*as in... not social media golfers with 4.0 handicap indexes
Adam picked up his 2nd win in Club history, and his first Major title. He was able to chase down and tie Geoff, who notched his 13th win (3rd Major).
Despite their impressive score of -3 (net), they definitely had to earn it. Adam needed 9 pars on the day — tied for the most pars-or-better in the tournament. And Geoff made 13 bogeys-or-better, which at his handicap is excellent.
Everyone else sucked and isn't worth talking about... except for Buchert. He should have won, if not for three unfortunate swings off the tee. His stretch of holes 2 through 7, where he posted -2 gross, was fun to watch.
Casey's 40 (gross) on the back nine was also impressive. Even though it was on the much easier side of the golf course.
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Geoff is now in the championship mix, but he's out next week so that might kill his chances. All the top ranked players ejected at the Bayou Club, causing the leader board tighten. With John out on Sunday this might be the craziest finish in our 16 seasons.
Katie is mathematically eliminated, since she does not have enough events played to qualify for the final week. Of course, she's welcome to attend as practice — like Dave (twice), Troy, and Darren did in previous seasons where they failed to hit minimum playing requirements.
And while Danny is eligible to play the finals for money and points... missing this week eliminates his chances at winning the Cup.
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Most of the "hate" for the Bayou Club came from people at the bottom of the leader board. Perhaps this is just a coincidence. But I've been stressing for years two things about golf courses: 1) form an opinion and 2) tell us that opinion. So while I think a lot of negative comments are subconscious hyperbole — those takes are also important.
We are a Club... only as successful as our participation makes it... and yet we're filled with lurkers.
Since there are currently only a few voices in this hermit kingdom, here's my opinion on the Bayou Club:
It isn't fun. It wasn't fun 10 years ago... still isn't fun now. But I don't require fun every week, especially for a Major.
There are a handful of good holes, and I personally like the loop of 13-16. But for the most part, it's not an overgrown tree issue that can be fixed with Brendan's chainsaw. There just isn't enough land on many of the holes to make it less penal.
It feels like a developer issue more than a swamp issue. The course was built in the height of the "Signature Era" of golf (1991). A huge name was hired — Tom Fazio — and his job was to consturct a challenging course that traversed the proposed neighborhoods. One where he could slap his name on it and never visit again. Mission accomplished.
You can't always fix bad layouts — and John/Buchert are correct in asking: "who would want to play it 3 times a week?"
But the greens were excellent, both in condition and contours. A few of the pin placements Sunday were brutal... but that makes for a more interesting leader board. The fairways were mostly decent, assuming you found them. And $70 is normal this time of year at a private club. Southern Hills would have charged us $95 plus tax last weekend (and through March). We'll probably only go to SH once a year from now on.
Anyway, I think Boisterous John calling Bayou Club a "dump" and "the worst course ever" is a huge disservice to the places actively trying to be terrible (The Claw, Wentworth, Northdale, etc). It's like calling Pamela Anderson "the most poorly aged 1990s celebrity," knowing full well that Macaulay Culkin still exists.
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| You get the idea. |
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Reid previously asked us to check out Huntington Hills in Lakeland — 9:30am, $40 plus tax.
A handful of us have played it already... and the best thing I can say is... it's "interesting." The worst thing I can say is that the layout is completely tricked up, claustrophobic, and littered with randomly placed giant oak trees. Waste areas, forced lay-ups, forced carries, and OB tight to the course are everywhere. I predict it to be a challenge, with an advantage to those who play "smart golf."
The greens are large with interesting undulations, and the internet claims current conditions are good. So... see you out there! We got some spots open if anyone has a guest.
You're supposed to wear Jamaican colors... but I'm no longer collecting tax for those of you who either can't remember or refuse to participate. We're too large for that and I can't even get you people to pay your debts in a timely manner. Speaking of...
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All the pitchers should be up to date. Double check and try to convince me otherwise. I doubt I'll believe you.
Those of you (myself include) that owe money or batteries... pay your damn debts so we can clean up the space.
The greens were in ok condition. Plenty of balls bouncing while rolling. One happened to me that was an unrepaired ball mark that I cant blame the course for, and I know would never have come from groups 1 or 2. It was a chip on from under the green so I didn’t see it until watching the ball bounce off line (which might usually have kicked my ball back on line, but this time the ball went where I wanted it to go off the club).
ReplyDeleteThere were plenty of wet areas, so it’s aptly names at least. Several times I had off-line shots that should have at least been found go missing presumably due to plugging in wet ground.
Also, the chainsaw could have been taken to many areas out there, especially along hazard lines. On number 8 growth was coming out over the marked hazard area to the point where a two club length drop still might not get you clear.
All in all it’s a poorly maintained course and I’d be pretty upset to be paying to be a member there right now. The clubhouse also needs some serious renovating.
Big clubhouses from the "Signature Era" will probably never be renovated, and will ultimately become a burden if they haven't already. Best example off the top of my head is Lone Palm. That thing is impressive, and not for the right reasons. Hopefully John gets us out there for the final week.
ReplyDeleteI would play it again, but not in the wet season. Playing from the 'blended tees' made the course manageable and scorable...I was only 1 swing away from finishing top 3 if I could hit a gap wedge 100 yards straight!
ReplyDeleteFor the record I purchased a double battery pack and its in my golf bag. However John refuses to collect for entertainment purposes of seeing this odd item to remain on the dead beat list.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you want “lurkers” to add content then you need to stir the pot by addressing issues like:
Is Katie w another overprotective BF and thus had to bail last minute?
Why did Mike Ho want to show off his new $2.4k iron set purchased from a Corona Virus like country by asking to play from 5700 yds?
Did Faz get to his bukake appointment in time by teeing off first? Was he the giver or the receiver?
Did Geoff watch Frozen2 last week with his kids or does he wait for them to go bed before turning it on?
Did Dave sell his soul aka swing to retail giant Costco by accepting a sponsorship to play only w Kirkland balls?
And which conspiracy theory is most plausible to JDubs back 9 collapse?: These apparent “bayou like” conditions
during the dry season, “Group C” members snickering from the green as they watch him ball search in the untrimmed oak forest, or that his music really stopped playing during his backswing and thus was distracted by background noise of a ball washer.
GorecHate was absent for this seasons Concussion pairings announcement so this sound off should suffice... for now. OUT!
Few things I forgot to mention in my post:
ReplyDelete- Brendan is finally back on the World Rankings!
- Gorecki was caught lifting and cleaning a ball in the rough (again). He claims it was a bad camera angle that made it look like he was cheating.
- The Board will create an official teebox policy in our offseason meeting. Until then, the Tournament Committee will continue to handle course set-up. Talk to your representative if you have any feelings on the matter.
Wasn’t gorecki on the wrong tee box a few times as well?
ReplyDeleteI didn’t mind the course. The invisible bumper around the cup wasn’t appreciated and the $70 was high. It’s an <$50 course. Other than that I wouldn’t mind another shot at it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough a Gypsy cursed me and I had a awful round I’d like another shot at the course. don’t think I’d play blue again as just too difficult. 50% of the fairways had a landing area equivalent to our fading hair lines. Also if you missed a green there were cart paths and waste within 5 years of the green, that doesn’t seem right to me.sounds like I’m gonna shoot another big number on Sunday, I’m looking forward to having more strokes than the browns in the summer season.
ReplyDeleteThe best design feature of the Bayou Club was the placement of the OB stakes on #10. They were a thing of beauty. A foot further to the right would have been too much, and ruined my day.
ReplyDelete11 was good, too. And I like how the stakes are so easily removable for when you’re next to them you can pull them out so it won’t affect your swing. Several other OB stakes were too encroaching, though.
ReplyDeleteHaha... Pulling out OB stakes to make a swing is on the Gorecki scale of illegal. Please tell me he did this too.
ReplyDeleteHonest question... I know you can move the yard markers and cart signs if they are in the way of your swing. But you can’t move OB or Hazard stakes if it is in the path of your swing? I’ve never run into this in competition but it brings up a good question for those of us that don’t have the rules memorized
ReplyDeleteChandler can correct me if I’m wrong but I think you can move all stakes that are in your way except OB stakes but I’d be willing to consider making a league rule that you can move the stake if it’s blocking your swing/shot.
ReplyDeleteNo, I did that one not knowing it was illegal in any way. The rest of the group agreed with the move, too. They were easily removable so it made sense that you could pull it out.
ReplyDeleteThe one I moved was installed in a sleeve that was buried in the ground, so I would argue that the sleeve is what marks the OB and the stake merely shows where the sleeve is in this case. I've never been in a group that has had that happen before or heard about it happening before that I can remember. Moving a pool pump would be much more difficult.
If it had given me any trouble and itself been buried and difficult to remove I probably wouldn't have moved it. This should probably be a rules post from the commissioner including what to do with other OB boundaries such as ballards and fences. If there needs to be a retroactive penalty go ahead and apply it, but I will say I'd have been better off punching out into the fairway because I chunked the 5 iron I was trying to hit into the green and ended up behind some trees and ended up with a double anyway.
With the $70 greens fee and the $30 six pack specials, the Bayou Club thinks of itself as 1990 Pamela Anderson rather than 2020 Pamela Anderson. It may not be 2020 Macaulay Culkin, but it sure as hell isn't 1990 Pamela Anderson. I would also love to play the golf course that is the equivalent of 2020 Macaulay Culkin. I think that would probably receive the first ever 6 Beer BGR Rating.
ReplyDeleteYeah you can move any stakes or markers except OB. No free relief either so if you’re up against a fence you’re screwed. Oh well... now those of us who read the comments know.
ReplyDeleteIs Countryway the closest thing we have to 2020 Macaulay Culkin? Maybe Wentworth.
We have only played it once, but The Groves would get my vote.
ReplyDeleteSeven springs would get my vote.
ReplyDelete