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.