5
 
 
 
3:16 PM, Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014:
 
I'm genuinely sick of golf at this moment. 50+ hours later... and that was just to get to hitting UPLOAD. And it still hasn't finished. For whatever reason, YouTube has throttled their uploads to half the speed of normal so what was already a massive 8 hour upload is a 16 hour insanity. Sixteen hours for a 29 minute video. Good golly. But what can you do?
 
Oh and if that seems long to you, I've finally decided to just make the half-hour episodes as they would appear on TV. There's honestly no other way to capture this much golf. Especially match-play events that are 7 separate games. Plus qualifying? Yeah, it's a big day. Now with the business sponsors and the charity... you just can't gloss over this shit and when it comes to televising golf? The intensity is in what happens leading UP TO the putts... not just the putts. Anyone who has watched a big event knows that. The highlights on ESPN are a monumental letdown because it skips every bit of intrigue.
 
Of course if you think golf is boring, you aren't watching this video. LOL. I guess I understand that. It kills me, but I have to accept that what I'm pouring my life into is absolutely niche - and to people that love golf? It's a fucking joke, because it's MINI-golf. Yes, in true Adam form, I've found the one area that is almost guaranteed to never be mainstream... though after watching this? I'm hard pressed to believe it wouldn't find a home on the Golf Channel. It's the fact that it's a backyard that gets me. If this was just on a real mini-golf course? I could see it getting old, but here?  The holes actually feel like characters. When you STEP-UP to 8 with the game on the line? It feels like something. The levels and the angles... it's just very personal. Anyway, what am I doing? Oh yeah - THE VIDEO.
 
Here it is...
 
 
Scrolling way down so you don't see spoilers:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ho. Lee. Shit. I lost.
 
I lost in an epic moment where I straight up choked. Granted, even had I made that putt he got a hole-in-one on 9 to clinch it but - woah. What an upset!!!! I'm so goddamned excited to share this it's killing me. People will finally know now that it really is anyone's game. I keep telling people, after a certain amount of practice time, there is no advantage to it being in your backyard. Seriously - after an hour or two? You know everything you're gonna know. It's execution.
 
Now clearly, Mr. Michael Cole has played some golf in his day. And you can see it in his follow-through. He knows how to putt. He has complete control over his putter and that ball goes where he wants it to go. Even in the finals when he bogeyed? He hit his 2nd shot beautifully and just got unlucky. He knows his shit, I'm thrilled that we found him and he will always be the first. I will absolutely be beaten again, but from here on out, that's how people will know him on the course and remember him in the videos. He's excited as hell - had an awesome day, and can't wait for The Memorial. He is a legit threat to win the Points Championship this year.
 
...of course so is Matt who scored an unbelievable (-7) TWICE during the event. I mean, to hit a (-7) in the championship round? That's so clutch. So difficult to do. And even in the first round he hit back-to-back eagles?!?!?! Even though Fred holds the record at (-8), Matt will be the first to hit a (-10). Watch. But again, he's so hit or miss, I actually now give Michael the edge. Matt's bogeys turn into triple bogeys in record time. But without a doubt - we are entering a different era in this project. I am no longer favored to win The Memorial. I mean, with all the running around I have to do and concentrating on filming it, etc? It's a wonder I can even qualify. That won't be ending anytime soon and it's fair to say I will be overmatched the rest of this year. It's only going to get harder. Oh and speaking of that?
 
We are now looking at all majors (top 4) being (-5) cut, period. That will soon be (-6). I can now easily see 4 people getting (-6) or better. And hell in a Top 8 Match-Play cut, Jon's (-4) doesn't even assure he's in!!!! !?!?!?!??! We're in a completely different era. People are playing better and soon, it's going to be the same group of 10 guys in every single tournament...
 
...though I do have one wrinkle to introduce. It will help with congestion on the course and also make each qualifying game even more nerve-wracking: 5-game limit. One scorecard. You get 5 chances to post your best score. And honestly? Every single person that qualified (with the exception of Jon who needed 6 games) did so within 5 games. What this will do though, is allow people to come, play their 5 and get out. In fact as this gets bigger? We may have qualifying days OUTSIDE the tournament days. However I think the 5-game limit is a no-brainer no matter what. It is a bit unfair that some people are on their 7th, 8th, 9th game while others can't even get in 2 or 3 games because it's so crowded. Ya know how I used to say come early? Well people listened, and it was a madhouse within the first 30 minutes with lines to play. The 5-game limit will alleviate some of that and again more than anything? Allow me to capture those final games of each player as opposed to just ONE person who happened to be playing at 4:57 (though how incredible was Jimmy's end!?!?!?). I know some people won't like this, but I think it's time.
 
Now, the big question is how will this affect charity? Well, it helps and it hurts. Of course it hurts because people can't play an unlimited amount of times, but the truth is? When it's busy? You're lucky to get a round in every half-hour. And only 3 people were even able to GET to a game past 5. So what this really does is allow people to play during off-times and I believe that will be advantagous as time moves on. I can't have 50 people in my backyard trying to play that course. I can however, if I make a qualifying weekend before the event and then have the top scores come back at the cut on tournament day. Again, floating ideas to grow this (without having to buy an actual minigolf course - lol).
 
So the stats!!!!! Of course you can go to the stats page at GolfKon.com for the actual stats - but you want to know how much we raised!
 
24 players
107 rounds of golf
304 birdies
17 eagles...
 
...for a grand total of $778 raised for House of Tiny Treasures! How 'bout that???!?! I told Andrew it would be around $500, but he was fine with the extra bucks. Hell he contributed to it! He made the cut! How cool is that!
 
As you saw in the video, there's a bunch of ways to give the business sponsors exposure. From the commercial at the beginning, to their name on the eagle cam. And that's if they sponsor the whole thing. You could sponsor a hole for $50 and at least get your name out there. The breakdown for holes were as follows:
 
Total
Per Round
Hole 5
$204
$1.91
Hole 7
$160
$1.50
Hole 1
$106
$0.99
Hole 3
$72
$0.67
Hole 6
$66
$0.62
Hole 4
$52
$0.49
Hole 8
$50
$0.47
Hole 2
$48
$0.45
Hole 9
$20
$0.19
 
So as you can see, with 107 rounds of golf (which is a freaking LOT) you're looking at less than $100 for 2/3rds of the holes. $20 for Hole 9. So if you limit everyone to 5 rounds you could even have 40 contestants and you're just doubling those numbers. There's a lot of room for businesses to get some great exposure for very little. That's of course for the time being... but it's a great starting point. Not every business is going to need to sponsor the entire event for $800-$1000. We can break it up.
 
Man so much to talk about. Uhm, how cool is the eagle cam? Made possible ONLY because I removed that tree?!?!? So glad I did that I can't even begin to tell you. Of course I want one more to capture the other half of the course, but we're talking 4 hours and 20 gigs of footage just from one camera... going through all that... UGH. Now throw in a 2nd one? And battery power is an issue so you'd need to find a way to keep it charged the entire time... this is just a massive undertaking and as you can tell from the video - there's a LOT of details. And match-plays are a nightmare. So many games. See it's not just the holes... a normal major of 18 holes and 4 players is like 4 match-play matches... but in Match-play they each have their own story. Sure I can edit around them a bit... but in the end? You either tell the story of the match, or you don't. And truthfully? It should be a 2 hour live event like golf is. THAT is what makes the big moments big. But no, 30 will be my limit. ;-) Would be awesome to somehow do a live broadcast at some point though. Have a camera crew doing the player cards live... not have to do ANY WORK. OHHHHHHHHHH let me dream. 50 hours of editing for that is unreal.
 
OK, I'm done. I'm happy, thrilled I finally got beat (though thoroughly shocked it happened in the first round)... though let me extend that parenthetical: when you seed 5 spots with free-throws you'll inevitably have a crazy seeding system that has nothing to do with golf-skill. Michael would've been a 4 had we done a golf playoff, no doubt. But hey - we're really to the point where anyone can beat anyone in a 9 hole game. I love it. Can't wait to start redoing hole 7 for...
 
 
...and generally relaxing. This is such a massive undertaking and it's finally over. But wow, that was the greatest event, most intense shots EVER, we've had. I watch that video and I cannot believe that is my back-freaking-yard. It literally transforms the day of an event. So crazy how that happens.
 
Alright! Hello April!
 
Adam