Championship week

For the first time in my life I was able to play in a golf Pro-Am. This week marked the start of the 3M Championship at the TPC in Blaine. This week has been a summer favorite of mine for about 5 years now. Usually my dad lets the boys go to the draw party for him and Brian, Rich and I usually have a blast. They have events at the draw party like a long drive contest, casino games for tickets that you enter in a prize raffle, free food, free alcohol, and a few chances to see some of the big name golfers. The last two years Kelsey has come along for the ride and it has always been a blast. For the past 4 years either Rich or myself have walked away with some gift or prize, be it a driver, a handful of gift certificates for a free night stay at the Grand Casino in Hinkley, or whatever random stuff we grabbed.
This year was a little different. Dad decided to come with the boys (and girls) and see what all the fun was about. We all did the long drive contest but didn't fare so well this year. (Which turned out OK because the prizes weren't anything special) We did our typical casino games and took in a massive amounts of tickets. Kelsey and I put all of ours towards a weekend stay at the Westin Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, with a free meal at the Bank Restaurant. We ended up winning that and we are going to save it for a nice date night. Should be pretty fun!
The other big thing that happened that night was that my boss asked me to play in the second group that EMC obtained for the Pro-Am. I have been watching my dad play in Pro-Ams since I was in elementary school. I even got to caddy for him a few times. It was always a blast and I will never remember some of the memories I have from being at those events with him. So when I learned that I was going to be playing in my very first Pro-Am it was something I have been waiting to hear for some time. I was very excited.
The pro that was playing with us was Jim Colbert. Not many people know him by name, but a lot of people would recognize him because he is the golfer that wears the Calloway white bucket hat. When i was a sophmore in High School I bought the same bucket hat because I thought it was cool. I wore it all the time, and I still have it today. When I learned who we were playing with I made sure to bring it with me for the picture with the pro. I also had him sign the hat when we were done. The actual round of golf went pretty well. Our team tied for second and were only beat when my boss' group's pro made a birdie for them on the final hole to beat us by one. Irregardless of our score, the entire day was amazing. I got to play with Russ, Derek and Jason (co-workers and brother in law) and had a couple of good laughs and a few good shots to go along with it. At the end of the day I got a few gifts to help my golf game, a few memories that i'll save forever, and the satisfaction to play in my first Pro-Am. It really was fun.

This weekend is our wedding weekend. 3 weddings in two days! Once we get through these weddings, I have the SJU Alumni golf event. Yep... more golf! I don't think I've ever golfed this much in one summer. I don't think there is ever such a thing as too much golf, but if there was, this might be approaching it. I am very excited to play on monday though, Rich, Russ, Tim and I are ready to make a run at 1st place. We'll see how it goes.

That's all i got for now.

Ho K Peace out!