Grasslands

John's looking to get us on Grasslands for the Jamaican, on August 21st. But he needs to pre-pay for the rounds.

They usually make us go out after 11am, which is still on the table. But this time they said we can tee off at 8:48am.

 

Does anyone have an issue getting out to Lakeland for that tee time? We also need all you "question mark" people to decide if you're attending the Jamaican right now... so John doesn't end up with a bunch of unused rounds.

Go update your RSVPs!

FBGC Championship - Summer 2022 - LIV Edition

UPDATE: Long drive on 11 (previously said 13).

 

We're playing Lake Jovita (South) at 9am on Sunday... SHOTGUN START. Cost should be $70ish.

The shotgun was suggested by their Head Pro, and not something we've ever been offered or allowed to do in the past. They seem to like getting everyone off the course at the same time.

We'll have two groups start on 1, two on 18, one on 17, and one on 16. Going out in order of current standings.

It was brought to my attention that people think they should be allowed to pick what hole they start on. It is impossible for me to give a more emphatic "NO" to this request. We are not allowing groups to vote, especially when pairings will undoubtedly be shuffled as people bail. "We" also aren't interested in tracking any more things, such as your opinions. You'll be assigned a starting hole based on your current standings, and you will like it.

Below is a current scorecard. Everyone is on WHITE unless you tell me otherwise. Seniors (and Danny) can move up to White/Green if they ask.

Range balls are included. Greens were allegedly punched a week ago so they should be OK. Don't be late for your 9am start.

 

Dan is going to bring cash to pay all the winners (~$360 estimated purse), and will be reimbursed by the Club.

We have a couple of open spots if anyone wants to join. Let me know.

See you Sunday!

Match Play - Summer 2022 Recap

Troy came up to me before the round yesterday, and said he could be in for a big day. He loved his group, was happy to be going out first, and just had an overall excitement about playing River Strand.

 

He was right to be excited. It was by far the best facility we've played in awhile — which is saying a lot because the courses this season have been pretty solid. But River Strand was next level for this time of year. The course, the food, the service, the prices... I'll do my best to get us on again next summer.

 

Anyway, Troy just waxed the field and even had enough strokes to wisely throw away at the end. I heard a LOT of praise about how Buchert is striking the ball... and he still had the biggest loss (7&5).

 

Ho and Dave fired course record 77s (gross) to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively.

 

Everyone else seemed to struggle at various times, which was a surprise. The course was extremely fair... with the short "easy" holes tricked-up enough to make you think. I loved the green contours. The speed was slower than they looked, but they definitely had some movement to them.

 

Here's some random shit on my mind:

• The shorter Tributary — by about 200 yards — was only 0.42 strokes "easier" (gross) than Sanctuary.
• Ho made 4 birdies, which he thinks is the first time ever in his life.
• Dan made a 10 on the 17th hole after bragging that he has never had a +5 in Club history.
• Dave finished with 11 straight pars. Probably a Club record.
• Melberg has had 2 sandies in each of his last three rounds.
• Crum needs a hug.
  

[this is where a photo of the Big Check would go, but Geoff broke/lost/forgot it]

 

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Next we we are at Lake Jovita (South) for a 9am shotgun start. It's the first SS in our Club's history, and was recommended by their pro.

More on this later, but update your RSVP now. The number of people bailing within 72 hours is being noticed... and will eventually lead to another rule change.

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As of this writing, the following people who qualified for the Rapture have not sent me their $100 deposit. I need that this week, or we're going to offer spots to the alternates.

Reid

Casey

Billy

Danny

Melberg

No, you can't use any current Club Credit balances to pay it. The main reason is those ledgers are covered in duct tape and I don't want potentially ruin any of our accounting by shifting funds from one place to another. The Rapture is not tied to our league seasons.

All that being said, I've been speaking with our best Financial Advisor, and subsequently completed a full audit of the Club Credit system. I'm happy to report everything is accounted for, down to the penny. However he raised some valid questions, so expect policy changes in the off-season.

See you Sunday.

Match Play - Summer 2022 Preview

We're finally headed to River Strand, first tee time going off at 11:30am.

Parings for the rest of the year are based on standings: points, events played, wins, 2nd place finishes, looks. We use the bottom (ie: irrelevant) guys to fill holes and play "ghosts."

 

Expect the parings to change as people bail because of the course's mandated late tee time, or not liking who they're paired with.

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I type these rules out every season... mainly because you all need it...

Ride with your opponent. Stroke play event is still active so finish each hole as we normally do. Match Play allowance is 80% of course handicap. Mark up your own cards and don't trust anything you see on the internet, including this blog. Hit provisionals when you might be OB.

 

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I don't have a recent card, but River Strand has three nines. Each side should have hole handicaps ranked 1-9. The FRONT side (allegedly Sanctuary) is the odd handicaps. The BACK side (allegedly Tributary) will be even. Let the smartest person in your group dot the card and keep track of your match.

Regardless of what tees you choose, Tributary is about 200 yards shorter than Sanctuary. This doesn't mean it's "easy." Based on the Bogey Rating, we'll set everyone on the WHITE tees. You can move back to B/W Combo, Blues, or Black. Let me know where you want to play from ASAP.

Card might be stale, and I added the alleged hole handicaps.

Course records are 84 (Faz) and 109 (Geoff).

 

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Nine people have yet to pay their Rapture deposit ($100). On August 1st we're going to start filling the spots with alternates. Read the previous post for details.

Summer 2022 - Hangover Invitational Recap

Waterlefe lived up to its hype in all the ways - great conditioning for this time of year, and a very challenging test of golf. The wind really picked up on the back nine, making the closing three holes much more difficult than they normally play. That being said, our scores didn't move the overall Median Net to Par for Waterlefe, which remains at +4 in our history (a medium difficulty).

Casey was coasting — and club snapping — his way to an impressive victory, until Chandler (hey, that's me!) decided to "protect the field" on the 18th hole... pointing out a win would be Casey's third straight victory at Waterlefe. This would be one of the most impressive stats in our Club's history.

Casey immediately pumped two balls into the lake on 18 (almost hitting the same boat twice) and fell from -2 (net) to +1.

Faz was the next contender, until he wasn't (back-to-back triples), until he was again (back-to-back pars)... matching Casey's +1 (net).

Then came Geoff, who looked to have it wrapped up... until everyone — including himself — remembered he was Geoff. A triple on 16 and quad on 17 ejected him into the Manatee River.

Dan just needed a par on the 18th to tie +1 (net), but made a double to fall to T5.

And Buchert overcame a horrendous start (2 quads in his first four holes) to finished par-par and grab a share of the victory. It's his 2nd win in a row, and he's now a few top finishes away from crashing the Champions Dinner!

There was a ton of late leader board movement, which was quite fun to watch. Even the Pitcher Zone was exciting, and somehow had Troy falling into it in the clubhouse after his round (due to a scoring mistake).

 

Also, Faz was on a streak of 57 starts without a victory... approaching JW's record of 61. Gary now has the longest active winless streak with 40.

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Waterlefe is more mentally challenging than physically. We had some "I'm never playing here again" quotes after the round. Nobody believes that. You'll play it every time we book it. Eventually you'll reflect on your course management and make some adjustments — which will make you an overall better player. 

 

Swing easier (ie: smoother) on those drivers, people.

It's definitely a course everyone can conquer.

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We had 13 of the 20* players attend our season party at Yoemans. The new bar addition was a lot of fun, and a really cool spot to hang out and play shuffleboard. We even had two of the Westchase Whipped in attendance... leading me to think that maybe we can go back up there next season. Just for their sake. Maybe.

In our first ever Hangover Side Pot, Faz picked up an extra $66 in Club Credit, while Chandler electronically pocketed $29. Outside of Casey and Buchert — who won the stroke play event fully rested and free of all good times with friends — most of the non party people finished near the bottom.

 

*Melberg bailed the morning of, but rumors are it was because he didn't want to drive to Bradenton... not because of a hangover. 

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We're off this week for the British Open, a built in bye-week since 2018.

We'll be back down in Bradenton at River Strand next week for Match Play. We haven't been able to get on that course in 8 years. They're only letting us out after their members, which right now is 11:30am. I can call 3 days in advance to *maybe* get us moved up a few spots. It'll be hot. We'll probably have some rain stoppages. But that's what we have to do to get on these private courses.

See you then. Update your RSVPs sooner than later if you're bailing, since it affects pairings more than normal next week.

Summer 2022 - Hangover Invitational Preview

We're back this Sunday with the new and "improved" Hangover Invitational. What's different?

Those of you who read the blog might recall our dues increased $5 per person. Everyone who plays on Sunday is putting a Lincoln into a Hangover side-pot. The lowest two net scores of those who attend the bar on Saturday will split the pot as close to 70/30 as we can make it. It's a little game within the game for those who will be severely handicapped Sunday morning. Equity is the word of the moment, and this is us doing our part.

Our season gathering will be at Yoeman's in downtown, starting at 8pm. They have a newly expanded space with a few golf simulators and very nice (professional looking) pool tables. Most people I've talked to (ie: the Board) aren't really interested in hitting balls. But Travis is all over it if others want to ($55ish an hour).

Make a comment ASAP if you're interested in the bays. If there looks to be enough to justify it, we'll get that rented.

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Gorecki's grand scheme was to book us at Buffy Creek super early in the morning. I allowed it to happen, and had an entire write-up ready to go about how it's not that terrible of a course (if conditions are decent). I went down there yesterday with Gary for a scouting trip. The course was flooded and range was closed due to recent storms. Sunday regulars were canceling their tee times. Every bunker was filled with water. Every ball that landed in the fairway plugged and some were lost. The round took almost 5:20 thanks to a mismanaged tee sheet (allowing a 5some out playing a scramble). And it poured right after we left, with more rain to come this week.

We 100% should (and will) go down there again. But I can't have us playing that course in those conditions. So I made some phone calls and got us on Waterlefe at 9:40am ($65ish). Definitely not as easy as Buffy, but hopefully less of you will feel like your Sunday was "wasted" — you know... wasted hanging out with friends playing golf.

I've once again exhibited the resolve and agility to change plans on the fly that led to me being named back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back Club Chairman of the Year.

Everyone is on the BLACK, which are a combo of Blue/White, unless you want to move back. Let me know. Seniors and Gorecki are allowed to play WHITE. See you Sunday!

Update your RSVPs.