CONGRATS TO JEFF LANNEN, YOUR PCC CHAMP!

********** The Finals **********

And we’ve made it, folks. The 2010 PCC Finals. Mark Stenmark vs. Jeff Lannen. Stenmark will have to beat him twice. No easy task…

Sug It misses a putt on hole 2, and like that Jeff has an early lead.

Stenmark bogies the par-3 6thand Lannen takes an early 4-shot lead…. wow

At 9, Lannen -13, Stenmark -9

Lannen picks up another stroke through 15.

Suq It gets wet on 16, so does Lannen. Up 6.

Jeff Lannen is your 2010 PCC Champ shooting a -21 on Southen Oaks. Well done, Jeff!

Thor vs. Stenmark for the Finals

All tied at -15 through 11

Sug It takes the lead on hole 15

Both birdie the par-5 16th.

Thor down 1 going into 18

Stenmark laid up on 18 and was able to stick a tough 2nd shot. Thor came up short. Both ended up with birdies and Stenmark moves on to the finals.

Thor takes 3rd.

Reid wins Purple 

Reid Somori beat Dan Miser -21 to -16 to win the purple game.

4:30 – Tony vs. Thor

After a missed putt and a lava ball, Thor took a 3-shot lead and didn’t look back. Thor now moves on to play Stenmark.

Tony takes home 4th.

3:58 – King of the Hill Match

Sug It holes out early, up two shots on the front-nine.

Lannen got 2 back and they went into 18 -24, finished at -26. WOW.

In sudden death, Stenmark got wet on extra hole 2 and Jeff Lannen is your king of the hill.

3:52 – Stu Fox’s Run Comes to a Close

Tony Johnson bested Stu Fox on Tahiti Cove to reach the loser’s bracket finals and take on Thor. Nice run by Fox, though…

3:36 – Thor Moves On

Chris Thorbrogger took out Marc Muklewicz in extra holes to move into the loser’s bracket finals.

3:00 – Stenmark Moves on w/ Ace

Mark Stenmark is onto the winner’s bracket finals w/ an ace against Mouth on hole 3. Well done, Sug It. <—-Note: that is his player name not a knock on the kid. (Okay, it’s both)  : )

2:55 – Jeff Lannen takes out Tony Johnson in extras

On extra hole 5, Tony Johnson got wet and Lannen birdied to secure a top 3 finish.

2:49 – Lemon/Tony Puttin’ on a Show, Mouth/Stenmark doing the same

Tony and Lannen were all square through 18 throwing up -25s on Monument. Went to extras…

Mouth and Stenmark, also playing Monument, went into extras with -24s…

2:34 – Back-to-Back Aces

Tony Johnson and Jeff Lannen start off their match by each acing #3 on Monument.

SICK.

2:32 – On the other side…

Chris Thorbrogger just took out Andy Haas, ending his PCC.

Three spots remain on loser’s side.

2:26 – Winner’s Bracket Update

Your final four in the winner’s bracket is as follows…

Marc Muklewicz vs. Mark Stenmark

Jeff Lannen vs. Tony Johnson

2:16 – A Look at the Leaderboard

1:15 – Minnesota Makin’ a Statement

Tony Johnson, Chris Thorbrogger, Todd Penticoff, Mark Muklewicz all getting ready to play in the quarters.

Not too shabby, Minnesota. Not too shabby…

12:58 – Down Goes Haas

Todd Penticoff takes out Andy Haas in a surprising upset. Haas will now go to the loser’s bracket.

Notable winners from round 2 include:

Marc The Mouth Muklewicz

Chris Thorbrogger

Tony Johnson

12:14 AM – 1st Round Winners

First round winners were: Haas, Penticoff, Mouth, Dean L, Kinz, Andy Fox, Mark Stenmark, McCook, Welter, Thor, Tony Johnson, Evan G, Harlow, Rodney, Stu Fox, Jeff Lannen.

11:51 AM – Match o’ the day (so far)

Rodney “Hot Rod” Roberts and Ed Godfrey both shot -25 on Monumnet Valley to go into sudden death where they went through the first nine holes all square. On hole 13 in extras, however, Hot Rod prevailed.

Well done by both…

11:29 AM – Matches, matches, matches

Quick updates from round 1:

Haas beats Eric Ringeisen.

Andy Fox beats Matt Esteep

The Mouth beats Lance Harris

Mark Stenmark beats Eversole

Jeff Harlow beats Paul Tayloe

More to come…

10:56 AM – Well Done, Ya’ll

While matches are getting going, this seems like the ideal time to announce how much money was raised for Salute. At the big check presentation last night, Salute was given a check of $75,110.

That’s what this weekend is all about…

10:30 AM – Qualifying Scores/Matches Warming Up

What a day.

After a massive power outage that put a slight wrinkle in the qualifying, things are getting ready to go. Before we get into match play, here’s how the top qualifiers ended up.

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Occasionally when I catch up with players at an event, bar, or on the phone, they’ll ask what databases and/or systems we use to dig up some of the more amazing Golden Tee Great Shots that we post in our forum, on Twitter, on the GT Facebook Page and in our monthly feature.

After laughing at that for a few seconds, the embarrassment of actually being the Great Shot database sets in, and I usually sheepishly explain that I, Adam Kramer, am actually the YouTube golden gopher. No GSP notifier, no GTP siren that sounds off, no programming methods in place (that costs money don’t ya know) – just a dude with a computer that spends entirely too much time looking up virtual golf happenings on GT’s expanding social media sites.

Let’s do some math here and get a few hilariously disturbing items on the table.

Golden Tee Great Shots debuted back in September of 2008. Using June 1st as our referencing date, this is approximately 641 days that people have been uploading Great Shots give or take.

I typically look for usable shots for let’s say… twenty minutes each day which is probably very accurate. Yes, I do look on the weekends – something my lovely new fiancé finds absolutely appalling and shares with me on a regular basis. This DOES NOT include monthly features, yearly features, etc. – just searching, posting, and sharing.

20 minutes x 641 days = 12,820 minutes (my eyes widen)

12,820 minutes / 60 minutes per hour = 213 hours (stomach becoming queasy)

213 hours / 24 hours per day = 8.90 days (Vomiting everywhere)

 

213 hours / 8 (average # of hours per business day) = 26.63 total business days

 

213 hours is more than two of Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France’s wins combined

12,820 minutes is 760,200 seconds spent.

(Cleaning vomit off self and wrapping cold towel around head.)

 

So as you can see, I’ve watched more Great Shots than anyone you know. Not something I necessarily want on my tombstone but what the hell there are worse stigmas, right?

(Silence, followed by MUCH more vomiting)

“What Do YOU Do Here?!”

Each and every morning I search YouTube, searching for Golden Tee Great Shots that separate themselves from the rest. This morning ritual goes well with a cup or two of coffee and a few low-fat Poptarts that really aren’t low-fat at all.

Because there have been more than 80,000 uploads, you simply cannot click on every single video. This means I have to be selective with my clicks, and this sad little selection process all starts with the thumbnail. Those of you who are GT nerds like myself know exactly what I’m talking about.

The thumbnail, aka small preview image given for each video, tells a lot about the course, hole, and etc. Some holes and courses are much more prone to providing good YouTube fodder. When these holes come up in recently posted items, it’s a no-brainer. It’s the other holes that somewhat simpler that can be tough to find.

Take this little gem for example. I found this a few weeks back while doing a daily search. Southern Oaks 12 isn’t exactly a Great Shot haven, in fact, this is the first ever shot from this hole I’ve ever showcased on the GT Facebook Page (more on that in a bit). Still, this horrendous effort was nothing short of awesome and is one of the few tree-aided holeouts we’ve actually seen.

Finding “The” Shot

Once in a great while I come across a shot that truly blows my mind. I relate it to an archeologist coming a cross a new species. That excitement of seeing something outstanding that you have never seen before is enjoyable, even if it’s a virtual golfing hole-in-one from someone you don’t know. The shot above is close to being jaw-dropping, but not quite on the level of other shots we’ve seen.

Because I really do see hundreds and hundreds of shots each week, when I do discover a shot that that has never been seen before, I immediately want to share it with the entire world. Or at least a few thousand trackball fans.

Perfect example below…

My pride and joy. I feel like the scout that discovered Michael Jordan even after he was cut by his high school coach. This shot has become the clear Shot of the Year favorite and I check everyday hoping to find something like this. Still, something like this doesn’t occur often. Shots like this make me wonder how we survived and thrived before the YouTube era even existed on Tee. Consider the previous blather a small taste of something that really is my job.

I’m not alone in my video posts, either. Thousands of fans share their shots on Twitter, Facebook, Golden Tee forums and etc. It’s become somewhat expected of Facebook fans to post their holes-in-one, whether it’s a bounce of a coyote’s cranium or a basic par-3 ace.

And my (perhaps our) little world of Golden Tee on YouTube is only going to expand and become even greater. I got a sneak peak at the 2011 courses and all I could think about was the potential Golden Tee Great Shot implications. Needless to say, there are going to be significant opportunities in the next update to impress your buddies with your GT prowess or luck. Wow, I really am a nerd.

I suppose this blog was worth nothing more than to showcase a perceived intricate process that really isn’t intricate at all. Just a dude, a morning ritual, and a fascinating aspect of my job that really shouldn’t be qualified as work. While dealing with pissed off players at times can suck, having the freedom to search YouTube in hopes of entertaining the GT masses is important, entertaining, and fun as hell. After all, I got this job because of my passion for the game.

As long as you keep hitting aces, albatrosses, super albatrosses, and other worthwhile moments – I will find them, post them, and make a HUGE deal out of them if they are something special. This might not be the most impressive and technologically advanced database in the country, but it works. I’ll log more hours, spend days looking for “the” shot, and most likely piss off my fiance BIG TIME in the process.

But hey, it’s my job.

 

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