[Donlupedron]

So today was finally the day, the day i honestly didn't know if it would ever come. Especially before finding THP. I have been golfing since i was 14 years old, im now 30 and i have never taken time off from playing the game that i love and the best stress reliever i have ever found even when i have a horrible round. From the moment my neighbor threw her ex husbands old clubs ( some old forged irons with real leather grips still on them and persimmon woods) out in the trash and i asked her if i could have them cause i thought it would be fun to try to hit balls in the field behind my house. And then my dad telling me his friend from church was the golf coach on the high school team and he would help me learn the game if i wanted to get into it. He gave me a few lessons in my back yard showed me stance and grip and i was hooked. next thing i knew i was practicing every day in my back yard.. after a few weeks my dad mowed a fairway and a green in the thick grass in the field behind my house and i'd hit balls and go shag them and hit them again for hours and hours. Fast forward through making the high school team and becoming the bomber i am today, to a little over a year ago when i was looking for a new set of irons and i came to THP and started reading the review thread on the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons. i thought wow what great reviews on these clubs. i ended up buying the set cause of what i read from the reviews. next thing i know i start reading more and more and i start posting, i never posted on a forum site before but i figured what the heck. I was amazed by how nice everyone was here and i came back more and more. until one day I saw a thread about free lessons from Johnny Walker for Golftec and after seeing a few write ups on the process i decided to sign up and head in for a swing evaluation. I learned at Golftec why my game has stalled and i couldn't shoot better than mid to high 80s. for the past 5 years. After deciding i wanted to see how good i could really be at golf i signed up for lessons there and my scores and handicap has lowered and hasn't stopped yet. i have had more than a few bumps along the road but today i finally did it. i shot under par for the first time in my 16 year golf career. And i BLEW IT UP not shooting -1 or -2 but shoting a 69 or -3. Before i write about my round and how it happened. i really wanted to take a moment and thank EVERYONE thats a member here and especially JB and Morgan and all the THP Staff. thats the real reason i decided to make this thread, and the real reason i was able to do something i didn't think was possible for me. I have gotten so much from this site and its members and Staff and so many things from here has improved my game. From being picked to test some great clubs (R11s and my SeeMore mFGP2) which has helped me improve both of which has really seem to have helped me shoot better. And the fact that doing the testing isn't always easy, anyone will tell you that has been chosen to test anything it really is a lot of work to do a good job testing, and i especially want to give back and do a good job cause i have gotten so much from the review threads on here. (and cost me quite a bit of $$$$$) but i think but all that hard work also equals me practicing and playing more. which i know has helped me out. then to all of the knowledge about how other people play the game or what they do in situations and looking at things from a different perspective and trying these things and seeing what works best for me. to all of the great club and shaft knowledge, talking with JB about clubs,TC about shafts, Hanks and Kmac letting me try a ton of their clubs when we get a chance to play together has gotten my bag to the place where im really happy with everything in there. I've made a ton of friends here too, lots of great people on here that have truly become my friends and even better having people to golf with whether its a few times a month with the locals or if its only once or twice a year at get togethers or the Outing. i just wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE HERE AND EVERYONE THAT WORKS HARD TO MAKE THIS SITE WHAT IT IS TODAY. I couldn't have done it without all of you!
Now that im tearing up a little bit again. got a little emotional when i walked into the pro shop to ask for a few extra score cards and a logo ball after telling the guy behind the counter that i finally broke par for the first time today and that it only took me 16 years.

Heres how my round went.

Couple of the big holes for me i won't bore everyone with every hole although i prob could recall every shot from today right now. After reading JBs post last week about him going for the middle of greens i decided today that i would play more conservative than i might normally do and not pin seek as much as i like to do, except on the par 5s those i was gonna grip and rip it and try to give myself chances for eagles or birdies, i figured i'd use my biggest strength (distance) to give myself scoring chances. I did that for the most part and was scoring decent with only one shot that i flubbed and ended in the sand on 4, i got to hole 8 where i usually try to cut the corner on a shorter par 5 i decided today that since theres water on the left i figured why would i chance it and decided to just rip my drive down the middle and take most of the water out of play on the 2nd shot. i did just that i had 200 out and i hit a great 6 iron right at the flag but was a little short the wind stopped the ball a little bit and i had a 20' putt it was pretty straight slight right to left and i went through my routine and drained it for an Eagle. So i was -1 after 8. on 9 it was the only hole i hit a bad tee shot. i pulled a 6 iron left and into the pond. and like an idiot i tin cupped it instead of dropping up closer but stuck the next shot to 10' and drained that putt to save a bogey. Hole 10 i got back on track and hit my hybo off the tee it must have rolled a ton cause i faded it around the slight dog leg and it was 10 yards in front of the green in the fairway. got a tap in birdie and the bogey on 9 that i was lucky wasn't more than a bogey was behind me. My drives were LONGer than normal today so i got a lot of wedge shots into greens that i tried to take advantage of although i did miss a few i still was on the green and was able to 2 putt, and i was able to get a few wedge shots in close and able to make a few putts. So as i step onto the tee box at 18 i take a look at my score card, which i normally would never do and im -2. at this point im looking at a very long dogleg par 5 which has a HUGE pond in front of the green. i Hit my drive and it is at the very end of the fairway near the dogleg. i would have had a better look at the green if i was left but my drive faded to the right so now i have 250 yards to carry the water over trees to a green that i can't see. so what do i do? i figure even if i dunk this ball in the pond i can still break par or at least shoot par for the first time. i grab my i20 hybrid walk up to find what line i need to hit on to get to the green. and i rip it. its a downhill green from this point about half of the way it drops off and after i hit it i thought it went a little to far right and i thought it might be bad. but i got down there and i was 5 yards off the green to the right with the flag all the way on the left of the green so i have a lot of green to work with i chipped with my AW but caught a flier out of the rough and my ball rolled past the hole and about 12' past and 2' onto the fringe. i went up pulled the pin as i walked past and just tried to make a good putt... i hit my putt and watched as it went dead center and hit the back of the cup. i couldn't believe it. -3 on the back after breaking even on the front. It honestly was one of the greatest moment of my entire life. i couldn't be happier right now. i have put in so much work into getting my game where i want it to be and today it finally just clicked.... i've never been one of those guys that shoots high scores one day and really low the next i just don't have erratic scores i've always posted consistent scores that have slowly been getting lower and lower, so its been a long road, but a great one. Thanks again for everyone thats helped me along the way. i hope i've helped the people on this site half of what i have gotten out of it.

[Donlupedron]

Turtle Creek Golf Course

Limerick, Pennsylvania

United States

July 6, 2012

Stroke Play

70.3 / 125Blue Tees

4.0Course Handicap:

3.3Handicap Before:

2.7Handicap After:

• 
  EAGLE
• 
  BIRDIE
• 
  PAR
• 
  BOGEY
• 
  2BOGEY+

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOTAL BLUE 373 504 136 353 402 426 349 516 191 3250 293 178 325 478 348 154 385 412 552 3125 6375 HANDICAP 11 3 17 13 5 1 15 9 7 16 6 14 8 12 18 10 2 4 PAR 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 36 4 3 4 5 4 3 4 4 5 36 72 SCORE 4 5 3 5 4 4 4 3 4 36 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 33 69 ROUND SCORE E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 -1 E E -1 E E -1 -1 -1 -2 -2 -3 -3 -3 NET SCORE 4 5 3 5 4 4 4 3 4 36 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 33 69 TEE CLUB 1W 1W Pw 1W 1W 1W 1W 1W 6i 2Hy 7i 2Hy 1W 1W 8i 1W 1W 1W FAIRWAYS 43% 71% 57% GIR 78% 67% 72% PUTTS 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 16 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 0 12 1.6/28 SAND SHOTS 1 1 1 PENALTIES 1 1 1

[CIAFreeAgent]

Buck, that's freaking awesome! Congrats on the 69, that's a hell of a round bro!

[isogeople]

Congratulations Bj, that is one solid looking scorecard.

[Vagtlaldo]

Wow Buck that is truly awesome man. You should celebrate this for sure. Congrats pal, you deserve every bit of it!!

[compiit]

Buck, that is absolutely incredible. A huge congrats bro! I am proud of you man!!!!

[Aleenkagirlla]

Great job man!

[itaspCatCriny]

Congrats Buck! I hope to be able to do the same. It is a goal of mine also.

[Ganoshenko]

Congrats man!!!! We are all incredibly excited for you dude.

Tapping from my S3

[casinobonusese]

Wow BJ that was an epic round lad. Well done you must be super pumped right now

[KkJvrG4d]

Congratulations. I am sure there will be many, many more.

[hHwJ229h]

Unbelievable dude! Congrats! I can't really say I'm surprised, I've never played with anyone who hits their teeball as far and straight as you do. I'd bet some serious cash you lead all of THP in total driving. And your short game makes me wanna cry too, those ridiculous flops you pull off!

Anyways, it's been great getting to know you this year, and hopefully I'll get to join you subpar one day too.

[ketNavatutt]

Congratulations Buck!! Incredible round!

[ashleyjoseph]

Super duper round Buck! I am extremely proud of ya bro and one of the best testimonies that I have ever heard

[Ekrbcbvh]

That is freaking awesome Buck! Congratualtions.

[NarunapyCalry]

That is great, happy for you, hope to do it myself some day before I am too old to swing a club.

[Donlupedron]

Congrats Buck! I hope to be able to do the same. It is a goal of mine also.

keep working at it. i mean its taken me 16 years. i didn't even think it would be possible. i think the best thing i did was take lessons from Golftec and read some books by Bob Rotella on the mental side of the game. and started practicing my short game religiously.

[megatrendsZ]

BUCK! Awesome dude! What a day! I shoot par for the first time and you BREAK it for the first time!!!

CONGRATS buddy!!!

[Donlupedron]

Unbelievable dude! Congrats! I can't really say I'm surprised, I've never played with anyone who hits their teeball as far and straight as you do. I'd bet some serious cash you lead all of THP in total driving. And your short game makes me wanna cry too, those ridiculous flops you pull off!

Anyways, it's been great getting to know you this year, and hopefully I'll get to join you subpar one day too.

Thanks Brett, that means a lot coming from you. i'm sure you'll break par sooner rather than later. you have some solid game.

[Donlupedron]

BUCK! Awesome dude! What a day! I shoot par for the first time and you BREAK it for the first time!!!

CONGRATS buddy!!!

did you really? thats awesome James! CONGRATS!!!!!! i never shot par before so breaking it was bitter sweet i was hoping to shoot par and then have a new goal to break par but i just blew them both away today! i can't wait to see the write ups in the SeeMore thread and how many putter orders SeeMore has waiting for them after this weekend. lol