2015 Gauntlet Recap & Review Thread
- Thread starter
- Admin
- #127
Thank you. And just so you know, a new granddaddy contest just opened up as well.
Miller Time
Twitter - @joshmlr
I don't miss the bunkers.
JRod
Well-known member
I didn't mind them
Your short game was a pleasure to watch dude .
While the bunkers were deep and scary I love hitting from well maintained sand. Such a nice change of pace from the dumps I usually play.
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Miller Time
Twitter - @joshmlr
I didn't mind them
Hey as long as my ball was getting caught in the flag and dropping straight down, I didn't mind them at all.
- Moderator
- #133
Heck, just a well maintained course. I hadn't seen greens that rolled that true in quite a while.
Saturday:
We can fast forward through waking upon the pull-out couch (my teammates made the old guy sleep on the couch..respect your elders!) and breakfast in the lobby and get straight to Cog Hill. Team Rhi rolled to the course and I snapped a pic of the sign at the entrance before we pulled into the parking lot. After unloading our gear, we headed to the short game area by the barn which would be our classroom for the next hour. It was a somewhat chilly morning so I was curious to see how everyone would be dressed. I was wearing shorts (and will wear them on the course until the temperature gets to around 40 degrees) and a pullover,there were a few winter hats, and Mward was wearing mittens. Rockstar Rhi was in a skirt, although she suddenly disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared with a brand new Cog Hill pullover. Hmm...
After the fashion show, I borrowed Amart's flag and got a pic with Roger (yeah, it's Roger now) before we started. Smile...1..2..3..hair color. Yes, he remembered that we talked about what I do for a living at dinner on Friday. We were called to attention and sat down for our Wedgeucation with Dnevs and Roger discussing the different grooves and grinds on the MD3 wedges and how they compared to previous iterations and the PM grind. Time for a lesson!
Jrod was an excellent volunteer and guinea pig for us to watch. He and Roger jumped into a bunker and demonstrated some proper technique for escaping the numerous bunkers that awaited us on Ravines and Dubsdread. After that, we scattered around the short game area for some practice with our new beauties.
I found an open spot in the short stuff with some of the ChromeSofts that were out for us to practice with and went to work with my 56/10 S grind. After chunking a few, I tried out the technique that Roger taught us and it was working out better. I hit a few more and then started to experiment with some shots. I don't hit my 56/10 from the fairway or anything that is mown short so if I could find a bonus shot, that would be great; if not, I knew I would probably just use it out of the sand because I didn't want to try to use a different technique on the course after only practicing it for a few minutes.
My MD3 worked great out of the bunker on both spinning shots and chunk-and-run shots so I did a little more experimenting and heckling before we headed to the full range. The Callaway guys were out with a bunch of GBB drivers and fairway woods and some other fun things to try. I took a run at Miller Time's driver and a demo fairway wood, but the range was too crowded to really spend too much time with them. I went through my short warmup routine of 8i, 5i, driver, and full and half shots with my PW and GW.
Captaincaution and I were going out last with mancest and bendalby so I didn't rush on the practice green, especially since I had already been there on Friday. We spent our time on the first tee as the other groups were going off,cheering and heckling and making fun of AJ. The starter asked forour names to match with the cart numbers and I automatically start to spell my last name since nobody ever gets Kluck correct on the first try (Cluck, Clark, Gluck; I really should change it back to the original German). That didn't work as he started to write down "Kay." We eventually got that straightened out and I silently cursed my parents for the millionth time for my awful last name.
Ravines #1 is 316 yards so I debated with myself about hitting driver/3w/3h and I finally decided on driver because why not. The only trouble out there was tree trouble and I'm an expert at getting around those. Obviously, I'm clairvoyant and we had a punch shot under a branch from 117 for our second shot. My shot ran off the green and I couldn't quite get up and down for par. Net bogeys halve the hole and we were off.
I had quite the time all day off the tee with my driver, but thankfully, Alek got it in the fairway or nearby and I could get it pretty close with my irons. I was dialed in from 80 yards all day; I had five of those shots all round and they were all basically pin high. I converted two for birdies which helped out since I wasn't much good off the tee. I know I said more than once that I shouldn't even bother teeing off after Alek was in the fairway since he hits it farther than I do anyway.
We made a stellar mess of the par 3 4[SUP]th [/SUP]and went 1 down after I shanked my 5i off the tee into the woods. Alek almost hit JB with a chip shot and then I slid my wedge right under the ball. We won 6 and then had a bonus of seeing the cartgirl. Mancest (Roger, but not RFC) got the first round and I showed my gratitude by drilling a 5i just right of the hole.
We made an easy par and then took #8 to go 2up and then it got weird on #9. Alek hit his drive left of the bunker to the cart path. I punched out to the rough that was left of the bunker that was 100 yards out. Alek got a bad bounce off the tree and then ended up in the water so it was up to me on this hole. We never found my ball. All four of us saw where it should have been, but wasn't. Roger and Ben were extremely sporting and gracious and told me to drop where we thought it ended up. I think I would have felt bad about that if I would have made my par putt, but it ended up about four inches behind the hole and they took the hole.
We ran into a backup on #10 and 11 and it's understandable since they're the two toughest handicap holes on the back. Roger and Ben played steady golf (I'd like to have another approach shot at 10) and started to take the back nine from us. We stayed around 1down until #15 which was a 435 yard par 4 with a little dogleg left. Alek's tee shot was in the right rough, but completely playable from 170 out. Roger and Ben were both in the trees on the inside corner of the dogleg and both nailed their shots to the right side of the green. Alek hit it over and it ran onto the 16th tee (sorry guys). I promptly went to my bag and took two clubs less and was 12 feet behind the hole. Ben stepped up and buried a 40 footer for birdie/net eagle. Welp.
That was an awesome putt to see go in, even if it put us 2down. We fought back on 16 when Alek cut the corner and I hit my 50* to pin high left from 81 yards and made the birdie putt. I want to take full responsibility for our hole on 17 as I teed off first and my 3wood went absolutely nowhere and Alek got a bad bounce behind a tree limb. Alek was just short in three after another unfortunate bounce off a branch and I was just left of the green in two. Ben and Roger took full advantage and were on and just off the green in two. They both hit their third shots from different lines to gimme range...stone cold killers.
I knocked their balls back to them and walked back to my ball, knowing that I pretty much had to hole my chip shot to keep the match going since Alek had 50 feet or so and ShotLink usually says that's about 3% on tour. I hit it to gimme range, but not good enough. Alek gave his 50 footer for par a great run, but it just slid by the hole and that was all she wrote. I wasn't happy about losing the four points, but couldn't have been prouder of Roger and Ben for playing a great back nine and being two great guys to share a round with.
We played 18 since it was on the way back. I pulled my PW a little left and sent a couple people scattering (sorry about that!). Since we were the last group to finish, it was time to head out and find some food before Top Golf. We went to Portillo's; the Chicago dogs at Sonic are pretty good, but I still needed an authentic one and the chocolate cake shake that we had been talking about in the days leading up to the trip. We were a little bummed about losing both of our matches at the end, but the shakes made us feel a little better.
Back to the hotel for showers and then we split for TopGolf. Wardy posted that the bays were heated which was awesome since it was going to get a little cooler in the evening too. I had never been to TopGolf and it was exactly like it had been described; you can't go wrong with arcade golf with great food and drinks.
We couldn't decide if we were going to bring our clubs inside since the ZooCrew didn't, but eventually we trekked back to the car for our bags. We took the last bay and setup a game and started to play. I was focused on the chips and delicious queso and guacamole and had to get yelled at when it was my turn. One of the yardages was just about perfect for my 18* Callaway X-Utility iron so I spent a good portion of the night hitting that since it was relatively new to the bag for the weekend. I hit one of Josh's irons, but wasn't completely comfortable on the mat so two or three swings was good enough for me until next time. I tried my driver off the deck; one out of two ain't bad.
More drinks and games and time finally ran out on us. Fortunately, drp3434 was paying attention and got some balls from the dispenser before it cut us off. I had been talking to Ethan for a little while and asked him where he got his left-handed clubs. He said that it was from the TopGolf set so I called dibs on a couple of the leftover balls. Yeah, you can see where this is going.
He handed me a lefty 6i and I stepped onto the mat and remembered where to put my hands and then striped it out into the darkness. I took another ball and did the same thing...and then quit while I was ahead. I used to have a lefty SW and 3w that I would fool around with before I traded them in so I was pretty confident that I wouldn't make a complete fool out of myself. I also admitted earlier in the weekend that I'll turn a wedge over and hit it left-handed if I'm next to a tree or have an impossible lie in a bunker. I missed it live, but saw the video of hickerad and think that he wins best trick shot for his Bryan Bros impression of hitting the balls right out of the dispenser!
I think we could have spent all nightat TopGolf, but our two hours were up and we had to split. We did find out our Sunday pairings and it was Rhiona and me vs wadesworld and drp3434. They had both been hanging out in our room earlier and I was goofing off with Danny for a bit at TopGolf so I knew that it was going to be a great Sunday round.
On the way back, we stopped at Target for Gatorade and beer to make sure that we didn't run out since we were pretty confident that we would take over the lobby again. We did and had plenty of beverages to spare. There were late night cookies from the Hyatt towards the end of the night and we did a great job of devouring them.
My teammates had gone to bed, but I was still wide awake so I hung out with six4three5 a.k.a. JimmyNumbers a.k.a. MrOakHill until 2:15. We just talked about anything and everything and I really enjoyed it. It was really great since I know that I'm not always the most engaging person around because I'm an only child and a science nerd. I would love to play with you, even though you are on the far north side of NY..we can do this!
Ugh, Sunday is going to come too soon...
We can fast forward through waking upon the pull-out couch (my teammates made the old guy sleep on the couch..respect your elders!) and breakfast in the lobby and get straight to Cog Hill. Team Rhi rolled to the course and I snapped a pic of the sign at the entrance before we pulled into the parking lot. After unloading our gear, we headed to the short game area by the barn which would be our classroom for the next hour. It was a somewhat chilly morning so I was curious to see how everyone would be dressed. I was wearing shorts (and will wear them on the course until the temperature gets to around 40 degrees) and a pullover,there were a few winter hats, and Mward was wearing mittens. Rockstar Rhi was in a skirt, although she suddenly disappeared for a few minutes and then reappeared with a brand new Cog Hill pullover. Hmm...
After the fashion show, I borrowed Amart's flag and got a pic with Roger (yeah, it's Roger now) before we started. Smile...1..2..3..hair color. Yes, he remembered that we talked about what I do for a living at dinner on Friday. We were called to attention and sat down for our Wedgeucation with Dnevs and Roger discussing the different grooves and grinds on the MD3 wedges and how they compared to previous iterations and the PM grind. Time for a lesson!
Jrod was an excellent volunteer and guinea pig for us to watch. He and Roger jumped into a bunker and demonstrated some proper technique for escaping the numerous bunkers that awaited us on Ravines and Dubsdread. After that, we scattered around the short game area for some practice with our new beauties.
I found an open spot in the short stuff with some of the ChromeSofts that were out for us to practice with and went to work with my 56/10 S grind. After chunking a few, I tried out the technique that Roger taught us and it was working out better. I hit a few more and then started to experiment with some shots. I don't hit my 56/10 from the fairway or anything that is mown short so if I could find a bonus shot, that would be great; if not, I knew I would probably just use it out of the sand because I didn't want to try to use a different technique on the course after only practicing it for a few minutes.
My MD3 worked great out of the bunker on both spinning shots and chunk-and-run shots so I did a little more experimenting and heckling before we headed to the full range. The Callaway guys were out with a bunch of GBB drivers and fairway woods and some other fun things to try. I took a run at Miller Time's driver and a demo fairway wood, but the range was too crowded to really spend too much time with them. I went through my short warmup routine of 8i, 5i, driver, and full and half shots with my PW and GW.
Captaincaution and I were going out last with mancest and bendalby so I didn't rush on the practice green, especially since I had already been there on Friday. We spent our time on the first tee as the other groups were going off,cheering and heckling and making fun of AJ. The starter asked forour names to match with the cart numbers and I automatically start to spell my last name since nobody ever gets Kluck correct on the first try (Cluck, Clark, Gluck; I really should change it back to the original German). That didn't work as he started to write down "Kay." We eventually got that straightened out and I silently cursed my parents for the millionth time for my awful last name.
Ravines #1 is 316 yards so I debated with myself about hitting driver/3w/3h and I finally decided on driver because why not. The only trouble out there was tree trouble and I'm an expert at getting around those. Obviously, I'm clairvoyant and we had a punch shot under a branch from 117 for our second shot. My shot ran off the green and I couldn't quite get up and down for par. Net bogeys halve the hole and we were off.
I had quite the time all day off the tee with my driver, but thankfully, Alek got it in the fairway or nearby and I could get it pretty close with my irons. I was dialed in from 80 yards all day; I had five of those shots all round and they were all basically pin high. I converted two for birdies which helped out since I wasn't much good off the tee. I know I said more than once that I shouldn't even bother teeing off after Alek was in the fairway since he hits it farther than I do anyway.
We made a stellar mess of the par 3 4[SUP]th [/SUP]and went 1 down after I shanked my 5i off the tee into the woods. Alek almost hit JB with a chip shot and then I slid my wedge right under the ball. We won 6 and then had a bonus of seeing the cartgirl. Mancest (Roger, but not RFC) got the first round and I showed my gratitude by drilling a 5i just right of the hole.
We made an easy par and then took #8 to go 2up and then it got weird on #9. Alek hit his drive left of the bunker to the cart path. I punched out to the rough that was left of the bunker that was 100 yards out. Alek got a bad bounce off the tree and then ended up in the water so it was up to me on this hole. We never found my ball. All four of us saw where it should have been, but wasn't. Roger and Ben were extremely sporting and gracious and told me to drop where we thought it ended up. I think I would have felt bad about that if I would have made my par putt, but it ended up about four inches behind the hole and they took the hole.
We ran into a backup on #10 and 11 and it's understandable since they're the two toughest handicap holes on the back. Roger and Ben played steady golf (I'd like to have another approach shot at 10) and started to take the back nine from us. We stayed around 1down until #15 which was a 435 yard par 4 with a little dogleg left. Alek's tee shot was in the right rough, but completely playable from 170 out. Roger and Ben were both in the trees on the inside corner of the dogleg and both nailed their shots to the right side of the green. Alek hit it over and it ran onto the 16th tee (sorry guys). I promptly went to my bag and took two clubs less and was 12 feet behind the hole. Ben stepped up and buried a 40 footer for birdie/net eagle. Welp.
That was an awesome putt to see go in, even if it put us 2down. We fought back on 16 when Alek cut the corner and I hit my 50* to pin high left from 81 yards and made the birdie putt. I want to take full responsibility for our hole on 17 as I teed off first and my 3wood went absolutely nowhere and Alek got a bad bounce behind a tree limb. Alek was just short in three after another unfortunate bounce off a branch and I was just left of the green in two. Ben and Roger took full advantage and were on and just off the green in two. They both hit their third shots from different lines to gimme range...stone cold killers.
I knocked their balls back to them and walked back to my ball, knowing that I pretty much had to hole my chip shot to keep the match going since Alek had 50 feet or so and ShotLink usually says that's about 3% on tour. I hit it to gimme range, but not good enough. Alek gave his 50 footer for par a great run, but it just slid by the hole and that was all she wrote. I wasn't happy about losing the four points, but couldn't have been prouder of Roger and Ben for playing a great back nine and being two great guys to share a round with.
We played 18 since it was on the way back. I pulled my PW a little left and sent a couple people scattering (sorry about that!). Since we were the last group to finish, it was time to head out and find some food before Top Golf. We went to Portillo's; the Chicago dogs at Sonic are pretty good, but I still needed an authentic one and the chocolate cake shake that we had been talking about in the days leading up to the trip. We were a little bummed about losing both of our matches at the end, but the shakes made us feel a little better.
Back to the hotel for showers and then we split for TopGolf. Wardy posted that the bays were heated which was awesome since it was going to get a little cooler in the evening too. I had never been to TopGolf and it was exactly like it had been described; you can't go wrong with arcade golf with great food and drinks.
We couldn't decide if we were going to bring our clubs inside since the ZooCrew didn't, but eventually we trekked back to the car for our bags. We took the last bay and setup a game and started to play. I was focused on the chips and delicious queso and guacamole and had to get yelled at when it was my turn. One of the yardages was just about perfect for my 18* Callaway X-Utility iron so I spent a good portion of the night hitting that since it was relatively new to the bag for the weekend. I hit one of Josh's irons, but wasn't completely comfortable on the mat so two or three swings was good enough for me until next time. I tried my driver off the deck; one out of two ain't bad.
More drinks and games and time finally ran out on us. Fortunately, drp3434 was paying attention and got some balls from the dispenser before it cut us off. I had been talking to Ethan for a little while and asked him where he got his left-handed clubs. He said that it was from the TopGolf set so I called dibs on a couple of the leftover balls. Yeah, you can see where this is going.
He handed me a lefty 6i and I stepped onto the mat and remembered where to put my hands and then striped it out into the darkness. I took another ball and did the same thing...and then quit while I was ahead. I used to have a lefty SW and 3w that I would fool around with before I traded them in so I was pretty confident that I wouldn't make a complete fool out of myself. I also admitted earlier in the weekend that I'll turn a wedge over and hit it left-handed if I'm next to a tree or have an impossible lie in a bunker. I missed it live, but saw the video of hickerad and think that he wins best trick shot for his Bryan Bros impression of hitting the balls right out of the dispenser!
I think we could have spent all nightat TopGolf, but our two hours were up and we had to split. We did find out our Sunday pairings and it was Rhiona and me vs wadesworld and drp3434. They had both been hanging out in our room earlier and I was goofing off with Danny for a bit at TopGolf so I knew that it was going to be a great Sunday round.
On the way back, we stopped at Target for Gatorade and beer to make sure that we didn't run out since we were pretty confident that we would take over the lobby again. We did and had plenty of beverages to spare. There were late night cookies from the Hyatt towards the end of the night and we did a great job of devouring them.
My teammates had gone to bed, but I was still wide awake so I hung out with six4three5 a.k.a. JimmyNumbers a.k.a. MrOakHill until 2:15. We just talked about anything and everything and I really enjoyed it. It was really great since I know that I'm not always the most engaging person around because I'm an only child and a science nerd. I would love to play with you, even though you are on the far north side of NY..we can do this!
Ugh, Sunday is going to come too soon...
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Sunday:
I definitely did not have enough sleep after waking up on the couch and realizing that it was almost time to leave for the course. I got ready really quickly, packed up, and hustled down to breakfast. I scarfed a couple pancakes, some juice, and a coffee before we headed out to the parking lot. Miller Time and I both had flights out of Midway so I drove us to Cog Hill. We didn't leave right away though since PhillyV had absconded with Alek's keys and we waited in the parking lot for their car to get back.
We finally made it to the course and I hit a few balls down at the range where we were the day before. I was still feeling the shenanigans from Saturday night and staying up talking with Jimmy so I just hit a few irons and socialized with everybody else around the practice green. I grabbed a hot dog from inside and chugged the quart of Gatorade that I got at Target and wished that I had gotten a few more.
Rhiona and I were the next-to-last group out with wadesworld and drp3434 so we had plenty of time to see Alek dance on the tee, ScottyG rap with JRod, and watch the other groups go off. We were playing off my ball again with Danny getting 4 strokes, Wade 8, and Rhi with 26 dots. My drive rolled to the right edge of the fairway and my approach shot landed on the front of the green which was a wild improvement over Saturday's play. The greens seemed psycho fast compared to Ravines and even to the practice green. I was able to get the speed sorted out after a few holes, but not before we halved #1.
Wade made an incredible up and down on #2 (how did that second shot stop there?) to win the hole and after he and Danny both made 5/net 5 on #3, I was starting to get a little worried. We scratched our 18 holes/18 points plan (completely unreasonable btw) and were looking for our first full point hole. The Ethanators were kicking our butts on the front nine. I had packed a few beers in case the cart girl made herself scarce again and I broke out the Goose Island Green Lines on #7. We picked up another half-point after Danny made a really good two-putt from above the hole and Rhi managed to stay dry after getting a little too close to the edge of the pond on the right side of the fairway.
Wade made birdie on #8 after a great approach shot to three feet to put us even farther behind. Wade and Danny were both left of the fairway on #9 along with Rhi and I was on the right side of the fairway. I did a fine job of topping my 3i and then put my 5i to about 12 feet. I slid in the downhill putt for birdie for our first full point of the day to make the turn at 6.5-2.5.
Wade sank a silly circus two-putt from across the green and over the ridge on #10 to win the hole and take the momentum back. Rhi detoured into a bunker on #11 (her eleventy billionth of the day :sad:) and proceeded to beat it into submission. After she got out and we were waiting in the cart by my ball which was across the path, she started to apologize again for not being a good teammate. I put a stop to that right away because she was an awesome teammate. I'll say that I'm sorry to a teammate once on the course and then that's it because we're all trying hard and sometimes it's just not your day. Rhi's a super-duper teammate!
We drove around to the downhill par 3 #12 and my tee shot is on the wrong side of the green. I'm on the left, the hole is on the right, and there's about forty feet and a ridge between my ball and the hole. Wade and Danny are short and right and Rhi was in the bunker on the left.
We were still down four points and I took a few extra seconds to re-read the putt from the top of the hill. The ball hit the top of the ridge and started to roll down the slope and it looked like it had a chance. I was confident in the line and didn't want to run it by too far, but it just dropped into the hole.
My partners are all shocked as well and I looked back to the tee and saw the foursome behind us, including my other two teammates, cheering for me. I raised my arms and waved and TeamRhi moved on to the next tee with some momentum squarely in our cart.
#13 was halved with fours and the tee on #14 showed an amphitheater green circled by bunkers. My tee shot ended up here, but didn't start there.
I missed the green to the right and got a friendly trickle down the hill. Danny posted that I was throwing more darts, which was true on a few holes this weekend, but this was a good roll..you are too kind, Danny, but I had to set the record straight! Rhi took a break to lay down on the side of the green and check out the beautiful midwestern clouds. I joined her for a minute and tried to visualize the birdie putt (sorry to Danny and Wade for briefly checking out while you putted, but I wanted to help my captain chill for a couple seconds).
We were making some hay in our comeback and then I snap-slice a ball into the hazard on #15. Rhi found a bunker..and then another bunker and I could tell that she had just about had it with this lovely, frustrating game that we play. She was such a trooper for having such a miserable time in the sand all day and still making sure that I was having a good time.
I didn't trust myself to cut the corner on #16 and ended up behind a tree on the right. I punched a low fade out and ran it over the green. I made good contact from an uphill lie in the rough to eke out a half-point. Wait, is that the drink cart on #17? She was coming back around as we got to the tee. We figured that Rhi needed a lemonade and then we thought that she found a few more bunkers, but the ball must have hit a rake or something and popped out. :angel:
I took a look at my line on the green and it looked like I would be putting along a spine and then breaking to the right as the ball got to the hole. I'm just going to leave Danny's post from the live thread as commentary on the green at 17.
I stood on the tee at the finishing hole and was still pumped from that last hole, but also disappointed that the fun was going to come to an end in about 15 minutes. Wade, Danny, and Rhi all ended up on the left side at some point and Rhi tried to hit Wade's ball because I was a bad cartmate and lost track of whose ball was where.
I was in the middle of the fairway with a 7i in my hand. I looked up and saw the pond and then focused on the green and then saw somebody fishing off to the left. Of course it was Callaway JRod! He did ask about fishing at dinner on Friday and I think it was Nick who said that he had his gear in the car. I knew that I wanted to get the last point for our team and had taken a quick peek at the card and knew where I stood on the back nine, as well.
I aimed at the middle of the green and hit my target. I could have used another club to get the ball to the back of the green where the hole was, but I was pretty confident in my putting for the day. Wade was on the hill behind the green and hit an almost perfect shot that needed to fly another six inches and would have rolled down the slope and next to the hole. My birdie putt slid by the hole and I firmly put the par putt in the back of the cup. I was really excited about my back nine, but disappointed that we were finished.
I would have gone out and played another 18 with my group if I could have. I had such a great time with Rhi who had a hell of a day on the course, but kept me going regardless. Danny and Wade kicked our butts up and down the front nine and were an absolute pleasure to play with and were truly excited for me when I made the two birdies on the back.
We took a group photo off the back of the 18[SUP]th [/SUP]green while Dufnering and watched the last group come in. I hadn't checked the live thread too much on the back since I was a little focused and was trying to keep my teammate from beating up the bunkers too much. It turned out that team JRod put played another good day of golf to take the 2015 title and PhillyV locked up his spot to the Grandaddy..congrats Phil!
We cleared out to the parking lot and packed up cars and said our goodbyes. I hope that I got to see everybody on the way out before Josh and I found the locker room to change before our flights (some of us have to change inside since we're not champions...ahem, JRod).I haven't been in the locker rooms at too many famous or large private clubs so I'm always excited to see what they look like and how they're decorated. I stopped at the Dubs pro shop on the way out to pick up two shirts and we repacked our travel bags and hit the road to the airport.
It was great hanging out with Josh in the car and at the airport on Sunday, even though I had a monster headache after the round. Staying up late on Saturday and little food and a few drinks and 18 holes in the sun took it out of me. We grabbed some food in the airport before Josh left for his terminal and I killed some time with a book before boarding my flight back to Jersey.
Southwest got me (and my bag) back to Newark and I caught the shuttle to my car around 11:30. I chatted with a guy in a Titleist hat while we waited to pick up our cars. He was coming home from officiating a wedding in Colorado and I told him where I had been. It turned out that he's a PGA pro in New York and we talked about how it was cool, but a lot of hard work. That was a good way to end a blatantly awesome weekend.
You got that real fun Cali look in your eye
And I got that black contraband hat that you like
And when we go down 5-1, we come back every time
Rhi, you'll never go out of style
You'll never go out of style
I definitely did not have enough sleep after waking up on the couch and realizing that it was almost time to leave for the course. I got ready really quickly, packed up, and hustled down to breakfast. I scarfed a couple pancakes, some juice, and a coffee before we headed out to the parking lot. Miller Time and I both had flights out of Midway so I drove us to Cog Hill. We didn't leave right away though since PhillyV had absconded with Alek's keys and we waited in the parking lot for their car to get back.
We finally made it to the course and I hit a few balls down at the range where we were the day before. I was still feeling the shenanigans from Saturday night and staying up talking with Jimmy so I just hit a few irons and socialized with everybody else around the practice green. I grabbed a hot dog from inside and chugged the quart of Gatorade that I got at Target and wished that I had gotten a few more.
Rhiona and I were the next-to-last group out with wadesworld and drp3434 so we had plenty of time to see Alek dance on the tee, ScottyG rap with JRod, and watch the other groups go off. We were playing off my ball again with Danny getting 4 strokes, Wade 8, and Rhi with 26 dots. My drive rolled to the right edge of the fairway and my approach shot landed on the front of the green which was a wild improvement over Saturday's play. The greens seemed psycho fast compared to Ravines and even to the practice green. I was able to get the speed sorted out after a few holes, but not before we halved #1.
Wade made an incredible up and down on #2 (how did that second shot stop there?) to win the hole and after he and Danny both made 5/net 5 on #3, I was starting to get a little worried. We scratched our 18 holes/18 points plan (completely unreasonable btw) and were looking for our first full point hole. The Ethanators were kicking our butts on the front nine. I had packed a few beers in case the cart girl made herself scarce again and I broke out the Goose Island Green Lines on #7. We picked up another half-point after Danny made a really good two-putt from above the hole and Rhi managed to stay dry after getting a little too close to the edge of the pond on the right side of the fairway.
Wade made birdie on #8 after a great approach shot to three feet to put us even farther behind. Wade and Danny were both left of the fairway on #9 along with Rhi and I was on the right side of the fairway. I did a fine job of topping my 3i and then put my 5i to about 12 feet. I slid in the downhill putt for birdie for our first full point of the day to make the turn at 6.5-2.5.
Wade sank a silly circus two-putt from across the green and over the ridge on #10 to win the hole and take the momentum back. Rhi detoured into a bunker on #11 (her eleventy billionth of the day :sad:) and proceeded to beat it into submission. After she got out and we were waiting in the cart by my ball which was across the path, she started to apologize again for not being a good teammate. I put a stop to that right away because she was an awesome teammate. I'll say that I'm sorry to a teammate once on the course and then that's it because we're all trying hard and sometimes it's just not your day. Rhi's a super-duper teammate!
We drove around to the downhill par 3 #12 and my tee shot is on the wrong side of the green. I'm on the left, the hole is on the right, and there's about forty feet and a ridge between my ball and the hole. Wade and Danny are short and right and Rhi was in the bunker on the left.
We were still down four points and I took a few extra seconds to re-read the putt from the top of the hill. The ball hit the top of the ridge and started to roll down the slope and it looked like it had a chance. I was confident in the line and didn't want to run it by too far, but it just dropped into the hole.
My partners are all shocked as well and I looked back to the tee and saw the foursome behind us, including my other two teammates, cheering for me. I raised my arms and waved and TeamRhi moved on to the next tee with some momentum squarely in our cart.
#13 was halved with fours and the tee on #14 showed an amphitheater green circled by bunkers. My tee shot ended up here, but didn't start there.
I missed the green to the right and got a friendly trickle down the hill. Danny posted that I was throwing more darts, which was true on a few holes this weekend, but this was a good roll..you are too kind, Danny, but I had to set the record straight! Rhi took a break to lay down on the side of the green and check out the beautiful midwestern clouds. I joined her for a minute and tried to visualize the birdie putt (sorry to Danny and Wade for briefly checking out while you putted, but I wanted to help my captain chill for a couple seconds).
We were making some hay in our comeback and then I snap-slice a ball into the hazard on #15. Rhi found a bunker..and then another bunker and I could tell that she had just about had it with this lovely, frustrating game that we play. She was such a trooper for having such a miserable time in the sand all day and still making sure that I was having a good time.
I didn't trust myself to cut the corner on #16 and ended up behind a tree on the right. I punched a low fade out and ran it over the green. I made good contact from an uphill lie in the rough to eke out a half-point. Wait, is that the drink cart on #17? She was coming back around as we got to the tee. We figured that Rhi needed a lemonade and then we thought that she found a few more bunkers, but the ball must have hit a rake or something and popped out. :angel:
I took a look at my line on the green and it looked like I would be putting along a spine and then breaking to the right as the ball got to the hole. I'm just going to leave Danny's post from the live thread as commentary on the green at 17.
I stood on the tee at the finishing hole and was still pumped from that last hole, but also disappointed that the fun was going to come to an end in about 15 minutes. Wade, Danny, and Rhi all ended up on the left side at some point and Rhi tried to hit Wade's ball because I was a bad cartmate and lost track of whose ball was where.
I was in the middle of the fairway with a 7i in my hand. I looked up and saw the pond and then focused on the green and then saw somebody fishing off to the left. Of course it was Callaway JRod! He did ask about fishing at dinner on Friday and I think it was Nick who said that he had his gear in the car. I knew that I wanted to get the last point for our team and had taken a quick peek at the card and knew where I stood on the back nine, as well.
I aimed at the middle of the green and hit my target. I could have used another club to get the ball to the back of the green where the hole was, but I was pretty confident in my putting for the day. Wade was on the hill behind the green and hit an almost perfect shot that needed to fly another six inches and would have rolled down the slope and next to the hole. My birdie putt slid by the hole and I firmly put the par putt in the back of the cup. I was really excited about my back nine, but disappointed that we were finished.
I would have gone out and played another 18 with my group if I could have. I had such a great time with Rhi who had a hell of a day on the course, but kept me going regardless. Danny and Wade kicked our butts up and down the front nine and were an absolute pleasure to play with and were truly excited for me when I made the two birdies on the back.
We took a group photo off the back of the 18[SUP]th [/SUP]green while Dufnering and watched the last group come in. I hadn't checked the live thread too much on the back since I was a little focused and was trying to keep my teammate from beating up the bunkers too much. It turned out that team JRod put played another good day of golf to take the 2015 title and PhillyV locked up his spot to the Grandaddy..congrats Phil!
We cleared out to the parking lot and packed up cars and said our goodbyes. I hope that I got to see everybody on the way out before Josh and I found the locker room to change before our flights (some of us have to change inside since we're not champions...ahem, JRod).I haven't been in the locker rooms at too many famous or large private clubs so I'm always excited to see what they look like and how they're decorated. I stopped at the Dubs pro shop on the way out to pick up two shirts and we repacked our travel bags and hit the road to the airport.
It was great hanging out with Josh in the car and at the airport on Sunday, even though I had a monster headache after the round. Staying up late on Saturday and little food and a few drinks and 18 holes in the sun took it out of me. We grabbed some food in the airport before Josh left for his terminal and I killed some time with a book before boarding my flight back to Jersey.
Southwest got me (and my bag) back to Newark and I caught the shuttle to my car around 11:30. I chatted with a guy in a Titleist hat while we waited to pick up our cars. He was coming home from officiating a wedding in Colorado and I told him where I had been. It turned out that he's a PGA pro in New York and we talked about how it was cool, but a lot of hard work. That was a good way to end a blatantly awesome weekend.
You got that real fun Cali look in your eye
And I got that black contraband hat that you like
And when we go down 5-1, we come back every time
Rhi, you'll never go out of style
You'll never go out of style
Last edited:
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- #137
I can't remember if they have them at the Hideaway. I have a sneaking suspicion you'll find out and won't make that mistake a second time hehe.
Awesome recaps Brian! What a great way to relive a great weekend!
kortneyV
Active member
Thank you AJ and JB for bringing my adolescence back to me circa 1998 ... Backstreet boys Pandora on point today!
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hickerad
@hick_golf
Great recaps Brian! That weekend was amazing!
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Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Brian those recaps are awesome. It was awesome getting to know you and play Sunday with you. Some good funny parts, but the pic after your putt on 12 and the line below really gave me a good laugh. I won't say how many putts there were in our group on that first whole of Dubs 
Great job Brian! Glad we got to meet up, hopefully we get to play another round together sooner rather than later.
Also, I cashed out my 15% off at the Callaway store and got the GBB 3W.. with a couple trade ins it will end up costing me around $100.... Just another reminder of this AMAZING weekend.
Also, I cashed out my 15% off at the Callaway store and got the GBB 3W.. with a couple trade ins it will end up costing me around $100.... Just another reminder of this AMAZING weekend.
Brian those recaps are awesome. It was awesome getting to know you and play Sunday with you. Some good funny parts, but the pic after your putt on 12 and the line below really gave me a good laugh. I won't say how many putts there were in our group on that first whole of Dubs
Sshhhh, I strategically left out the part where I putted off the green...
adamw238
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What a great event! Seems like so long ago already.....
Huge thanks to JB, GG and Callaway for making this event happen in my home town! I was pretty limited to what I could play in this year because of the new house, and the fact that we played in my backyard made it an easy sell for the wife.
Leading up to the event I was dealing with a wrist injury that kept me from taking full swings for two weeks. I spent most of that time chipping and putting. When my two weeks was up I had a lot of work to do. My first round was pretty promising as I shot an 83, but struggled off the tee. A driver change probably didn't help matters and I was still struggling turning my hands over because of my wrist. But nothing was going to keep me from playing in this event.
Friday I met up with Cbaker and WadesWorld to play at Ruffled Feathers. It hadn't rained any significant amount in almost a month, and the day JB and Ward arrive the skies opened up. The same thing usually happens when my mother-in-law comes to town :act-up: . Cbaker and I got to the course at the same time and talked for a bit and then wade arrived shortly after. We had a good time dealing with the wind and soggy conditions. We finished the round and I went home to make some changes to my driver, shower and then headed over to Giordano's to meet up with everyone. It's always fun to see people go crazy over something like deep dish pizza. I kind of take it for granted because it's always there for me. But, watching AJ try to figure out how to eat a piece of pizza was priceless. Two moments that really stood out for me though were when RFC gave ward and I the finger while explaining his version of aim point. The other was getting to meet DNevs and the rest of the ZooCrew. I've only heard great things about them and they definitely lived up to their reputation. JRod immediately started with the trash talking, most of it aimed at ward. I think as a result of my proximity to Ward at the table I became the next target. Lots of jokes made about the brace on my right wrist. None of them safe for family TV.
Back at the hotel things got more interesting as Ethan broke out the Malort. Having already been burned once by that evil vixen when I was younger I opted out. Of course JRod had some R rated comments about it, but it didn't bother me because I'm taller and better looking than him.
Saturday morning I got up around 6 and headed over to my house to finish putting a new tip on the driver shaft I wanted to use, grabbed some coffee and headed over to the range. After the range I made my way up to the Barn where we got wedgucated by RFC. Roger Cleveland is an amazing person. He explained things in a way that finally made sense for me as it pertained to playing out of the bunker and utilizing the bounce on a wedge. I had to run back to my car to grab a couple of sharpies so he could sign mine and Ward's wedges. After that it was back over to the range to finish getting warmed up and hit some of the new Callaway woods.
DNev and I were matched up against ScottyG and Aaron in our Saturday round. DNev and I had a solid game plan and executed it perfectly. At least for the first 6 holes or so. The Ravines course is one that I play quite a bit and I think it was an advantage for us as I was able to tell DNev where the smart plays were and where to stay away from. The funniest thing was when ScottyG found out that it's essentially my home course. He couldn't figure out why I knew so much about where to go and not to go. On about the 6th hole I took a swing and felt fire coming out of my right wrist again. At that point I went into survival mode and started to self medicate from the alcohol I got from Nurse Beer Cart. We ended up winning 8&6, but most of it was DNev's play. I made a couple of nice shots, but really struggled to make solid contact with the ball.
After our round ended we found Ward and Colin and watched the rest of their match. I showed up just in time to see the two of them hit amazing recovery shots from the trees on 16. I should mention that I had to hide behind a tree on both of their tee shots as the came right at me. Their match ended all square after an amazing approach and clutch putt from Ward. We stood on the 18th green watching everyone finished and I headed back to the hotel to take a nap and ice my wrist down. Top Golf was next on the agenda and was something I was really looking forward to.
Top Golf was amazing! It was the first time I had been to that one and was blown away by the size. We were next to team JRod and watched as Nick used "The Big Stick" to pound balls to the back of the range. Ward, Colin and I ended up playing some creative shot games. One involved hitting driver 150 yards. It was an absolute blast. I hung around with Ward and JB for what seemed like an eternity while the Top Golf staff tried to figure out how provide JB with a bill. Back at the hotel the party continued. Drinks were flowing, stories were being told and some mild trash talking was being done by JRod. Spent a couple of minutes talking with Rhi which resulted in her telling me that she loved my face :beauty: .
Sunday at Dubs was something I had been looking forward to since I got into the event. I had just played it the previous Monday and shot 91 from the blues, but that was without burning death in my wrist. It was amazing watching Colin get up and down from all sorts of crazy places. THP JRod, who had the shanks the day before got everything together for Sunday and absolutely punished the ball. Ethan made some clutch putts that kept the pressure on Colin and I the whole round. After an awful 7th hole I made my way into the halfway house to get some liquid pain killer and managed to piece together a decent rest of the round. But Colin's play is what really kept us in the match. We ended up going with the 90's Rap Pandora station to get us motivated and I did a Crip Walk at one point to throw Ethan and JRod off their games, but it didn't work for long. JRod was on fire. At one point a survey team came out to plot a new Walmart that they were going to build between his tee shot and mine. The match ended with Ethan and JRod winning 10 to 8, but the fun we had on the course kind of made the loss a little better to bear.
After everyone finished up trophies were handed out to team JRod and PhillyV ended up with a very deserved MVP award. Saying goodbye at these events is always tough because you spend two days with people and they become family. I hopped in my car and made the 15 minute drive back to my house. Disappointed that we didn't win, but happy that I got to play golf with some amazing people.
Monday morning I ran over to Golfsmith and traded in my TMaG wedges for a new set of MD3s. I was jacked and couldn't wait to get them out on the course. However, my wrist was still really hurting and me hitting a golf ball looked like a bunch of chimps trying to hump an exercise ball. Tuesday I woke up with the same pain and called up my doctor, he got me in that afternoon and told me that my golf season was done. Disappointment doesn't even begin to explain how I felt, and I think my doctor saw that on my face. So, I've got an MRI scheduled for next Monday to see what the damage is. But I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish my golf season. Golfing with THPers and the ZooCrew at Cog.....it doesn't get better than that. Well....maybe winning would have been better, but you can't have everything. I mean, look at JRod.....sure he's successful, but has a face meant for radio.
Huge thanks to JB, GG and Callaway for making this event happen in my home town! I was pretty limited to what I could play in this year because of the new house, and the fact that we played in my backyard made it an easy sell for the wife.
Leading up to the event I was dealing with a wrist injury that kept me from taking full swings for two weeks. I spent most of that time chipping and putting. When my two weeks was up I had a lot of work to do. My first round was pretty promising as I shot an 83, but struggled off the tee. A driver change probably didn't help matters and I was still struggling turning my hands over because of my wrist. But nothing was going to keep me from playing in this event.
Friday I met up with Cbaker and WadesWorld to play at Ruffled Feathers. It hadn't rained any significant amount in almost a month, and the day JB and Ward arrive the skies opened up. The same thing usually happens when my mother-in-law comes to town :act-up: . Cbaker and I got to the course at the same time and talked for a bit and then wade arrived shortly after. We had a good time dealing with the wind and soggy conditions. We finished the round and I went home to make some changes to my driver, shower and then headed over to Giordano's to meet up with everyone. It's always fun to see people go crazy over something like deep dish pizza. I kind of take it for granted because it's always there for me. But, watching AJ try to figure out how to eat a piece of pizza was priceless. Two moments that really stood out for me though were when RFC gave ward and I the finger while explaining his version of aim point. The other was getting to meet DNevs and the rest of the ZooCrew. I've only heard great things about them and they definitely lived up to their reputation. JRod immediately started with the trash talking, most of it aimed at ward. I think as a result of my proximity to Ward at the table I became the next target. Lots of jokes made about the brace on my right wrist. None of them safe for family TV.
Back at the hotel things got more interesting as Ethan broke out the Malort. Having already been burned once by that evil vixen when I was younger I opted out. Of course JRod had some R rated comments about it, but it didn't bother me because I'm taller and better looking than him.
Saturday morning I got up around 6 and headed over to my house to finish putting a new tip on the driver shaft I wanted to use, grabbed some coffee and headed over to the range. After the range I made my way up to the Barn where we got wedgucated by RFC. Roger Cleveland is an amazing person. He explained things in a way that finally made sense for me as it pertained to playing out of the bunker and utilizing the bounce on a wedge. I had to run back to my car to grab a couple of sharpies so he could sign mine and Ward's wedges. After that it was back over to the range to finish getting warmed up and hit some of the new Callaway woods.
DNev and I were matched up against ScottyG and Aaron in our Saturday round. DNev and I had a solid game plan and executed it perfectly. At least for the first 6 holes or so. The Ravines course is one that I play quite a bit and I think it was an advantage for us as I was able to tell DNev where the smart plays were and where to stay away from. The funniest thing was when ScottyG found out that it's essentially my home course. He couldn't figure out why I knew so much about where to go and not to go. On about the 6th hole I took a swing and felt fire coming out of my right wrist again. At that point I went into survival mode and started to self medicate from the alcohol I got from Nurse Beer Cart. We ended up winning 8&6, but most of it was DNev's play. I made a couple of nice shots, but really struggled to make solid contact with the ball.
After our round ended we found Ward and Colin and watched the rest of their match. I showed up just in time to see the two of them hit amazing recovery shots from the trees on 16. I should mention that I had to hide behind a tree on both of their tee shots as the came right at me. Their match ended all square after an amazing approach and clutch putt from Ward. We stood on the 18th green watching everyone finished and I headed back to the hotel to take a nap and ice my wrist down. Top Golf was next on the agenda and was something I was really looking forward to.
Top Golf was amazing! It was the first time I had been to that one and was blown away by the size. We were next to team JRod and watched as Nick used "The Big Stick" to pound balls to the back of the range. Ward, Colin and I ended up playing some creative shot games. One involved hitting driver 150 yards. It was an absolute blast. I hung around with Ward and JB for what seemed like an eternity while the Top Golf staff tried to figure out how provide JB with a bill. Back at the hotel the party continued. Drinks were flowing, stories were being told and some mild trash talking was being done by JRod. Spent a couple of minutes talking with Rhi which resulted in her telling me that she loved my face :beauty: .
Sunday at Dubs was something I had been looking forward to since I got into the event. I had just played it the previous Monday and shot 91 from the blues, but that was without burning death in my wrist. It was amazing watching Colin get up and down from all sorts of crazy places. THP JRod, who had the shanks the day before got everything together for Sunday and absolutely punished the ball. Ethan made some clutch putts that kept the pressure on Colin and I the whole round. After an awful 7th hole I made my way into the halfway house to get some liquid pain killer and managed to piece together a decent rest of the round. But Colin's play is what really kept us in the match. We ended up going with the 90's Rap Pandora station to get us motivated and I did a Crip Walk at one point to throw Ethan and JRod off their games, but it didn't work for long. JRod was on fire. At one point a survey team came out to plot a new Walmart that they were going to build between his tee shot and mine. The match ended with Ethan and JRod winning 10 to 8, but the fun we had on the course kind of made the loss a little better to bear.
After everyone finished up trophies were handed out to team JRod and PhillyV ended up with a very deserved MVP award. Saying goodbye at these events is always tough because you spend two days with people and they become family. I hopped in my car and made the 15 minute drive back to my house. Disappointed that we didn't win, but happy that I got to play golf with some amazing people.
Monday morning I ran over to Golfsmith and traded in my TMaG wedges for a new set of MD3s. I was jacked and couldn't wait to get them out on the course. However, my wrist was still really hurting and me hitting a golf ball looked like a bunch of chimps trying to hump an exercise ball. Tuesday I woke up with the same pain and called up my doctor, he got me in that afternoon and told me that my golf season was done. Disappointment doesn't even begin to explain how I felt, and I think my doctor saw that on my face. So, I've got an MRI scheduled for next Monday to see what the damage is. But I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish my golf season. Golfing with THPers and the ZooCrew at Cog.....it doesn't get better than that. Well....maybe winning would have been better, but you can't have everything. I mean, look at JRod.....sure he's successful, but has a face meant for radio.
Just remembered I had this tucked away in the trunk of my car.
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Crouching Tiger Hidden Vodka!
Just remembered I had this tucked away in the trunk of my car.
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Uncle Tito in the trunk? Shameful.
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Here is my much-belated recap --
First of all, allow me to say how much of an honor it is for us to be able to join you guys in these events. In case you couldn't tell, we have just as much fun as you (if not more!) and always learn something new and meet new, wonderful people. What's constant though, is the unbelievable passion that you guys have for the game of golf, the equipment, the forum, and for each other. Even though I know about all that going in, I always leave shaking my head in wonder. i love it.
This was my first trip back to Chicago since moving to CA over 2 years ago, so it was a great homecoming. The ZooCrew spent Thursday evening downtown and we visited my old stomping grounds and we had several beverages, setting the tone for the weekend. We played a "practice" round on Friday and then rolled into Naperville. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many THPers already lounging in the lobby when we came in dragging all of our stuff. BOOM, right into the action!
Upon going to my room, I noticed a bunch of the guys hanging out in their hotel room with the door open, very much college dorm-style. I loved being in college so as soon as I dropped my stuff in my room, I went back to hang out before dinner and was glad I did. It was like having instant friends. So much fun.
Meeting my team was awesome - I ran into WadesWorld in the parking lot at the hotel and he had traveled all the way from TN, DrP3434 brought a 10-pack of Yoo-Hoo, and (the real) JRod surprised me by having the largest hands out of anyone I've ever met. Seriously, I have shaken hands with some NFL QBs and they have smaller hands.
Saturday's Wedgeducation event blew me away; I've spent time with Roger but have never been lucky enough to do so in a setting like that short game area and with a (lefty) wedge in my hands. So that was great. I picked up a couple of new thoughts that have really helped my bunker play. Huge props to JRod for being the event's guinea pig -- to step up in front of 30 people with no warm up and Roger Cleveland next to you is not the easiest way to demonstrate some short game shots. Stones.
By now you guys have all read the round recaps so there's not much I can say about our rounds that hasn't been said already, but I must say that the courses were awesome (how about those greens?!?) and the level of competition was extremely impressive. I had a blast playing with WadesWorld, who seems like a totally mild-mannered dude but you can tell he gets fired up inside(!), and I give a lot of credit to JRod for working through a slight case of the hosel fades to play some strong golf on Sunday. I was bummed not to play with Danny but know we'll tee it sometime soon.
Everyone at the event was super fun to hang out with. We ruled that hotel lobby like nobody's business. I mean, seriously. We probably went through 10 cases of beer just sitting in the breakfast area from 9pm til midnight both nights. THAT was fun.
Many thanks to everyone who entered the contests, participated in the event, and followed along remotely. I know I speak for the entire ZooCrew when I say that you guys make our jobs so much more worthwhile than they already are and we sincerely thank you for your passion and enthusiasm.
Speaking of passion and enthusiasm - Wadesworld went an played an emergency 18 after we finished on Sunday. Impressive!
Thanks to Danny, Wade, and JRod for being great teammates. We didn't win, but I think we played hard and had a great time. Thanks again for the new cubicle decoration, which hangs next to the flag from last year's Houston Kings of Distance event (the one where I wore the spacesuit.) As soon as I figure out how to upload a photo to this forum from my desktop, I will edit this post and do so. [Seriously, am I that old that I can't figure this out? What am I missing?]
First of all, allow me to say how much of an honor it is for us to be able to join you guys in these events. In case you couldn't tell, we have just as much fun as you (if not more!) and always learn something new and meet new, wonderful people. What's constant though, is the unbelievable passion that you guys have for the game of golf, the equipment, the forum, and for each other. Even though I know about all that going in, I always leave shaking my head in wonder. i love it.
This was my first trip back to Chicago since moving to CA over 2 years ago, so it was a great homecoming. The ZooCrew spent Thursday evening downtown and we visited my old stomping grounds and we had several beverages, setting the tone for the weekend. We played a "practice" round on Friday and then rolled into Naperville. It was a pleasant surprise to see so many THPers already lounging in the lobby when we came in dragging all of our stuff. BOOM, right into the action!
Upon going to my room, I noticed a bunch of the guys hanging out in their hotel room with the door open, very much college dorm-style. I loved being in college so as soon as I dropped my stuff in my room, I went back to hang out before dinner and was glad I did. It was like having instant friends. So much fun.
Meeting my team was awesome - I ran into WadesWorld in the parking lot at the hotel and he had traveled all the way from TN, DrP3434 brought a 10-pack of Yoo-Hoo, and (the real) JRod surprised me by having the largest hands out of anyone I've ever met. Seriously, I have shaken hands with some NFL QBs and they have smaller hands.
Saturday's Wedgeducation event blew me away; I've spent time with Roger but have never been lucky enough to do so in a setting like that short game area and with a (lefty) wedge in my hands. So that was great. I picked up a couple of new thoughts that have really helped my bunker play. Huge props to JRod for being the event's guinea pig -- to step up in front of 30 people with no warm up and Roger Cleveland next to you is not the easiest way to demonstrate some short game shots. Stones.
By now you guys have all read the round recaps so there's not much I can say about our rounds that hasn't been said already, but I must say that the courses were awesome (how about those greens?!?) and the level of competition was extremely impressive. I had a blast playing with WadesWorld, who seems like a totally mild-mannered dude but you can tell he gets fired up inside(!), and I give a lot of credit to JRod for working through a slight case of the hosel fades to play some strong golf on Sunday. I was bummed not to play with Danny but know we'll tee it sometime soon.
Everyone at the event was super fun to hang out with. We ruled that hotel lobby like nobody's business. I mean, seriously. We probably went through 10 cases of beer just sitting in the breakfast area from 9pm til midnight both nights. THAT was fun.
Many thanks to everyone who entered the contests, participated in the event, and followed along remotely. I know I speak for the entire ZooCrew when I say that you guys make our jobs so much more worthwhile than they already are and we sincerely thank you for your passion and enthusiasm.
Speaking of passion and enthusiasm - Wadesworld went an played an emergency 18 after we finished on Sunday. Impressive!
Thanks to Danny, Wade, and JRod for being great teammates. We didn't win, but I think we played hard and had a great time. Thanks again for the new cubicle decoration, which hangs next to the flag from last year's Houston Kings of Distance event (the one where I wore the spacesuit.) As soon as I figure out how to upload a photo to this forum from my desktop, I will edit this post and do so. [Seriously, am I that old that I can't figure this out? What am I missing?]