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HSI VI Players |
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Player: |
JJ |
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Traveled from: |
Houston, TX |
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Details: |
JJ entered HSI VI as the defending champion and a
favorite. Nick and Sheebz fully expected JJ to be a force to
reckon with. He reported playing great golf leading up to the
event, but then the performance dropped off in the few weeks leading up
to the round. JJ has joined a golf course since HSI V, which was
also scaring the others since he'd been playing on a regular basis. |
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In the Bag: |
Driver:
FW:
Irons:
Wedges:
Putter: |
Titleist 983k 9.5 degree, regular flex graphite shaft
Callaway Steelhead 3 wood, uniflex graphite shaft
Callaway Steelhead 5 wood, uniflex graphite shaft
3 - PW Wilson Fatshaft
54 degree Titleist Vokey
60 degree Ping Zing 2
Yes! C Groove - Marilyn |
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Memorable HSI VI Moments: |
Driving there with Robert. He was a great
co-pilot and tracked our course the entire route on his laptop computer.
He could provide instant real-time data on exactly how many more miles
to go, where we should be at what time, and how far off course we were.
The first day being in the Ozarks reminded me of going there as a kid -
we stopped and got frozen custard and I spent about $50 in a Hillbilly
Ozark Mountain Souvenir shop. Looking back, I would have liked to ride
go-carts one of those nights. Out of all the HSIs, this was the most
beautiful course I had ever seen. The clubhouse facilities and cabins
also far exceeded my expectations. With all that going for me and the
course, what could go wrong? What could possibly make us (golf and I)
become cross with one another and get downright sideways? Not sure what
it was, but here's things that I could blame it on (they also helped me
forget how bad I was playing at the time).
- Lots and lots of Beer. I never
knew someone could eat cookies and dunk them in a warm glass of beer
until I saw Nickerson do it - amazing, and yet, inexplicably
delicious.
- Besides Cookies, Nickerson also
proved that he can cook food. He set out to find some dead cattle
tissue, found it at Walmart, burned it on both sides, and put in on
some buns. They were some of the best burgers I'd ever had.
Later, I went to get frozen pizza and was able to burn both of them
into black disks with the middles falling out of them and dripping
onto the stove coils. The pizza may have been some of the
worst pizza I had ever tasted.
- Robert was a great card player
and it was fun playing poker that first night. Too bad he took
so much of our money the first night, we never played again and
Robert was forced to play with himself on Partypoker.com and even
drove to Booneville to a casino one night.
- The first hole at Old
Kinderhook was my most memorable golf of the trip. Every time
we teed off, it was a beautiful sunny morning and everyone had that
feeling that today was going to be the day they play their best
golf. Usually by the third hole, I was looking forward to the
next day at the first hole. Not to make any exuses, but for some
reason, the "thumb pads" of my hands were swollen the whole week.
Not sure how this happened, but I think it may have been the beer
and the raw angus burgers that Nickerson served up. I actually
played OK for the practice round, but went downhill from there.
Next year, I'm taking that trophy back!
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Favorite Course: |
Old Kinderhook |
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Player: |
SHEEBZ |
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Traveled from: |
Dallas, TX |
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Details: |
Sheebz hasn't won an HSI event since HSI II way back
in the fall of 2002. He didn't feel confident coming into HSI VI
because he had played less golf than anybody. However, with the
skins format, he was hoping to get lucky on the right holes and just
hoped to stay competitive during HSI VI. |
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In the Bag: |
Driver:
FW:
Hybrid:
Irons:
Wedges:
Putter: |
10 degree Ping G2, stiff graphite shaft
15 degree Ping G5, stiff graphite shaft
3 iron 20 degree Ben Hogan hybrid, stiff graphite shaft
5
iron 27 degree Ben Hogan hybrid, stiff graphite shaft
4 iron through PW, Mizuno X-23, steel shaft
50 degree Titleist Vokey
54 degree Titleist Vokey
Taylor Made Monza Corza |
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Memorable HSI VI Moments: |
Wheeling out before JJ's ball hit me in the face.
The inaugural champions dinner provided by JJ at the Plaza III
steakhouse. The awesome facilities and the Old Kinderhook
course. Nick bouncing his tee shot off of the tee marker and back
behind us by 30 yards. Losing money at cards. Nick figuring
out how to putt. The waitress at Osage National telling me that
she had never seen a nacho plate so clean before, and knowing that I
would have licked the crumbs off the plate if she wasn't there. JJ
making the pizza on the final night - which was absolutely horrible. Winning the
trophy when I thought I didn't have a chance and it sort of fell into my
lap. |
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Favorite Course: |
Old Kinderhook |
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Player: |
NICK |
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Traveled from: |
Maryville, MO |
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Details: |
Nick came into HSI VI as the favorite. He had
been playing several times a week since his MBA graduation in May.
Nick had been reporting shooting scores in the low 80's. Then, one
day before HSI VI started, he shot a 78 at Mozingo. He will be
very hard to beat. |
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In the Bag: |
Driver:
FW:
Irons:
Wedge:
Putter: |
Titleist 975J, stiff flex graphite shaft
Titleist 14.5 degree 975f stiff flex graphite shaft
Titleist 18.5 degree 975f steel shaft
Adams 21 degree Tight lies strong 7
4 - SW Callaway X-12
52 degree Cleveland Gunmetal 900
Callaway Ashton Carlsbad series |
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Memorable HSI VI Moments: |
Simply pulling off of the 15th fairway and running
into the condo to stock
up on beer every round. The Champions dinner and how fun it was to
sit around reminiscing. Robert vs. the Bee. Plunking my tee
shot off of the box marker and watching in desperation as it flew back
over all of our heads, then just looking at each other and laughing
hysterically. Sheebz screwing himself into the ground spinning out
of the way of an errant JJ shot. JJ strategically placing one of
his tee shots on #15 over the clubhouse in the general direction of the
pool. How great the course, weather, and accommodations were. |
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Favorite Course: |
Old Kinderhook |
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Player: |
ROBERT |
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Traveled from: |
Houston, TX |
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Details: |
This was Robert's first HSI tournament. Only JJ
had seen him play before the event. Being the newcomer, he was a
huge underdog to win the golf portion of the event. Although he
had to be the favorite coming in at card playing, since the other three
suck really bad. |
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In the Bag: |
Driver:
3 wood:
Hybrid:
Irons:
Wedges:
Putter: |
Taylor Made R580 XD 10.5 degree
TaylorMade R540 XD 3 wood
Tommy Armour 845 Silver Scott 18 degree
Tommy Armour 845 Silver Scott 21 degree
Tommy Armour 845 Silver Scott 24 degree
5 - PW Tommy Armour 845 Silver Scott
52 degree Tommy Armour Wedge3
56 degree Tommy Armour Wedge3
2 ball knockoff |
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Memorable HSI VI Moments: |
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Favorite Course: |
Old Kinderhook |
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