Cdpkook132
Active member
Today I became the 4th Member of #TeamRedemption for the #Granddaddy of them all. We will save the 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] member title for the MVP of the Gauntlet.
I wanted to introduce myself formally to the redemption team and say that I am proud, excited, scared, and nervous to represent such an amazing group of people here on The Hackers Paradise. I am proud of what this community is and see how it supports itself, others and great causes such as the Folds of Honor. I am excited for this once in a lifetime opportunity to get fitted by Callaway, play at the most incredible course in the nation and be given the royal treatment for a weekend that I will never forget. I am scared that I will not live up to all of your expectations and let me team mates down. I am also nervous about shanking the tee shot on hole #1…
My name is Cdpkook132 Aka Colin Potter, I am 28 years old and am originally from Tucson Arizona. I began my golf "career" as a freshman in high school and tried to catch up with my friends that had been golfing for a long time and were exceptionally good junior golfers. I tried out for the team as a sophomore and missed the cut by one agonizing stroke. I dedicated that year to learning golf and played many rounds by myself to learn the game as fast as possible. As a junior, I made the team and played as an on and off 6th man. Playing free golf everyday for 9 weeks straight really helps the golf game. I played a few tournaments and had some notable scores but the other guys on the team were that much better than me. Senior year rolls around and I am the consistent 6th man on the team and had overall a great year. Two very notable scores of 36, 1 on our very difficult home course (par 36) and one on an away course (par 35) which I was 1 under coming into 9. I then proceeded to blow up and shoot a double in front of everyone watching from the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] green. If there is one hole I could have back, that would be the one although people were still shocked I shot such a good score. I also attended regionals and state that year but did not do so well. One of my most memorable shots was during the only round I ever got to share with my grandpa who played golf up to the age of 92. It was a par 3 that I hit to 6". Gramps then proceeded to turn to me and say, "Too bad you’re going to miss the putt!" I love that man, but I did not miss the putt.
Fast forward to 2005, high school is over and I go to college at the University of Arizona. Working at an engineering firm and getting my civil engineering degree really limited my golf to 1 or 2 rounds a year including the company’s charity golf tournament. I always maintained a pretty good swing but lacked consistency due to lack of practice naturally. I was a go to pick for scrambles though as I can wail on the ball compared to anyone else in the company.
I graduated college with a civil engineering degree in 2011 and started to golf more as my evenings were now freer for practice and several friends were getting into the sport. I helped those friends learn the game, my practice picked up, the number of rounds played a month increased and my scores started to drop again. I am really enjoying the sport of golf as well as what my swing has developed into. I gained a ton of yardage since being a scrawny kid in high school so everything on the course has become more manageable and easier to get into and out of trouble. Course management is what I was lacking though. Did you know that you don’t have to hit driver off every tee? I didn’t understand the concept yet.
Fast forward to this year... 2015... The year my life got flipped upside down.
What an incredible year I have/am having. After working for the same engineering firm for 10 years, my dream job contacted me about applying for a position. That dream job you ask? Working for the convenience store QuikTrip. As funny as it sounds to have this as a dream job I was stoked! If you haven’t heard of QuikTrip, look them up and you will see what a great company they are. They are also huge supporters of the Folds of Honor which made my choice to join the Albatross Club a simple one as well. Corporate headquarters is located in Tulsa, Ok and it would require me to move there. I proceeded to interview on a Monday and take my Professional Engineering exam on that same Friday after and studying zero for the test, but my goals were set. We are now into mid May and I get a call with a job offer which I accepted! I would be moving 1000 miles to a town I had been to once. The real kicker? I got married May 22, 2015 and that morning I also got an email notifying me I passed my PE exam. I got married, went on an amazing honeymoon and 2 weeks later I am driving to Tulsa, Ok. The bad news is I am here alone as my wife is in Tucson finishing her PHD at UofA and working a year under contract at a school district. So he I am alone in a new city, with a new job, without my new wife. The evenings are long, but I do have The Hackers Paradise to pass the time. I have been golfing more than ever since moving to Tulsa and the excitement just got real today! I was asked to join #TeamRedemption and lay the smack down on the #ZooCrew in California to bring that Granddaddy Belt home!
I am truly honored to be given this opportunity and will not let you guys and gals down!!!
I am going to Quote this in case it was missed by anyone. I already did a pretty decent profile when I joined team redemption, but I will expand on what has happened since joining #TeamRedemption.
My first 4 months in a Brand New State, in a brand new job have been honestly UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!
Since joining team redemption I have increased my Golf Focus... Not exactly increasing my round/practice count (work is crazy), but increasing the focus on my approach to golf. Trying to up my consistency and get the easy points. focus on pars and not birdies, focus on safe shots that will get me onto the green instead of cutting corners that may lead to trouble. I think it has paid off and will in December as well. Playing to strengths while improving my weaknesses.
I also was able to harvest my first Bull Elk and with a bow! This will go down as one of my major life accomplishments so far. Putting in the work, putting in the long hours of shooting my bow, putting the miles on the boots. After nearly 50 miles of hiking we were able to get it done. What an incredible week that was.
One of the major downsides of my new life? I have seen my beautiful new wife for only 15 days since joining TeamRedemption. Facetime has been a savior, but at the end of the day I am here in a brand new city 1000 miles away from my wife, a 1000 mile away from home and 1000 miles away from my family. What makes my wife so awesome is her 100% support though! She was so excited to hear about the granddaddy and supports it fully even if it took the rest of my vacation time, which means spending less time together. She truly understands this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
With this in mind, we traveled to Kansas City for a getaway weekend on her visit out here where I was able to get away and meet 2 of my Granddaddy Teammates! I had an awesome time golfing and it eased me into THP events. It was technically my first THP informal meeting and it was a blast. Me and my wife enjoyed some much need R&R after the golf round as well.
Another update in my life is that I am officially registered as an engineer now! After applications, references, paperwork and more paperwork. The Board of Technical Registration granted me the title of being a professional engineer. This has been pretty much a 10 year endevour for me and it has finally paid off. Exciting times to add to a truly epic year.
To top it all off, today I stepped off a corporate jet and was the youngest person on board. It is really unbelievable compared to where I thought I was going to be only 6 months ago.
Looking to the future, I have Division Golf tournament on Saturday and another round with my Granddaddy Captain and Taylor on Sunday!
I will be able to travel back home to celebrate my Wife's 30th birthday with her in early November!
I celebrate my 29th Birthday on December 2nd and then the GRANDDADDY of them all will be here after that! Talk about the ULTIMATE BIRTHDAY PRESENT!!!!
PS. You'll notice my sock game is strong
Youth will bring the belt to THP. 
