HSI XV
Hot Springs Village, AR
May 2015
HSI XV Players
Nick has set up HSI XV to be held at Hot Springs Village, AR.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Powell flew to Dallas to spend the night with Sheebz so that he could get to Little Rock early enough the next day. He went to watch Sheebz play softball, cut his hand trying to open a beer, and got soaked with rain when he tried to get rid of the beer.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
JJ flew from Houston to Dallas and then Sheebz, JJ, and Powell were all on the same flight to Little Rock. JJ rented a car and we drove to our rental house at Hot Springs Village and met up with Nick. After greetings and unloading, we went to the Ponce de Leon Golf Club to have some lunch before our first round.
The schedule had to be be mixed up this week because JJ would be leaving for the day on Friday to attend his grandfather’s funeral in Sedalia, MO. Therefore, the first round of the week would not be a practice round, but it would be a competitive round. We played at Ponce de Leon Golf Club in the afternoon. This round was dominated by the partner combination of Sheebz/Powell.
After the round we stopped at a grocery store to pick up food so that Nick could prepare us a champions dinner back at the house. We had Ribeyes, fried trout that Nick had caught earlier in the week on his drive down, and fried mushrooms that Nick had found last week. He made a great meal and we ate on the patio. This is when Nick announced that he and Casey would be getting married! He just got engaged last week. Wedding date TBD.
That evening we had a fairly early bedtime to get ready for a full day of golf the next morning.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Our first round of the day was held at Granada Golf Club. This was a fantastic course. This time the points were dominated by the partner combination of Nick/Powell. It seemed like every hole on this course was very unique and was one of the prettiest that we had every played. The signature hold was the 18th that was uphill back towards the clubhouse (see picture). There was a long waterfall down along the entire left side of the fairway and green. Beautiful!
When the round was over we stayed at Granada and had lunch. After lunch we drove about fifteen minutes to Cortez Golf Clubfor our second round of the day. Cortez was a course that required a lot of strategic shots. Many of the holes were doglegs and the course wasn’t long. This one was another dominated round on the points, this time it was Sheebz and Nick that took most of the points. After the round we stayed at the course for some dinner and drinks. JJ departed for Sedalia to attend his grandfathers funeral and the rest stayed for a while to enjoy sitting on the patio. After a few more beverages, we came back to the house and watched some TV. A quiet night at the house.
Friday, May 8, 2015
This morning we woke up to hard rain, thunder, and lightning. We decided that it would be best to skip the early morning round that we had scheduled and wait to see what would happen later in the day. Sheebz, Nick, and Powell ended up playing at Isabella Golf Club starting at 11 am. This was in place of the skipped practice round from Wednesday. Things went well until about the eighth hole when it started raining heavily. We got wet.
After the round, we had lunch at the course and decided to do a replay. The second round at Isabella was much nicer weather with no rain. When the round was over we went back to Granada to have dinner. I remember the very loud frogs as we sat on the patio as the sun went down.
When we got back to the house, Powell and Nick tried to go on a boat ride but it was cut short due to lightning. JJ arrived back to the house later that evening and we prepared for the individual rounds of HSI XV that would start the next morning.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Prior to the start of the day, we were concerned about the weather because the forecast was calling for lots of rain. We got to Granada Golf Club very early to get started. We were looking forward to our second round at this course as individual play started. The rain stayed away from us and the morning was fantastic. The sky was overcast and the temperatures stayed cool, but there was no rain.
When the round was over we headed towards Balboa Golf Club for our second round of the day and final round of the week. We had lunch in the clubhouse before starting our round under very overcast skies. The round was going along well and then right when we finished the 14th hole, it started to rain. We hung at the 15th tee box for about 10 minutes before the rain settled down and we started back up. After we all made our approaches to the 15th green, the skies opened up again. This time, it wouldn’t be a short wait. The four of us stood by the 15th green under some trees for about an hour as we waited for the rain to pass. When it finally did roll through, Sheebz stepped up to his four foot birdie putt that was the clincher of HSI XV. We then finished the round without incident.
We went straight from the course to El Padrino Mexican restaurant and ate a ton – too much. I think that I seriously ate more chips at this one sitting than I had ever eaten before at a Mexican restaurant. Between a combination of a long day, a light lunch, and some beverages on the course, we all thought that the food here was pretty awesome. After dinner we took the drive back to the house and not much happened once we were back there. Sheebz and Powell were asleep on the couch pretty quickly. It was food comas and then bed.
Sunday, May 10, 2014
After cleaning, packing, and the trophy presentation, Nick and Powell departed the house at 9 am to drive back to Kansas City. Sheebz and JJ departed by 10 am to drive to Little Rock and catch a flight. HSI XV had come to a close. Great fun.
HSI XVI
Sheebz will have the responsibility to plan the trip for next year. We are targeting doing it a little later in the year – late June is probable. Not sure yet where we are headed, but since we are playing later in the year there will be more options to go further north.
Memorable Moments
Loud frogs on the patio at Granada
Starter calling out Sheebz on the loudspeaker for his pink belt
Powell made the coffee at Granada clubhouse and then paid $1 to drink a cup
Pontoon trip
Nick announced his engagement
Three players making birdie on the same hole
Wet conditions – we got caught in the rain
Powell singing Steve Windwood’s “Don’t you know what the night can do” over and over and over after a few tequila/diet cokes.
Pictures
