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R.I.P. Puttin4Bird

Vortex said:
Thanks for sharing this link! Jake decided he wanted to be an Instragram billionaire before the Wisconsin 18 trip. My favorite video is when he talks about what to do with the newfound wealth as a celebrity. He decides to buy a marching band to following him around because he's always wanted one. Where did that stuff come from?? Hilarious! Loved his random stream of thought.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnWhadHFJFp/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
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Those posts had me rolling and made me want to meet him in person even more.
 
I too have spent many, many hours over the last days reading, praying, and considering the profound impact that Puttin4Bird has obviously made on this forum, his family, and friends. I've never met Jake, yet my heart is with everyone who is feeling the pain of his absence. There have been some beautiful sentiments expressed in this thread, which makes me glad for all involved that we have our THP family to lean on and the special memories made along the way. I think a memorial gathering is exactly the sort of thing that this person I've never met would approve of, and I hope y'all find a way to pull it off. He lives on in the hearts and memories of those that remember him. Godspeed brother, Puttin4Bird.
 
Man the videos keep making me smile and misty eyed. Crazy how that can be. Been listening to hip hop all afternoon as I read through here. So many great stories.
 
Saw my friend again tonight. Was fun getting to hang out w/ his golfing buddies telling stories.
 
It is clear to me the positive impact P4B had on the THP community. It is very sad to see the change in title of this thread.

RIP Jake.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
Nate said:
Saw my friend again tonight. Was fun getting to hang out w/ his golfing buddies telling stories.
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I’m so glad you got to go Nate. I mean that, nothing but love to everybody up there.
 
I will tell you all that in speaking w/ his family briefly, they could not express enough how appreciative they were for those that gave to the fund for Jake.
 
Nate said:
I will tell you all that in speaking w/ his family briefly, they could not express enough how appreciative they were for those that gave to the fund for Jake.
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That's awesome man and glad you were able to make the trip up
 
Nate said:
I will tell you all that in speaking w/ his family briefly, they could not express enough how appreciative they were for those that gave to the fund for Jake.
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So happy that you're there to rep all of us. Still can't believe this happened.
 
Jake was a great guy and I was lucky to have met him when I was in the Morgan Cup. So happy to see the GoFundMe has raised over $20k, great job everyone!!!

And Nate that's awesome you were able to get up there. You're a great man, and it has always shown my friend. :)
 
Thanks to everybody for posting their stories, pics and videos (the videos are just amazing). KEV and Nate (and anyone else who is there that I missed), we are there with you in spirit this weekend.
 
Life can throw us curveballs and we can’t always handle them. But over time you learn to handle them. This event concerned me when I was told he collapsed. It confused me as we received updates. It scared me when the updates stopped. It crushed me when I heard he was gone. It saddened me the days after. Today I felt a sense of relief as I know he is at peace.

As I sit her and watch my daughter go through reconciliation my heart fills with over whelming joy.

RIP MY FRIEND, I love you!!!
 
We laid our friend to rest this morning. It was a combination of sadness and joy but the memories we have with Jake will live on forever.

Rest in peace my friend.
 
KEV said:
We laid our friend to rest this morning. It was a combination of sadness and joy but the memories we have with Jake will live on forever.

Rest in peace my friend.
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Saying a prayer for Jake and all his loved ones RIP Jake


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KEV said:
We laid our friend to rest this morning. It was a combination of sadness and joy but the memories we have with Jake will live on forever.

Rest in peace my friend.
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Too sad ... but yes, memories keep us all alive in hearts and souls.
 
KEV said:
We laid our friend to rest this morning. It was a combination of sadness and joy but the memories we have with Jake will live on forever.

Rest in peace my friend.
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Thanks for being there and while you may not realize it, you, Nate and everyone else represented this community as a collective.

Jake was in my morning prayers and I have no doubt 90’s HIP Hop is blaring in a corner of heaven somewhere.

RIP Jake, the rest of us will keep your light shining bright.
 
At the airport ready to head home. Jake was laid to rest in his Under Armour grey pullover, Taylor Made 5 golf ball & his Betti putter. Great memorial service and have never experienced the cold I felt at the burial after. Took 15 minutes for me to feel my toes again. But wouldn’t trade any of it for not being here. The stories that were told the last 2 days from his golf buddies was priceless. Thanks Jesse & Kev for shuttling me around the last few days.

Good Bye My Friend.
 
Thanks to THP for their generosity and thoughts/prayers directed at our boy these last couple weeks. This situation hit everyone around here like a punch to the face and it was pretty damn impressive to see you guys join together over a buddy and be able to support his family the way that you did. The girls and his family will truly appreciate the help you guys have given them in the form of the GoFundMe and also the kind messages.

It was good to meet a longtime buddy of Jake's, Nate. He's salt of the earth and good people and its easy to see why Nate, Buck, Freddie, and JB got along so well with Kunze.

Kev, Hox, JJ, and I were fortunate to be able to hang and play golf with Jake whenever we wanted and who would have thought that playing every weekend together for the last 6 or 7 years together wouldn't be enough?! Kunze was a helluva friend and he was the glue to our group of local Sioux Falls buddies. Sure is going to be weird to step on a golf course without him being there for camaraderie/support/friendship/competition.

Jake and I met on the course one day back in 2012 while BS'ing about THP and I noticed his green and white staff bag with his name on it. I had recently joined THP and had a handful of tees with the logo on it. From that day on, Kunze would be one of the best friends we could ask for and it's due in large part to this forum. People becoming friends merely because of our love for the game. I want to thank you guys for that.

We are all better off by knowing Kunze and I'm proud of the friendship that we forged over the years. It's something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Thanks for your stories that you've shared and we can only hope that Kunze is at peace. The emptiness inside all of us that knew him closely will slowly over time be filled with the stories and memories that we shared with him. I am lucky for the thousands of holes and tens of thousands of texts & snaps that him and I shared over the years.

He was buried with his old Bettinardi putter that he received from a previous Morgan Cup and also was laid to rest in golf attire. No better way to send him out than that!

Thanks for your support and know that you guys held a special place in his heart, he appreciated all you guys and really loved spending time with all of you and especially his Morgan Cup teammates.

I hope to see more of you on the course and hopefully we can share a beer with more stories of our boy, Jake.

Take care,
Tony
 
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Nate said:
I will tell you all that in speaking w/ his family briefly, they could not express enough how appreciative they were for those that gave to the fund for Jake.
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I just wish it could've been more. More monetarily & more support in other ways.
 
perkis said:
Thanks to THP for their generosity and thoughts/prayers directed at our boy these last couple weeks. This situation hit everyone around here like a punch to the face and it was pretty damn impressive to see you guys join together over a buddy and be able to support his family the way that you did. The girls and his family will truly appreciate the help you guys have given them in the form of the GoFundMe and also the kind messages.

It was good to meet a longtime buddy of Jake's, Nate. He's salt of the earth and good people and its easy to see why Nate, Buck, Freddie, and JB got along so well with Kunze.

Kev, Hox, JJ, and I were fortunate to be able to hang and play golf with Jake whenever we wanted and who would have thought that playing every weekend together for the last 6 or 7 years together wouldn't be enough?! Kunze was a helluva friend and he was the glue to our group of local Sioux Falls buddies. Sure is going to be weird to step on a golf course without him being there for camaraderie/support/friendship/competition.

Jake and I met on the course one day back in 2012 while BS'ing about THP and I noticed his green and white staff bag with his name on it. I had recently joined THP and had a handful of tees with the logo on it. From that day on, Kunze would be one of the best friends we could ask for and it's due in large part to this forum. People becoming friends merely because of our love for the game. I want to thank you guys for that.

We are all better off by knowing Kunze and I'm proud of the friendship that we forged over the years. It's something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Thanks for your stories that you've shared and we can only hope that Kunze is at peace. The emptiness inside all of us that knew him closely will slowly over time be filled with the stories and memories that we shared with him. I am lucky for the thousands of holes and tens of thousands of texts & snaps that him and I shared over the years.

He was buried with his old Bettinardi putter that he received from a previous Morgan Cup and also was laid to rest in golf attire. No better way to send him out than that!

Thanks for your support and know that you guys held a special place in his heart, he appreciated all you guys and really loved spending time with all of you and especially his Morgan Cup teammates.

I hope to see more of you on the course and hopefully we can share a beer with more stories of our boy, Jake.

Take care,
Tony
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Look forward to the beer and stories
 
Losing someone is always hard to deal with....whether it is a family member, close friend, coworker, or pet....

While I never met Jake, the stories y’all are sharing paint him as an amazing, fun person to be around so thank you for sharing.

Please, for the sake of his memory and name don’t stop talking about Jake or sharing the knowledge those of you who met him got to experience first hand.

RIP Jake ...I hope you are striping drives and dropping bombs on the greens up there. God bless.
 
Story Time, when I arrived in from DFW, I got there about an hour into the viewing. Jesse and I waited 45 minutes to get into the church due to the line. But in the gymnasium where the line was they were playing the video on a big screen that can be found on the funeral parlor website. Anyways, they had 2 Captain Intensity clips in that video. The video was playing on a loop. So each time one of those video's came on everyone would stop talking and watch Jake flying around the corner in a cape, a mask and a lawn chair strapped around his back. Jake always commanded the room and this was no different. When Jake was around people stopped and listened.
 
Nate said:
Story Time, when I arrived in from DFW, I got there about an hour into the viewing. Jesse and I waited 45 minutes to get into the church due to the line. But in the gymnasium where the line was they were playing the video on a big screen that can be found on the funeral parlor website. Anyways, they had 2 Captain Intensity clips in that video. The video was playing on a loop. So each time one of those video's came on everyone would stop talking and watch Jake flying around the corner in a cape, a mask and a lawn chair strapped around his back. Jake always commanded the room and this was no different. When Jake was around people stopped and listened.
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This is amazing Nate. Makes my heart happy, yet still very sad at the same time. Jake always always always got peoples attention and kept it.
 
My deepest condolences to the family and all his friends.
 
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