2015 THP Invitational at Olde Stonewall - Pittsburgh, PA

CAA_Beat said:

On to GameDay.

Tee time wasmt until 12:00 and the range activity wasn't starting until 10:00 or so. Had a great buffet breakfast wit's BogBall and we both wanted to stop by Dicks. A huge two level store right across the street from the hotel.

I actually had something very specific in mind. A 58 degree wedge that would be versatile in most type of sands. I first looked at the RTX 2.0 but no 58 in stock. Several 60's and 56's. Looked at the MD2 and saw a 58 there that was a strong ponder.

Then in I saw the PING GLIDE rack. And remembered JMans great review on these and how he had all three sole grinds for review. A sales guy came over to help and at first I was leary, a Dicks young kid and all. But it was obvious from the beginning the guy knew what he was talking about.

I decided on the 58 SS. I know what you're thinking who goes out and buys a brand new wedge 2 hours before teeing off in an bog outing. Well this is THP isn't it. More on the wedge in the appropriate thread.

The range was quite a site. 60 THP'ers doing our thing. Hitting each other's clubs, hanging out talking, getting SWAG from JB, thanks THP and Bridgestone! Flight scope was in full use. I was hitting close enough to hear the numbers being spewed out...lets just say THP'ers get a rap for being Intermet golfers....but there are plenty of guys who showed they can move the ball.

Off for for group instructions on the putting green then to tee off.

Our Group: Me, Canadan and VTHokies and Orange Hog. Umm, wow...I can't tell you how excited I had been all week about this foursome. I had met Dan at PGA but didn't get near enogh time to really tslk with him. Jake and I had traded some PM's about the travel bag he won. And Cace I had not met or spoken to in any form. But I really enjoyed meeting him and getting to know jake amd Dan better.


Some said the pace of play was slow, but it seemed like the round went by in 15 minutes, it was that much fun. JB said most groups werv15-30 minutes behind pace. I don't think it was because of slow play. I think it's because if eveyone was enjoying their foursome as much as we did, who would be in s hurry for that to end.

Dan played fantastic but the weight of a partner would two surgically repaired knees was too much to carry. I think we finished respectable. But we finished with lots of smiles and great memories that will last forever.

The dinner was a great buffet. And more good fun and stories. Tried to get around the room and meet a few people I hadn't met yet. And enjoyed time with Harvmp28 and Morgan and EMart, Mat and Gina.

One final thing. A sincere thanks to everyone thst asked how my knees were doing and how the recovery was going. It's still going these were only my 2nd and 3rd rounds of the year. And while it was obvious I have a lot to do to get s swing back. I honestly felt great all weekend and other than wearing down in the heat a bit, I didn't have one problem with the kness. That's victory enough for me.

Click to expand...

Rob, I did not get the chance to play with you but can definitely say that I'm sure your game will come back. Recovery is just that, especially what you're coming back from. With that said, just talking with you at dinner your passion for the game and this community is infectious, and that alone will bring your game right back! I look forward to hearing about your progressions going forward and happy to hear rounds 2 & 3 went well on the knees!

Ddec, you need some Tic Tacs?

First of all, a very big "Thank You" to JB, GG, MD441 and Bridgestone for putting this event together. I know that it was a great deal of work, especially with a group this big. Everything seemed to go without a hitch that was noticeable.

Arrived Wed evening, prepped for a Thursday round with Robozeo. A really nice course, Cranberry Highlands, recommended by vthokies, not far from the hotel. It was in terrific condition, greens were a bit slow but very receptive and rolled true. Met Scott on the second tee box (traffic around the hotel was not fun), he gets to the box, takes one practice swing, and rips one down the middle. It was a great round, had a lot of fun, and scored a personal best.

Met some of the guys for drinks at Mad Mex after my dinner. Philly Golf Guy showed up, we had a drink at the hotel, and got some sleep before Friday's round.

At Totteridge, I played with PGG, Orange Hog and BigBall, all of whom were terrific company! I had a blast, I am sure they had some fun, and golf was pretty good. Nice course, but certainly had some funky holes. I did not know that BigBall was dealing with shoulder issues, he played very well, and smoked a few shots that turned out worse than they should have.

Friday afternoon round with Orange Hog - Lots of fun trying to figure out the greens, great course, he played very well, we make the turn, and the sky opens up! When the wind arrived, it reminded me of the scene in Jurassic Park when the trees are shaking and the dinosaur arrives - very impressive! Lots of rain, I got soaked, we played 13 holes, then went back to the hotel. Great time, a terrific partner, and the snake between 6 green and 7 tee made an appearance. Harmless, but quite large.

Fri night at the meet and greet - Good lord, a ton of people were there! Meeting friends, old and new, and hanging out with Plin and Chopstixx is always a blast! Great meeting fellow THP'ers, shooting the breeze, and having a few drinks. Thanks for setting that up - it was terrific!

Sat round - my partner v.man carried me for the first 6 holes, until I actually hit a driver straight. We ham and egg'd the back 9, the putter and short irons finally figured stuff out, and then stumbled in on a par 3 where we both three putted for bogey. Ken - great partner, thanks for a terrific day! I am glad we got it done!!

Sat night - Pete and ddec's room was as hot and as humid as the course! That is what happens when 30 people swing by for a drink! Great re-hashing the round, meeting (and re-meeting) the folks, and throwing back a celebratory shot of Fireball out of a coffee cup with Ken!! Then, back to the room for a few more with PGG and the Chosen1, and to catch a few hours (three) sleep before getting up to golf at Totteridge.

Sunday - a very fun round and game of Wolf at a soaking wet Totteridge golf course. It could have been another stellar round, save two triple bogeys on the par 3's on the back. I must have been distracted by PGG and his cart driving skills - really funny stuff! Watching him climb out of the cart, trying to push it, yelling "I got it, relax" and then running after the cart - it was a movie scene, but I knew the players!! Good post round conversation, paying off my losses to gr8drive, and eating what was probably the cheapest hot dog I have ever paid for, before heading to the airport.

Overall, a great trip! I met so many people, look forward to meeting you all again, some for the first time, and catching up on life and golf in the future!! Thanks again!!

2015 THP Invitational at Olde Stonewall - Pittsburgh, PA

Here's my short but sweet recap:

Me and Gina arrived at the hotel around 12:30, just enough time to grab our room keys and hop back in the car to get to my 1:30 tee time with Plin his girlfriend Jess and Chopstixx.

Apparently being exhausted from driving and not eating anything all day is the combination to play my best golf.

Chopstixx and Plin are cool guys.

Olde stonewall is beautiful but frustrating.

Monsoons are real and I lived through one on the 15th hole.

Meeting new friends like phillyv, Fupresti, and Krispyk while seeing old friends is the best part about these events.

Air conditioning can't handle 25 people in one hotel room

Friends, beer, meeting new people, and great golf...sums it up pretty good.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

O'Carroll said:

This will shock nobody, but ddec and I checked out and we're loading up the car when I realized I left my prescription (for my dang elbow) in the fridge of our room. Back to the desk I go; and the lady asked a maintenance guy (I think) to take me back up to the room to let me in. He unlocks the door and opens it to this:

"Man you drank all of those beers last night?!" He was a younger kid and I thought for a second he was going to ask for an autograph.

Click to expand...

surprised he did not ask you where the Genesee Cream Ale empties were....LOL

Lee and I headed out around 10, arrived close to 5, we weren't in any rush, it was just an easy drive with my wife just chatting and doing what we do. pA turnpike can kiss my a$$, $16.40 in tolls and not enough places to stop for this old an bladder running full tilt on paisleys. We made out way to our hotel, it was nice, but it wasn't with the our THP family so that was a mistake on my part. We kicked around looking for a range to hit but storm clouds pretty much dampened that idea. Chomping at the bit for the THP connection, we headed to to the meet and greet early, JB rolled in and we moved to the meet and greet room. Always good to get a few minutes talking business with Josh. Soon after the crew started to join in, there is something so powerful about seeing guys you haven't seen in extended periods of time walk in. I had the pleasure of meeting many people that I hadn't met yet previously. So cool to see the first timers just sitting back trying to soak it all in. I made the rounds and tried to talk to everyone, the wives and significant others that were present were all awesome. The two timer was a bit much for me, but the gauntlet had been laid and I wasn't going to back down no matter how much it hurt through the night. We retired for the night and looked forward to a day at Old Stonewall.

Saturday morning cam quick and I was up very early, after some stretching a few exercises to loosen up the back, I set out for a coffee or two. We met a group, at Christies for breakfast, food was ok, but the locals made it all worth while. We descended upon the course and immediately headed to the range. while on the range, I took the opportunity to move around talk it up, and check out the J15 line. The CB line is very impressive! With my current gamers it seems that the natural progression is to move right into J15 line. Settling in on the end of the range with Canadan and Six4three5, Amsmith, Maddog, Amart and Gregdan. It was pretty cool to listen to the banter and just hit balls. Dan and Jimmy were awesome as usual and I started to toy around with working the wedges game. A few swing thoughts were exchanged and the typical banter and all felt right in the world.
Big shout out to PhillyV! He brought his D200 with the tour green shaft that I will be playing in the Legacy. I was quite happy to see the results of what a good swing produces...pretty much put me at ease for playing down in Myrtle.

Making our our way down the the putting green for a few putts and last minute instructions we were off for a great round on a great course. Paired with MikeDean441, I honestly could care what we shot, it was just about hanging with a great dude. We played with JdTox and Emart. A fun day smashing drives and rolling putts. I choked a few times on the short putts which was stored away in the memory banks for work going forward. Playing with Mike was a highlight of the weekend, and I'm looking forward to the next opportunity.

Congrats to Vman and Spivey on a well played round! Old Stonewall was a quality venue, for this format, and could easily be a host for any THP event! I'd gladly go back in a heart beat. Great staff, great facilities, and perfect layout. A challenge awaits on every hole. Dinner was decent, salads were very good! I wasn't quite ready for another burger, but managed to get one down. Spending time to catch up with THPers and say good bye to those headed back home.

we rolled back to the hotel and made our way to Pete and Deans Sauna for a coup,e beers and fellowship. Alway a blast spending time with everyone. We called it a night close to 12:30 ish.

The he next morning came kind of quickly, we shuffled Lee off to the airport for a business trip, and I made my way to Totteridge, course was pretty wet, many holes had casual water in the fairways. But it was about the people!

I made my way home. I rolled down past the Flight 93 memorial. Pulling in there to see what it was all about was a very good move. It's not very often that I feel very humbled and over powered by just being there.

I had a blast at my first THP event and I want to thank JB, GG, MD441, and anybody else who had a hand in putting together this huge event!

I thought about taking Friday off and driving out early, but Friday was our volunteer day at L'Oreal and I didn't want to miss helping out at the Children's Specialized Hospital again. We finished just before 1:00 and I headed west to the weekend's destination. Driving through two downpours on the PA turnpike didn't make me feel very good, but they only lasted a few minutes each and it was onto drier pastures. Little did I know that the storm had already blown through Olde Stonewall and rained out a few of our groups playing a practice round.

I rolled into the parking lot at The Sports Grille at 7:30 and find no empty spots. I circled around and parked next door at the Quaker Steak. The hostess pointed me to the private room and there are a ton of people inside. I remembered rule #1...don't be shy. I found some empty space and introduced myself to LeeB18, T2Grn18, and CAA_Beat. The waitress finally came around and I ordered a Great Lakes Alberta Clipper. She returned with a large glass of surprise..it's a porter. I like trying new beers, regardless of the type and season and I excused myself to go meet some more THPeeps.

I saw JB at the next table and remembered rule #2..fist bumps for the win. After sharing a few words and letting him get back to his tablemates, I made an end-around to the other side of the room and found krispyk, emart2173, jdtox, Six4Three5, Golds, and Mrs. Golds-to-be. I stayed with them for a while and shared a table with krispy, Golds, and Gina once we got the order to sit down or there would be no food! They were awesome to talk to and Gina almost soaked Golds with her beer, although her aim was just slightly off.

Great food and great company, but 10:00 felt late for me since I only slept a few hours the night before and was working outside at volunteer day. I already had the hotel room info from Orange Hog, but I thought I spied Cace at the next table and wanted to say hello to my roommate for the weekend before I strolled into the room and said "Here I am!" We chatted for a minute and I wanted to stay and meet more people, but I was wiped out and just met a few others (amsmith61, Canadan, creegs7882) before heading back to crash. Cace and I planned for the morning and pretty much passed out.

I was afraid that I wouldn't sleep well on a softer bed, but I woke up refreshed. We hit breakfast downstairs with Golds and Gina, Spivey, Philly Golf Guy, and I saw Amart and TheChosen1 on the way out. Cace and I got to know each other some more on the drive to the course and ran into LeeB18 and T2Grn18, who was wearing a white belt to much amusement from the other THPers.

We drove up to the range where I finally remembered to text my partner gr8dryv (I was a little overwhelmed with people Friday night..sorry!). Rob found me after I grabbed an empty spot next to Fupresti. Let's fast forward through warming up and I tried out Flightscope with my Big Bertha Alpha and two shafts. I got a 232 carry and 260 total and 3200 spin with the Fubuki stiff and slightly less distance and 4400 spin with the Grandaddy x-flex so I went back to the Fubuki for the round. There was a nice short game area with some bunkers at the top of the hill (an escalator would have been nice) and I chipped a few balls. I would have tested out the sand if there were less people around. I'm pretty confident with my bunker game (foreshadowing...), but I'm not going to be the guy who shanks one and causes a second casualty for the weekend; speaking of which, I hope Grins is doing okay! I met more people between the range and short game area, including MikeDean441 at the swag table obviously, AngryYankee, kenh, MPLefty, OITW and many more.

My first real contribution for my team for the day (and there weren't many more!) was to get to the practice green before it got terribly crowded. It was quite a scene and the green was silly fast, especially going downhill. I saw emart's huge, bright orange Cure putter and hit a putt with it. It sounded like a softball bat, but the ball rolled forward so I'm sure that it wouldn't take too much to get used to. I met a bunch of others on the green (Harvmp28 and I spent a few good minutes there) and when we made the turn to #1 (process of elimination was starting to kick in and I picked out O'Carroll from the Black Clover hat and DavidWinchell from the creamsicle orange outfit).

Gr8dryv and I headed to #11 for the shotgun start and we both put our tee shots in the fairway a few yards from each other (good start!). I pulled my approach into the bunker and promptly got up and 3putted. That was the story of the day for me. I must have 3putted 9 or 10 greens. I had already heard that the greens were really tough so I didn't let it get to me and just enjoyed the company and the course. Unfortunately, we were the twosome on the course so we didn't get to hang out with another team, but somebody had to do it.

Rob kicked butt with a 37 on the front side shamble, including a birdie on 6 and another on 9 from the hazard! We ended up with 123 which was a pleasant surprise since I thought I had putted us way out of contention. My shot of the day might have come from the left greenside bunker on #8. I hooked my approach and found a buried lie on the upslope of the bunker. I posted a pic before I tried to take a ridiculous stance. I had my right foot in the sand and my left foot on the grass and realized that I had no chance of making any sort of good shot and even less chance since it was buried. I climbed into the bunker and turned my sand wedge over and blasted the ball out. If you heard somebody yell "Hit it!" with only a few holes to go, that was me (sorry!). It shot across the green and rocketed a few inches from the flagstick. I got up and down from just off the green for bogey. I should have given my phone to Rob so he could have had some video evidence of that shot. Is it good or bad that I had complete confidence in getting it out from that position??

Dinner was a lot of fun with more folks, including ddec and BeeDoubleU at our table. I introduced myself to greggdrews for the second time and met Plin and Jess and Harvmp28's wife Morgan. V.man and Spivey were announced as the winners, which came to no surprise to quite a few people. Ken is a fairway finder and Dave kills it with the irons so it was a perfect pairing. We all split after a while and headed back to the hotel to shower and chill. I met a few others before they left, although I missed PhillyV and a few others from the Ohio crew so I'll have to do that at a future event.

Cace and I watched the first period of the hockey game in our room after we got back to the hotel and showered. He had an early flight so he made the somnologically-wise choice to hit the sack instead of going up to the afterparty in ddec and O'Carroll's room. The room was already packed so I grabbed a beer and found an open spot. As more people arrived, we looked at the thermostat and noticed the temperature slowly rising. We tried to blame it on the heat being emitted from the TV, but I think it really was all the people. Lots of fun ensued, including Michigan Slice calling fives on his seat and giving me the threatening eye from across the room. What has two thumbs and would never take your seat? This guy.

Spivey and v.man celebrated their victory with a little Fireball and I talked with Dave for a while about his time in New Orleans and my being a cosmetic chemist. The temperature finally hit 80 degrees and some people started to leave. I found a spot by the bathroom and the sink with Harvmp28 and OITW and we talked for a while. I thought about leaving, but then grabbed a chair and talked to Maddog701 for a bit. Everybody did a pretty good job on killing the beer so that there wouldn't be any leftovers and I finally split around 1:30. I investigated the pool area and was hoping for a hot tub, but it was just a pool so I lounged around there for a bit before heading back up to the room and realizing that I'd have to be up in about four hours to play Totteridge. I also knew that I was going to have a pretty tough drive back to NJ later in the day.

I pulled into the lot at Totteridge and got in the cart with emart and we were playing with v.man and T2Grn18. On a scale of wet to squishy, the course was waterlogged. None of us had super days and I chunked a bunch of pitches in the wet grass. That annoys me and makes me nervous because I flash back to the days when I was starting out and played really bad (now I'm just mediocre). Hopefully my play didn't rub off too much and I tried to stay out of the way on the holes where I was horrible (like #6). Thankfully, our day lightened up on #7 where we watched PGG chase the cart down the hill and across the fairway and then our carts looked like the spinning tea cups going down the hill to the 150 yard marker. I hit my third shot over the green and almost chipped in for birdie. The cart girl drove up after the hole and we hydrated a little more. I told Eric that I should have asked her if she wanted to share my six hour drive back to NJ with me and he agreed.

We made it through the rest of the round without any major cart incidents, although Eric and I almost got stuck in the fairway on #15. I was about to hop out and push, but we finally got some traction and made it to the path. I had a birdie putt on #18, but was above the hole and was spooked from the previous 35 holes on the weekend and only hit it two-thirds of the way to the hole. Thankfully, I made the par putt for a good finish.

It was a real pleasure to share a cart with Eric and play with Ken and Kevin. I could see why Ken is the fairway finder, even if he missed a few on Sunday. Kevin can just flat out bomb the ball with a sweet draw, but his hybrid has to go. If it had started to rain while we were out there, I was going to blame him for piercing the clouds. Eric says that he's a similar handicap to me, but that's going to go way down really soon with his new Cobra Fly-Z+ driver and his beautiful iron draw.

I didn't stick around for long and I hope that I didn't ditch everybody after the round too soon, but I knew I had a 5.5 hour drive to make and I was going to need caffeine, food, gas, and a few stops to stretch my leg. I made it home at 7:00 on the dot and passed out on the couch before waking up later and then sleeping like crap for the rest of the night, which is nothing out of the ordinary for me.

If you've made it to the end of the novella, congratulations! I had a blast at my first THP event and it's a good thing since I'm heading to Branson in two weekends! I'm looking forward to meeting even more new people, including some of the Texas/DFW crew and seeing my excellent roommate Cace again for a day. I told my cousin and a friend at work that I was going to play with 57 people that I had never met before. I just said that it was like showing up at a course as a single and being paired with three strangers 19 times, but you guys (and Lee!) aren't strangers since I've been interacting with everybody since November. You helped me get through my incredibly boring February and March before and after my hamstring surgery and I thank you all for that as well.

I've had a great time following the other events through the eyes and lenses of others so I wanted to do my best to contribute on Saturday. I'm not sure why some pics posted and some were sideways, but I fixed them all tonight. It was the least that I could do so that it didn't look like Ken and Dave were laying down and holding their trophies. Hopefully I'll get that figured
out and be able to post some more from Illinois and Missouri next week!


TL;DR
Got there a little late on Friday, but no biggie. Ate, drank, and went to bed. Three-putted a lot on Saturday, but had a great time. Drank a lot in the sauna. Played a soaked course on Sunday with three great guys and drove home.

Really TL;DR
Go to a THP event. It's so much fun.

Great recap Brian. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you. Hope to see you down the road and get to spend more time together.


SaA

Nice write up Brian. Had a blast playing with you for 19 holes(#18 on Saturday). The cart experiences were hilarious(watching PGG) and life altering(as we spun down the hill).

I think we were both surprised that we had similar hdcps. minus the few duffed chips and a couple bad hybrid/3w shots you will be lower hdcp before you know it.

This was my 5th THP event and I am always amazed at the ability to pick right up where you lef toff with people after not seeing them for sometimes over a year. I think I enjoyed hanging out on the range more just catching up with old friends and making a few new ones the most. Got a chance to talk some Legacy with a few participants, catch up with some old Team Albatross teammates and hit a few warmup shots as well. Probably should of hit a few more, since the first 6 holes were pretty rough for me. If I have any advice for first timers, getting to the course/range early and hanging out with everyone is a must, that was a huge highlight for me and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend.

My playing partner, motoo34, I hadn't had much interaction with him before, but he is a great guy and we had some great conversation out on the course. If our games wouldn't have left us for the first 3 holes on the back, we would have maybe had a shot at Spivey and v.man! I think we ended up with a 124, which considering we had to take two 7's in the best ball 9, was pretty good! Lol. I would definitely tee it up with him anytime.

Our other partners, tbanks and hennesb, were awesome as well. We got loosened up after a few holes and the jokes and ball bustin started flying. Would tee it up with them anytime. hennes can murder the ball and tbanks has one of the smoothest swings I have seen. I had a great time getting to know both of them.

Dinner was nice as well, getting to know plin and Golds and their significant others. plin is a riot, and had the whole table in stitches a few times.

After dinner it was time for some bro hugs and goodbyes as guys slowly filtered out, tyno and I were one of the last ones to leave. It's bittersweet, but the great part of it is, we'll all get to see each other down the road at other THP events.

Big thanks to JB, Morgan and the THP staff for making it possible to come to PA. It was pretty cool to drive 90 mins down the road to a sanctioned THP event. Overall, just a great event with great guys/gals!

Brad it was great to meet you and finally get the answer to why a guy in PA has DC in his name...Ha seemed, like I was the only one on the range that didn't know. I guess when everyone was coming up to you and talking about their kinks and aliments, that should have been a clue.

Really enjoyed meeting you.

back at work today, the thp hangover hurts...

a few random thoughts:

- driving 10 hours by myself is long.... I think I am boring.
- in the end, it is well worth it, I love me some THPers.
- I'm happy I got to stop in Buffalo to play with my buddy Andy on the way down.
- getting there on thursday was nice, I was happy to meet the guys at Mad Mex, Ken, Ron, Don, Robozeo, Spivey, Angryankee. it was fun, I am sorry I wasn't good company, I was dead tired from the road.
- driving to Olde Stonewall Friday morning was fun, you drive in the middle of nowhere for a while and then bam! a big castle pops up, it was both weird and awesome.
- the course was stunning, the greens were scary and the views were terrific.
- friday round with Ron, Rob and Alex was as good as it gets, they are great people.
- where is my sandwich?
- the meet and greet Friday night was impressive, there was a lot of people there, I wish I had spent time with everyone, but I had a lot of fun meeting and chatting with THPers.
- Joe is a great guy, it was great to bunk with you dude.
- a range full of 60 THPers is a gret sight, that was a lot of fun, but a putting green full of 60 THPers, that was an impressive sight.
- I got to enjoy a round with THP's most famous father and son duo, and my roomate for the weekend, it was a lot of fun, even if we all struggled a little.
- the evening party at Pete's sauna was great, lot of friends sharing stories about the day, it was great.
- driving 10 hours by myself after an incredible weekend is even longer... I know I am boring.

MPlefty said:

back at work today, the thp hangover hurts...

a few random thoughts:

- driving 10 hours by myself is long.... I think I am boring.
- in the end, it is well worth it, I love me some THPers.
- I'm happy I got to stop in Buffalo to play with my buddy Andy on the way down.
- getting there on thursday was nice, I was happy to meet the guys at Mad Mex, Ken, Ron, Don, Robozeo, Spivey, Angryankee. it was fun, I am sorry I wasn't good company, I was dead tired from the road.
- driving to Olde Stonewall Friday morning was fun, you drive in the middle of nowhere for a while and then bam! a big castle pops up, it was both weird and awesome.
- the course was stunning, the greens were scary and the views were terrific.
- friday round with Ron, Rob and Alex was as good as it gets, they are great people.
- where is my sandwich? This made me just spit out my coffee.
- the meet and greet Friday night was impressive, there was a lot of people there, I wish I had spent time with everyone, but I had a lot of fun meeting and chatting with THPers.
- Joe is a great guy, it was great to bunk with you dude.
- a range full of 60 THPers is a gret sight, that was a lot of fun, but a putting green full of 60 THPers, that was an impressive sight.
- I got to enjoy a round with THP's most famous father and son duo, and my roomate for the weekend, it was a lot of fun, even if we all struggled a little.
- the evening party at Pete's sauna was great, lot of friends sharing stories about the day, it was great.
- driving 10 hours by myself after an incredible weekend is even longer... I know I am boring.

Click to expand...

I'd tee it up with you anytime, anywhere my friend!

gr8dryv said:

I'd tee it up with you anytime, anywhere my friend!

Click to expand...

we will tee it up soon, I swear.

oh and I still owe you a beer

MPlefty said:

back at work today, the thp hangover hurts...

a few random thoughts:

- driving 10 hours by myself is long.... I think I am boring.
- in the end, it is well worth it, I love me some THPers.
- I'm happy I got to stop in Buffalo to play with my buddy Andy on the way down.
- getting there on thursday was nice, I was happy to meet the guys at Mad Mex, Ken, Ron, Don, Robozeo, Spivey, Angryankee. it was fun, I am sorry I wasn't good company, I was dead tired from the road.
- driving to Olde Stonewall Friday morning was fun, you drive in the middle of nowhere for a while and then bam! a big castle pops up, it was both weird and awesome.
- the course was stunning, the greens were scary and the views were terrific.
- friday round with Ron, Rob and Alex was as good as it gets, they are great people.
- where is my sandwich?
- the meet and greet Friday night was impressive, there was a lot of people there, I wish I had spent time with everyone, but I had a lot of fun meeting and chatting with THPers.
- Joe is a great guy, it was great to bunk with you dude.
- a range full of 60 THPers is a gret sight, that was a lot of fun, but a putting green full of 60 THPers, that was an impressive sight.
- I got to enjoy a round with THP's most famous father and son duo, and my roomate for the weekend, it was a lot of fun, even if we all struggled a little.
- the evening party at Pete's sauna was great, lot of friends sharing stories about the day, it was great.
- driving 10 hours by myself after an incredible weekend is even longer... I know I am boring.

Click to expand...

Good seeing you Marty! I owe you a Yuengling!

MPlefty said:

- driving 10 hours by myself is long.... I think I am boring.
...
- driving 10 hours by myself after an incredible weekend is even longer... I know I am boring.

Click to expand...

Next time I'll share the drive with ya haha, scoop me up off exit 45 :0)

MPlefty said:

back at work today, the thp hangover hurts...

a few random thoughts:

- driving 10 hours by myself is long.... I think I am boring.
- in the end, it is well worth it, I love me some THPers.
- I'm happy I got to stop in Buffalo to play with my buddy Andy on the way down.
- getting there on thursday was nice, I was happy to meet the guys at Mad Mex, Ken, Ron, Don, Robozeo, Spivey, Angryankee. it was fun, I am sorry I wasn't good company, I was dead tired from the road.
- driving to Olde Stonewall Friday morning was fun, you drive in the middle of nowhere for a while and then bam! a big castle pops up, it was both weird and awesome.
- the course was stunning, the greens were scary and the views were terrific.
- friday round with Ron, Rob and Alex was as good as it gets, they are great people.
- where is my sandwich?
- the meet and greet Friday night was impressive, there was a lot of people there, I wish I had spent time with everyone, but I had a lot of fun meeting and chatting with THPers.
- Joe is a great guy, it was great to bunk with you dude.
- a range full of 60 THPers is a gret sight, that was a lot of fun, but a putting green full of 60 THPers, that was an impressive sight.
- I got to enjoy a round with THP's most famous father and son duo, and my roomate for the weekend, it was a lot of fun, even if we all struggled a little.
- the evening party at Pete's sauna was great, lot of friends sharing stories about the day, it was great.
- driving 10 hours by myself after an incredible weekend is even longer... I know I am boring.

Click to expand...

Was great seeing you again Martin!

My trip started with a 2:30 wake up on Friday to get to Logan where I met OITW for a 6:00 flight. We took off late but arrived early, grabbed the rental and headed for Olde Stonewall for a 10:15 tee time with MPLefty & Lightningbolt44. Coolest clubhouse I've ever seen. We spent a little while at the range with most at the short game area, time well spent. Had a great round with the guys including my best round of the year. Alex hooked me up with some B'stone e5's which opened my eyes to a new ball for me. It's legit. The course proved to be all we had expected and more. Marty lost his sandwich somewhere along the way. Alex and I had planned for another 18 but by the time we got back from our round it was getting too late, so we decided to grab a couple of drinks and heckle the other THPr's as they came in from their rounds. After getting kicked off the 2nd floor balcony, we headed to the bar where the sky opened up and dumped a monsoon on the area.
Got to the Sports Grille where I met with friends old & new and had the pleasure of watching T2GRN18 demolish that 2-timer burger. He left the chips though, very disappointing.
Saturday morning had us up early for breakfast at a fine local establishment. Mmmm, powdered eggs topped with cheese whiz. Got to chat with BeeDoubleU though so that helped offset the heartburn. That dude is way cool. Looking forward to teeing it up with you sometime Bryan!
Getting to Olde Stonewall finally and we arrived with OITW blaring the Omega "Hall of Fame" song as he circled the parking lot with the windows down.
The practice range and putting green allowed for more intros to those I didn't get to meet the night before. My partner brianmk24 and I met up and strategized...ok we met up and hit some balls, then headed off for the start. We started strong by both finding the fairway deep and side-by side on our starting hole, a sign of good things to come. We both proceeded to double that hole. A sign of things to come. Great course, better partner. All what you'd expect from a THP event. Brian, I hope you had as good a time as I did. Sorry we didn't win, but we sure as hell didn't embarrass ourselves, well except for when I asked the group in front of us if we could play through, only to find out they weren't THPr's. Where's the beer cart? Brian and I ended on 10, right next to the 18th. Just in time as MikeDean441, T2GRN18, Emart2173 and JDTox were teeing off. We made it a 6some going in and called it a day.
The gathering after the round was awesome too. I didn't get any dessert because sitting at a table with HOF'rs OITW, Spivey and v.man was sweet enough. Back to the hotel for a nice sauna and a few beers in Pete's room with 25 or so friends, ddec making my stomach hurt with a story or 2, Pete playing hostess like you read about. Fantastic way to end the day.
Sunday had us up early for the ride to Totterridge. You've already read about PGG's cart exploits but IT WAS AWESOME to see in person. OITW, Spivey and myself rounded out the 4some for a soggy round. Really cool course if you ever get the chance. The elevation changes and views are really cool. Wolf was played, I got Spivey's $ which I am framing and we ended the time there with AngryYankee, BigBall, Robozeo, BrianMK24, v.man, KrispyK, emart2173 and T2GRN18 for a quick bite and a drink.
Off to the airport to drop AngryYankee for his flight, but had to eat before so we went to Primati Bros. The wings were great, the pastrami was OK, sandwich was huge, and the waitress threatened me when I asked her to change the Pirates game to the Yankees. OITW and I made it to the airport with plenty of time, made longer due to the weather. We boarded the flight only to have the Captain tell us we had to wait for the lightning (which was hitting the runway) to pass so they could un-hook the fuel truck from our plane. He really didn't have to divulge that tidbit. Got home by 1AM.
I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, but it's clear I had another memorable THP trip. Thank you to JB, GG, MikeDean441 and all my THP family for making this so special.

dcbrad said:

This was my 5th THP event and I am always amazed at the ability to pick right up where you lef toff with people after not seeing them for sometimes over a year. I think I enjoyed hanging out on the range more just catching up with old friends and making a few new ones the most. Got a chance to talk some Legacy with a few participants, catch up with some old Team Albatross teammates and hit a few warmup shots as well. Probably should of hit a few more, since the first 6 holes were pretty rough for me. If I have any advice for first timers, getting to the course/range early and hanging out with everyone is a must, that was a huge highlight for me and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend.

My playing partner, motoo34, I hadn't had much interaction with him before, but he is a great guy and we had some great conversation out on the course. If our games wouldn't have left us for the first 3 holes on the back, we would have maybe had a shot at Spivey and v.man! I think we ended up with a 124, which considering we had to take two 7's in the best ball 9, was pretty good! Lol. I would definitely tee it up with him anytime.

Our other partners, tbanks and hennesb, were awesome as well. We got loosened up after a few holes and the jokes and ball bustin started flying. Would tee it up with them anytime. hennes can murder the ball and tbanks has one of the smoothest swings I have seen. I had a great time getting to know both of them.

Dinner was nice as well, getting to know plin and Golds and their significant others. plin is a riot, and had the whole table in stitches a few times.

After dinner it was time for some bro hugs and goodbyes as guys slowly filtered out, tyno and I were one of the last ones to leave. It's bittersweet, but the great part of it is, we'll all get to see each other down the road at other THP events.

Big thanks to JB, Morgan and the THP staff for making it possible to come to PA. It was pretty cool to drive 90 mins down the road to a sanctioned THP event. Overall, just a great event with great guys/gals!

Click to expand...

It was a lot of fun for sure!

Thoughts on Pittsburgh

Thursday: Flew in with mixed thoughts going through my head. Not happy with the current state of my game, worried I’d kill Spivey’s chances, feeling old, and wondering if it’s time to wind down. Thoughts of the many friends I was about to see again and new ones I’d meet pushed those ugly ones out of my head.

On a lark, googled if there was a major golf store convenient to the PIT airport, and up pops Golf Galaxy only one exit away. Had been pondering an XR 4 wood thanks to the reviews on THP, and impulsively traded my 3 and 5, for a sweet Callaway 4w. Ready for Old Stonewall now!

Thursday Night: Met a few of the early arrivers at Mad Mex for drinks and dinner. Service was s.l.o.w., food mediocre, but company extraordinary. Had plenty of time to talk and relax. Good times! My partner Spivey got there a little late as he said he would and we had time to get better acquainted.

Spivey – Dave August: I couldn’t have drawn a better partner for the event. He had the length and the power; I was, well, steady for the most part. I had not had a chance to really get to know Dave prior to this or spend time with him. He is a “high energy” guy, to put it mildly. At first, I was worried whether he could sustain that level of intensity for an entire weekend, and was thinking maybe an intravenous drip bag of valium would be in order, especially since he was signed up to play Thursday, and then 36 on Friday before the event. Not to worry. His rubber band is wrapped just a little bit tighter than most. LOL. But that’s just normal for him. More on how we played together later.

Friday: Morning came early (4 am) as I woke up pretty excited. After breakfast, MPLefty and I drove out to Old Stonewall even though my tee time wasn’t until 12:50 pm. What a place! Pristine comes to mind. Enough has been said, so I’ll just add that those who missed this event missed a very special venue.

Rode along with the first group (LighningBolt, gr8drv, MPLefty and OITW for a few holes and gave a “Live Round” update for the forum for about 4 holes. Those guys were tearing it up and making Old Stonewall look easy. After I left, reality apparently took hold and things went downhill. They blamed me for not staying around to keep them focused.

Back to the clubhouse and met CAA_Beat and we decided to have lunch. That was a real pleasure. If you haven’t met Rob, he is just a great guy to be around. Met him at the Bridgestone Championship last year and shared a round.

Then it was our turn for a practice round. I teed it up with Maddog701 (Mike), six4three5 (Jimmy), two good friends, and Derek who came just for the practice round. After the front nine, I was back to thinking I’m too old for this, and wondering how I would avoid embarrassing myself on Saturday. The back nine saw my game improve a bit and I felt if I could play at least that good for all 18 on Saturday, Spivey and I would have a chance. Word was spreading that Dave was having a terrific weekend, scoring in the 70’s on some pretty demanding courses. More pressure, of course, but, if I could just shoot my handicap we had a good chance.

Friday Night: The Meet and Greet was fantastic, as usual. Got a big hug from LeeB, who I hadn’t seen in quite awhile, and one from hubby Kevin upon entering which started my evening off feeling great. JB and I went through our usual greeting where I try to guess whether he’ll extend a fist to bump or a hand to shake. I always guess wrong! I’ll never understand why some choose to skip the meet and greet, because it’s such an important and integral part of any THP Event. I hope we never stop doing them. It’s not just a great way to meet everyone and make friends, it let’s everyone get comfortable with the goings on of the weekend. (Especially helpful if it’s your first event or two). At least that’s my OP. I know there are very valid reasons for not attending and I respect them. Not trying to be critical—just helpful. I had a great time visiting with old friends and meeting some new ones. But, there was a point where I looked around and realized again that I’m grandfather age to most of these kids and wondering why the hell they’d want to play golf with an old coot like me. About this time Plin came by and I no longer had time for thoughts like that. This guy has to be one of the happiest guys I’ve ever met. He seems to enjoy life to the fullest, and you can’t avoid enjoying it right along with him when he’s around. Thanks for that, and I hope I get to tee it up with you at one of these events soon. So much could be written about that night and the folk I visited with, but, this is already getting to be much bigger than I intended—and I haven’t gotten to the actual event yet.

Saturday, The Event: I drove to the course alone, early, game face on (LOL) and wanting to make sure I had plenty of time to warm up, find some tempo, get the speed of the greens, etc. How about 3 hours of prep time? I did all of that and had plenty of time for having some fun with others on the range. I have to say I was probably more comfortable and ready to start the round than at any event I’ve attended. You’d never have known it with the start we got, but, it’s true.

Dave and I were paired with GregDan and O’Carroll, too good guys, and, the pair I’d picked to win it all. They both got off to a great start, and were really crushing the ball. We started on hole 6 and played four holes in the shambles format. Dan and Pete were under par when we turned to 10. Dave and I started a little slow. We managed to scratch out decent scores on those first four holes, but nothing spectacular. When we made the turn it was now better ball of partners, and Dave and I brother-in-lawed our way around with no bogeys and I think one birdie. Dan and Pete seemed to lose their edge a little. When we made the turn back to number 1, Dave was hot and throwing birdies, until we both cooled a little at the end, or at least, our putters did. There was one hole late where I was all over the place and staring at our first double bogey or worse, but chipped in for a bogey and felt I stole something. I thought our bogey, bogey finish probably killed it for us, but we held on for a one shot win. Throughout the round, Dave was his always upbeat self on every shot, both his and mine. I can’t tell you how much that helped me stay in the game even after a poor swing here and there. Thanks partner.

Saturday night was a blast as we partied in Dean and Pete’s room. I still can’t believe no one complained, as we were certainly loud and ran a little late. Sound insulation must be great in the Hyatt! What we really needed was a private room downstairs with a little more room and some adequate A/C. But, no one seemed to mind and we all had a good time.

Sunday: Twelve of us traveled about an hour East to play Totteridge Golf Course, for a post event round. Course was nice, albeit soaked, the company was great. I couldn’t focus very well on golf, but had a great time with T2GRN (Kevin), emart2173 (Eric) and brianmk24 (Brian). There were some hilarious moments during the round (covered elsewhere by several) some good and some bad golf, but, generally good fun. Besides the runaway cart and the tilt-a-whirl rides, there was one moment Kevin and I found comical—not sure Brian did. Brian was fidgeting over a shot to a par 5 of about 230 or so with a 3w and was obviously uncomfortable. Of course, we stated the obvious that he should hit a club he was “comfortable” hitting. That didn’t seem to phase him, so I said “if this was yesterday and you were my partner I’d rip that 3w out of your hands and throw it in the lake”. This yielded about 3 steps back toward his bag, but, then he pivoted and hit the 3w, and topped it about 100 yards. The happy ending is he still ended up parring the hole! LOL.

I can tell you that Kevin is going to wreck some folk at The Legacy. His swing is tuned and he’s crushing the ball. Most important, he has control of his game. His putting is good, but, he doesn’t think so, and that is what he needs to fix before the big weekend (his confidence).

We had a quick bite at the clubhouse and then each went toward home or the airport. The “event” was over, but the memories will remain. I followed Dave to the airport, not having a GPS, and having no idea where the hell we were. Then it was a solitary night and next day as I had to wait on a flight out mid-day on Monday to return home. I had plenty to think about, however.

Again, thanks to JB and Morgan for another memorable event, and, of course to Bridgestone. Thanks also to the 57 other participants who made this event so much fun. Now I can’t wait for the next one.

Congrats Dave and Ken. This looked to be another awesome event!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I keep replaying Saturday in my head and it irks me. I let you down Pete, sorry for that brother. I lost my head and my game. gotta find a way to make it travel better, but we'll get em next time!

Great recap Ken, solid read man.

2015 THP Invitational at Olde Stonewall - Pittsburgh, PA

Love the recap Ken. First off congrats to you and Dave.

It was my absolute pleasure to get to have lunch with a THP Hall Of Famer and a good guy Hall Of Famer!!

You and Spivey sound like the perfect compliment to each other.

He truly is one of the more upbeat personalities I've seen. Hope to get to tee it up with him some day.

GregDan said:

I keep replaying Saturday in my head and it irks me. I let you down Pete, sorry for that brother. I lost my head and my game. gotta find a way to make it travel better, but we'll get em next time!

Click to expand...

Stop it. Don't pretend my triple on the first hole from 90 yards out, or my two balls in the water from 130 yards out on 4, or my 16 three-putts did anything to help us out.

I wouldn't change a thing about the weekend and that includes how we played. It was a blast and I would partner with you again in a millisecond.