OK its recap time. This may get long winded so i apologize ahead of time but this is going to be hard to put into words.
The 2015 Gauntlet was my first real grand event. I have been to a number of THP events, but this one just seemed special from the time i was selected in the second contest. I had talked to a number of THPers who had experienced events with the Zoo Crew and had heard that they were great people so i was so excited to get to Chicago for this one.
FRIDAY
I was fortunate enough to live by a couple other participants for the Gauntlet so we had a pretty cool carpool coming from Cleveland. The three of us were so giddy the entire time and as each mile came off the GPS the excitement just kept building. As we got closer to Chicago we were planning what we were going to do before dinner because we had a couple hours to kill and in typical THPer fashion, we went to a PGA Super Store haha. I needed to pick up Mward a little gift so it worked out anyways lol. After the PGA SS we went to the hotel and i met up with Mward, THPJRod and JB for a couple drinks and some catch up time. I gave wardy his gift which may make more sense if explained haha In Orlando this year at Love Is In The Air, we all got SWAG bags and included in the bags were womens vizors. Wardy showed up to the course Saturday morning wearing the womens visor thinking it was his haha so just to make sure he felt like he was dressed properly, i picked him up a womens Callaway visor.
After JB left to greet the Zoo Crew, we all made our way to the lobby where i spent the next couple hours talking with Wardy and Nick Pingel about life and past events and just anything else that came up. After a bit, mancest walked through the doors, sat down and jumped right in on the conversation and before you knew it it was time for dinner. Dinner was such a great time. We had all briefly met the Zoo Crew in the hotel lobby but dinner was the first time we got to sit down and really meet them. JRod was a riot the entire night, making sure every other Gauntlet Captain had more than enough wine to drink
And how about Roger F'n Cleveland showing up to dinner, taking the time to take pictures with anyone who wanted them, asking each one of us at the dinner table what we did for a living and asking a little bit about us. Just so freaking cool. Someone like him didnt need to sit at dinner with us, didnt need to interact, didnt need to do any of that but he did and he was so down to earth while doing it. And for the record, he served me pizza haha. Pairings were announced at dinner and myself and Nick Pingel drew cbaker2882 and Mward. Sort of fitting because cbaker (Colin) and i have played quite a few rounds together in prep for this event so i knew we had our hands full. Even if wardy was bringing an injury to the match.
After dinner everyone went back to the hotel and we took over the lobby. I ended up going up to my room to change into some basketball shorts and a tee shirt and when i got back down to the lobby JB says "Hey Phil, wanna take a shot?" as Ethan was pouring it. There was no way in hell i was going to say no no matter what it was. Turns out it was some sort of god awful, armpit liquor named Malort. Everyone was hanging out having some drinks, eating leftover pizza, making jokes and just having an awesome time and before you knew it it was almost 1am.
SATURDAY
In the morning, we got to the course and took a short ride back to the short game practice area where we were given the Wedgucation of a lifetime! Roger was awesome with explaining everything from grooves, grinds and finish of the new Mack Daddy 3 wedge. After Roger's presentation, we were all given our wedge and were able to try them out with all different types of shots. One thing i want to say about the MD3 is its absolutely 100% legit. Amazing feel and the ball just has a bite to it ive never had before. After the wedge session, we went to the range to warm up then it was off to the first tee.
In my opinion, our match with Wardy and Colin was the match of the weekend. Neither team had a lead of more than 2, and it was only fitting it ended the way it did. Its amazing how good you can play when you are being pushed by someone elses great play. Wardy and Colin were absolute machines and never really hit it into trouble and when they did, they would both his great recovery shots so they really never gave us any time to relax. Our match was AS on the 16th green with all four of us staring at par putts, each one longer than 4 feet, so the pressure was on and it was great that we all made the putts. On 17, my partner threw a dart to 4 feet on his approach and made the putt to give us a 1Up lead going into 18. Nick, you have giant ones my friend. What a great shot. On 18, I had a birdie putt from the fringe to win the match and i hate to say it but i didnt hit the putt hard enough. I had a perfect line but it just ran out of gas and missed low. So i tap in for my par and set the stage for Mclutch to step up and bury his birdie putt and halve the match. Fellas, i cant say this enough. That will forever be the most fun i have ever had on a course!
Saturday night Top Golf was a blast. Open bar, tasty food, THPers and Zoo Crew make for one hell of a party! In my opinion, this was the perfect setting for an evening out with 6 teams in the middle of a competition. We were all able to just relax and let loose and have so much fun it really made it easy to forget we were only 2 points behind the leaders in the Gauntlet standings. After we got back to the hotel, we took over the lobby again for some more drinks and college football. Im really going to miss those lobby hang out sessions lol
SUNDAY
Sunday morning when we got to the course, i wanted to spend a little less time hitting balls and a little more time rolling putts because i was told by just about everyone that had played both courses that Dubsdread greens were a lot faster than Ravines. So i hit maybe half of my small bucket and then went to the putting green and really focused on pace. I want to say that it worked because to start the match i had 6 putts through 5 holes and that really got us going. I want to say this about my captain.... Johnny Rodriguez aka JRod is a freaking LEGEND. He absolutely knows how to keep good vibes going during a round and really made sure we all had a freaking blast on the course. I honestly believe him when he says having fun is more important than winning. Hell the second we finished our round, he pulled out a fishing pole and went fishing in the pond next to the 18th green. It really put it into perspective. I was nervous to find out how our team did but what for? Did it really matter? Not really. And it didnt matter because i had the weekend of my freaking life. Win or lose, it wouldnt have changed any of the memories i have from that weekend. There is nothing i could have won that tops what i received in friendship and fun and memories.
Well...... almost nothing. There is that one thing....MVP! What an honor! What a surprise! Ive been trying to figure out how to describe the feelings ive had over the last 36 hours but i legit cant. When JB said to me "Your are the MVP, welcome to the Grandaddy" everything just went silent and almost white. I couldnt believe it. I closed my eyes and said to myself "No F'n way" and then was embraced by everyone there. Every single person in the Gauntlet came up to me to say congrats including the Zoo Crew and i couldnt be more thankful. I will forever miss our time in Chicago at Cog Hill!
To my teammates, i freaking love you guys! Such a solid group and i was lucky to get paired up with you three!
To my wife, your support means more than you could ever know. Its HUGE to know i have your support with golf and with THP. I love this game, i love this place and i love how you get it and support it. And i want to thank you for your influence in the recap music haha
Lastly, to the Zoo Crew. I find it hard to believe that there is a better group of people than you guys. Rhi, is there anyone on the planet that has more fun than you? Your outlook on life is encouraging to others and really makes people stop and rethink their attitude towards things. I know it did that to me. JRod, thank you for everything this weekend! Ill be toasting a bottle of Titos this weekend for you! Nevs, the wedge talk we had saturday night at top golf was so cool. Thank you for taking the time to make sure we all had all of our questions answered. Ethan, you are one of the greats, but Malort is the absolute worst. ScottyG, Aint nothin but a G thang baaaaaabbyyyyyyy! And lastly, AJ. Im sorry my wife called you a backstreet boy. Wait, no im not lol it fits. Ill see you guys in December!
The 2015 Gauntlet was my first real grand event. I have been to a number of THP events, but this one just seemed special from the time i was selected in the second contest. I had talked to a number of THPers who had experienced events with the Zoo Crew and had heard that they were great people so i was so excited to get to Chicago for this one.
FRIDAY
I was fortunate enough to live by a couple other participants for the Gauntlet so we had a pretty cool carpool coming from Cleveland. The three of us were so giddy the entire time and as each mile came off the GPS the excitement just kept building. As we got closer to Chicago we were planning what we were going to do before dinner because we had a couple hours to kill and in typical THPer fashion, we went to a PGA Super Store haha. I needed to pick up Mward a little gift so it worked out anyways lol. After the PGA SS we went to the hotel and i met up with Mward, THPJRod and JB for a couple drinks and some catch up time. I gave wardy his gift which may make more sense if explained haha In Orlando this year at Love Is In The Air, we all got SWAG bags and included in the bags were womens vizors. Wardy showed up to the course Saturday morning wearing the womens visor thinking it was his haha so just to make sure he felt like he was dressed properly, i picked him up a womens Callaway visor.
After JB left to greet the Zoo Crew, we all made our way to the lobby where i spent the next couple hours talking with Wardy and Nick Pingel about life and past events and just anything else that came up. After a bit, mancest walked through the doors, sat down and jumped right in on the conversation and before you knew it it was time for dinner. Dinner was such a great time. We had all briefly met the Zoo Crew in the hotel lobby but dinner was the first time we got to sit down and really meet them. JRod was a riot the entire night, making sure every other Gauntlet Captain had more than enough wine to drink
And how about Roger F'n Cleveland showing up to dinner, taking the time to take pictures with anyone who wanted them, asking each one of us at the dinner table what we did for a living and asking a little bit about us. Just so freaking cool. Someone like him didnt need to sit at dinner with us, didnt need to interact, didnt need to do any of that but he did and he was so down to earth while doing it. And for the record, he served me pizza haha. Pairings were announced at dinner and myself and Nick Pingel drew cbaker2882 and Mward. Sort of fitting because cbaker (Colin) and i have played quite a few rounds together in prep for this event so i knew we had our hands full. Even if wardy was bringing an injury to the match. After dinner everyone went back to the hotel and we took over the lobby. I ended up going up to my room to change into some basketball shorts and a tee shirt and when i got back down to the lobby JB says "Hey Phil, wanna take a shot?" as Ethan was pouring it. There was no way in hell i was going to say no no matter what it was. Turns out it was some sort of god awful, armpit liquor named Malort. Everyone was hanging out having some drinks, eating leftover pizza, making jokes and just having an awesome time and before you knew it it was almost 1am.
SATURDAY
In the morning, we got to the course and took a short ride back to the short game practice area where we were given the Wedgucation of a lifetime! Roger was awesome with explaining everything from grooves, grinds and finish of the new Mack Daddy 3 wedge. After Roger's presentation, we were all given our wedge and were able to try them out with all different types of shots. One thing i want to say about the MD3 is its absolutely 100% legit. Amazing feel and the ball just has a bite to it ive never had before. After the wedge session, we went to the range to warm up then it was off to the first tee.
In my opinion, our match with Wardy and Colin was the match of the weekend. Neither team had a lead of more than 2, and it was only fitting it ended the way it did. Its amazing how good you can play when you are being pushed by someone elses great play. Wardy and Colin were absolute machines and never really hit it into trouble and when they did, they would both his great recovery shots so they really never gave us any time to relax. Our match was AS on the 16th green with all four of us staring at par putts, each one longer than 4 feet, so the pressure was on and it was great that we all made the putts. On 17, my partner threw a dart to 4 feet on his approach and made the putt to give us a 1Up lead going into 18. Nick, you have giant ones my friend. What a great shot. On 18, I had a birdie putt from the fringe to win the match and i hate to say it but i didnt hit the putt hard enough. I had a perfect line but it just ran out of gas and missed low. So i tap in for my par and set the stage for Mclutch to step up and bury his birdie putt and halve the match. Fellas, i cant say this enough. That will forever be the most fun i have ever had on a course!
Saturday night Top Golf was a blast. Open bar, tasty food, THPers and Zoo Crew make for one hell of a party! In my opinion, this was the perfect setting for an evening out with 6 teams in the middle of a competition. We were all able to just relax and let loose and have so much fun it really made it easy to forget we were only 2 points behind the leaders in the Gauntlet standings. After we got back to the hotel, we took over the lobby again for some more drinks and college football. Im really going to miss those lobby hang out sessions lol
SUNDAY
Sunday morning when we got to the course, i wanted to spend a little less time hitting balls and a little more time rolling putts because i was told by just about everyone that had played both courses that Dubsdread greens were a lot faster than Ravines. So i hit maybe half of my small bucket and then went to the putting green and really focused on pace. I want to say that it worked because to start the match i had 6 putts through 5 holes and that really got us going. I want to say this about my captain.... Johnny Rodriguez aka JRod is a freaking LEGEND. He absolutely knows how to keep good vibes going during a round and really made sure we all had a freaking blast on the course. I honestly believe him when he says having fun is more important than winning. Hell the second we finished our round, he pulled out a fishing pole and went fishing in the pond next to the 18th green. It really put it into perspective. I was nervous to find out how our team did but what for? Did it really matter? Not really. And it didnt matter because i had the weekend of my freaking life. Win or lose, it wouldnt have changed any of the memories i have from that weekend. There is nothing i could have won that tops what i received in friendship and fun and memories.
Well...... almost nothing. There is that one thing....MVP! What an honor! What a surprise! Ive been trying to figure out how to describe the feelings ive had over the last 36 hours but i legit cant. When JB said to me "Your are the MVP, welcome to the Grandaddy" everything just went silent and almost white. I couldnt believe it. I closed my eyes and said to myself "No F'n way" and then was embraced by everyone there. Every single person in the Gauntlet came up to me to say congrats including the Zoo Crew and i couldnt be more thankful. I will forever miss our time in Chicago at Cog Hill!
To my teammates, i freaking love you guys! Such a solid group and i was lucky to get paired up with you three!
To my wife, your support means more than you could ever know. Its HUGE to know i have your support with golf and with THP. I love this game, i love this place and i love how you get it and support it. And i want to thank you for your influence in the recap music haha
Lastly, to the Zoo Crew. I find it hard to believe that there is a better group of people than you guys. Rhi, is there anyone on the planet that has more fun than you? Your outlook on life is encouraging to others and really makes people stop and rethink their attitude towards things. I know it did that to me. JRod, thank you for everything this weekend! Ill be toasting a bottle of Titos this weekend for you! Nevs, the wedge talk we had saturday night at top golf was so cool. Thank you for taking the time to make sure we all had all of our questions answered. Ethan, you are one of the greats, but Malort is the absolute worst. ScottyG, Aint nothin but a G thang baaaaaabbyyyyyyy! And lastly, AJ. Im sorry my wife called you a backstreet boy. Wait, no im not lol it fits. Ill see you guys in December!
