Jump to memorable moments

---

---

For several years we have been talking about taking a golf trip to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama.  The RTJ Golf Trail consists of 468 holes across eleven locations in Alabama.  The concept of the trail is that the State of Alabama wanted to invest their retirement fund into something that could help the state of Alabama.  So they built a lot of golf courses.  The Trail has been consistently rated as the best value in golf in the United States for several years in a row.

When Sheebz won HSI XIII, the RTJ Golf Trail was on his short list.  It didn’t take long to decide to go to Alabama for our trip this year.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

On Tuesday, Nick and JJ both came to Dallas so that the two of them and Sheebz could fly to Birmingham together the next day.  The three of them had the chance to hang out this evening prior to the early morning departure the next day.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

JJ, Nick, and Sheebz flew directly to Birmingham and arrived at 9:30 am.  Powell was set to arrive around 11 am so the guys got a rental car and drove to a grocery store to get some drinks and snacks.  Powell was picked up and we drove to Oxmoor Valley, the location of our practice round.  We played a great warmup on Oxmoor Valley – The Ridge.  This was a tight course and gave us a good look at what was ahead of us this week.

After the round, we went to find our hotel and had some issues.  The Garmin that Sheebz brought took us a crazy route.  Once we got to the hotel, they told us that it was sold out and that we would get a free nights stay at another hotel a few miles away.  We got lost on the way there and the hotel had us concerned when we arrived, but once we got checked in everything went well.  The hotel ended up bring pretty nice.

It was time for Champion’s dinner.  Sheebz had picked out a restaurant called Dram Whiskey Bar.  This was a cool bar just a few miles from our hotel that had a great cocktail menu.  Sheebz was ready to set an example for the group and order a really great entree.  He ordered the prime grilled fillet and biscuits.  It came out looking like a Jimmy Dean sausage biscuit.  Very funny.  It was a great champion’s dinner.

That night we went back to the hotel and hung out for a couple of hours.  Powell had run in the Boston Marathon last month when the bombings occurred and he told us his story.  It was a great night of just hanging out.  We got to bed pretty early.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

t was an early wakeup call this morning because we had to check out of our hotel before heading to our 7:30 am tee time at Oxmoor Valley – The Valley.  This was our first round of HSI XIII and we were one of the first groups to tee off.  The gnats were horrible and the marshal helped us with some Off! on the second green.  It was a great help.  Nothing spectacular happened in this first round.  Sheebz shot the worst score of the week for the group at 101, but he held the points lead so there was no harm.  Powell shot 89, which would be his best score for the week.  On the 12th hole, Nick scored a birdie on the par 5, which allowed us to partake in birdie juice for the first time in HSI history.  This will be a tradition in future HSI events.

When the first round was complete, we drove two miles down the road to Ross Bridge.  We had a quick lunch in the restaurant and then made our 12:30 tee time.  This was a course at a very big resort and it was very nice.  It was the longest course that we played this week by far and very different than the others.  It was much more open and allowed the players to be more aggressive.  Sheebz shot a 39 on the back nine to shoot a week best 82 for the group.

When the round was over we got in the car and drove the 80 miles south to Prattville, AL, and arrived to the rental house that we’d be staying in the next three nights.  From the outside, the house didn’t look like much.  It was just a house on stilts.  However, the inside was pretty cool.  It had been all redone and decorated very nicely.  It had three bedrooms on the main floor and then a loft with four more beds upstairs.  It also had a deck on the back that overlooked the Alabama River.

That night we made a run into town and stopped at the grocery store as well as picked up some pizzas from Marco’s Pizza.  We then went back to the house, at some pizza, and had a few drinks while we discussed our rounds that day.  It was good to relax a little after our two rounds of golf and long drive.  The next day we had just a single round scheduled so it would be a more relaxing day – so we thought.

Friday, May 17, 2013

This morning we didn’t have a round scheduled until 10:10 a.m., so we had time to head to the Waffle House for some breakfast.  The cook at the Waffle House entertained us with some singing.  When breakfast was over, we headed towards the course.

Our round this morning was held at Capitol Hill – The Judge.  This course had holes with lots of water.  The play here was very slow so the round lasted five hours.  Nick shot his best score for the week at 87.  He also held a small points lead after this round, which was the final round in partner play.

We didn’t have anything planned for this evening, so when we finished golf we checked at the clubhouse to see if they had any tee time openings.  We ended up playing Capitol Hill – The Legislator at 4 pm.  This gave us a sneak peak at the course that would be the final round of HSI, but it didn’t count towards official HSI standings.  We had a great time this round and had lots of drinks.  On average, we shot 42 on the front nine and 49 on the back nine.  We finished the 18th hole in the dark.

Upon  completion, we had no desire to go home and cook.  We stopped at Logan’s Roadhouse.  It was a great meal where we stuffed ourselves with food.  Powell spent most of the time trying to guess the name of our waitress, Grace.  When dinner was over we went back to the house.  We were very tired and retired pretty early

Saturday, May 18, 2013

We had made it to the individual rounds of HSI XIII.  This round was scheduled for 7:00 am at Capitol Hill – The Senator.  This required a very early wakeup call.  The Senator is a links style course that was very different than any of the other courses we played this week.  We got some rain, our only bad weather of the week, for about fifteen minutes but it wasn’t enough to stop play.  The future HSI champion was determined during this round when ten holes were carried over and Powell won the 16th hole.  He took a very large lead and ensured that he was in the drivers seat.

When the round was complete, we went into the clubhouse for some lunch and a short rest.  Our final round was scheduled at 12:30 at Capitol Hill – The Legislator, where we had played the day before in a practice round.  It was good to have seen the course once before.  Once again, JJ decided to save his best for last and scored his personal weeks best at 85.  Powell hung on for victory, and HSI XIII golf came to an end.

We proceeded to the clubhouse where we took some birdie juice (Maker’s Mark) for the birdie that Sheebz scored on 18.  We also debated future scoring for HSI.  It was a great ending for HSI and I also liked that the champion treated us for our final drinks.  On the way back to the house we stopped at the store and picked up some meat to grill.  At the house we grilled and then hit some golf balls off the deck into the Alabama River.

We decided to leave the house and head down to One More Lounge on the River, which was a little dive/karaoke bar in the middle of an RV park.  This was definitely a locals bar and it was good to have a few drinks.  This bar had a cool deck on the back that overlooked the river.  We met Cowboy there and I’m still not sure what exactly he was saying that night.  We stayed for a couple of hours before heading back to the house.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

It was time to head home from HSI XIII.  Unfortunately, we had to take the 90 minute drive back to the Birmingham Airport, so we had to get up early to pack and depart.  We did the trophy presentation at the house and headed back to the airport.  HSI XIII had come to a close.  Once again, we had a great time.

HSI XIV Plans

Since Powell is the victor, it will be up to him to plan a great HSI XIV.  We threw out some thoughts about future events.  We’ve never been to Florida, so that would be a fun trip.  Wherever we go, I’m sure that Powell will plan a great time.

---

Memorable Moments

---

Pictures

---