteers. They just killed themselves in the heat for hours on end making sure they captured everything they could.
I could never thank TaylorMade enough for the clubs and clothes they provided, but sending Kenn to be our tour rep was just as important. He made this weekend an experience to remember for sure.
MikeDean, Tadashi, DevRicus, Ddec, and WarEagle. You THP staffers are like celebrities at THP events, and I appreciated you guys making it a point to try and say hi even though your time is short.
Casor Hades and Rob, I greatly enjoyed our conversations about Finland, golf, and music. I have spent the last hour listening to Rob's band on youtube and it is fantastic, I will definitely be buying The Soundstrippers album!
Flog2424 I am very sorry you had to leave early, but I am glad we got a chance to talk on Friday. Hopefully the next time you are in the area we can get together for a round.
ADWillingham we had a great back and forth match and seem to have fairly similar games (except for the fact that you were bombing that BB off the tee!), I would love to tee it up again with you sometime.
My villa mates Canadan, DCBrad, WCBM, and Amart you guys absolutely made the weekend for me. Even though the golf didn't go my way, I got to spend my evenings laughing at your stories and having a great time.
To Dan and the rest of Team Albatross, I am sorry I couldn't get more points for the team than I did. I knew going in that the morning round on Saturday was my only real shot at a point, and I was just gutted when I let that half point slip away.
To my Sunday playing partners Spicoli, TNTCigarGuy, and MPeterson, I'm sorry I couldn't hold it together at the end there. I hope that didn't come off as being a sore loser, because thats not what it was. I knew going in that I had no shot at beating John, but as he began to close me out it just hit me that this seven month long journey was coming to an end and I just lost it.
In the end I went 0-3-1 in my matches which is disappointing to say the least. I played decent on Saturday and played really well on Sunday, but it just wasn't enough. I just don't have the length to keep up with internet golfers. Going into this I was focused mainly on the golf itself, but in the end the golf turned out to be a small part of this experience. The comradery and the overall experience itself far outweighed anything that happened on the course.
Thanks again to all that made this possible, it was a once in a lifetime experience!
LordByron
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Fine work! I really enjoy the video format as I can listen at work... Thanks for the detail Cookie!
- Moderator
- #467
I have to agree with Dan Andy, you played very very well in the afternoon. You had some unlucky bounces on two holes. What can you do ya know?
That up and down on 11... Ugh that was such a dirty shot. A low skipping shot that landed at the top of the ridge, hopped most of the way down it, then skidded to a stop 3ft away. Are you kidding me? That was flat out filthy.
That up and down on 11... Ugh that was such a dirty shot. A low skipping shot that landed at the top of the ridge, hopped most of the way down it, then skidded to a stop 3ft away. Are you kidding me? That was flat out filthy.
- Staff
- #468
Round 3
Singles - ddec vs scarnici
My final Morgan Cup match, kind of hard to believe that statement right there, was against my pal Christian. A guy who already took a point away from us on Saturday morning. No this was not a revenge match, this was going to be a tough challenge that I was hoping I’d be up for.
On the first tee JB asked who was going first, now most everyone was flipping a tee or saying their opponents name. Not me, I said Christian would be going first. When he looked at me funny, I told him he still had the tee from yesterday’s round. That first tee shot, it’s something you never forget. Perhaps the most nervous I’ve ever been during one of these. Just like the day before I tried to stay mentally loose and it seemed to work as I hit a good ball that carried the bunker on the right and sat in the fairway. As a bit of nervous relief, I made sure to flex for the crowd. That first hole, the first 3 shots I remember looking down at the club and it was shaking(driver, hybrid, and 7 iron). Yes off all things my first iron was a 7 iron. I’m not going to go hole by hole here but will give some quick highlights.
On 3 I hit an 8 iron that came up a foot short of the pin. Just a nice draw that happened to settle close. First blood in the match was mine. That was quickly gone as I hit my next tee shot in the water. After Christian found the fairway, I reteed and decided to hit one on what I called the Spicoli Line. I hit this nice high draw that seemed to just carry forever. The group thought it had a chance to clear and carry all that water. It looked beautiful, until it fell about 40 yards short and in to the water. Stupid Spicolli hitting those long bombs off the tee.
We had a hell of a match. He was 2 up going in to 9, and then we were quickly AS. Putting failed me down the stretch and we hugged it out on 17. Spending the afternoon riding around with a good buddy in this environment was fantastic. It was certainly a pleasure to spend the final Morgan Cup round with him.
Not in our match, but in our foursome was Paladin and mmaynard. It was fun to be paired with 2 guys that I didn’t get to play with before. I’ll let them cover their match but you can tell like the rest of us they were nervous. I figured my roll was to kind of lighten the mood and get everyone relaxed. We told some stories on the tee boxes and just talked about a lot of stuff. I remember getting up to the 5th tee and Paladin pressing a little. Told him it was the perfect hole for his driver, just trust it. The guy hit one of the best drives I have ever seen on that hole. Absolutely smoked it. It put a big smile on his face and that was good to see. The company on this day was 2nd to none, and I truly mean that. After their match ended, I saw both back out on the course later with the SO enjoying the afternoon.
Jake mentioned about us playing 18, and I will do that in another post.
Singles - ddec vs scarnici
My final Morgan Cup match, kind of hard to believe that statement right there, was against my pal Christian. A guy who already took a point away from us on Saturday morning. No this was not a revenge match, this was going to be a tough challenge that I was hoping I’d be up for.
On the first tee JB asked who was going first, now most everyone was flipping a tee or saying their opponents name. Not me, I said Christian would be going first. When he looked at me funny, I told him he still had the tee from yesterday’s round. That first tee shot, it’s something you never forget. Perhaps the most nervous I’ve ever been during one of these. Just like the day before I tried to stay mentally loose and it seemed to work as I hit a good ball that carried the bunker on the right and sat in the fairway. As a bit of nervous relief, I made sure to flex for the crowd. That first hole, the first 3 shots I remember looking down at the club and it was shaking(driver, hybrid, and 7 iron). Yes off all things my first iron was a 7 iron. I’m not going to go hole by hole here but will give some quick highlights.
On 3 I hit an 8 iron that came up a foot short of the pin. Just a nice draw that happened to settle close. First blood in the match was mine. That was quickly gone as I hit my next tee shot in the water. After Christian found the fairway, I reteed and decided to hit one on what I called the Spicoli Line. I hit this nice high draw that seemed to just carry forever. The group thought it had a chance to clear and carry all that water. It looked beautiful, until it fell about 40 yards short and in to the water. Stupid Spicolli hitting those long bombs off the tee.
We had a hell of a match. He was 2 up going in to 9, and then we were quickly AS. Putting failed me down the stretch and we hugged it out on 17. Spending the afternoon riding around with a good buddy in this environment was fantastic. It was certainly a pleasure to spend the final Morgan Cup round with him.
Not in our match, but in our foursome was Paladin and mmaynard. It was fun to be paired with 2 guys that I didn’t get to play with before. I’ll let them cover their match but you can tell like the rest of us they were nervous. I figured my roll was to kind of lighten the mood and get everyone relaxed. We told some stories on the tee boxes and just talked about a lot of stuff. I remember getting up to the 5th tee and Paladin pressing a little. Told him it was the perfect hole for his driver, just trust it. The guy hit one of the best drives I have ever seen on that hole. Absolutely smoked it. It put a big smile on his face and that was good to see. The company on this day was 2nd to none, and I truly mean that. After their match ended, I saw both back out on the course later with the SO enjoying the afternoon.
Jake mentioned about us playing 18, and I will do that in another post.
adamw238
New member
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Recap #2 Staff Sponsor Day and Round 1
I had no idea what to expect Friday morning. Paladin and I showed up around 8:45 to a see of THPers. We found our team and just kind of hung around taking it all in. I got a little concerned when Freddie started climb a ladder in a non-OSHA approved manner to take some amazing pictures. At 9a, Mike_G asked if we were ready to go get our gear. It took everything in me not to go running through those doors like a crazed mom when the doors open at Target on Black Friday.
Jeremiah and I walked and for once not much was really said...we just looked around and I started taking random pics.
[WITB]
[/WITB]
Seeing my name on a staff bag is a pretty tough moment to explain. I think all of us have at some point or another have dreamt of seeing this, I know I have. On Friday that dream came true. Sure, I could have always bought a bag and put my name on it, but this was different. Everything in that bag was custom fit for me and all because I came up with some silly tweet. I don't know....."surreal" is probably the best way to explain it.
[WITB]
[/WITB]
The next 20 minutes were an absolute blur. We took pictures, met Jamie Lynn and found Cobra Corner on the range. I took the plastic off of all of my clubs and was just chomping at the bit the start hitting balls. First club I hit was the 7 iron. This was one of the few times all weekend I was really nervous. I had no idea what to expect when I hit the ball. I just wanted to make contact. I took my swing and ball exploded off the face and I turned to Jeremiah and said, "Did you see that?! That thing just jumped off the face!" The next 5 minutes were filled with me commenting on how amazing the clubs were. I was so excited I that I turned off the filter between my brain and mouth (yes.....I do have one). JL said she wanted to mic me up and Jeremiah said, "I don't know if he's really the person you want to have a microphone. Things might get a little crazy." We headed over to the waste area next to the range and she asked me to start talking about the clubs, clothing and shoes. I closed out the interview with "GAME CHANGED!" She then asked me to head back to the range and hit some shots and interact with the rest of the staff. My first shot with my driver can be summed up by my comment right after I hit it, "Boys and girls, that right there is how babies are made." Before I knew it I had turned into the Cobra hype-man. After hitting a shot I would ask whomever hit it, "What club is that? Explain some of the tech? How did it feel?" My favorite question was, "Game Changed?" My 15 minutes were over, or so I thought and I handed her the mic and transmitter back. I don't know why I remember this next part, but it still makes me laugh. Now keep in mind how hot it was there..... I gave her everything back and she says, "Wow! This thing isn't all sweaty. This is awesome. Usually I need to wipe this down." Me being me, I replied, "It may be hot out here, but I'm probably the coolest person out here." Stupid, I know....
I took the next 20 minutes hitting balls when I could, but really just walking around talking to everyone else and checking out their gear. I wandered back over to the Cobra area where Jamie Lynn had asked me to go over to whoever had the mic and high-five them after their shot and say, "GAME CHANGED!" Before I knew it, it was lunch time!
After lunch we headed out to the 10th tee for our practice round. It was Marc, Christian, Jeremiah, Jamie Lynn and I. The sky looked ominous but Trout/WCHM said, "I think it'll blow through pretty quickly. It might even miss us." Jamie Lynn again asked if she could mic me up for a few holes and told me, "Just act how you normally would during a round of golf." My partner in crime Jeremiah said, "I still don't think this is the guy you want doing this." So I stepped up to the tee, driver in hand hoping that I wouldn't make an idiot of myself. If you're taking notes, this is the second time I was nervous. I took a swing and hit the ball harder than I've ever hit it in my life. I walked over to Jeremiah, camera still rolling and he asked, "Would you say that the club has changed your game." I replied, "Game change?! How about life changed?! Before we came over hear I went to a local orphanage and donated $5k because I felt so good. Not sure my wife will approve, but she's going to have to understand." Everyone else hit there shots as Jamie Lynn took video and I provided commentary. Not sure exactly what I said, so I'm looking forward to seeing the video. After everyone was in the fairway we drove out and the sky absolutely opened up. I'm generally not outside when a monsoon starts, so this was all very new to me. A few holes in and we were chased off the course by lightning. On the way back I gave Jeremiah a few scares as I opted to display my evasive driving techniques in a golf cart.
That night I sat in my room at the villa making sure everything was in order for the next day.
Round 1
Our first round match was Jeremiah and I vs Trout and Six4Three5. I honestly knew nothing about either of their games other than what I saw from Trout on the range and during our 2 practice holes. Jeremiah and I were told that it would be a tough match. I really went just thinking about what Jeremiah and I needed to do in order to play good golf....and half fun. I wasn't too worried about what either Marc or Jimmy's game was like because it wasn't something that I could control. To my surprise I wasn't nervous at all on the first tee. I was so zoned in that I didn't even notice anyone standing around, or the camera focused on me. I hit a great drive and away we went. By the time we got to my ball, the rest of the group had laid up. I checked the yardage and had 232 to the pin, and 210 to the front of the green. I pulled out my hybrid and figured the worst that would happen is I bail out into the waste area to the right of the green. I hit what everyone thought was a really good shot. When we got up to the green area my ball was no where to be found. We looked everywhere for that ball. After a couple of minutes we called no joy and I went back to the other side and hit my next shot.....right into the waste area. 3 shots later and I was finally on the green. I didn't need to put because I reached the limit. I picked up my ball and headed to the cart.....still looking around for my ball. We were down one after one. The second hole didn't start off much better as Jeremiah and I both hit our shots to the left. We opted for Jeremiah shot off the pine straw. I was able to get up on the green and 2 putt for bogey. But.....Marc and Jimmy both through darts and easily scored pars. Jeremiah and I didn't get upset though. We just went on, laughing and having fun golfing. Marc and Jimmy both joined in the fun and honestly, it was like playing a round of golf with a bunch of friends. We went 3 down after the third and then fought back to 2 down before finally losing steam and losing 4&3...I think....it could have been 5&4 for all I know. I do know that I was sad when the match was over because I was having way too much fun.
It was a great match with a lot of great memories. Marc and Jimmy, you guys really made that round more enjoyable than it should have been. You really were like Bubba and Dufner. Trout, just being Trout. Hitting the ball a mile and then doing nothing but sticking it close. All while having fun. Jimmy was like a surgeon and just cut the course to pieces. He'd casually walk to his shot. Measure it....hit it...I'd say, "Nice shot" and he's quietly say, "Thanks"....rinse, repeat. I know I said it earlier, but I've never had that much fun losing. I think the best part was every time we saw Morgan or JB riding up, Trout would say, "Oh sh!t....what did we do now?" The best was still when we played the first two holes of the back nine on the wrong format. We were all on the green or close to it and Marc, with the wave of a putter says, "Good, good, good, good?" JB applauded us for the decision and the rest of our match continued. My dad really did enjoy getting to watch both of you play and interact with you. He actually couldn't stop talking about you guys and how it didn't seem like we were even in a match against one another. Jeremiah and I were able to put a few good holes together, and even though we had no points to show for it we had a blast on the course breaking into song a few times.
Ok....time for lunch and some work now. I'll be back later to talk about Round 2.....or what will be know as "What Happened? Seth Happened".
I had no idea what to expect Friday morning. Paladin and I showed up around 8:45 to a see of THPers. We found our team and just kind of hung around taking it all in. I got a little concerned when Freddie started climb a ladder in a non-OSHA approved manner to take some amazing pictures. At 9a, Mike_G asked if we were ready to go get our gear. It took everything in me not to go running through those doors like a crazed mom when the doors open at Target on Black Friday.
Jeremiah and I walked and for once not much was really said...we just looked around and I started taking random pics.
[WITB]
[/WITB]
Seeing my name on a staff bag is a pretty tough moment to explain. I think all of us have at some point or another have dreamt of seeing this, I know I have. On Friday that dream came true. Sure, I could have always bought a bag and put my name on it, but this was different. Everything in that bag was custom fit for me and all because I came up with some silly tweet. I don't know....."surreal" is probably the best way to explain it.
[WITB]
The next 20 minutes were an absolute blur. We took pictures, met Jamie Lynn and found Cobra Corner on the range. I took the plastic off of all of my clubs and was just chomping at the bit the start hitting balls. First club I hit was the 7 iron. This was one of the few times all weekend I was really nervous. I had no idea what to expect when I hit the ball. I just wanted to make contact. I took my swing and ball exploded off the face and I turned to Jeremiah and said, "Did you see that?! That thing just jumped off the face!" The next 5 minutes were filled with me commenting on how amazing the clubs were. I was so excited I that I turned off the filter between my brain and mouth (yes.....I do have one). JL said she wanted to mic me up and Jeremiah said, "I don't know if he's really the person you want to have a microphone. Things might get a little crazy." We headed over to the waste area next to the range and she asked me to start talking about the clubs, clothing and shoes. I closed out the interview with "GAME CHANGED!" She then asked me to head back to the range and hit some shots and interact with the rest of the staff. My first shot with my driver can be summed up by my comment right after I hit it, "Boys and girls, that right there is how babies are made." Before I knew it I had turned into the Cobra hype-man. After hitting a shot I would ask whomever hit it, "What club is that? Explain some of the tech? How did it feel?" My favorite question was, "Game Changed?" My 15 minutes were over, or so I thought and I handed her the mic and transmitter back. I don't know why I remember this next part, but it still makes me laugh. Now keep in mind how hot it was there..... I gave her everything back and she says, "Wow! This thing isn't all sweaty. This is awesome. Usually I need to wipe this down." Me being me, I replied, "It may be hot out here, but I'm probably the coolest person out here." Stupid, I know....
I took the next 20 minutes hitting balls when I could, but really just walking around talking to everyone else and checking out their gear. I wandered back over to the Cobra area where Jamie Lynn had asked me to go over to whoever had the mic and high-five them after their shot and say, "GAME CHANGED!" Before I knew it, it was lunch time!
After lunch we headed out to the 10th tee for our practice round. It was Marc, Christian, Jeremiah, Jamie Lynn and I. The sky looked ominous but Trout/WCHM said, "I think it'll blow through pretty quickly. It might even miss us." Jamie Lynn again asked if she could mic me up for a few holes and told me, "Just act how you normally would during a round of golf." My partner in crime Jeremiah said, "I still don't think this is the guy you want doing this." So I stepped up to the tee, driver in hand hoping that I wouldn't make an idiot of myself. If you're taking notes, this is the second time I was nervous. I took a swing and hit the ball harder than I've ever hit it in my life. I walked over to Jeremiah, camera still rolling and he asked, "Would you say that the club has changed your game." I replied, "Game change?! How about life changed?! Before we came over hear I went to a local orphanage and donated $5k because I felt so good. Not sure my wife will approve, but she's going to have to understand." Everyone else hit there shots as Jamie Lynn took video and I provided commentary. Not sure exactly what I said, so I'm looking forward to seeing the video. After everyone was in the fairway we drove out and the sky absolutely opened up. I'm generally not outside when a monsoon starts, so this was all very new to me. A few holes in and we were chased off the course by lightning. On the way back I gave Jeremiah a few scares as I opted to display my evasive driving techniques in a golf cart.
That night I sat in my room at the villa making sure everything was in order for the next day.
Round 1
Our first round match was Jeremiah and I vs Trout and Six4Three5. I honestly knew nothing about either of their games other than what I saw from Trout on the range and during our 2 practice holes. Jeremiah and I were told that it would be a tough match. I really went just thinking about what Jeremiah and I needed to do in order to play good golf....and half fun. I wasn't too worried about what either Marc or Jimmy's game was like because it wasn't something that I could control. To my surprise I wasn't nervous at all on the first tee. I was so zoned in that I didn't even notice anyone standing around, or the camera focused on me. I hit a great drive and away we went. By the time we got to my ball, the rest of the group had laid up. I checked the yardage and had 232 to the pin, and 210 to the front of the green. I pulled out my hybrid and figured the worst that would happen is I bail out into the waste area to the right of the green. I hit what everyone thought was a really good shot. When we got up to the green area my ball was no where to be found. We looked everywhere for that ball. After a couple of minutes we called no joy and I went back to the other side and hit my next shot.....right into the waste area. 3 shots later and I was finally on the green. I didn't need to put because I reached the limit. I picked up my ball and headed to the cart.....still looking around for my ball. We were down one after one. The second hole didn't start off much better as Jeremiah and I both hit our shots to the left. We opted for Jeremiah shot off the pine straw. I was able to get up on the green and 2 putt for bogey. But.....Marc and Jimmy both through darts and easily scored pars. Jeremiah and I didn't get upset though. We just went on, laughing and having fun golfing. Marc and Jimmy both joined in the fun and honestly, it was like playing a round of golf with a bunch of friends. We went 3 down after the third and then fought back to 2 down before finally losing steam and losing 4&3...I think....it could have been 5&4 for all I know. I do know that I was sad when the match was over because I was having way too much fun.
It was a great match with a lot of great memories. Marc and Jimmy, you guys really made that round more enjoyable than it should have been. You really were like Bubba and Dufner. Trout, just being Trout. Hitting the ball a mile and then doing nothing but sticking it close. All while having fun. Jimmy was like a surgeon and just cut the course to pieces. He'd casually walk to his shot. Measure it....hit it...I'd say, "Nice shot" and he's quietly say, "Thanks"....rinse, repeat. I know I said it earlier, but I've never had that much fun losing. I think the best part was every time we saw Morgan or JB riding up, Trout would say, "Oh sh!t....what did we do now?" The best was still when we played the first two holes of the back nine on the wrong format. We were all on the green or close to it and Marc, with the wave of a putter says, "Good, good, good, good?" JB applauded us for the decision and the rest of our match continued. My dad really did enjoy getting to watch both of you play and interact with you. He actually couldn't stop talking about you guys and how it didn't seem like we were even in a match against one another. Jeremiah and I were able to put a few good holes together, and even though we had no points to show for it we had a blast on the course breaking into song a few times.
Ok....time for lunch and some work now. I'll be back later to talk about Round 2.....or what will be know as "What Happened? Seth Happened".
DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
I didnt need to read it before thanking it. That was a thank you for how awesome you were at the event. It was really something awesome to see. And then I read it and it was still awesome and wished I could thank it twice.
gr8dryv
Big Boned
JMAN, Great hat and words to live by coming out of the weekend. I only wish the editor of this book had caught the obvious spelling mistake in the title before it went to print and before I waited in line to meet Ace for him to sign it.
DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
JMAN, Great hat and words to live by coming out of the weekend. I only wish the editor of this book had caught the obvious spelling mistake in the title before it went to print and before I waited in line to meet Ace for him to sign it.
Dean no matter how it ended playing this round with you WAS the highlight of my Morgan Cup experience
Recap - Part 3
Recap - Part 3
Part 1: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...4-Morgan-Cup&p=3192488&viewfull=1#post3192488
Part 2: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...4-Morgan-Cup&p=3193836&viewfull=1#post3193836
Strategy:
I guess the other thing I want to talk about before actually discussing the weekend would be our strategy concerning pairings and orders. I had never thought about just how many ways you can group eight guys together, particularly when you try to establish pairings and rank them one through four in an order, having no idea what methodology your opponents might use. This was very much something I overthought, but it was one of the few things beyond my own journey I could really dwell on.
As far as team pairings were concerned, the one thing I knew I wanted to do was to keep the groups together for both of the Saturday rounds. Given the formats of Shamble/Pinehurst in the morning and straight Alt Shot in the afternoon, it seemed to me at least that trying to find a slight improvement (if one existed) to each pairs combined skills was outweighed by the comfort level of playing with the same guy morning and afternoon. I came to this conclusion in February, and after I met Mojo, GolferBest, and Adam, I told my group in March who they would be paired with (not knowing who the opponents would be and what order they would be playing) so that they could develop a bond with that guy if they chose to.
Nate/John – First of all, I would like to establish that these two fine players and men asked me to pair them together. As I thought about pros/cons of that idea, I decided that there were very few draws that these two could not handle, and that even with splitting them up, I was by no means guaranteed two wins per round. I think knowing that they were playing together really drove both of these guys through their improvement journeys.
Adam/Jeremiah – The day I met these two guys, I walked up to Jeremiah on the range and told him that I wanted him to think about that round as a trial pairing. Before we left the first hole…Gasoline and Matches had been established. As I told the rest of the team, this pairing was perfect both for the games they both played, and the fun they shared, but also for the fact that they were better together than they were separate. This was an absolute no-brainer, and they played well, just ran into buzzsaws.
Trevor/Johnny – These two also had their own nickname, which was Fred and Barney. Having played with Johnny in February, the reason I thought these two were so great together was that I felt like if Trevor (who improved so much on his game) hit a rough patch, Johnny could keep it in play and help get him back in the moment. I’m not sure if that psychology was ever needed, but they played terrific together. These two bonded immediately, to the point that Fred, I mean Trevor, flew to Memphis and drove all the way to True Blue with Johnny for the event.
Steven/Donne – Honestly, my thoughts here were several. One, I wanted this pairing so that neither one of us would have quite as much pressure on us. This is a big stage for those of us who don’t play tournament golf, and I thought we could play better and looser together with very little expectation that if we had paired each of us with a stronger teammate. Two, as the teams two highest handicappers, I felt this move allowed our other three teams to be a bit stronger. Three, similar to Trevor and Johnny, I felt like I could help Steven stay even if he hit a rough patch.
Honestly, sitting here a week later, I would change absolutely nothing about these teams. Every strategic decision a captain could make was severely outweighed by the luck of the draw. We got some good draws, we got some tough draws, at the end of the day, it didn’t matter…Team Dot Com was too dominant.
As far as singles were concerned, again, I talked myself in circles. Would other captains go low to high, or high to low, or strong on the ends, or strong in the middle? I ended up hedging my bets putting John first and Nate last. As I look at what the other captains did, there were clearly different strategies, and again, it might as well have been a 40 man blind draw as much good as the “strategizing” was concerned…but man were those discussions fun.
Sponsor/Fitting:
Before I talk about the actual days of the event, I want to talk specifically about my sponsor. While there were five terrific main sponsors (as well as multiple clothing, shoe, or putter sponsors) who all brought something very different to the table, my dream scenario was to be leading Team Hackers as a Callaway player.
Over the previous 12-18 months, I had bought into what Callaway was doing as a company and what the ZooCrew concept was all about. In 2013, I had gone piece by piece and put my own money into the ever improving equipment that Callaway was generating. By midsummer, I had 14 Callaway and Odyssey clubs. This was in part because their gear was so good, but also backing up my support of the approach…having folks at a level of a Harry Arnett interact with a double-digit handicapper, and having folks like Hashtag Chad, Rhiona, Ethan, Johnny, Scotty, Austin, Doc, Finley, and many more available to answer whatever question could come to mind. When I saw what that crew did for (not to) our Grandaddy crew, it solidified and increased my respect for them.
Even after having my dream scenario realized, I knew I needed to be a leader for them, among the other Callaway staffers. My nightmare was not doing what they needed me to do (see post #1) and have it in any way damage the THP/Callaway relationship. There was no way I was doing that, and I think the eight of us that ended up on “Team Callaway” did a fantastic job representing the chevron.
In turn, Callaway couldn’t have been better to the eight of us. From the handwritten note from Chad early on, to the full blown catalog we were offered for equipment selections, to the teases and shoutouts on their broadly viewed media productions, to the incredible scripting of clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and hats, to the surprises of Staff Sponsor Day, everything they did reminded me that we were as important as any player under their umbrella. To finally be able to meet Chad and have him with us down there for a couple of days was the absolute icing on the cake. I’ll admit, I was kind of nervous about meeting an internet celebrity of his status, but what a nice guy, and an amazing representative of everything Callaway is trying to accomplish.
For the sake of completeness, particularly when Callaway opened the whole incredible catalog of options to us, I knew I needed to get professional help in making those decisions. I was determined to get the best brand specific fitting I could find. Callaway offers Callaway Performance Centers around the country, and I knew from past participants and my fellow staffers this year that these facilities were exactly what I wanted for this experience. However, short of flying to Carlsbad to the ECPC, there was one location that was my dream destination for this...the Annika Academy.
I have already written up the fitting experience and for sake of brevity (stop laughing) I have attached the link below. I would have been remiss if I had not mentioned it here because even though it was an unofficial part of my Morgan Cup experience, it was a huge part, and Dave Wheeler and the staff at the Annika Academy were incredible and deserve much of my appreciation.
http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Adwillingham&p=3040946&viewfull=1#post3040946
More to come...
Recap - Part 3
Part 1: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...4-Morgan-Cup&p=3192488&viewfull=1#post3192488
Part 2: http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...4-Morgan-Cup&p=3193836&viewfull=1#post3193836
Strategy:
I guess the other thing I want to talk about before actually discussing the weekend would be our strategy concerning pairings and orders. I had never thought about just how many ways you can group eight guys together, particularly when you try to establish pairings and rank them one through four in an order, having no idea what methodology your opponents might use. This was very much something I overthought, but it was one of the few things beyond my own journey I could really dwell on.
As far as team pairings were concerned, the one thing I knew I wanted to do was to keep the groups together for both of the Saturday rounds. Given the formats of Shamble/Pinehurst in the morning and straight Alt Shot in the afternoon, it seemed to me at least that trying to find a slight improvement (if one existed) to each pairs combined skills was outweighed by the comfort level of playing with the same guy morning and afternoon. I came to this conclusion in February, and after I met Mojo, GolferBest, and Adam, I told my group in March who they would be paired with (not knowing who the opponents would be and what order they would be playing) so that they could develop a bond with that guy if they chose to.
Nate/John – First of all, I would like to establish that these two fine players and men asked me to pair them together. As I thought about pros/cons of that idea, I decided that there were very few draws that these two could not handle, and that even with splitting them up, I was by no means guaranteed two wins per round. I think knowing that they were playing together really drove both of these guys through their improvement journeys.
Adam/Jeremiah – The day I met these two guys, I walked up to Jeremiah on the range and told him that I wanted him to think about that round as a trial pairing. Before we left the first hole…Gasoline and Matches had been established. As I told the rest of the team, this pairing was perfect both for the games they both played, and the fun they shared, but also for the fact that they were better together than they were separate. This was an absolute no-brainer, and they played well, just ran into buzzsaws.
Trevor/Johnny – These two also had their own nickname, which was Fred and Barney. Having played with Johnny in February, the reason I thought these two were so great together was that I felt like if Trevor (who improved so much on his game) hit a rough patch, Johnny could keep it in play and help get him back in the moment. I’m not sure if that psychology was ever needed, but they played terrific together. These two bonded immediately, to the point that Fred, I mean Trevor, flew to Memphis and drove all the way to True Blue with Johnny for the event.
Steven/Donne – Honestly, my thoughts here were several. One, I wanted this pairing so that neither one of us would have quite as much pressure on us. This is a big stage for those of us who don’t play tournament golf, and I thought we could play better and looser together with very little expectation that if we had paired each of us with a stronger teammate. Two, as the teams two highest handicappers, I felt this move allowed our other three teams to be a bit stronger. Three, similar to Trevor and Johnny, I felt like I could help Steven stay even if he hit a rough patch.
Honestly, sitting here a week later, I would change absolutely nothing about these teams. Every strategic decision a captain could make was severely outweighed by the luck of the draw. We got some good draws, we got some tough draws, at the end of the day, it didn’t matter…Team Dot Com was too dominant.
As far as singles were concerned, again, I talked myself in circles. Would other captains go low to high, or high to low, or strong on the ends, or strong in the middle? I ended up hedging my bets putting John first and Nate last. As I look at what the other captains did, there were clearly different strategies, and again, it might as well have been a 40 man blind draw as much good as the “strategizing” was concerned…but man were those discussions fun.
Sponsor/Fitting:
Before I talk about the actual days of the event, I want to talk specifically about my sponsor. While there were five terrific main sponsors (as well as multiple clothing, shoe, or putter sponsors) who all brought something very different to the table, my dream scenario was to be leading Team Hackers as a Callaway player.
Over the previous 12-18 months, I had bought into what Callaway was doing as a company and what the ZooCrew concept was all about. In 2013, I had gone piece by piece and put my own money into the ever improving equipment that Callaway was generating. By midsummer, I had 14 Callaway and Odyssey clubs. This was in part because their gear was so good, but also backing up my support of the approach…having folks at a level of a Harry Arnett interact with a double-digit handicapper, and having folks like Hashtag Chad, Rhiona, Ethan, Johnny, Scotty, Austin, Doc, Finley, and many more available to answer whatever question could come to mind. When I saw what that crew did for (not to) our Grandaddy crew, it solidified and increased my respect for them.
Even after having my dream scenario realized, I knew I needed to be a leader for them, among the other Callaway staffers. My nightmare was not doing what they needed me to do (see post #1) and have it in any way damage the THP/Callaway relationship. There was no way I was doing that, and I think the eight of us that ended up on “Team Callaway” did a fantastic job representing the chevron.
In turn, Callaway couldn’t have been better to the eight of us. From the handwritten note from Chad early on, to the full blown catalog we were offered for equipment selections, to the teases and shoutouts on their broadly viewed media productions, to the incredible scripting of clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and hats, to the surprises of Staff Sponsor Day, everything they did reminded me that we were as important as any player under their umbrella. To finally be able to meet Chad and have him with us down there for a couple of days was the absolute icing on the cake. I’ll admit, I was kind of nervous about meeting an internet celebrity of his status, but what a nice guy, and an amazing representative of everything Callaway is trying to accomplish.
For the sake of completeness, particularly when Callaway opened the whole incredible catalog of options to us, I knew I needed to get professional help in making those decisions. I was determined to get the best brand specific fitting I could find. Callaway offers Callaway Performance Centers around the country, and I knew from past participants and my fellow staffers this year that these facilities were exactly what I wanted for this experience. However, short of flying to Carlsbad to the ECPC, there was one location that was my dream destination for this...the Annika Academy.
I have already written up the fitting experience and for sake of brevity (stop laughing) I have attached the link below. I would have been remiss if I had not mentioned it here because even though it was an unofficial part of my Morgan Cup experience, it was a huge part, and Dave Wheeler and the staff at the Annika Academy were incredible and deserve much of my appreciation.
http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...Adwillingham&p=3040946&viewfull=1#post3040946
More to come...