Part 3? Oh my god... The nostalgia...
For those of you who don't know me, I'm ArcheType. It was just over three years ago my timid attempt at meeting players in my area culminated in the first ever Illinois members thread (later renamed Illianasconsinigan members) meet up session.
On August 21, 2010, after warming up on a few holes and waiting on the full group's arrival, the first full game played contained Noill Golf, and myself versus WorldsCoolestGuY and jasonc in a doubles match for a dollar at Shorewood Park. Noill and I managed to narrowly eek out a victory, in part largely in part to my home field advantage, as opposed to any talent
Sadly, jasonc had to depart after the game, but Noill, WGC, and I pressed on to Highland Park, where we discovered WCG's arch nemesis, the DGA MACH III basket. Due to the often comical spit outs of WCGs Challenger, it became a much more casual and community orientated game, with scores mattering less and fun mattering more. After this game, we headed back to our respective monitors and smartphones to begin planning our next tee time.
It was about this time when we got the first glimpses of some of the other state interest, as this thread was still based on Illinois exclusively at the time. Some notable mentions are tallpaul, who I'd be willing to bet still swings by from time to time, as well bpierce08, whose activity has taken a downturn as he has been lured over to the marketplace.
Our next meet was held in Oswego at Eagle Ridge the following Saturday, and saw the additions of two new members, GoodDriveBaddPutt and Fatboy. In this meet, if I remember correctly, virtually everyone got dominated by the rough and the long tees. We don't talk about it much... :/
Think about way back then, when we were all novice players, maybe lower rec at best, and look how far we've come! This group has expanded to a serious community of dedicated and friendly players. We now have members organizing meetups for all over the midwest, and sometimes the across the entire country! In this moment of reflection, I just have to say that I'm so proud of this group and everyone in it. That they were able to continue to grow as a community and not take the turn of so many internet communities, the descent into "flame-wars" and "trolling."
So, in summation, I just want to thank each and every one of you, from those who help found the very beginnings of this group, to those who have done so much in expanding it and helping it grow and flourish as it has today. It actually brings me joy to see so many people being able to form a community of sorts based exclusively on what they love to do.
So, Illianasconsinigan Members, Thank you.
-Jacob "ArcheType" Burton
