DPT Masters - Summer 2018 Recap

We're officially done with the 2018 calendar year, and Casey shot an impressive 82 to capture his second career Major. Actually... just about everyone shot impressive rounds (more on this later). But Casey made a long downhill putt on the final hole, which was probably going to roll 10 feet past the cup, and somehow hopped in the air and dropped straight down for a birdie.

It ended Reid's day, who had a personal best 36 on the front nine but made too many bogeys on the back.

Gary was in contention and needed a win (possibly a T1)... but imploded on the 17th hole to lose any chance at the Cup. I imagine it was like watching his 2nd through 7th shots at the Rapture playoff last year.

Faz wins his 3rd DPT Cup, with two victories and two 2nd place finishes on the season.

Oh... and Darren is back... shooting his personal best 79 as a guest player. Really good stuff.

------------------------------------

A handful of us saw one of the worst attempted "gimmie" putts on the final hole, as Gorecki not only was willing to ask for and take a 4-footer to get SOLO 3rd... but Geoff and Casey were willing to give it to him because they didn't care about the standings anymore after respectively ejecting and winning. Thankfully, the gallery booed and yelled until Casey told Gorecki to putt the ball... which he then MISSED.

Here's a good way to think about our "no such thing as a gimmie" Rule 12. If you would make someone putt it out for a greenie... which is going to cost you $1... you probably shouldn't say "it's good." Also, if you have a 4 foot putt that you KNOW is not a gimmie, you should probably not be a terrible person and take it. Protect the field with personal accountability, or the board is going to have to vote on requiring EVERY putt be holed out.

Money and rapture points are on the line... so when someone actually gets left out of the 2019 Rapture (after we reduce the field to 12), I'm just going to say: "probably shouldn't have given the people ahead of you 4 foot putts."

Gary later admitted that he's given putts that he knows wouldn't be made 100 times out of 100. We have an epidemic on our hands. And I feel bad for those playing against me in the Rapture this week!

Speaking of... pairings and handicaps are listed below. I'll post some more info and we'll make some picks tomorrow. For now, get your blue and pink shirts together.

------------------------------------

Lakewood National is everything that most golf courses SHOULD be. It's wide, greens are large, and it's not overly penal. It's the 2nd easiest course (based on net scoring) we've played more than once (RIP Buffy Creek). A lot of the scoring was helped by the immaculate conditions, something we've seen at similar facilities like The Ritz and ChampionsGate CC.

While the majority of courses in our area don't have the land available to create wide fairways and large greens, they should do the best they can (ie: Temple Terrace tree removal!). If you aren't hosting a PGA event... why are you not making the game more enjoyable for us hackers? Did anyone walk of the course and feel cheated that our ten members made 10 birdies on the day? Or that 60% of us shot in the 80's and 50% threatened rounds in the 70's?

And yet... places like The Claw and Wentworth exist, and are desperate for members & daily play.

On a seemingly related note, I was asked by multiple people if I thought that Brendan & JW moving back hurt their scores. My answer is... "probably not.". At a course like Lakewood Natty, I'm not convinced moving back greatly contributed to their ejections. But it's always going to be harder to put the wheels back on the further back you play. And while Brendan might not agree... he had one birdie and one par (chipped in on 18!)... which should tell him to tee it forward. Like 3 teeboxes forward.

------------------------------------

More Rapture info to follow.