Every complaint in this thread should add one to that person’s quota for future NIT qualifiers.
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Alright I am finally caught up at work after slacking a lot last week in anticipation of getting a group together at White Oak and being so excited to have others see Jax Beach for the NIT.
First of all thank you to everyone that took an extra day and a decent amount of time to drive out and play White Oak with @OffTheDole, @JCO and me. I had a really awesome time and thought the course was in great shape. Hopefully the Uncrustables, High Noons, canned Gatorade and sandwiches made it a top notch experience. If there is interest in doing this again before next years NIT just let us know, I’m sure we can host again and find ways to make it an even better day.
As far as the NIT I couldn’t of had a better time, every pairing was a group that I would have looked forward to playing with all week if they lived locally and we had a Saturday morning tee time. Refugee golf is always some of the very best!
As for Saturday afternoon and my time spent on @JCO’s bag, I can’t tell you the last time I’ve ever had that much fun! (pretty sure I told this to anyone & everyone willing to listen that afternoon)
I’ve always dreamed/wanted to caddie for someone when there was something on the line and to do it with someone that I’ve played 98% of my golf with this year at our home course was truly special. If I had more cash in my pocket, I would have placed it all on us but sadly all I had was $20.
4 days later I could still walk you through every shot and club we pulled but what I remember most was Clint’s untouched confidence as we smoother hooked our tee ball on 1 into the hazard, at this point I was alittle nervous but Clint wasn’t even fazed. He actually pulled driver on 2 before I could even say anything and absolutely killed his tee shot with OB looming left to set up an easy birdie. I knew right then we were ready to play!
He hit some awesome golf shots that afternoon and had his 2nd best round every at Jax Beach under a lot of pressure but the difference maker might have been THE CLAW. I’d also like to apologize if I didnt talk to anyone or tried to steer my player away from other groups or carts/spectators that afternoon, I knew where we stood and we had a gameplan but I didnt want my guy to have too much info or too much on his mind. I realize this might sound dumb but I was really really into pretending I was a caddie.
Already looking forward to next year and trying to find a way to qualify again!
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Listen, it was truly a tough scene as ~30 people stood on the first tee to watch me take the opening tee shot of the final round, but lucky I scored zero quota points on each of my four rounds. I knew it could only go up from there.
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Good news was it all worked out, we didn’t want to have a look at birdie on 1 anyways.
I knew we’d have birdie putts on 2-4 and we wanted to keep things close to start the afternoon. I would have hated to ruin the viewing experience by building a commanding lead too early.
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Can confirm making birdie on 1 was not the move. I knew from some of the tidbits you gave me on Friday that you & @JCO were a force to be reckoned with!
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The stats guys would argue that a bad score on the first hole is a mistake but I beg to differ in this case.
Many a round has been spoiled by riding high early at Jax Beach. Releasing the pressure valve a bit is a legitimate strategy for thriving.
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Can’t play but I can coach
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Upon reflection, @Hwhite keeping his man away from the unwashed masses of the gallery was probably a good thing… We were a touch rambunctious.
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Possibly a benefit to not be in the “feature group”. The Tiger-like crowds following @ChickPhilA couldn’t have been great for the nerves with 40 drunk guys screaming “POINT!!!” every time you do something remotely useful.
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Agreed
Would you say we were vibing?
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I’m offended you even have to ask
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I mean you know I was. Better than most
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I’d say there was an abundance of good viiiiiiiiiibes!
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It was truly the NVT.
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Petition for the NIT to be called the NVI going forward to not confuse it with the actual NIT.
Nest & Vibes Invitational.
Pronounced like envy, obviously. For the non-qualifiers.
I’d like to take this up with @Tron, @MerchCzar, and @Privatecollection
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Ok, gonna get this train back on the tracks. My current favorite memory of the weekend is one that I suddenly remembered on my slog into work this morning:
I opened my NIT Friday AM with celebs and excellent players @phegs32 and @Soly, and hometown friend (and excellent player in his own right) @JamesHCard. Each of these guise had quotas of 2-3 times mine own, so you know how nervvy I was teeing it up with them. The round followed the same trend as each of my rounds did that weekend; after a decent start (for me at least), I hit a middle section where shit just went off the rails. We came to the 11th, and i was a bit dejected. I had finally found another fairway on 10. I stepped up and found the center of the clubface, that feeling shooting up my arms and into my soul. I didn’t need to look, I bent over and picked up the tee. Soly instantly goes apeshit and starts whooping it up and running around then off the tee box. “The PRE-APEX TEE GRAB!!!”, he shouted. " NOW I’m PUMPED TOO!! Let’s gooooooo!!!" and he said something about sauce as he sped off down the path towards his own ball. James gave me a fist bump, and we were on our way. The grin was huge and firmly plastered on my face for the rest of the round (even with the 3-putt bogey - right side GIR for a pin on the left was not the right spot on that green). That grin returns and I chuckle every time I think of this moment. It was soo good.
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RIGHT INTO MY VEINS!!!
I love how excited we get for eachother at events, just makes it such a great time.
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Dispatches from the Road (Final Update):
Whewwwww! What a trip.
States seen: 12
Hotels: 6 (shoutout Courtyard by Marriott)
Miles: 3834 (per final check at rental return)
Hours Driving: 56-57’ish.
Radio Ga Ga Podcasts: 16
Top SiriusXM Stations: Lithium, MSNBC/POTUS, On Broadway, Bluesville
Saw some nice territory. Driving the Gulf Coast was cool. Swampland and Bayou. I knew it had happened but seeing the destruction through Lake Charles LA was sobering. Two hurricanes right on top of one another.
Austin area driving was just a delight. La Grange (shout out that Little Band from Texas) on into Austin and then continuing on the next day was probably some of the nicest pure driving. I also ended up on the east side of Lubbuck TX right smack dab in the middle of the cotton harvest.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t feel just a little bit better as I came over Ratan Pass and the Rockies opened up to my left. Home baby.
Thanks for following.
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