Deep In The Heart
Behind the pine curtain of Texas, a battle was waged with members of elite selection (and open availability) to determine which metro would be the ultimate winner of the Texas Cup. Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Austin/San Antonio brought forth their best game, beer, and comradery, to a little place called Pine Dunes.
On Thursday before, there were clear signs of life from the crew where donations were being raised on the refuge with raffle tickets to fundraise for the Austin Firefighters Relief and Outreach Fund. Items for the raffle included golf clubs, ferrules, headcovers, and much more. There was $1,350 raised to give to Austin Firefighters Relief and Outreach Fund through this raffle. Overall donations reached $2,225, between the raffle, hats, and 50/50 skins. We appreciate everyone who donated and those looking to donate can always get involved in The Refuge.
Practice rounds commenced on Friday where members of each team made the pilgrimage to Texas’ own version of Pinehurst. Attire was an easy choice that day, pink. A request was made by captain @jdonelson to show support for a young girl that is battling leukemia, by simply wearing pink and taking a photo of the group. Through the trees, whispers were heard of @jdonelson fulfilling his prophecy that Pine Dunes is gettable while cruising into a comfy pink-shirted 68. Cheers were heard, beers were drunk, and GHIN’s cringed only for a moment before remembering they were locked on Thursday. Matches were also determined this day for the STROHS Matchplay Massacre. In Pod 6, @xxtrastiffwiff routed @jbpayne32 in a 6&5 win but fell short to @rmaas91 1up. Pod 4 saw the aforementioned round of @jdonelson ‘s 68 to win over @desperateunder105 6&5.
That night’s dinner consisted of an all-hands-on-deck situation to feed the lot of golfers coming off the course. Thank you to @jsteve, @xxtrastiffwiff, @therealmarkymark, @rmaas91, and others for rounding up the supplies to feed the multitude. The party also found itself in awe watching a separate group participate in a Calcutta on their own terrible golf games. Rumors had it that $1000 was placed on a team and @iceman replied, “I’ll take all of you on for that money”. Nothing came of it, but the offer still stands.
Saturday morning started out like any other. Birds chirping, fog lifting, and mowers mowing. The only difference: the damn Texas Cup was starting up. Morning Session consisted of Fourball Matches where @alex.irion and @hellerhighwater rallied the troops of ATX/SA to try and start off strong against @whineycracker52 and @robrosson. Reports of @hellerhighwater turning into a backpack for @alex.irion were true, and the ATX/SA team had their first point with a 5&4 win. Across the course, images were flooding in of scorecards, pace of play issues, and @desperateunder105’s new-fangled foldable 60 degree wedge (patent pending). Pine Dunes was trying to win, but the crew was fighting back. @hellyeahdude’s putter was running hot while running in a 60ft par putt on top of his northern Dallas neighbors. Shouts of “shots for net par!” could be heard emitting from deep within pines. Labeling the 12th hole’s features also took shape, naming an area deep and below the putting surface, for how dirty the play is from down there. The STROHS were absolutely vibing.
After a quick club sandwich, re-up on Liquid IV’s, a shower, and wardrobe change, the afternoon Greensome Matches were set to begin. A small wait was in store for the players as the other group on the course decided to start late, but many conversations were had with the starter. He was a kind man, knew little about starting on a golf course, but gave wisdom out like he was throwing candy in a Christmas parade. May we all live by thoughts like: “Golf is hard, it takes more time for some than others,” and, “I hope when we get to heaven, we aren’t judged by our handicap.” Amen brother, amen.
Greensomes began all tied up between Houston and Austin/San Antonio. Matches started off as groups of four, abiding by the powers at be, but quickly turned into 8somes to “speed things up”. More people in a group means more chances for chaos. Quotes included: “you can’t hit during a song change”, “who wants some room temperature Fireball?!”, and “My girlfriend’s ex-husband is really good at golf.” Matches were played, and all were tight but two groups shined that afternoon: @anotherballromes and @drewski besting their opponents 4&3; @darikashi and @desperateunder105 cleaning up with a 6&5 win. However, a small TIE on the scoreboard also deserves mention. @hellyeahdude and @savemuny were down 3 on 16 tee, when the words “ALL OUT ATTACK!!! ALL OUT ATTACK!!!” came flying out of @savemuny like a war cry. Either in a frenzy or bending the match to their will, they fought and brought the match from all but done to eeking out a halve. Well done.
That evening saw the NLU crowd head to the immaculate Pine Dunes bar and restaurant, where they may not be open past 10PM, but the burgers and friends were hard to beat. Singles matches hung over everyones’ heads and players started calling out other players for a grudge match. @the_korn_ferry called out @hellerhighwater for having too similar of a mustache years ago at The Alamo Duel. Captain on captain violence was called with @jsteve15 seeking out a match with @whineycracker52. Matches were announced, the community beer cooler was raided and when the night finally calmed down the scores showed that it was a dead-even race between Houston 7.5 and Austin/San Antonio 7.5.
Sunday morning singles arrived with the soft dulcet tones of the same starter calling the congregation to order; “Guys have fun, but there’s a bunch of people in front of you.” Perfect. Off the tee first, @xxtrastiffwiff and @savemuny for team Austin/San Antonio started against @heath for Houston and @spiehtgotmono for Dallas, respectively. Houston came out firing, grabbing the first three matches of the day and taking a quick lead over Austin/San Antonio. It was apparent to all teams though that the weekend’s activities did not make for the most conducive environment for high-level golf. Groans and slow starts were heard and seen by all. The middle groups traded blows, and all teams seized the moment during a slow Sunday round to take advantage of the bar after the blue laws lifted. The tide began to turn with @chitwood flexing his STACK system strength on @therealmarkymark, marking the start for the final wave of points coming down the pipe for team Austin/San Antonio. The final 5 points of the Texas Cup were awarded to @hellerhighwater, @hellyeahdude, @jdonelson, and @jbpayne32, giving Austin/San Antonio the 1.5 point win over Houston to win the Texas Cup.
The final tally for the Texas Cup was Austin/San Antonio 15.5, Houston 14, and Dallas 6.5. The south Texas contingent was excited about their second win and is looking forward to making it a three-peat next year in 2023. Thank you to captains @jdonelson for Austin/San Antonio, @jsteve15 for Houston, and @whineycracker52 for Dallas/Ft Worth, for a great year. We look forward to the next one to find out who are the real Texans!
