2023 Winter Board Meeting Notes

Here's what was discussed in the first meeting of the new Board:

Rule 8.2

 

Per Buchert's request, we discussed (for a long time) what happened at Lake Jovita (South) between holes 2 and 3... specifically in regards to Rule 8.2.

 

Quick recap:

• Ball was "lost" in a collection of trees with overgrown grass between holes 2 and 3.
• No OB or Hazard lines anywhere near this location.
• No bushes in the area, so the ball was legitimately lost in the tall grass.

Board determination:

 
A one-stroke penalty definitely applies here, but where the drop happened was a subject of debate. We settled on letting the group deem the overgrown grass to be a "hazard," and allowing the player to drop outside of that area. The same way you would if a ball was presumably lost in a large palmetto bush. Be sure to keep your search to 3 minutes or less.

As with most rulings, it's up to the group to use common sense.

We also want to remind everyone there isn't a "free drop" rule for a lost ball. But we brought up two situations that have happened during our 12+ years as a Club:

• Ball landing in flooded fairway and getting swallowed up by the Earth.
• Ball running into a flooded bunker. The ball can't be seen but everyone knows it's in there somewhere.

In these two situations, a "free drop" would be given under the USGA's "casual water" rule. We just aren't going to make you wade into the water to identify the ball if the group is in agreement of the ball location.

I'm sure something will come up down the road that'll test our determination, but Rule 8.2 has been updated and Rule 8.3 has been added for clarity.

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Chandler asked the Board to review the path for new Membership. It currently takes well over a year for someone to join, and we want to make sure that is fair and reasonable. The Board decided not to change any of the requirements: 8 events in a two season span... followed by Board vote... followed by general vote.

We shouldn't fill spots just for the sake of filling them. But if a new person wants in, we need current Members to take an active role in the vetting process. And we definitely need sponsors to start acting like actual sponsors.

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Reid brought up mandating all Members to put a personal and unique mark on their golf balls. He thinks it would help in with any confusion while searching for lost balls. While this is true, the Board decided a mandate wasn't warranted. We do highly recommend you all start doing this.

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Finally, Chandler is tired of planning the Hangover bar night (aka: our season party) only to have elitists like Faz complain incessantly. So we're going to try something new, and break our Club into three different "brigades" based on location. Feel free to submit an official name for your group:

1 - "Tampa" - Chandler, Billy, Gary, Danny, Crum, JW, John, Faz

2 - "Westchase" - Dave, Brendan, Moostie, Buchert, Gorecki, Melberg, Casey, Troy

3 - "Lutz" - Geoff, Dan, Topor, Reid, Adam, Ho

The idea is to take turns rotating and picking the bar location. How you all do this, and to what degree you plan, is up to each group. I'm fully aware this idea is kinda lame. But the goal is to increase engagement and ownership of the social aspects of the Club.

The "Tampa" brigade will plan the upcoming season party.

 

FBGC Off Season Bar Night

I was talking to our Social Chair, and we felt the need to have a meet-up.

Friday, December 29th at Red Dog - 8pm. Come hang out, and we'll probably allow you to reduce your pitcher balance with buckets.

Put it on the calendar, and feel free to comment if you're attending.

2024 Schedule

Here's what I got for our 2024 schedule. As always, I've tried to accommodate most of the things that we've discussed in the past... and give everyone enough regular breaks to avoid divorce.

 

Be sure to block off the three potential Rapture dates...

2023 Winter Board Meeting

Our next Board Meeting is on Thursday, December 7th. We'll review all policies and rules in this meeting.

Comment anything you'd like us to consider.

Summer 2023 Champs Dinner

 

Columbia Resturant

2023 Board Election Results

The voting period has completed. We had 21 (of 22) Members return a ballot. The Board Members for the next couple of years will be (votes in parenthesis):

Chris Fazioli (20)

John Webermeier (20)

JW Ferguson (20)

Robert Reid (14)

Also receiving votes: Mike Gorecki (10)

Thanks everyone. We'll schedule our first meeting soon. Start thinking of things you'd like us to discuss or vote on.

2023 Board Elections

It’s time to elect the next Board who will govern us until 2025. 

Board Members are required to personally attend a couple of meetings per year… answer random texts at odd hours… and put the needs of the Club above their own selfish wants and desires. 

If you’d like to run for a seat, make a comment. If we somehow get more than 4 volunteers, we will hold an election in a couple of weeks.

Thanks in advance for your service. 

We still have a few members who hate democracy. Voting will end at 11:59pm, Tuesday, October 31st.

2023 Rapture Recap

It's been nine years since we ventured down to Sebring, the host of the first ever Rapture. 

 

We've grown a lot as a Club since then. We have eight more official Members. Faz is no longer prone violent outbursts after losing a Singles match. Dave no longer eats meat. Gary can no longer see. Gorecki's entire body — not just his inner thigh — is now covered in rash.

 

The Rapture itself is a smoother operation, with official qualifications, a draft party, three distinct formats that everyone (I hope) now knows how to play, tried-and-tested pairings strategies, and an overall sense of what to expect. Sebring also grew over the years. There's now a few more options for food, a slightly upgraded hotel bar, and gas stations with EV chargers for Geoff's fancy whip.

But a lot of the 2023 Rapture felt like we stepped back in time.

The hotel (Inn on the Lakes) was basically unchanged — a good value and location — blending "historic" with "broke-ass" elements. The courses (and their greens fees!) haven't changed in a decade. Deer Run is a difficult but fair test of golf... but nothing special outside of being conditioned much better than most tracks on our yearly calendar. And Turtle Run is a genuinely "fun" layout... offering up many pars and birdies, but with enough teeth on a few holes (especially the par 3s) to blow up your scorecard. If Turtle Run was an hour away, we'd probably play it every season.

We also returned to the 12-man Rapture format, used from 2014-2016. Despite our larger membership, too many people are sadly unable and/or unwilling to attend a weekend excursion. The growing number of "unwilling" Members, with the impending loss of a few current Members, makes us question if 12 is the correct number going forward. I'm still planning on booking 16 next year, as it gives us more unpredictability in the draft and competition... but it's worth monitoring and discussing.

The stage was set for Faz to overcome his 2014 captaincy defeat... or for Troy to become the first ever back-to-back winning Rapture skipper. After a sneaky Green Team Chapman practice round on Thursday, the entire field risked their gastrointestinal tract at a Mexican kick-off dinner... coincidentally in the exact same building as "Mugs On 27" (RIP) where we first ate in 2012 at the DPT Masters.

Thankfully everyone was feeling fine the next day.

Team Green

Team Blue

Day 1 - Chapman

The "Super Team" of Faz/Dave had a grind-fest against Troy/Moostie. Nobody was more than 1 Up the entire match, with the lead bouncing on and off All Square eleven times. It was a heartbreaking loss for Team Green, as Troy/Moostie recorded their only double-bogey of the day on the final hole to lose a full point.

The Casey/Geoff vs. Brendan/Gorecki match was just as tight — never veering off the 1 Up mark, with nine lead changes. Just as in the first match, Green lost it on the final hole of the day.

In what I still consider the biggest shocker of the week, "Sacrificial Lamb" Gary/Topor embarrassed "Super Team" Melberg/Chandler 4&3. It would be reductive to say Team Green lost the match with bad ball-striking and atrocious putting (by Chandler). The reality is Gary/Topor reminded us why the "Sacrificial Lamb" team is a good captain strategy. They always had at least one ball in play, and used their 15 strokes to card six net-birdies in 15 holes. They even stroked on all three remaining holes had the match continued! Gary's short game in the difficult rough was excellent, and Topor's putting was the best I've seen out of him. Green didn't stand a chance.

Blue Leads 3-0

Day 2 - Four-Ball

 

After a late-night bender which included a shattered wine glass, emergency team meetings, unsportsmanlike Blue Team cake, a $100 singles bet, and probably many more eye-rolls than laughs... we were off to Deer Run. Most of us were worse-for-the-wear, and it showed on the course.

Faz/Casey handled Melberg/Brendan fairly easily, winning 7 holes on their way to a 3&1 victory. Six of those holes were won with net-birdies. A nightmare start for Team Green!

Dave/Topor never quite gelled against Chandler/Moostie. Topor legitimately carried the team for the first 1/3rd of the match, but Dave finally found some form on the back nine (I believe shooting around even par). However, it wasn't good enough as Chandler made a par (net-birdie) on ALL four of his stroke holes. Combined with sporadic contributions from Tall Mike... they were able to somehow fit Team Green's first point of the Rapture into their clown cart, which was already packed with eight DPT Cups!

The final match of Gary/Geoff vs. Troy/Gorecki was the most exciting. When asked how many holes Gorecki contributed, Captain Troy — always thoughtful — replied: "The only one we needed." It was a true 2 vs. 1 competition, which saw Team Green 3 Up through 8 holes. Green was guaranteed a half point after 16, but Troy still had to par (almost making a 30 foot birdie with everyone watching) on the final hole to secure the full point!

Blue Leads 4-2

Day 3 - Singles

As Chandler (hey, that's me!) so eloquently told Team Green on Friday night... Singles is really what matters. Leading into this Rapture, the team that outright won Singles was 8-1. The only year that team lost was in a playoff between Katie/Gary. There had been 5 previous "blowouts" in Singles... and two of those caused a team who was 2 points down going into Sunday to comeback and win The Moses.

Of course, early in the day, the entire board was blue.

Playing in the same foursome, Troy and Gorecki were the first two casualties, getting waxed 6&5 by Casey and Gary respectively. Both Green guys only won a singular hole, and neither match was ever in doubt:

• Casey "The Unqualified" shot a 38 (gross) on the front. And a string of double-bogeys by Troy made it official. Casey was the only participant to go 3-0 overall.
  
• Meanwhile, Gary was 4 Up at the turn with a gross 44 — a drastic improvement to his recent play. Unfortunately for Team Green, Gorecki carded a gross 50, which was probably worse due to conceded holes. Captain Faz made the right choice leaving Gorecki on the cutting-room floor.
  

Dave technically secured the final half-point needed to win The Moses for Blue, going up Dormie-3 on Tall Mike. Moostie fought hard — and slow — all day... but losing holes 13 and 14 was difficult to overcome. Dave finally closed Tall Mike out on the 17th hole with a birdie, and was only +4 (gross) on the day. Once again, Captain Faz made the correct #1 overall selection with Dave. Perhaps this destroys the narrative that it's better to be #2 Captain?

Geoff put the next official point on the board, defeating Brendan 3&2. There was hope Brendan could flip this match, but Geoff continued his historically stellar Rapture play... and probably would have shot an 89 (gross). The last time he did that on a par 72, he shared a victory at Lake Jovita (North) earlier this year. Brendan's Rapture Sunday Singles record slid to 1-9... a number I can't really wrap my head around given his recent form. He also doesn't booze anymore, so the "Darren Sunday Slide" doesn't explain it either.

Faz was up 2 through five holes on Melberg — until he mentally checked out with all the Blue on the leader board. Melberg won 6 of the next 9 holes... two of them with bogeys! Going up Dormie-4 guaranteed Green wouldn't be shut-out on the day. Faz won the next three holes, but ultimately lost the match when they pushed on 18.

The final match on the course was the $100 bonus between Topor and Chandler. Topor played absolute lights-out early on, draining long putts and at one point winning a hole with a sandie. He then won 4 holes in a row (9 through 12), shooting +1 (gross) and carding his fourth net-birdie of the day. Both players ran out of steam, playing like complete trash and limping into the clubhouse. Unfortunately for Topor's wallet, Chandler's trash game is far superior. Chandler squared the match with a gross (literally) double bogey on the 16th... and then let Topor's predictable implosion do the rest of the work.

 

Blue Wins 8-4

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The Captains

2023 Winning Captain - Faz

2023 Rapture Champions

Congrats to the Blue Team on a well deserved victory! But the biggest winner of the week was the game of golf. And friendships.

Enjoy the long off-season. Feel free to plan/post any outings. We'll pick a date (or two) for bar nights to chip away at all the pitchers/buckets we owe.

 

Great year, everyone!

2023 Rapture Week Details

For those of you attending our premier golf event:

 

We're staying at Inn On The Lakes down in Sebring:  

 

3101 Golfview Rd, Sebring, FL 33870

 

I have a car (with Gary and Topor in it) leaving my place at 1pm. The goal is to get down there slightly before normal check-in to make sure everything is set up for us. Roommates were selected in our Rapture text-thread.

The two golf courses we're playing are part of the Sun 'N Lake Golf Club. Those are Turtle Run and Deer Run. Tee times are (allegedly):

Friday Oct 6th - Turtle Run - 8:24am

Saturday Oct 7th - Deer Run - 9:00am

 

Sunday Oct 8th - Turtle Run - 9:00am

 

It's about a 5 minute drive from the hotel. We'll need to check out of the hotel before our Sunday round.  

They have a range so we should get there early to warm up. Speaking of... Turtle Run is about a 5 minute golf-cart ride from the range. So don't warm up until the final minute.

Rapture Rule Reminders (my favorite topic!)

• You can NOT give your "teammate" putting advice on Singles day.
• You can give them other advice on Singles day
• All advice is allowed Chapman and Four-Ball days.
  
• If your next shot is conceded by your opponent, you must pick up immediately.
• There is NO MAX stroke limit on any hole. Play until your ball is in the hole, or your next shot is conceded.
• I think Topor is the only one who hasn't officially played Chapman. Unfortunately he's paired with Gary, who has also probably never played it. But since I'm in that group I'll shepherd them along.
• Hole-by-hole handicaps are based on what the scorecard says... not any of the apps we use.
• That being said, try to make sure the GolfGameBook app at least has the correct team winning each hole.
  
• Don't be a Joe LaCava. If it's not your match, don't interfere. That includes yelling at people from the sidelines... or walking onto the course. Just watch from afar and let the match play out naturally. Like we did at Skyview when Topor threw away the 2023 Summer Championship.
  

Alright... see you fools on Thursday.

Rapture Finishing Holes

"Interesting" stats of what percentage of our matches (in Rapture history) have ended on which holes, per format:

Chapman

12 - 3%

13 - 3%

14 - 3%

15 - 9%

16 - 18%

17 - 30%

18 - 33%

Four-Ball

12 - 0%

13 - 3%

14 - 21%

15 - 21%

16 - 15%

17 - 21%

18 - 18%

Singles

12 - 0%

13 - 5%

14 - 12%

15 - 9%

16 - 24%

17 - 24%

18 - 26%

Chapman is by far our most competitive format.

2023 Rapture Draft Recap

I didn't think there would be any surprises at last night's draft — especially with us only taking 12 competitors — but there were a few things I didn't have in my mock draft.

The first surprise was that 9 of the 12 attended. Perhaps it was due to the three rack of ribs Casey spent all day smoking.

In the draft itself, Captain Faz chose the hot-handed and stroke gobbling Topor with the 5th pick... and then took Gary over our host Gorecki with the 9th selection.

Overall it feels "even" on paper... but we all know current form is what really matters.

Thanks to Gorecki & Brie for having us over!

 

2023 Draft Results

Faz's team is BLUE. Troy's team is GREEN. Strokes in parenthesis.

 

1 - Dave
2 - Melberg
3 - Chandler
4 - Geoff
5 - Topor
6 - Moostie
7 - Brendan
8 - Casey
9 - Gary

10 - Gorecki

 

Round 1 - Turtle Run - Chapman (Alt-Shot)
1 - Dave / Faz vs. Troy / Moostie (9)
2 - Casey / Geoff vs. Brendan / Gorecki (3)
3 - Gary / Topor (15) vs. Melberg / Chandler

Round 2 - Deer Run - Four-Ball
1 - Faz (4) / Casey (8) vs. Melberg / Brendan (8)

2 - Dave / Topor (17) vs. Chandler (4) / Moostie (11)
3 - Gary (4) / Geoff (5) vs. Troy / Gorecki (10)

Round 3 - Turtle Run - Singles
1 - Geoff (5) vs. Brendan
2 - Faz (4) vs. Melberg
3 - Gary vs. Gorecki (6)
4 - Casey vs. Troy
5 - Topor (13) vs. Chandler
6 - Dave vs. Moostie (10)

Summer 2023 Stats

A selection of stats from the desk of Faz:

FBGC Masters - Summer 2023 Recap

Brendan won his 2nd event of the season, picking up his 5th Major and 9th career victory. It was an impressive performance, tying his career low-gross (83). If only our evil Dictator (that's me!) was able to magically turn his non-committal "maybe" into a 21st spot (5th tee time) down at University Park... he might have won his first Cup!

But alas, he'll have to settle for a killer stretch of tournament golf — winning three of his last six events. Look for him to be a coveted pick at the 2023 Rapture Draft this weekend.

Faz also played well at Skyview, shooting a 79 (gross), finishing solo-second, and locking up the top Captain spot for the Rapture. The result must feel bittersweet for Faz, who historically can't seem to win on the biggest stages. His career record at Majors definitely calls into question his Hall of Fame eligibility. He's basically Davis Love III.

Major Disappointment

 

Reid also got into the mix with a clutch birdie on #17... only to throw it away with a double bogey on 18. While a win would have pushed Reid past Darren as the most prolific Major winner in history... it still wasn't going to be enough to get his name etched on the Cup. 

 

In part because we are no longer etching names on the Cup. It's seen better days, but there was a lot of discussion about a replacement. Or building a base for it. The Board needs to designate a Trophy Committee to handle such things.

Outgoing Champion picture - since we didn't get one last season.

 

Anyway... the day belonged to Dave and Topor. 

 

Nobody really expected there to be much drama, since Topor's newfound love of "smart golf" is only a week old.

 

But I'm told he bunted the ball around the course when needed, avoiding anything worse than double bogey. This is exactly how a 23.9 Index should play. Bogeys should be the goal, since they are basically pars and sometimes birdies. Pars (of which Topor had 3) should only be considered a lucky bonus, and Sunday's pars equated to -5 (net)!

Speaking of lucky, I'm also told Topor used the wide and forgiving layout of Skyview to his advantage... getting multiple fortuitous bounces off trees, houses, and pool screens. Take it from a Gypsy... when golf gives you good bounces you better do something with them.

The entire field — and perhaps those of you watching from home — could not believe Dave had 3 birdies on the front nine, was -2 (gross), and only led Topor by three at the turn. Dave realized he had to start chasing scores on the back, and just relentlessly grinded out each hole. However, the birdies weren't falling, and he was hanging on for dear life hoping that Topor would implode.

It's not fun, but that's the beauty of competition. And when you're stuck waiting on poor play from others, it rarely works out in your favor. Topor and Dave found themselves tied (net) after #17, and the stage was set for an epic finishing hole.

I've changed my mind about the 18th hole at Skyview. Overall... it's a bad hole design-wise. But it creates a lot of drama, much like the terrible 18th hole at Grasslands. The 2022 Rapture also came down to the 18th at Skyview, with Reid making a clutch par to beat Melberg and win the Moses for Captain Troy.

Yesterday expanded the storied history of Skyview's 18th.

Topor — getting two strokes — found the middle of the fairway and had 155 yards in. Meanwhile, Dave pulled his tee shot into the trees/bushes, and had to punch out to the middle of the fairway short of the green. Unless Dave got up-and-down for par... Topor just needed to card a double-bogey 6 to win the season!

The worst thing he could do is hit his approach into the massive lake right of the green. Without a doubt, the spectators assumed he would bail out way left, where there was 20 yards of fairway grass and then another 15 yards of rough up a steep hill. Landing short of the green is OK, but Topor and Dave probably weren't aware of how soft and wet the grass was in that location.

 

 

Topor took a mighty lash with an iron... and immediately at impact... we all knew it was in the water.

 

Everything Topor had learned over the last two weeks was all for naught. I'd say we were speechless, but there was plenty of colorful commentary.

Topor drops in the rough by the cartparth (3rd stroke), and chocolate chip chunks it short of the green in the soft, wet grass (laying 4). Dave's approach (3rd stroke) comes up short in the same grass, so we still have a match on our hands.

Topor wisely decides to putt (5th stroke) — which eliminates any nervy chips — but he didn't hit it firm enough to get through the soggy surface. Dave does, and is able to tap in for a bogey 5 (gross).

Topor now has about a 10 foot putt for double-bogey, from the fringe, to win the Cup. He leaves it slightly short, handing Dave his 2nd Championship.

 

2023 Summer Champion

 

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Final thoughts:

• This was the biggest collapse in Club history, being that the hardest part of 18 was over and Topor laid -1 (net) in the middle of the fairway. But it shouldn't take away from his good play over the course of the season.
• We also shouldn't ignore the fact that Dave played his ass off, shooting the lowest score he probably could that day, and still only tied Topor in the event.
•  Our last four Champions (Dave, Buchert, Melberg, Dave) were all low handicaps.
•  The Brown Boys are in a dark place... avoid at all cost! You've been warned!
• After the Rapture we'll hold Board elections. Let me know if you want to run for a seat. We can vote on any playing rule changes at our next meeting.
  
• I typically refuse to plan any events after the Rapture, but I'm probably going to do a few social outings and possibly a tournament. We have a responsibility to keep our social status as a Club active.
  

Great season and year everyone!

2023 Rapture Update

I spent all evening celebrating Dave's season victory... so the recap will be later this week. 

More importantly:

 

Reid — who was going to be a Captain — bailed on the Rapture today. So the decision was made to drop to the following 12:

Faz 

Troy

Brendan

Chandler

Melberg
Dave

Topor

Moostie 

Gorecki

Geoff

Gary

Casey

 

Captains are now Faz and Troy.

 

Everyone not highlighted owes me $290.

 

The draft is still on for 6pm at Gorecki's house next Saturday. I'm realistically only expecting about 6 of us to show up. Bring your own drinks and food.

FBGC Masters - Summer 2023 Preview & Rapture Payment Due

We've never played Skyview in a regular-season tournament, but most of us saw it at the 2022 Rapture. Everyone is on the Blue/White combo tees (the ones we used at the Rapture) unless you'd like to move back. The 55/25 Club can move up to the WHITE tees if they so desire.

Here's a scorecard.

"Reverse" order this week with the leaders going out last. First tee time is 8:28am, and we're in front of members... so you people need to play quick. You only get 3 minutes — per the USGA — to hunt for your ball.

The range and putting green is also not anywhere close to the 1st tee box. If your group tees off without you, we will record the max (+5) for each hole you miss.

 

Last time we were up there the grill wasn't open. We'll probably want to start heading back anyway, and there are a couple of options just off the parkway near Spring Hill (Glory Days, Beefs, "Drew's American Grill").

The Championship - Summer 2023 Recap

Topor attempted some semblance of "smart golf" yesterday, and it resulted in his 3rd career victory. Despite a horrendous start, he put the wheels back on with four pars in a row on the back nine. The 24 handicap definitely gave him room to recover, and he made the most of it. Best of all, his handicap is going to increase before the final event, with him dropping a 91 (gross) at Bayou Club (his first victory).

 

Speaking of high handicaps... fresh off a Michigan induced 1.5 Index increase... Reid immediately put those sand bags to good use, sharing the victory with an impressive 87 (gross). Especially since he carded a cuatro-bogey on the front and a couple of triples on the back. It's his lowest score to par in tournament play since he won back-to-back events last season.

Dave and Faz were close crashing the winner's party... but mistakes on 18 ultimately cost them.

The rest of you weren't very good.

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Apparently the course got 7+ inches of rain last weekend, so they were finally getting back to "normal." Which is why some sections of rough were a little... thicc. And the greens — despite rolling decent — were slow. I imagine we collectively had a ton of 3-putts out there.

 

Still... great for the money, and a good test of golf. I've adjusted everyone's Club Credit if you used a voucher today but weren't in attendance last time. And vice versa.

Except for Travis who straight up didn't pay during our previous visit. I donated that voucher to Marcus... the potential new guy John is sponsoring. So if you haven't met him, you should probably introduce yourself. We have a shit ton of hoops to jump through for our membership, all because of something you did. Yes you, dear reader.

 

Any and all issues/concerns should be expressed to John via a hand-written letter.

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Dave finds himself in the driver's seat once again, but five people are mathematically still in the race for the Cup. Realistically, I think Topor is the only true threat — exactly 100 points behind. Everyone else needs a victory and Dave to score minimal points.

 

Moostie could be dangerous if he stuffs enough Titleist 1 balls in his pant legs.

---------------------------------------------

 

World Rankings update:

After telling Reid he had "zero chance" of being a Rapture Captain... and that Troy/Faz were locks... apparently Dear Leader can't do math good. Reid vaulted to #1 in the World with his performance at Big Cypress.

With Troy unfortunately missing the final event, he'll slip to 194.1 points, and unable to catch Reid or Faz. Faz should jump Reid if they tie next Sunday, due to Reid dropping off more points from the 2022 Summer finals.

Chandler, Melberg, and Dave are the only other guys who could possibly be Captains. Assuming Reid and Faz get zero points at Skyview:

 

- Chandler would need a minimum of 288 points

- Melberg would need at least 315 points

- Dave would need 469 or more points

Obviously any points Reid/Faz get would make it more difficult for those three to ascend.

 

There's also a lot of drama around the qualification line, as Topor rocketed up to #9 — his highest ranking ever. I'm never up to speed with all you family men, but I haven't heard of anyone who is 100% OUT of the Rapture (October 5th to 8th). If that's wrong, please let me know now, and help alleviate some sleepless nights for the chumps below the line.

Plugging in "all zeros" for next week, we'd find JW, Casey, John, Adam and Billy below the cut-line (Buchert and Travis won't have enough events to qualify). Which means Casey — who is dropping 600 points from a solo win in the 2022 Summer finals — would fall from 8th to 18th! That would tie a record for the largest one-week drop in rankings (Brendan week 6 of last season).

See you Sunday. Update your RSVP now if you're bailing.

FBGC Championship Preview Notes

We're back this week at a re-do of Big Cypress. No rain in the forecast and the high will only be 92... so it should be a good day.

Let's try the long drive again on #6.

We didn't make it to hole #15 last time, but just as a reminder there should be a drop zone near the green if you go into the lake.

Be careful of the OB tight to the right of #4... and to the left of #8. Anything that looks like it's going near a house is probably OB.

Do not pay without getting a rain-check voucher from me. Even if you didn't play last time, you can use a voucher to save a few bucks. I'll probably be there an hour early... so if you're rolling in late you'll need to drive all the way to the range to find me before checking in.

Speaking of... factor the time it takes to get through the front gate in your arrival time.

And finally, range balls are now included somehow... so don't buy any. Just grab a small bucket at the shack by the range.

See you Sunday.

FBGC Masters - Venue Set

For the first time in-season we're headed to Skyview on September 17th. They're giving us a $75+ rate, and were nice enough to squeeze us in (literally creating an extra tee time) before their members... starting at 8:28am. This is the course we used for Singles in last year's Rapture. Some of you need redemption.

We'll probably tee off before that time... so don't be late up there. Update your RSVPs so I can drop the extra tee-time if needed.

------------------------

In attempting to book this final round, here are the courses I reached out to:

Southern Dunes - couldn't get us out until afternoon due to another event

Lakewood National (2 courses) - would only let us book 3 days out and probably not until after noon

Esplanade - members only

Esplanade Azario - left two messages... crickets

Eaglebrook - 11:30am tee times at $100+

Reunion - could get us out at 11:45am at $95+ on Nicklaus course... I told him that was probably a little too late... but I had a good chat and we might be able to use them in the future

Waterlefe - still closed for renovations 

Seminole Lake - still on temporary greens due to renovations

All of this is to say... our list of "Major worthy courses" is quickly dwindling! Travis checked on River Strand earlier in the season and they said no. Saddlebrook is in bad shape at the moment as they prepare for a renovation. Scepter won't get back to me either.

I'm afraid we're going to be hosting Majors at Buffalo Creek soon...

Jamaican Open - Summer 2023 Recap

Wagwan, fellow golfers?

The early morning shotgun start at a fairly "unkempt" Lake Jovita is in the books, with Dear Leader (me!) winning for the first time in 12 events.

 

I could go into great detail about how courageous of a performance it was, keeping the wheels on after a triple on #1. Or how I overcame the adversity of being chased by Reid and Dave... the former attempting to win his national open... and both desperately fighting for King and Country.

I could talk about the back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11, with additional birdie lip-outs (kinda) on 12 and 13. Or blasting the actual flag (and flag stick) with a bad chip on 14, which saved at least one stroke. Or the 30+ foot putt for par on 16 after I thought I choked the event away.

I could also point out the victory was my record-extending 6th Jamaican Open championship.

A lesser man would tell these stories about himself... but not me. As a man of the people, I know why you're really here.

 

Pictured: not why you're here.

 

- Gary has now tied JW for the most consecutive tournaments without a victory (61).

- Adam got very close to adding his name to the list of people who have withdrawn at the turn. Off the top of my head, those who have walked off a course (for bad play and/or "other" concerns) are: JW, Darren, Gorecki (multiple times), Geoff, and Ho. Adam heroically decided to stick it out and was immediately rewarded with a few pars on the back nine.

- On my group's first hole (#18), Gorecki played the wrong tees (whites instead of greens) and proceeded to almost hit across the lake to the 9th green. A much harder shot... and I should have just let him do it.

 

- Dave set a new good course record of 77 (gross).

 

- Only two people are mathematically eliminated from contention after yesterday. Travis — with his zero points — and Danny, since he didn't play enough events to qualify for the FBGC Masters next month.

 

- The course was in much better shape than earlier this summer. But there's still a lot of dead patches in the fairways, and inexcusable thick rough which slows down play due to lost balls. The greens were decent, at least. Thanks again to Ho for getting us out.

 

- Even after the 8 pitchers I recorded as purchased yesterday, we still have over 20 in the hopper. We might do something about that at a Club party in the off-season... or at the Rapture Draft party. Or both. It's a long off-season, so I'm sure we'll figure out some fun things to do. We are a social club, after all.

 

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I've crunched the numbers on Rapture Captains... and just about everyone is still in the mix if they win the final two events. While Chandler (me, again!) is currently #1, he has the most points dropping off the final weeks of those at the top of the rankings.

My guess is Troy and Faz will be #1 and #2 captains. We'll have a much clearer picture after our event at Big Cypress.

 

Draft party will be Saturday, September 23rd at Gorecki's house. Mark your calendars.

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We're off this week for Labor Day. Our next tournament is at Big Cypress at 10am on September 10th. It's a make-up event from our previously rained out Major.

 

I have 16 rain checks which will get you half-off the $48 green fee. Those who are entitled to them are:

 

Dan

Dave

Casey

Topor

Travis

Chandler

Billy

Geoff

Reid

Adam

Faz

Gary

Moostie

John

Danny

Brendan

If you're on that list and playing September 10th... make sure you get the voucher from me before you pay. If you're not on that list... give me like $20 and I'll hook you up with a voucher... and use that money to repay someone unable to attend (ie: Travis). It'll save you $4 and everyone "wins."

Update your RSVP now to reflect if you're playing.

See you then.

Jamaican Open - Summer 2023 Preview

Tournament is now a shotgun start at 8am. Don't be late.

 

We are back to meaningful golf... with a tournament at Lake Jovita (South) in 100+ degree heat index on Sunday.

 

We've been here many times before. It wasn't in good shape all summer, so I'm hoping that has somehow miraculously changed. But shout-out to Ho for getting us on at a decent rate ($70).

Tee time is early at 8am.

 

Everyone is on WHITE unless you tell me otherwise. The 55/25 group can play white/greens combo if they want. Let me know!

The Concussion - Summer 2023 Recap

Dan won his third ever tournament, snapping an 8-year winless streak (36 events)... a stat that may never be broken. His five birdies (two of which were chip-ins) and an eagle on the final hole led to a -2 (gross) performance, just three weeks after another potential victory was washed away with rain at Big Cypress. A horrible shank on 10 — which led to a double bogey — was the only real blemish on his card.

Troy was right on his heels with another impressive performance, moving himself to the top of our season standings.

And Gorecki/Moosite had a shot at winning until they were derailed by 13 and 14, finishing third.

John shanked his way to a new high course record. Hole 7 was moved up for maintenance so we played it in -9 (gross) as a group. And after two rounds at the Springs, we still haven't had anyone make worse than bogey on 18.

We also got extremely lucky with the weather as lightning struck all around us at the finish. I'm not sure how we avoided all the rain.

------------------------------

We're off for two weeks with 26% of the Club exploring Michigan. I don't know what the threshold should be to warrant bye-weeks... but we had well above 33% at the time the schedule was posted. Many of you have benefited from this policy before (we had two weeks off for Scotland and bye-weeks for various other destinations)... so this isn't anything new.

Next year I won't build in a bye-week for Ireland (mid-June), since attendance on that trip is so light.

 

In any case, you all will be somewhat missed. Enjoy the long break and spend time with your families. 

Next event is on August 27th at Lake Jovita (South). Update your RSVPs if something has changed.

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The Rapture draft will need to take place on either Friday or Saturday, September 22nd / 23rd. That'll give us ONE week for teams to get together before we head to Sebring on October 5th.

I'm pre-paying for everyone's hotel... so when World Rankings (and handicaps) lock on September 18th, I'll start collecting deposits to secure your spot.

Gorecki has volunteered to host the draft party again, so comment if you have any other suggestions. I'm fine going anywhere, and his place did suit our needs.

The Concussion - Summer 2023 Preview

Faz wanted a preview post, but I don't have much to say about this event, because I'm not sure what to expect.

As previously mentioned, Southport Springs is probably the most "tricked up" layout I'd allow us to play. It's a legit course, but extremely narrow and penal until you reach the final 4 holes.

Long drive will be on 18, a hole that we played -2 (gross) as an entire group (20 players) last time. That's 7 birdies and only 5 bogies. Easiest hole in league history.

There are multiple "driveable" par 4s out there, but most are surrounded by dense woods and/or swamp. The 13th and 14th holes are maybe 15 yards wide, flanked by a million oak trees. The 11th is a 197 yard par 4, which I guess you can try to take direct aim at if you hit the ball as high as Dan.

 

Conditions are also a big question mark. Online (Golfpass) it got 4-stars on 7/20 and 7/22... and 5-stars on 8/1.

In the recap two years ago, nobody was bitching about it... rather just in awe of what Melberg accomplished.

Lightning won't strike twice, so I don't think a low handicap will win this week. It feels like a Geoff victory.

Looking forward to the chaos. See you Sunday.

Speaking of chaos:

It appears the nines are reversed in GolfGameBook. So I have every group "starting on hole 10" in the app. Make sure whoever is keeping score in the app is the most aware of the group, so they can figure it out.

Match Play - Summer 2023 Recap

Topor won his 2nd career event, which was quite shocking since it had to be one of the hottest rounds we've ever played. I don't get physically drained often — since I'm the epitome of human fitness — but I was struggling swinging the club.

Considering how difficult University Park played, it was quite shocking Topor was able to build a 6 shot lead on the back nine. We all made jokes that it wouldn't last... and it almost didn't... with a quad on 12 and a him playing double-bogey golf from 13 on.

Meanwhile, Moostie made a charge with nothing but pars and bogeys on the back to lose by one. They were the only guys living under par (net)!

Greens were great. Rough was lush... with balls sometimes sitting up and sometimes not. Fairways were a little bare which was surprising. To me it seemed the transition from rye to whatever strand of Bermuda wasn't going well. And like all courses, they have a tree problem... if you consider dwarf/saw palmettos to be mini trees. Those things are pretty damn penal and they're everywhere! That course would look amazing if they killed back some of those areas and just made it pine straw.

 

Congrats to all the winners of the matches. The site should be fully updated, including your individual records.

 

Also, jokes aside, we are going to miss Travis. Good luck starting your new life... and I hope whatever new friends you make are way worse than us.

 

-----------------------------------

 

The Concussion this week is at Southport Springs... a tricked-up "short" course in Zephyrhills we played two years ago. Melberg shot -6 (gross!) and only tied for the victory with Ho due to his +1 handicap. Ho was a 7 course handicap back then, and is now a 1 on Sunday #roadtoscratch!

 

Dave will be a +1 this week, and Melberg a +2! We birdied the course to death last time, and I'm thinking -2 (net) gets the victory.

I haven't been out there in two years, but current reviews online say its in decent shape. More importantly, they're charging us like $25.

Tee time is 9am. I don't believe there is a range. Everyone is on the WHITE tees (one set up from tips) for this event. No moving up or back. Be careful on all the drive-able par 4s. Yes, I'm well aware holes #11, #13, and #14 are terrible.

We have one spot open with two MAYBE Members (Troy/Adam). First one to change their RSVP to IN gets the final spot.

 

See you Sunday.

Match Play Notes

Looks like we'll have a full field of 20 for our re-do of Match Play (and Travis' final event ever!).

We'll do long drive on #12.

University Park has three nines, each with handicaps 1-9 (just like Countryside). You'll need to do some math in order to dot your cards. Front nine will be odd handicaps, back nine evens.

 

Card says sidewalk to the left of #5, #6, #7, #8 and #18 is OB.

I'm assuming by now everyone has told me if they're moving back. Nobody said they wanted to move up, which is probably smart.

Match handicaps in parenthesis:

Group A

Troy (8) vs. Dave

Casey (2) vs. Faz

Group B

Moostie (10) vs. Melberg

Adam vs. Topor (5)

Group C

Billy (8) vs. Chandler

Gorecki (7) vs. John

Group D

Geoff (0) vs. JW (0)

Dan vs. Gary (3)

 

Group E

Ho vs. Reid (5)

Travis vs. Danny (8)

Match-Play Make-Up - Summer 2023

We're headed down to University Park for the 2nd time in Club history... but this time playing the 1/10 routing (#1 & #2 in Golfshot).

Everyone is on Platinum (White) unless you tell me otherwise. The 55/25 club can move up to Platinum/Gold combos. Be sure to comment your preference.

Keep an eye on pairings, as they will shuffle if someone bails.

Tee time is 10am. Cost is going to be $87ish. There is a range. Long drive on #12.

 

Give yourself plenty of time to get down there as it's about as far south as we travel. We should eat elsewhere afterwards, near the interstate.

I'll post the strokes closer to the event. See you Sunday.

Schedule Updates

Unfortunate rain-out yesterday. The course was in excellent shape and there were some good matches playing out. Brendan - with a 62 on the front nine - was on pace to take away Gorecki's course high record as well (119)!

We probably could have finished as the next batch of rain never materialized... but that wasn't our call to make.

Anyway, we've slightly shuffled/adjusted the schedule so we'll do Match Play down at University Park. We only have 20 spots and Brendan is already on the alternate list. If you can't make the tournament please update your RSVP so he can get in.

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Brendan is going to host people at his house this Sunday - July 23rd - to sit in the pool, watch the British Open and grill out. He last hosted this in 2018, so I guess enough time has passed that we're allowed back over.

• You must RSVP so he has an idea of headcount. Make a comment or text Brendan.
• Bring your own drinks.
• Bring your own meat (real or impossible) for the grill.
• WAGs are always welcome.
  

Starting time should be whenever final groups tee off... which should be around 9:30am. Coverage ends at 2pm.

------------------------

 

Just a reminder (which apparently I need) that Rapture dates are October 5th - 8th. We're headed down to Sebring, the site of the first ever Rapture in 2014. Tee times are booked:

Friday, October 6th - 8:24am - Turtle Run

Saturday, October 7th - 9:00am - Deer Run

Sunday, October 8th - 9:00am - Turtle Run

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See you in a couple weeks if not before.

Match Play Pairings - Summer 2023

We are now down to 4 groups for 16 people. We do not currently have any open spots.

 

Assuming nobody else bails... below are the pairings for Match Play, with strokes received in parenthesis. Remember to ride with your real-life opponent. And use the handicaps on the card to track your match... not the leader board app.

 

There's a drop zone near the green on the last par 3. 

 

There are no good long drive holes... so let's do it on #6. Keep in mind you can easily drive it into the water off the tee if you take a conservative line.

Group A

Dave vs. Casey (3)

Faz vs. Brendan (4)

Group B

Tall Mike vs. Adam (1)

Topor (6) vs. Billy

Group C

Chandler vs. John (5)

Geoff (10) vs. Dan

Group D

Gary (0) vs. Reid (0)

Travis vs. Danny (8)

The Hangover - Summer 2023 Review

We set a record of 14 Members in attendance at the hangover party — proving Carrollwood is the true center of our Club. Sure, the live music was too loud... and the locals were weird... but that last point is a feature, not a bug. I had my ass grabbed like 3 times by some troll of a woman. And we saw haircuts and dance moves that should never have left the house.

Most importantly, for the first time since Spring of 2021, someone won the Trojan Horse award!

Danny about to lose his putter.

While I'm a Red Dog aficionado — I've been there with Danny 1,000 times. He's easily batting 0-1,000 at the Dog. And yet he's 1-1 at O'Brien's. The stats don't lie!

I also want to give a shout-out to our waitress, who somehow served a section of 30 people quickly and without complaint or errors. Good service has been impossible to find since COVID destroyed the youth's ambitions.

Thanks to those who attended the bar. I had a lot of fun pretending I could hear what you were saying.

------------------------

The golf on Sunday was brutally hot, and very difficult. I was shocked at the scores — as Countryside B/L played 6.5 strokes more difficult on average than the first time we played it. Although, it's no mystery why that happened...

Those were the absolute worst greens I've ever paid $80+ to play on. And it wasn't a "recently punched" issue. Conditions were honestly terrible in a lot of areas... and if I hadn't already lost my Club Corp membership, I'd resign right away!

But as I've always said... conditions are the same for everyone. And not everyone played terribly.

Brendan won with the only score under par (net), looking like he was going to run away with it on the final hole after a monster drive. Of course, nothing matches the pressure of trying to win a FBGC event. And it took Brendan 6 strokes to get in from the middle of the fairway.

Faz then birdied 16, leading the group of guys inside the clubhouse to proclaim the event was over. Chandler (this guy!) gave everyone a "not so fast, my friends!" The 17th hole is sneaky difficult, because anything short, right, or long is dead. Sure enough, Faz pumped an entire sleeve of balls into the water to eject from the tournament.

Congrats to Brendan on his 8th career victory!

Other congrats go to:

• Casey for winning the Hangover side-pot.
• Topor and Faz for earning some 2nd place side-pot money... and Topor with his best finish since July of last year.
• Danny for setting a new high course record of 119, our 14th highest score in history.
• The soggy bottom boys of Crum, Gorecki, Danny, and Gary who combined for 5 pars total between them.

 ------------------------

 

This week is Match Play out at Big Cypress (South) in Lakeland/Kathleen at 10am. Yes... this is the course in the trailer park. I have no idea what the state of their greens are... but it's only going to cost us $45+ and it's an amazing Match Play course.

 

Pairings are set based on standings. With Hamliton "penciled in," we don't have any open spots at the moment. Update your shit if your plans change.

 

Everyone is on GREEN tees unless they want to move back to BLACK. This scorecard should be accurate. See you then!

Countryside Info

Tee time is 9:10am on Sunday at Countryside. Please let me know if you're moving back from the WHITE tees.

 

Long drive on #2... just because it's the most bunched tees.  All the par 5s in this routing are narrow. Good luck.

July Updates

The Hangover party will be Saturday, July 8th at O'Briens in Carrollwood. I'll probably arrive around 8pm. Show up for a chance to win the Hangover side-pot on Sunday.

Golf on Sunday will be at Countryside at 9:10am. It'll be around $80. Thanks to Casey for getting us on... earning himself Member of the Month for July!

See you all next weekend.

Spring 2023 Champions Dinner

The Open - Summer 2023 Recap

Troy won at Feather Sound in dominant fashion Sunday, leading wire-to-wire and collecting his 5th Major. It's Troy's lowest gross score (79) in Club history, vaulting him to the top of the Leader Board. His score could have been even better if not for a triple on the somewhat easy (from the Blues) 10th hole. Troy continues to reap the rewards of improvement!

 

Unfortunately you can't write him in as a 2-time Champion just yet... he's traveling the next two events and his handicap just dropped to 14.5, thanks to an exceptional score. #roadto14

We have to give a shout-out to Crum, who also finished with his best round in Club history and highest place on the leader board (T2). He's played Feather a lot so it seems he took advantage of his local knowledge. Same with Casey who finished tied in 2nd place.

 

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Feather Sound itself was nice, especially for this time of year. As Faz pointed out... their guest rates are about $50 too high year-round. I don't know why clubs do that, and I'd love to see how many guest rounds they have each month. I'd imagine Members would enjoy a more affordable way to share the course. But maybe there's a lot of guest rounds on their books?

 

Many of the top private clubs in Scotland and Ireland only charge about £50 for guests. The idea being that Members usually pay, so why gouge their own Members? Pretty sure JW has roots in Ireland, so he should have paid for us.

Either way... great day on the course. Conditions were awesome, we got lucky with the summer rain, and hopefully everyone had fun. Thanks again to JW for setting it up!

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 We're off for 4th of July this weekend. But here are two scheduling updates:

• We're still looking for a place to book the Hangover tournament. Hopefully I'll have something to report in a few days.
• As for the bar, the last four Hangovers Parties have been held inside this blue circle:

Being a "Man of the People," I suggested going further north to Carrollwood, and throwing a bone to the Westchase Whipped. Perhaps even a return to O'Brien's... home of the Summer 2014 party where Darren damaged the Cup immediately after this picture was taken:

Look how much fun we weren't having.

Faz, our resident elitist, is adamantly opposed to this idea. He says nobody from the North will show up. He also says O'Briens is a dump and the live music sucked and we should go to an actual good bar instead.

This is all news to me. I seem to remember having a good time in 2014. But I've also had a million Coors Lights since then, so my memory is fading. Or morally being rewritten.

Anyway, we need eliminate the speculation. Are the Northerners going to show up? Are there any suggestions of "better bars" that aren't tainted with your selfish proclivities (ie: desire to be within walking distance, or owned by some idiot you went to high school with)?

We unfortunately can't choose PopStroke — a previous suggestion — due to it being an absolute shit-show on Saturday nights.

It's OK if Faz is correct, we just need to know. I can't have him wasting a night in Flyover Country if it's just going to be the Tampa kids showing up! We can do that at The Retreat.

• Our next Major - The Championship at University Park (July 30th) - is now full (20 spots). Anyone listed as out can be an alternate. Just let me know if you want to be on the waiting list. Travis ain't showing up that weekend, so I expect at least one opening.