HSI XI
Chicago, IL
May 2011
HSI XI Players
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
All of the players arrived to the airport at approximately the same time. We went from the airport directly to the house that we were staying at in Wrigleyville. The place we were staying was a nice three bedroom basement apartment. We unloaded our things and then headed directly to Deerfield Golf Club for our first round of HSI XI. This was a good course to start with as it didn’t appear that it would be too tough. However, we started pretty slowly but there were still good scores put up. Nick led the way with an 86 and JJ finished last in the pack with a 104.
After the round of golf, we went back to the house to prepare for the champions dinner that Powell would be providing since he was the winner of HSI X. We went to Johnny O’Hagan’s Irish Pub. This was a nice little bar that was within walking distance of our place. We enjoyed several pints of brew and some authentic Irish food. We stayed at this place for most of the night before going back to the house to rest up and prepare for the 36 holes that we would be playing the following day.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Today we went down to the facility where we would be playing the rest of the rounds of HSI X. The location was Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. Cog Hill is a facility that has hosted many PGA tour events. There are four courses at the location, with the most popular being Course #4 – Dubsdread. We played our first round of the day on the Dubsdread course and it lived up to its reputation. We were playing in early May, so it was pretty cold. Our round involved long pants, multiple jackets, hats, and gloves. This course was the most difficult that we played this week. Our average score was a week high 99.
After the round we had lunch in the clubhouse. It was odd because there weren’t many people playing and the hostess in the restaurant said that she “thought” that we could leave our clubs on the carts without them getting stolen. Not what I expected to hear at such a nice course. Our next round was at the #3 course. It was the shortest course of the week and we scored our best average of the week.
After the round we headed back to the house and then walked to a Chicago style pizza place called Giordano’s. It was a great place to sit and have some beers and enjoy some good pizza. I had never had real Chicago style pizza before. It was big and thick. By the time we finished, we were stuffed and ready to start the rest of our night.
We went back to the house and Sheebz, Powell, and JJ went out for a night on the town. We went to several different bars and had a great time. We ended the night very late and got home for some rest before our big day we had planned on Friday.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Today was a day with no round of golf scheduled. I don’t think we have ever had a full day of HSI with no golf planned. Today was Chicago Cubs baseball day. We got up in mid morning and walked up to the ballpark and had lunch at a restaurant called Club 162. It was across the street from the stadium out towards right field. We then went into the game for an early afternoon game where the Chicago Cubs were playing the Cincinnati Reds. The weather was overcast and we even got just a few raindrops late in the game. The Cubs lost 5-4. The game was a blast and Wrigley Field was very cool.
After the game we slowly made our way back towards the house. We decided to spend the rest of the evening and day in the Wrigleyville area. We stopped at Sluggers Bar, where they had indoor batting cages upstairs. We at some dinner and watched a Chicago Bulls playoff game at Rockwood Place. It was a great afternoon and evening. Over the next several hours, we slowly made our way back towards the house. We got back to the house very late that night and tried to get a few hours of rest before our final day of golf for HSI XI.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Today was our last day of golf at HSI XI. For our first round of individual play, we returned to Cog Hill #4 – Dubsdread. JJ came out on fire and scored the best of the group with an 86. We then had lunch at the clubhouse again and played our second round at Cog Hill #2. We hadn’t played this course yet, so it was cool to see a new course. Nick led the way with an 82 and everybody else finished in the 90’s.
After golf, we were very tired. We went back to the house, cleaned up, and went to dinner at a restaurant called The Duke of Perth. This was a Scottish Pub and had some good beer. We stayed here for quite a while and had some authentic Scottish food and drink. When dinner was over, we made our way back to the house and everybody fell asleep pretty early. HSI XI was almost over
Sunday, May 8, 2011
This morning we woke up and prepared to depart Chicago. We did the trophy presentation in front of the house where the trophy was officially given from Powell to Nick. We went back to the airport and everybody went on their way.
HSI XII
Nick has to plan this one. We will probably stay “close” to home. Branson is a possibility.
HSI XI Videos
View our swings, both regular speed and slomo, as well as videos from cubs game and from our night out on the town.
Memorable Moments
It was cold!!!!! Golfing with pants, gloves, stocking caps, coats, etc.
Bike rider that did 360 degree rotations on his custom made bike
Kick board workouts at the bar and wearing floaties
Walking into the bar where it felt weird and suddenly a drag queen show broke out on stage. We had taken a wrong turn.
Cubs game
Sheebz getting us kicked out of a Mexican wedding reception in the upstairs of some bar. He tried to act like he knew the wedding party, but c’mon!
Cog Hill – don’t leave your clubs on the cart during lunch, they might get stolen
Chicago deep dish pizza
JJ snoring – again
Sheebz needed deodorant and Nick bought him some ladies deodorant at Walgreens
Pictures
