Week 4 - Match Play Preview

It's been three years since we last played at Waterlefe, which is criminally too long. Not just because I excel there (more on this later), but because I truly believe it's the best routing of any course on our rota.

Format
Remember the regular stroke-play tournament is still going on. So while your 5-foot putt might not matter for your match, you'll still need to putt out for stroke play. Your match just gets you extra points on the season.

Strokes for match play are 80% of your course handicap, with the higher golfer stroking off the lower golfer. We'll make a picks post later for those of us who like to gamble some drinks.


Pairings and Pace of Play
Pace of play is a big problem in golf, and we are obviously not immune to it. Group 3 last event (Buchert, Tall Mike, Gary, Reid) were almost two holes behind on the FRONT NINE at one point. I saw them teeing off on the par-3 10th, with Group 2 walking off the par-4 11th green.

The same sort of spacing happened Week 2, with a group consisting of: Gary, Tall Mike, Troy and Paul (Troy's guest).

And in Week 1, the final group of Brendan, Geoff, Gorecki and Katie finished 20 minutes behind the group in front of them. Enough time for everyone to unload their clubs a mile from the clubhouse, come inside and wash up, order drinks, and amass on the final green to heckle Gorecki. Embarrassing.

The point is... this shouldn't be a constant problem. Alas, I receive multiple complaints each week by annoyed Members paired with slow golfers. It would be awesome if I wasn't the only one who had to be an asshole and call people out about things (not just this). I have a funny idea of creating a "gossip column" on the side of the blog where I just post any complaints from the previous week about any Member, along with who said it.

Anyway... at least one of our Members is working on a FBGC Pace of Play Power Rankings, which will shine a light on some of the issues. But we can still take some action this week.

Tall Mike has often been quoted saying: "The more you tell me to speed up, the slower I'm going to go. Just to piss you off." He said so again as we left Grasslands last week. Fair enough. We can't control how fast he wants to play.

We can control the pairings. So when I saw #1 vs. #2 this week was Gorecki vs. Tall Mike — combined with the fact Crum (sponsored by JW) is bringing a friend — the solution was simple: boot the slow Mikes to Group E. With sincere apologies to the guys in the cellar, of course (#playbetter).

So enjoy the extra range time. Go slow over every shot to prove a point (I guess?). Jerk your shafts and grind over 2 foot putts when you know damn well what the break is.

Most of us will be enjoying the clubhouse (or halfway home, if you're Reid) by the time you finish.

Perhaps some of the attitudes on slow play will change. But in the meantime, the Board will continue to monitor the situation on a weekly basis and alter pairings if needed. We can't ruin the experience of the masses on account of the few.

Oh, and saying "well we played in 4 hours," is not a thing. Your responsibility is to keep up with the group in front of you. Stop destroying the game by bragging about playing at the slowest allowable pace.

Course Analysis and History
Now the fun stuff...

Lots of tee options at Waterlefe for you to consider. I have an older card, so while the slope/ratings have changed, I'm not sure about the distances. Anyway, everyone is on the BLACK tees (mix of blue/white) except for:

Dave & Melberg on BLUE (unless they tell me otherwise)

Gorecki on WHITE (only tees he's ever played there)

Katie on PINK (mix of green/red)

If anyone wants to change let me know ASAP. I'm probably moving up for the first time ever since I only lose a stroke (#strategy).

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In the six times we've played Waterlefe, Chandler (hey, that's me!) has finished: 1st, T2, T1, 1st, 4th, and 3rd. That is easily the most dominate performance in Club history on a specific course. But with a 9.0 index, I can guarantee a victory is out of the question this year.

History says that -1 (adjusted net) would be a really good score. In fact, only once has someone gone lower than -1 (adjusted net).

On the other end of the spectrum, we've only had 10 pitchers in 54 rounds, which means most people will finish around +5 (net). Basically... there usually isn't a ton of actual carnage.

So who's the favorite? I'm going with Reid, Darren, and wildcard Danny. The first two only need to shoot 86-ish. Reid has had success at Waterlefe, including a victory the last time we played it. Darren, on the other hand, is kinda garbage out there. Danny just needs to shoot in the 90s and he wins.

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One final Flashback:

The last time we played Waterlefe was the 2017 Match Play event. Dave handed Gorecki the 2nd worst beat down in Club history — 9&7 — after Gorecki shot a 64 on the front nine and walked off the course. This was the infamous "Pool Pump Incident," which took place on the 7th hole when Gorecki argued his ball was in bounds by pointing at a PVC pipe coming out of a pool pump. I believe there is a plaque out there marking the spot.

The nine holes Gorecki completed were part of his record 70 hole stretch without a par.

See you Sunday.