FBGC Masters - Summer 2021 Preview

Five years ago we finished up our Summer season at a newly built course in ChampionsGate, located directly behind the large ChampionsGate hotel (which has two courses of its own), and was somehow named "ChampionsGate Country Club."

 

The golf industry is so creative.

At least three cars got lost and went to the wrong entrance/course. The CGCC didn't really have any houses on it. Fairways were wide... greens were large... and the only hazards were bunkers and ponds.

 

Tall Mike won with his lowest lifetime score of 78, which was a 54 net. I believe that round of -18 (net) is still a record — one which will probably never be broken. And he had a double bogey on the card!

 

Up until that tournament, Dave basically had the Cup in his hands. Even with Moostie winning, Dave could tie for 3rd and win the season. He matched Moostie's score of 78 (gross), but finished 2nd to DFL! His two double bogeys and 40 putts ruined an ascension to Club immortality, and resulted in him snapping his putter in two and leaving it on the 17th green. 

So good.

 

Here's a quote from the write-up I did back then:

"EVERYONE shot under par (net). Gary shot 48-36, making birdie on the final three holes, and that was only good enough to tie for 9th. Darren shot 81, one stroke off his personal best, and finished T6. Chandler (that's me!) shot a personal best 74, and lost by 8 strokes. Gorecki shot under 100 (gross) for the 2nd time ever in a non-Memorial event, and placed 3rd. Buchert had a 35 (gross) on the back nine to lose by 6. Five people owed pitchers for -10 (net).

 

While Tall Mike needed a victory to even have a chance at a repeat championship... he absolutely destroyed the field, shooting a mind-blowing -18 (net). According to the USGA, the probability of Moostenbrink shooting that low (based on his current index) is 1 in 2,000+ rounds. "

 

It was madness, and we've never returned. Not because the course sucks, but the few times we go to Orlando we've scouted other locations. This week we'll revisit CGCC, and see how it stacks up now that we're all vastly better at golf.

 

That's a joke. Most of you still suck.

 

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Tee time is 10:30am. We're playing the Blended tees, which I believe is just the back tees on par 3s and 5s. I moved Dave and Faz back to the "Back" tees (6400ish), so let me know if anyone else wants to join them.

Long drive will be #4.

 

Troy got us a rate of $40, and range balls should be included.

Address is: 8950 Clifton Draw Dr., ChampionsGate, FL 33896

 

After the round lets hit up Ale House by the interstate. See you then!

Hangover Invitational - Summer 2021 Recap

Another successful Hangover in the books, as 69% (nice!) of the field gathered at World of Beers, many with WAGs in tow. We shared a lot of laughs and stories (probably more than we should have), and had enough drinks (definitely more than we should have) to require one of John's infamous spreadsheets. If you haven't paid him... please do so ASAP.

 

Brendan, Billy and their significant others left before this photo. Our apologies.

 

Speaking of our Social Chair... next season's Hangover (which will be in like 8 months) is tentatively scheduled at John's house down in SoGā. A proper backyard BBQ and house party! We'll be on the Lambda variant of COVID by then, so maybe we can incorporate some sort of booster shot yard games to accompany the super spread of food and snacks. John's hosting skills might be unmatched by anyone in the Club.

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The golf was scorching. On the plus side the course was mostly dry, without restrictions, and we didn't fight off any rain. But man... some of that rough was thicc. I loved the greens though, despite many of them looking spotty. They rolled smooth and were definitely quicker than most of us wanted to believe.

Geoff built a large lead on the back nine, shooting +1 (gross!) on holes 10-16. Of course, we all knew a collapse was coming, and he didn't disappoint with an 8 on the penultimate hole. But in a completely unexpected turn of events, he made par on 18 to post a -4 (net) in the clubhouse. His 86 (gross) was the lowest round of his golfing life. The lessons are working!

Only John could catch him, which he did by also making par on 18. His round included one blowup, but nothing else worse than bogey. That's like... Spring 2017 & Spring 2020 era John. He might be back. Just in time for the Rapture. Maybe. His golf game tends to yo-yo.

 

Faz and Chandler looking worse for the wear. (Photo by Crum).

 

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Travis tried his best to inject some drama into the season, by self-immolating on the final hole to earn zero points and buy us a pitcher.

 

Melberg fell one stroke short of being mathematically alive for the Cup — which is probably for the best as he's unable to make the FBGC Masters. This leaves just Billy, who has to win outright (no ties) to steal it from Travis (also unable to attend). As Dave points out, ChampionsGate CC is home to one of the weirdest golf tournaments we've ever experienced. So it could happen. 

 

I'll post more about the course and whatnot tomorrow. But tee time is 10:30am.

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I believe the Rapture pool is set, we just need to get together and draft. Two of you also need to pay me ($160). I'm going to get with the Captains and pick a date to visit Red Dog ASAP. Consider it a bonus party at our unofficial clubhouse.

Hangover - Summer 2021 Reminder

Our Club's gathering is 8 pm tomorrow night (Saturday) at World of Beer by the airport (5311 Avion Park Dr, Tampa, FL 33607). Come hang out, bring your WAGs, act like we enjoy each others company. Be sure to eat food, at some point, wherever.

Tee time on Sunday at Scepter is 10:30am. Get there earlier than usual if you want to use the range (see map in previous post). Long drive is #16, which is the 7th hole on the back nine (Osprey).

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Three of the five Board members discussed the FBGC Masters last Sunday... we're not going to move it from next week. While we have moved it once in the past — it was 5+ years ago and we only had about 10 members. One of our Board members said something along the lines of: "Missing week 9 is technically the same thing as missing week 1."

 

I forgot this came up two years ago at Falcon's Fire, and the same Board reached the same conclusion. I'll let the new Board officially rule on this in the off-season, but for now we'll leave everything as scheduled.

 

Another reason for the decision: Troy has graciously booked us August 1st at ChampionsGate Country Club in Orlando, the site of Tall Mike stealing the Cup from Dave in 2016... Dave snapping his putter in 2 on the 17th green despite shooting 78... a handful of players shooting their lowest rounds ever (at the time)...over a third of the field shooting in the 70s!

All for $40 through his contact. We can't just call them up Monday and ask to move 5 tee times to the following week.

So if you can't make it... then get it done this week!

Hangover - Summer 2021 Course Location

--Remember, we're off this weekend. I'm posting this info early--

 

We're headed down to Scepter, the private sister course of Renaissance in Sun City Center. While we've played this facility twice, we'll be on the original (and much better) Ibis/Osprey layout.

 

This address in Google is correct:  1226 Newpoint Loop, Sun City Center, FL 33573

A few quirks about the course:

 

- Give yourself plenty of time to get down there. You might get lost.

- Don't use the bathroom after Casey.

- The driving range is at the half-closed Falcon Watch course, which is a bit of a drive from the Scepter clubhouse. They want you to "check in first," so we run the risk of people missing their tee time due to grinding on the range. I look forward to enforcing our rules/penalties!

 

- While the course does have Blue Tees (tips), they're NOT on the scorecard (yet). It's a private retirement community after all. Gorecki is a long hitter at Scepter. HOWEVER, the course has been recently re-rated, and the pro sent me the distances (6,647). I'll put Melberg and Dave back there to start. Let me know if anyone else wants to play it.

- The rest of us are on the WHITE tees, which was about 6,000 last time we were there.

The earliest we could get out was 10:38am, which helps those of us who attend our season party to normalize with the more "lame" members of the Club. Price is $59ish after tax. See you down there in two weeks.

Jamaican Open - 2021 Summer Recap

Travis is the new Katie after winning a third event in his rookie season. Shooting -13 (net) at Eaglebrooke is almost unfathomable. Especially in wet, cart path only conditions.

 

During the week he joked about moving back to the Blue Tees to intimidate Melberg... and then fires the lowest gross round of the day (78), and his personal best. I haven't spoken to the two witnesses yet, as they were apparently shamed off the course and fled back to Tampa immediately following the round. It must have been a sight to behold.

There are a lot of golfers who just lack reps, and quickly improve once they start playing every week (like we saw with Katie). This is one of the greatest things about our Club. We give golfers a ton of opportunities to play and improve. Travis is clearly in that category, dropping his handicap from an 18 to a 12.2 in just four months. The most recent revision has him reducing his Index by 3.9 points, thanks to his recent exceptional score.

Travis' Index reduction may be too little, too late for anyone hoping to hoist the Cup. With only a couple events remaining on our schedule, he just needs one more decent outing. And it appears he'll only get one more outing. 

 

Keen observers may notice he's "OUT" for our final tournament on August 1st. While we try to make sure anyone "in the hunt" can tee it up at the finale, we also have to review each scenario on a case-by-case basis. In this instance — with Travis also "OUT" the following three make-up weeks (and questionable the fourth) — we're not going to reschedule.

Again, it's probably a moot point. Unless the Hangover gets rained out... Travis should have this locked up. Maybe we'll get some end of the season drama. But it looks like everyone is playing for pride at this point.

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We're off next week for the British Open. That may sound weird, but in 2016 we missed watching Henrik Stenson battle Phil Mickelson — one of the best Opens in history — because we were at Buffalo Creek. The following year, only a handful us watched Jordan Spieth cheat his way to a victory over Matt Kuchar after were were rained out at Pebble Creek.

 

I caught a lot of shit (rightfully so) from guys questioning why we would ever golf during the Open. And thus, it's now one of our bye weeks. If you don't care about professional Major championships — which is understandable since our tournaments are more important — then use the extra time off wisely.

 

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In two weeks we'll have the Hangover, which is preceded by our season party/gathering. I spoke extensively with our Social Chair last weekend, and we agreed that while bowling was awesome... we shouldn't wear out the idea. Plus, we have a Rapture draft and parings to conduct (assuming both Captains attend the party and Tall Mike actually pays to be in the Rapture).

 

Speaking of, we have four guys who haven't sent in their Rapture money ($160 for housing) as of today. They need to get on that so we can create the draft list.

 

With only two alternates remaining, we're getting close to reverting back to a 12-man event. Lots of consequences to doing that... so let's get our shit together!

Based on who we expect to show up at our Club gathering, we'll meet at World of Beer on Spruce St. by the airport at 8pm. No gimmicks — except for the Rapture stuff (if applicable). Just us meeting at a bar and hanging out. Like adults. Bring your WAGs.

See you then.

Jamaican Open - Additional Info

Assuming your house doesn't blow away today/tomorrow...

Eaglebrooke... 10am on Sunday.

Long drive on #7 (par 5). Scorecard is here. Everyone is on WHITE tees, unless you want to move back. 

 

Starting Melberg on BLUE... and Faz says he wants to move back as well.

See you Sunday.

Jamaican Open - Summer 2021 Info

Casey struck out on booking us at anything related to ClubCorp. He even wrote a stern letter expressing his disappointment to his membership chairperson.

So we're playing Eaglebrooke at 10am next Sunday. We've only been there once as a Club, which is insane.

Cost is $64ish, range balls included. We need to bring at least 17 people so comment if you have a guest. The ???s need to get off the fence too.