Recap & Review - 2015 THP Legacy
mikedean441
6X HOF
Cace...be very proud of how you played down there. You gave my guys fits with how well you played and I sae you hit quite a few impressive tee balls. Well done
lightningbolt44
Well-known member
Cace you played lights out Saturday it really was a pleasure. Our Saturday morning Best ball with you and Erky was the most fun and intense back and forth match I have ever been a part of.
Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk
Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk
Great pictures so far, love looking through them all over and over!!!
Dave Alvarado
New member
DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
Haha I am slightly kidding but I was really rooting for everyone this weekend. I wanted everyone to play well.Dangit cap!
:angel:
- Moderator
- #61
Yep.
Bridgestone Golf. Wilson Golf. KBS Shafts. Lamkin Grips. Un-freaking-believable amount of awesomeness - Seen first hand. Hilarious how quickly lightweight stand bags turned into heavy monsters with all the keepsakes in them. Many, MANY kudos to those companies for providing the tools with which to go to battle.
And THP. The nucleus. The creator. Making it rain awesomeness once again.
Dave Alvarado
New member
It's ok, Mike was giving me plenty of encouragement too. You guys were both total class acts on the course rooting for everybody to play well.
mikedean441
6X HOF
It was really easy to do, like I said in my speech the quality of golf I saw played this past weekend was 2nd to none based on any event Ive ever played in thats for sure
Nebgolfer
Active member
Great recaps so far, guys. Thanks for taking the time to put words and emotions out there for all of us to read. Really is one of my favorite parts of events to see how they impact each person so deeply, and so differently.
Great stuff so far. And man those pictures and the story behind them of Cace and Curtis are so cool I almost want to frame one myself. Just awesome.
Got through the recaps up to this point. What a great event. I can really hear the passion and fun that was had through these recaps.
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DevRickus
The Dirty Jerz
I don’t even know where to start. Do I start clear back in January when I was among the first two participants picked? Do I start when I started taking lessons? The amount of evaluation done back in March to determine how to most efficiently improve? I could write about all of that stuff, but it wouldn’t fit on a page.
I’m going to start with the KC invitational. I was there, it was hot, cart path only, something that has been common in the midwest recently. I shot a personal best on Sunday after the KC Invitational. I played a league round after that, and then did not play again until practice rounds this past Thursday. I will tell you, that the burnout can be real. I was definitely feeling like it was a grind. I had missed a lot of time with my family due to work, and then using my free time to work on short game.
And that brings us to last Monday, my wife and I arrive in Myrtle Beach, and spend 3 days just relaxing. We got an umbrella on the beach on Tuesday. I never would have imagined I could sit on a beach for 5-6 hours, but I did, and the time just flew by. I had close to no data service, so I wasn’t checking THP much. I just emptied my head of all the stresses of the world, including golf.
So then we arrive Thursday AM for practice rounds. It was a tad bit stressful getting there, but once we got there, I got settled in. Played my practice round with Curtis (ArmyGolf). He struggled. 20 hours of travel will do that to a person. I nearly matched my personal best from KC just a couple weeks earlier. Then played caledonia in the afternoon with Patrick (lynchburg). I don’t remember what we shot, there were a lot of laughs, at one point, we decided we needed to be ultra aggressive......which never paid off in our match against Shakey and Bolt. Thursday night, there was pizza and some discussions.
Friday, gear day. It’s definitely strange to see so many new bags full of new equipment and other goodies. It’s just so much stuff! After pictures, looking through it all, organizing the bag and whatnot, I hit irons, some driver, wedges. It was so hard to process all of this new stuff. Where are the misses with this new equipment? What are the distances? These wedges feel different? Duffy helped me out on the flightscope with the driver. I honestly didn’t like how I was hitting it. But then came the 9 hole practice round. I think I played with Curtis again. Man, I feel awful now, because I’m having a hard time remembering who I played with Thursday and Friday. Anyways, first tee shot, I recall hitting a pretty good drive. So all those ‘new equipment’ jitters were pretty much out the door at that point. Dinner that night, pairings. Nothing like hearing your name called for the first match.
Saturday morning rolls around. It’s me and ArmyGolf vs Jed and Kevin in 4 ball (or 2 man best ball, or whatever you wish to call it). I played well. I stumbled a few places, but thankfully, Curtis was right there to pick up for me. We were 4 up at some point. It was either at the turn or just after, maybe just before. Curtis and I discussed that with that kind of lead, pars should be ok. But then Jed went into beast mode, as did Kevin. I think they had a combined 4 or 5 birdies on the back? Next thing you know, it’s all square after 16. My mind was racing, mostly with negative thoughts, missed putts, perhaps less than stellar pitches. I needed to clear my mind before teeing off. I’m sure everyone looking at me may have thought I was mad. I wasn’t mad, I was just trying to empty the bad thoughts from my head, mostly by thinking of a goofy picture of my kid that my parents had sent me a few nights earlier.
So hole 17, I couldn’t tell you what I did or what I hit. What I can tell you was that I made what I believe was a 4-8 footer for par, which I believe netted to birdie, to go 1 up. 18, same thing. I think I hit a 5 iron off the tee maybe. Then took what I believe was an 8 iron into the green. I pulled it a tug, and was actually quite concerned about it carrying the water. But I safely got on, 20-25 feet maybe? Jed puts it to like, 3 feet or something very tight. I got a stroke the hole, so I knew I needed to 2 putt for net bird to halve the hole and win 1 up. I did myself zero favors on the first putt, leaving it 5 feet short. Nerves are real at this point. But I stuck with my putting routine, and it took some of the shake out of my hands, rolled in for par/net bird. First match won.
Alt shot in the PM at Caledonia. What a gorgeous course, friendly staff. I’m not a fan of walking courses, but I could walk that course, just to have more time to absorb all of the great scenery and landscaping. There isn’t much more I can say about it the PM round. Lynchburg and I both struggled mightily. Dave and Fairband (also Dave) actually proved to be a pretty potent combo. They played well, and they deserved to win the match.
Saturday night, a discussion on singles order prior to dinner. Then dinner. I was mentally exhausted from the day. Ice cream happened that night (Thanks Mike!), and just sort of sat and chilled. I’m fairly certain I didn’t say much, because I was incredibly tired. But I slept very well that night, came out refreshed. Mike had discussed how my tempo had increased during the Alt shot round, so I got to the range to try and get back my tempo. Things weren’t perfect, but at least I was hitting a ball somewhere within 40 yards of my target lines. I also spent some time on the greens, since Mike told us we sucked at putting, or something like that. I believe his exact words were something like “I saw so many missed 4 and 5 footers, we putted awful as a team. Tomorrow, spend time on the practice green. You have to get in the gimme circle more.” I could be off, but that’s roughly how it went.
So Sunday AM, singles. I’m playing against Golf4Life (Brett). What everyone says about him is true. He is super chill. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to compete against. I recall some fairly random conversations. He may be the master of turning off the mental game focus, and and then refocusing when it is his turn to hit. My first 6 holes or so were a struggle. I had to make about a 25 footer for par to halve a hole and stop the bleeding. And here is one of the lighter moments of the match. 6th hole, I had played awful all week. There is a nice big fairway out there, and for reasons I can’t understand, I hit right into the junk everytime. So, that’s what I did....again. I hit a provisional, I’m pretty sure I’m ok with the provisional. Brett also hits right, into the junk. Before he hits his provisional, I’m really not liking this hole. I mean, I had yet to even sniff par on it. I offered right there on the tee box to halve it with him. He did think about it, but ultimately declined. We proceeded to have I believe a combined 15 strokes on the hole, and I somehow won with a triple. I don’t believe I lost any holes after that. I was 3 down pretty early, and things weren’t looking good. I pulled it back to all square on hole 10. I think we halved hole 11, and I won holes 12, 13, and 14. So now I’m 3 up with 4 to play. I hit an ok drive, nothing great, but it was fairway. I then layup with a 4 iron, and then hit the green in regulation with a 5 iron. Eventually, I was standing over a 2ish foot putt to win the match, but alas, Ricky was there, and informed us the tournament was over, and that Team Heritage had won. We picked up our balls, shook hands, and headed in for the celebration.
Pictures were taken, speeches were made, champagne flowed. Here is my PSA of the post. Champagne kind of burns when it gets in your eyes. Relaxation at last. Good meal, and seriously, those cookies......I don’t know why, but they seemed so perfect on that back porch. Drinks were had, war stories shared, a lot of laughter.
And I’m going to end this first part here. We will call this the ‘chronology of events’ part of my recap. Up next, the people who were there.
~Rock
I’m going to start with the KC invitational. I was there, it was hot, cart path only, something that has been common in the midwest recently. I shot a personal best on Sunday after the KC Invitational. I played a league round after that, and then did not play again until practice rounds this past Thursday. I will tell you, that the burnout can be real. I was definitely feeling like it was a grind. I had missed a lot of time with my family due to work, and then using my free time to work on short game.
And that brings us to last Monday, my wife and I arrive in Myrtle Beach, and spend 3 days just relaxing. We got an umbrella on the beach on Tuesday. I never would have imagined I could sit on a beach for 5-6 hours, but I did, and the time just flew by. I had close to no data service, so I wasn’t checking THP much. I just emptied my head of all the stresses of the world, including golf.
So then we arrive Thursday AM for practice rounds. It was a tad bit stressful getting there, but once we got there, I got settled in. Played my practice round with Curtis (ArmyGolf). He struggled. 20 hours of travel will do that to a person. I nearly matched my personal best from KC just a couple weeks earlier. Then played caledonia in the afternoon with Patrick (lynchburg). I don’t remember what we shot, there were a lot of laughs, at one point, we decided we needed to be ultra aggressive......which never paid off in our match against Shakey and Bolt. Thursday night, there was pizza and some discussions.
Friday, gear day. It’s definitely strange to see so many new bags full of new equipment and other goodies. It’s just so much stuff! After pictures, looking through it all, organizing the bag and whatnot, I hit irons, some driver, wedges. It was so hard to process all of this new stuff. Where are the misses with this new equipment? What are the distances? These wedges feel different? Duffy helped me out on the flightscope with the driver. I honestly didn’t like how I was hitting it. But then came the 9 hole practice round. I think I played with Curtis again. Man, I feel awful now, because I’m having a hard time remembering who I played with Thursday and Friday. Anyways, first tee shot, I recall hitting a pretty good drive. So all those ‘new equipment’ jitters were pretty much out the door at that point. Dinner that night, pairings. Nothing like hearing your name called for the first match.
Saturday morning rolls around. It’s me and ArmyGolf vs Jed and Kevin in 4 ball (or 2 man best ball, or whatever you wish to call it). I played well. I stumbled a few places, but thankfully, Curtis was right there to pick up for me. We were 4 up at some point. It was either at the turn or just after, maybe just before. Curtis and I discussed that with that kind of lead, pars should be ok. But then Jed went into beast mode, as did Kevin. I think they had a combined 4 or 5 birdies on the back? Next thing you know, it’s all square after 16. My mind was racing, mostly with negative thoughts, missed putts, perhaps less than stellar pitches. I needed to clear my mind before teeing off. I’m sure everyone looking at me may have thought I was mad. I wasn’t mad, I was just trying to empty the bad thoughts from my head, mostly by thinking of a goofy picture of my kid that my parents had sent me a few nights earlier.
So hole 17, I couldn’t tell you what I did or what I hit. What I can tell you was that I made what I believe was a 4-8 footer for par, which I believe netted to birdie, to go 1 up. 18, same thing. I think I hit a 5 iron off the tee maybe. Then took what I believe was an 8 iron into the green. I pulled it a tug, and was actually quite concerned about it carrying the water. But I safely got on, 20-25 feet maybe? Jed puts it to like, 3 feet or something very tight. I got a stroke the hole, so I knew I needed to 2 putt for net bird to halve the hole and win 1 up. I did myself zero favors on the first putt, leaving it 5 feet short. Nerves are real at this point. But I stuck with my putting routine, and it took some of the shake out of my hands, rolled in for par/net bird. First match won.
Alt shot in the PM at Caledonia. What a gorgeous course, friendly staff. I’m not a fan of walking courses, but I could walk that course, just to have more time to absorb all of the great scenery and landscaping. There isn’t much more I can say about it the PM round. Lynchburg and I both struggled mightily. Dave and Fairband (also Dave) actually proved to be a pretty potent combo. They played well, and they deserved to win the match.
Saturday night, a discussion on singles order prior to dinner. Then dinner. I was mentally exhausted from the day. Ice cream happened that night (Thanks Mike!), and just sort of sat and chilled. I’m fairly certain I didn’t say much, because I was incredibly tired. But I slept very well that night, came out refreshed. Mike had discussed how my tempo had increased during the Alt shot round, so I got to the range to try and get back my tempo. Things weren’t perfect, but at least I was hitting a ball somewhere within 40 yards of my target lines. I also spent some time on the greens, since Mike told us we sucked at putting, or something like that. I believe his exact words were something like “I saw so many missed 4 and 5 footers, we putted awful as a team. Tomorrow, spend time on the practice green. You have to get in the gimme circle more.” I could be off, but that’s roughly how it went.
So Sunday AM, singles. I’m playing against Golf4Life (Brett). What everyone says about him is true. He is super chill. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to compete against. I recall some fairly random conversations. He may be the master of turning off the mental game focus, and and then refocusing when it is his turn to hit. My first 6 holes or so were a struggle. I had to make about a 25 footer for par to halve a hole and stop the bleeding. And here is one of the lighter moments of the match. 6th hole, I had played awful all week. There is a nice big fairway out there, and for reasons I can’t understand, I hit right into the junk everytime. So, that’s what I did....again. I hit a provisional, I’m pretty sure I’m ok with the provisional. Brett also hits right, into the junk. Before he hits his provisional, I’m really not liking this hole. I mean, I had yet to even sniff par on it. I offered right there on the tee box to halve it with him. He did think about it, but ultimately declined. We proceeded to have I believe a combined 15 strokes on the hole, and I somehow won with a triple. I don’t believe I lost any holes after that. I was 3 down pretty early, and things weren’t looking good. I pulled it back to all square on hole 10. I think we halved hole 11, and I won holes 12, 13, and 14. So now I’m 3 up with 4 to play. I hit an ok drive, nothing great, but it was fairway. I then layup with a 4 iron, and then hit the green in regulation with a 5 iron. Eventually, I was standing over a 2ish foot putt to win the match, but alas, Ricky was there, and informed us the tournament was over, and that Team Heritage had won. We picked up our balls, shook hands, and headed in for the celebration.
Pictures were taken, speeches were made, champagne flowed. Here is my PSA of the post. Champagne kind of burns when it gets in your eyes. Relaxation at last. Good meal, and seriously, those cookies......I don’t know why, but they seemed so perfect on that back porch. Drinks were had, war stories shared, a lot of laughter.
And I’m going to end this first part here. We will call this the ‘chronology of events’ part of my recap. Up next, the people who were there.
~Rock
kc720
Active member
Thoroughly enjoyed the video and all the recaps! What a weekend! Sponsors, partcipants, captains, Danathan, JB and Morgan (all the work she did prior) all knocked it out of the park!
lightningbolt44
Well-known member
I have some video on my phone that I will post when I get home of the walk
Posted just for Dev using Tapatalk
mikedean441
6X HOF
It may be a little bumpy but I tried to drive crazy slow in the cart to capture it
Martsy
New member
I’m really not a sappy guy. I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve teared up since I’ve been in high school and still have fingers left. Once when my grandmother died, once when my kids were born, once watching Marley and Me (I did), and once when I started thinking about what I was going write as a recap while driving home yesterday… I’m hoping I can type this up without that issue so I still keep it on one hand. But also I’m not going to hold anything back and give you it straight from the heart if you care to read my novel… this is likely going to be incredibly long, and don’t expect many to read it all, but I’m going to let it pour out. No going back and editing either.
Firstly, the build-up. I did not expect to ever get into this event. I’ve ridden a road of blessedness since finding this site back in early 2013, getting into the Ocean City Bridgestone invitational last year, having an amazing partner for that that helped win that invitational and giving me a chance to go PGA National last October for the championship. Then I got into one of the epic events of all time that I truly wanted to go to more than anything in the very first King event, only to break my wrist and have to back out. It was gut-wrenching and figured with all the dedicated members who try to get into all these events that I missed my shot and I’d never see it again…and then 9 months later getting that PM from JB saying congratulations. My mind was blown. (Oh, and subsequently I win a US Open contest on THP to boot…like I said, blessed).
The moment I got that PM, I was determined to not waste that opportunity and would prepare for this event like I was in Rocky IV and just saw Apollo go down. I am not a good golfer…I’ve really only been playing for about as long as I’ve joined THP, and in addition to that freaky broken wrist, been dealing with chronic back problems for the last 20 years. I had three things to focus on for the next 6 months. One, to stay healthy. Two, to get myself ready to play more golf in a 4 day window than I’ve ever played before. And lastly, put myself in a position to compete and give my team a chance to win and not let me teammates down. I signed up for gym membership a week later, lost some weight, strengthened my back, hit the range 3-4 times a week, joined a men’s association to play more competition golf, and probably played at least 2 rounds a week for the last 4 months leading up once the weather warmed up. Regardless of what the end result was, I was not going to let lack of preparation ever be an excuse.
Fast forward to that Wednesday prior to the event. I live about 360 miles away from Myrtle, so it was not a bad trip down at all. It went even quicker because my mind could not stop racing about what was to come. But that last 60 miles or so once I got off 95 took forever and I couldn’t wait to meet up with my teammate and some of the other guys on Team Heritage for dinner that night. When I got there we met at the driving range at TB, Bret was already drenched (how’s the kick-starter going for #BretsNonCottonShirt?), and while I had met a few of them at previous events, meeting up with the guys after 6 months of forum posts and a couple con calls, it was surreal to all be together. But I felt an immediate bond. Dinner that night was subdued, but a good welcome to Myrtle night meeting a bunch of the other team as well (more on that later), and was nice to see JB and Dan come too. The event in my mind had officially launched!
Thursday morning…practice rounds! Played the morning with Dave (Fairband), Kevin (T2Gr, and Jed (JHoeffer99) and felt really good. I had actually played events with Kevin and Jed previously, but got to know them so well in that 4 hours at True Blue. Dave…man it was a blast all week. From similar demeanors on the course, to ridiculous matching iron distances, to sharing the kiddie room while Bret lounged in the master suite…I had a blast. You’d be a reason to actually visit Minnesota, and I’m sure we haven’t played our last round of golf together yet. Kevin, my man…got to be honest with you. I owe a large part of my prep to you. Seeing your example set me off on my prep, and I was not going to let you down specifically. That is 100% not "bulllllllllsh*t". And Jed man…you are just an awesome guy and just praying I get a chance to play and hand out more if/when I move to Tampa at the end of the year. You should get part of the commission, because you’re definitely influencing my wanting to move there.
Thursday afternoon at Caledonia…what a drive up. No need to paint that picture with the ones up above from Shakey, but wow. This time paired with Bret, and playing with Dave Alvarado and Fairband (Dave and Dave, the short grass twins). Bret is the nicest guy I’ve ever met (no shock he’s originally from Canada), and the most violent swing I’ve ever seen. It’s obvious he stores it all up and releases on the tee box. Bret, anytime you’re in the area look me up. I promise to get you giggling like a little kid with a gigantor roar. AV…man, you may have the best story here. Coming from where you were, to where you ended up…don’t let this be the end to your legacy, but the beginning. I’m so proud of you man. And to the Heritage guys…we played an alt shot competition with these guys that practice round, and got to experience first-hand the nightmare these two guys posed on that course.
Friday… the best Christmas morning since I got my NES! Every aspect of the equipment exceeded my expectation. While I was committed to playing the gear at least through the year, that won’t even be a problem because the setup is legit and going to be played well beyond that. I have and will continue to post in the individual equipment threads, but the two things I still couldn’t get out of my mind were how much I loved the irons and putter…and to be perfectly blunt and honest, those were the two aspects of the entire bag I probably was least excited about going in. The 9 holes were fun as well, played again with Fairband, which was really nice getting distance dialed in since we seemed to be no more than a yard apart on every iron. Dinner that night… getting to meet Corey from Bridgestone and Duffy from Wilson…you could not have asked for two better ambassadors to this event. Corey, thanks for taking the time for chatting with us internet golfers and really giving me insight into the business that I had no idea about. I could have talked your ear off for hours. Duffy, while I did not play your gear this weekend…what an impression. Thank you so much for your generosity. I hope this is not the last time I get to meet you both!
Saturday… the nerves are real. I think I was up at 4:30am and just sat in the living room making sure and sure again that my bag was set and that I was ready. First match, Bret and myself against GreggDrews and Rambler. It started ominously enough. I pull my drive left into the woods (had to drop), and Bret topped his ball about 50 yards out…uhoh. But man, we lost the hole pretty easily and 6 months ago I think I might have already lost at that point. But Bret and I knew what we had prepared for and knew we could do better, and I think we preceded to win the next 6 out of 8 holes. Bret was a machine after that first hole. I think from 2-5, we net birdied those 4 holes. And we had to, as I think Gregg and Jeremy par’d them. I can’t say enough of our opponents. Great guys, and despite getting the short end of what had to be one of Bret’s best rounds ever, battled back and never gave up. Unfortunately, I think we might have unleashed a beast hearing how Gregg and Jeremy stepped it up even another notch in alt shot later! One of my favorite rounds ever guys, thanks so much!
Saturday afternoon – Caledonia. Playing with my man Cace (Orange Hog) against Tom (Shakey) and Ron (LightningBolt44) in alt shot. Thankfully Cace took the bullet and tee’d off first. Understandably, a little off on that first tee into the right trees, but the golf gods were with us and the ball kicked out to the fairway. I hit my best shot of that round to about 5 feet and we won the first, and from that point on it was the Cace show. I didn’t see him play Thursday, but heard it was pretty bad…to see how this guy performed over the weekend when it mattered…simply amazing. Way to work through it and come up clutch brother! Tom and Ron…what can I say? There aren’t two better dudes on this forum. Tom, I know your knee was killing you, but what an effort…and I think you definitely got your retribution the next day. Ron…that was definitely not our last round together this year. You’ve got an open invite up here in Richmond, and I will jump in the car any time to head down to NC. You are epitome of class and love playing with you. As far as the match…it was a battle, and I know Dev would kill me for saying it, but man was I hoping that putt on 16 lipped in instead of out, and then we lost 17 just so we could have gone into 18. That matched deserved it. But I know we were also playing on borrowed time, so I am glad from that standpoint that it ended where it did lol.
Sunday singles…never played in a match with stakes and a setting like this. This was really going to be a test for me, playing against my fellow Virginian opponent Patrick (Lynchburg14). The guy is about as good as condition as anyone out there, and I heard he played some amazing holes the day prior…so I knew I had my work cut out for me. Before I selfishly talk about my match, I need to back up to the other singles match in our foursome. Fairband and Shakey, two guys I had already played with previously (and in Dave’s case, multiple time that week). Firstly, Dave played his best round of the week. This guy is a 15 or 16 handicap, and I think he hit one bad ball the entire round. I think if he drew any other opponent on Sunday he had a great chance to win. Unfortunately, he ran into the biggest buzzsaw of the week as far as I saw. Tom played ridiculously, and if I hadn’t seen him play the day before I would have been a little sour on his 11 handicap…but no sandbagging going on here, the guy just played the best round of his life. +1 after 14. It was alt shot the day before but I think Tom would agree he was probably playing +15 the day before…what a turnaround. The guy simply brought it and while I was sad we lost that match, I was glad to have seen it.
To be continued in next posts...this is turning into a college thesis, sorry guys.
Firstly, the build-up. I did not expect to ever get into this event. I’ve ridden a road of blessedness since finding this site back in early 2013, getting into the Ocean City Bridgestone invitational last year, having an amazing partner for that that helped win that invitational and giving me a chance to go PGA National last October for the championship. Then I got into one of the epic events of all time that I truly wanted to go to more than anything in the very first King event, only to break my wrist and have to back out. It was gut-wrenching and figured with all the dedicated members who try to get into all these events that I missed my shot and I’d never see it again…and then 9 months later getting that PM from JB saying congratulations. My mind was blown. (Oh, and subsequently I win a US Open contest on THP to boot…like I said, blessed).
The moment I got that PM, I was determined to not waste that opportunity and would prepare for this event like I was in Rocky IV and just saw Apollo go down. I am not a good golfer…I’ve really only been playing for about as long as I’ve joined THP, and in addition to that freaky broken wrist, been dealing with chronic back problems for the last 20 years. I had three things to focus on for the next 6 months. One, to stay healthy. Two, to get myself ready to play more golf in a 4 day window than I’ve ever played before. And lastly, put myself in a position to compete and give my team a chance to win and not let me teammates down. I signed up for gym membership a week later, lost some weight, strengthened my back, hit the range 3-4 times a week, joined a men’s association to play more competition golf, and probably played at least 2 rounds a week for the last 4 months leading up once the weather warmed up. Regardless of what the end result was, I was not going to let lack of preparation ever be an excuse.
Fast forward to that Wednesday prior to the event. I live about 360 miles away from Myrtle, so it was not a bad trip down at all. It went even quicker because my mind could not stop racing about what was to come. But that last 60 miles or so once I got off 95 took forever and I couldn’t wait to meet up with my teammate and some of the other guys on Team Heritage for dinner that night. When I got there we met at the driving range at TB, Bret was already drenched (how’s the kick-starter going for #BretsNonCottonShirt?), and while I had met a few of them at previous events, meeting up with the guys after 6 months of forum posts and a couple con calls, it was surreal to all be together. But I felt an immediate bond. Dinner that night was subdued, but a good welcome to Myrtle night meeting a bunch of the other team as well (more on that later), and was nice to see JB and Dan come too. The event in my mind had officially launched!
Thursday morning…practice rounds! Played the morning with Dave (Fairband), Kevin (T2Gr, and Jed (JHoeffer99) and felt really good. I had actually played events with Kevin and Jed previously, but got to know them so well in that 4 hours at True Blue. Dave…man it was a blast all week. From similar demeanors on the course, to ridiculous matching iron distances, to sharing the kiddie room while Bret lounged in the master suite…I had a blast. You’d be a reason to actually visit Minnesota, and I’m sure we haven’t played our last round of golf together yet. Kevin, my man…got to be honest with you. I owe a large part of my prep to you. Seeing your example set me off on my prep, and I was not going to let you down specifically. That is 100% not "bulllllllllsh*t". And Jed man…you are just an awesome guy and just praying I get a chance to play and hand out more if/when I move to Tampa at the end of the year. You should get part of the commission, because you’re definitely influencing my wanting to move there.
Thursday afternoon at Caledonia…what a drive up. No need to paint that picture with the ones up above from Shakey, but wow. This time paired with Bret, and playing with Dave Alvarado and Fairband (Dave and Dave, the short grass twins). Bret is the nicest guy I’ve ever met (no shock he’s originally from Canada), and the most violent swing I’ve ever seen. It’s obvious he stores it all up and releases on the tee box. Bret, anytime you’re in the area look me up. I promise to get you giggling like a little kid with a gigantor roar. AV…man, you may have the best story here. Coming from where you were, to where you ended up…don’t let this be the end to your legacy, but the beginning. I’m so proud of you man. And to the Heritage guys…we played an alt shot competition with these guys that practice round, and got to experience first-hand the nightmare these two guys posed on that course.
Friday… the best Christmas morning since I got my NES! Every aspect of the equipment exceeded my expectation. While I was committed to playing the gear at least through the year, that won’t even be a problem because the setup is legit and going to be played well beyond that. I have and will continue to post in the individual equipment threads, but the two things I still couldn’t get out of my mind were how much I loved the irons and putter…and to be perfectly blunt and honest, those were the two aspects of the entire bag I probably was least excited about going in. The 9 holes were fun as well, played again with Fairband, which was really nice getting distance dialed in since we seemed to be no more than a yard apart on every iron. Dinner that night… getting to meet Corey from Bridgestone and Duffy from Wilson…you could not have asked for two better ambassadors to this event. Corey, thanks for taking the time for chatting with us internet golfers and really giving me insight into the business that I had no idea about. I could have talked your ear off for hours. Duffy, while I did not play your gear this weekend…what an impression. Thank you so much for your generosity. I hope this is not the last time I get to meet you both!
Saturday… the nerves are real. I think I was up at 4:30am and just sat in the living room making sure and sure again that my bag was set and that I was ready. First match, Bret and myself against GreggDrews and Rambler. It started ominously enough. I pull my drive left into the woods (had to drop), and Bret topped his ball about 50 yards out…uhoh. But man, we lost the hole pretty easily and 6 months ago I think I might have already lost at that point. But Bret and I knew what we had prepared for and knew we could do better, and I think we preceded to win the next 6 out of 8 holes. Bret was a machine after that first hole. I think from 2-5, we net birdied those 4 holes. And we had to, as I think Gregg and Jeremy par’d them. I can’t say enough of our opponents. Great guys, and despite getting the short end of what had to be one of Bret’s best rounds ever, battled back and never gave up. Unfortunately, I think we might have unleashed a beast hearing how Gregg and Jeremy stepped it up even another notch in alt shot later! One of my favorite rounds ever guys, thanks so much!
Saturday afternoon – Caledonia. Playing with my man Cace (Orange Hog) against Tom (Shakey) and Ron (LightningBolt44) in alt shot. Thankfully Cace took the bullet and tee’d off first. Understandably, a little off on that first tee into the right trees, but the golf gods were with us and the ball kicked out to the fairway. I hit my best shot of that round to about 5 feet and we won the first, and from that point on it was the Cace show. I didn’t see him play Thursday, but heard it was pretty bad…to see how this guy performed over the weekend when it mattered…simply amazing. Way to work through it and come up clutch brother! Tom and Ron…what can I say? There aren’t two better dudes on this forum. Tom, I know your knee was killing you, but what an effort…and I think you definitely got your retribution the next day. Ron…that was definitely not our last round together this year. You’ve got an open invite up here in Richmond, and I will jump in the car any time to head down to NC. You are epitome of class and love playing with you. As far as the match…it was a battle, and I know Dev would kill me for saying it, but man was I hoping that putt on 16 lipped in instead of out, and then we lost 17 just so we could have gone into 18. That matched deserved it. But I know we were also playing on borrowed time, so I am glad from that standpoint that it ended where it did lol.
Sunday singles…never played in a match with stakes and a setting like this. This was really going to be a test for me, playing against my fellow Virginian opponent Patrick (Lynchburg14). The guy is about as good as condition as anyone out there, and I heard he played some amazing holes the day prior…so I knew I had my work cut out for me. Before I selfishly talk about my match, I need to back up to the other singles match in our foursome. Fairband and Shakey, two guys I had already played with previously (and in Dave’s case, multiple time that week). Firstly, Dave played his best round of the week. This guy is a 15 or 16 handicap, and I think he hit one bad ball the entire round. I think if he drew any other opponent on Sunday he had a great chance to win. Unfortunately, he ran into the biggest buzzsaw of the week as far as I saw. Tom played ridiculously, and if I hadn’t seen him play the day before I would have been a little sour on his 11 handicap…but no sandbagging going on here, the guy just played the best round of his life. +1 after 14. It was alt shot the day before but I think Tom would agree he was probably playing +15 the day before…what a turnaround. The guy simply brought it and while I was sad we lost that match, I was glad to have seen it.
To be continued in next posts...this is turning into a college thesis, sorry guys.
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Martsy
New member
part deux...
As far as my round…what a back and forth. I think the lead changed 6 times over 12 holes. It wasn’t until the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] until Patrick took a 2 hole lead on me with just a gut-wrenching one in a hundred 30 foot uphill putt where I thought I was going to possibly pick up a hole sitting on the green in 2, and ended up losing it. I was really trying not to follow the rounds in front of me because I want to focus on my game, and was anticipating that it would come down to our group, so I knew I was in trouble and needed to step it up. We both hit poor tee shots on the next hole, but I was in the fairway and after to leave myself a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] shot about 30 yards short over bunkers, and Patrick made an unbelievable recovery shot from the woods leaving himself the same. I was getting pop here though and needed to execute. I pulled out my 60 degree…a club I avoided all week because I was too nervous, but this was exactly the situation I got it for, and left myself about 15 feet past the hole for a 2 putt bogey, net par. Patrick went straight for the pin because he had to due to the pop, and was about a yard short of making the perfect chip, but left himself in the bunker and I ended up taking the hole…down 1 into short par 3 14…
The “Cookie hole”. I hit one of my best irons of the day, at the pin and just short on the fringe, but a slippery 15 foot downhill putt. Patrick was safely on the green but 40+feet out with lots of undulation. I was thinking 3 putt was a definite possibility…but the guy turned it up a notch on the green on the back 9, leaving himself about a 1 foot lag. I wasn’t planning on giving putts on the back 9 if the match was close…but I had to on this one, it was just such an amazing putt. I putted mine off, and while I’m not sure I could have done better, with the severe curved downhill lie…I left it about 5 feet past. At that point I probably was more nervous than any shot I’d taken all week, because I knew if I missed this and left myself down 2 with 4 to go, I was in serious trouble. Putt backswing was anything but straight, but the ball found its way in for par…and onto par 5 15[SUP]th[/SUP] hole.
Patrick killed his drive and put it in a better position than I’d seen anyone on that hole in any round all week. Coming off the adrenaline from that previous putt, I topped my drive and maybe got it out 50 yards. I just gave up my pop… Thankfully, my long irons were a highlight for the week and preceded to get on in 4 with 3 good irons shots, but left myself about as long a putt as I could have. Lynchburg had a little trouble after that amazing drive, and ended up leaving himself laying 4 in the sand, and frankly I thought I had this hole locked up. So of course, Patrick hits an amazing shot from the sand, hits the pin, and drops about 8 inches from the hole. In for bogey 6…If I didn’t see it, I would never have believed it. I needed to 2 putt to win, and unfortunately I probably made my worst lag of the week and left myself a 15 foot 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] putt, and ended up 3 putting for double bogey, net bogey. Still down 1 with 3 to go, but if I could just win or push 16, I had pops on 17 and 18, both holes I had played really well in our practice rounds.
It was at this point Ricky drove up and gave us the news…the match was over and we had to come in. I’m not proud of my reaction, but I was in another state and told him there was no possible way I was coming in, and I think Patrick was in the same euphoric state and we ended up putting our bags together and running to 16 par 3 by ourselves.
16[SUP]th[/SUP] tee, was playing 170ish if I recall, and will say I was a bit conflicted off the tee. Angry, yet happy, and definitely unsure what the right thing to do was. I didn’t want to ruin what was one of the best experiences of my life, and honestly I wasn’t’ sure what would ruin it. Not finishing a once in a lifetime match, or being disrespectful to the organization that sponsored the event. I wish I could say it was black and white…but it was not for me. Ricky came back to the teebox and I can’t tell you the amount of respect for this guy I have, and I asked him point blank what I should do. He understood, but he said he’d finish the hole and come in, so that’s what we did. So I tee’d off, hit a solid 6 or 5iron (a bit of a blur to me at this point) to the far right side of the green, and then Patrick continued his roll and hit his iron straight at the flag maybe 20 feet past. I hit my lag pretty well from where I was, but still left myself a 12 footer uphill for par. Patrick again hit a great putt (noticing a trend?) which I again had to give him for par. At this point Canadan was pulling up and it took every ounce of concentration I had to take this putt…but put it center of the cup for par as well, down 1 with 2 to go with pops on each…and there it ended as we headed to the clubhouse.
Patrick...it was an absolute pleasure, and to be continued at New Kent!
Now some notes to people I didn’t directly mention in my recap:
Firstly the OEMs – To Bridgestone, Wilson, KBS & Lamkin - amazing representation and beyond any expectation I ever had. I LOVE every aspect of my clubs, heads, shafts and grips. I love the swag, and I truly appreciate not only the knowledge imparted, but the camaraderie provided on Friday. Whatever the ROI is on this, know you have at a minimum one lifelong evangelist for the rest of my golfing days…
Eric (Erky) – glad we got to play that additional round afterwards. You’re the second incentive I have to move down to Tampa. Maybe you and Jed can share that commission. Loved sharing the experience with you brother and can't wait to get together again in the near future.
To the rest of team heritage that I didn’t play a round with – I thought we had the monopoly on Team Tradition for great guys, but how wrong I was. Great bunch of guys, all who I’d like to call my friends and will look to play you all again at a future event.
Mike Dean – I’m glad we got a chance to meet again and interact more than we did at PGA. You clearly meant everything to you team that Ricky did to ours, and it showed. Even though I was on the other team, your encouragement and congratulations was truly appreciated.
Dan (Canadan) – It was a pleasure to meet you, and I truly apologize for snapping at you on the course. I offer no defense other than the fact I was possessed at the time, and you didn’t deserve it. You are a class act, and selflessly came down at the last minute and made this event even more special with your sizable contribution.
JB – Firstly, thank you for everything. This event was truly special, and will be something I never forget for the rest of my life. You know I’m not one to mince words, so let’s call a spade a spade, I know I’m not your favorite forum member. We’ve had our disagreement in various threads, and I sent you a drunken PM one night that was less than courteous because you pissed me off with a post in the NFL thread. Frankly, I thought my THP experience was over after that. Regardless of any personal interference, and I can attest to that to anyone who has second thoughts about the process, the entries into these events are truly fair and legit. And then to win a random pick after already getting into this event for the US Open contest, speaks incredibly to your integrity. That being said, I do disagree with the decision to not let the matches finish, and would be more than willing to give you some more private feedback if you’re interested. But what’s done is done, and ultimately you are responsible for hosting what was the best golf experience of my life. I truly do thank you from the bottom of my heart, and hope when next we meet we can have a beer an maybe start over a bit. I will stay away from the NFL thread this year…
Ricky (DevRickus) – this might be the part I start getting most misty eyed…I wanted to win this for you more than anything. And when I saw your emotions on that deck afterwards, it almost brought me to tears. Not Marley and Me tears…but pretty damn close. I am SO happy we got to play that additional round and that we were grouped. It was incredibly cathartic and after we were done, everything seemed so much clearer to me about what this was all about. I will always consider you a dear friend, and thank you for being such a perfect guide along this journey. Keeping it light when it needed to be, getting me to focus when I had to, and being there when I was down. You made a better golfer and better person and that is as much my Legacy as it is yours. You are the captain now… and forever. Thanks Ricky, I love you man.
As far as my round…what a back and forth. I think the lead changed 6 times over 12 holes. It wasn’t until the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] until Patrick took a 2 hole lead on me with just a gut-wrenching one in a hundred 30 foot uphill putt where I thought I was going to possibly pick up a hole sitting on the green in 2, and ended up losing it. I was really trying not to follow the rounds in front of me because I want to focus on my game, and was anticipating that it would come down to our group, so I knew I was in trouble and needed to step it up. We both hit poor tee shots on the next hole, but I was in the fairway and after to leave myself a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] shot about 30 yards short over bunkers, and Patrick made an unbelievable recovery shot from the woods leaving himself the same. I was getting pop here though and needed to execute. I pulled out my 60 degree…a club I avoided all week because I was too nervous, but this was exactly the situation I got it for, and left myself about 15 feet past the hole for a 2 putt bogey, net par. Patrick went straight for the pin because he had to due to the pop, and was about a yard short of making the perfect chip, but left himself in the bunker and I ended up taking the hole…down 1 into short par 3 14…
The “Cookie hole”. I hit one of my best irons of the day, at the pin and just short on the fringe, but a slippery 15 foot downhill putt. Patrick was safely on the green but 40+feet out with lots of undulation. I was thinking 3 putt was a definite possibility…but the guy turned it up a notch on the green on the back 9, leaving himself about a 1 foot lag. I wasn’t planning on giving putts on the back 9 if the match was close…but I had to on this one, it was just such an amazing putt. I putted mine off, and while I’m not sure I could have done better, with the severe curved downhill lie…I left it about 5 feet past. At that point I probably was more nervous than any shot I’d taken all week, because I knew if I missed this and left myself down 2 with 4 to go, I was in serious trouble. Putt backswing was anything but straight, but the ball found its way in for par…and onto par 5 15[SUP]th[/SUP] hole.
Patrick killed his drive and put it in a better position than I’d seen anyone on that hole in any round all week. Coming off the adrenaline from that previous putt, I topped my drive and maybe got it out 50 yards. I just gave up my pop… Thankfully, my long irons were a highlight for the week and preceded to get on in 4 with 3 good irons shots, but left myself about as long a putt as I could have. Lynchburg had a little trouble after that amazing drive, and ended up leaving himself laying 4 in the sand, and frankly I thought I had this hole locked up. So of course, Patrick hits an amazing shot from the sand, hits the pin, and drops about 8 inches from the hole. In for bogey 6…If I didn’t see it, I would never have believed it. I needed to 2 putt to win, and unfortunately I probably made my worst lag of the week and left myself a 15 foot 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] putt, and ended up 3 putting for double bogey, net bogey. Still down 1 with 3 to go, but if I could just win or push 16, I had pops on 17 and 18, both holes I had played really well in our practice rounds.
It was at this point Ricky drove up and gave us the news…the match was over and we had to come in. I’m not proud of my reaction, but I was in another state and told him there was no possible way I was coming in, and I think Patrick was in the same euphoric state and we ended up putting our bags together and running to 16 par 3 by ourselves.
16[SUP]th[/SUP] tee, was playing 170ish if I recall, and will say I was a bit conflicted off the tee. Angry, yet happy, and definitely unsure what the right thing to do was. I didn’t want to ruin what was one of the best experiences of my life, and honestly I wasn’t’ sure what would ruin it. Not finishing a once in a lifetime match, or being disrespectful to the organization that sponsored the event. I wish I could say it was black and white…but it was not for me. Ricky came back to the teebox and I can’t tell you the amount of respect for this guy I have, and I asked him point blank what I should do. He understood, but he said he’d finish the hole and come in, so that’s what we did. So I tee’d off, hit a solid 6 or 5iron (a bit of a blur to me at this point) to the far right side of the green, and then Patrick continued his roll and hit his iron straight at the flag maybe 20 feet past. I hit my lag pretty well from where I was, but still left myself a 12 footer uphill for par. Patrick again hit a great putt (noticing a trend?) which I again had to give him for par. At this point Canadan was pulling up and it took every ounce of concentration I had to take this putt…but put it center of the cup for par as well, down 1 with 2 to go with pops on each…and there it ended as we headed to the clubhouse.
Patrick...it was an absolute pleasure, and to be continued at New Kent!
Now some notes to people I didn’t directly mention in my recap:
Firstly the OEMs – To Bridgestone, Wilson, KBS & Lamkin - amazing representation and beyond any expectation I ever had. I LOVE every aspect of my clubs, heads, shafts and grips. I love the swag, and I truly appreciate not only the knowledge imparted, but the camaraderie provided on Friday. Whatever the ROI is on this, know you have at a minimum one lifelong evangelist for the rest of my golfing days…
Eric (Erky) – glad we got to play that additional round afterwards. You’re the second incentive I have to move down to Tampa. Maybe you and Jed can share that commission. Loved sharing the experience with you brother and can't wait to get together again in the near future.
To the rest of team heritage that I didn’t play a round with – I thought we had the monopoly on Team Tradition for great guys, but how wrong I was. Great bunch of guys, all who I’d like to call my friends and will look to play you all again at a future event.
Mike Dean – I’m glad we got a chance to meet again and interact more than we did at PGA. You clearly meant everything to you team that Ricky did to ours, and it showed. Even though I was on the other team, your encouragement and congratulations was truly appreciated.
Dan (Canadan) – It was a pleasure to meet you, and I truly apologize for snapping at you on the course. I offer no defense other than the fact I was possessed at the time, and you didn’t deserve it. You are a class act, and selflessly came down at the last minute and made this event even more special with your sizable contribution.
JB – Firstly, thank you for everything. This event was truly special, and will be something I never forget for the rest of my life. You know I’m not one to mince words, so let’s call a spade a spade, I know I’m not your favorite forum member. We’ve had our disagreement in various threads, and I sent you a drunken PM one night that was less than courteous because you pissed me off with a post in the NFL thread. Frankly, I thought my THP experience was over after that. Regardless of any personal interference, and I can attest to that to anyone who has second thoughts about the process, the entries into these events are truly fair and legit. And then to win a random pick after already getting into this event for the US Open contest, speaks incredibly to your integrity. That being said, I do disagree with the decision to not let the matches finish, and would be more than willing to give you some more private feedback if you’re interested. But what’s done is done, and ultimately you are responsible for hosting what was the best golf experience of my life. I truly do thank you from the bottom of my heart, and hope when next we meet we can have a beer an maybe start over a bit. I will stay away from the NFL thread this year…
Ricky (DevRickus) – this might be the part I start getting most misty eyed…I wanted to win this for you more than anything. And when I saw your emotions on that deck afterwards, it almost brought me to tears. Not Marley and Me tears…but pretty damn close. I am SO happy we got to play that additional round and that we were grouped. It was incredibly cathartic and after we were done, everything seemed so much clearer to me about what this was all about. I will always consider you a dear friend, and thank you for being such a perfect guide along this journey. Keeping it light when it needed to be, getting me to focus when I had to, and being there when I was down. You made a better golfer and better person and that is as much my Legacy as it is yours. You are the captain now… and forever. Thanks Ricky, I love you man.
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