2023 Spring - The Concussion Recap

The prevailing thought — which I have not had time to research — is that marriage causes a decline in golfing performance. Dave says my unquenched thirst for knowledge and stats results in me not having a life, so I can't verify the marriage hypothesis. But one thing is certain...

John is undefeated post-nuptial.

Yes, the jokes were flying off the shelves all day, as he navigated a near perfect round of golf. Is he swinging better without his testicles? Unlikely, as he hasn't had those for quite some time.

Whatever the reason, John played incredibly smart golf throughout the Groves. And his putter is back to "best in league" form.

 

Living his best life.

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The Groves was also in good form... for an "executive" course. Fairways were a little patchy and greens a little bumpier than I recall from previous years. But it's a good sensible challenge, only lacking the Countyway grill experience.

They didn't seem to care that Gorecki brought a cooler of beers. So extra faux-BGR points giveth, only to be taketh for shutting down the grill before 5pm.

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Other things that I've heard discussed:

 

- #4 had the widest spread in Club history: Seven strokes: Eagle 3 for Moostie and max 10 for Reid 

 

- #18 still sucks but is a much better hole as a par-5 with the new back tees

 

- Gorecki wanted me to point out that Ho had to get up-and-down for a sandie-birdie on #18 just to tie Gorecki (gross). I took this to mean Gorecki is acknowledging it's embarrassing when anyone ties or loses to him.

- The second half of the season is going to get very interesting... with Reid, Gorecki and Gary at the top trying to get their first ever Championship. The bonus 100 Match Play points on Sunday are essential to achieve their goals.

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This week we are at Crescent Oaks at 10am. Cost should be $65ish - and we haven't played here officially since 2016. It's a brute of a course, so the 55/25 club (Gary, Troy and Danny) can move up to the WHITE tees if they want. Let me know before Sunday.

This scorecard matches the most recent one I have.

Spring 2023 - The Concussion

We're back this Sunday (Feb 26th) at noon at The Groves.

 

We haven't been out there since Spring 2021. It's probably the best par-3 course in our ROTA, so hopefully it's still in good shape.

In our two year absence, it seems they've changed the 18th hole to a par 5. It's still a stupid hole — and par is just a socially constructed number — but that does change a lot in terms of possible pitchers owed and handicaps.

It's the right move for the course, and you should adjust your strategy accordingly.

Currently we are FULL (20 players) with Danny unable to join the field due to his total disregard of the RSVP system.

Pairings are randomized and published. See you Sunday.

2023 - FBGC Open Recap

"Reid is top-of-the-league, say, Reid is top-of-the-league!"

"Reidao!, top-of-the-league, Reidao!, Reidao!, top-of-the-league!"

That's about as much of the soccer shit I call handle researching. The man who desperately wants "the press" to allow him to fly under-the-radar literally won the very next event. A Major at that.

 

Despite Reid's best efforts, he IS the story this season. Regardless of how this plays out. Two victories and a T3 in the first three events... any outcome at this point is significant.

Hernando Oaks was brutal. It's a difficult track in normal conditions, and I think the wind was worse last Sunday than at Glen Lakes. Just a slog all the way around... compounded by the league in-front of us forcing a 5+ hour pace.

The winning score was exactly what I predicted on the range (-2). Reid got there with consistent golf... timely pars and a birdie erasing the doubles that everyone had to deal with.

Chandler (hey, that's me!) got there by shooting the only double-free round of the tournament. It was a lot of duct table — and the usual lucky bounces — but a 38 putt performance somehow produced a 78.

Geoff seemingly came out of nowhere. That's probably because everyone's app stopped working during the round. But great finish by him with a par on 18.

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I discovered that my last five victories were TIES for first...which I'm not sure how to process. Unfortunately we can't rely (or assume) that sudden death playoffs are allowed at courses. The Board has refused to vote in "scorecard tiebreakers" for various reasons.

So here is the current winners with the T-1 percentages:

First observation... how baller is Katie with her 7 wins and zero ties? Also, it would make sense that the lower handicap guys would have more ties, as there is less margin for error. Darren with only two ties?!? The OG Mr. Sandbag!

I built another chart of wins over time. But it's kinda convoluted and pointless. Fuck it:

This is only current members. But at some point back in the day (events 57-64), Darren and Faz were battling it out for the most prolific winners on TOUR.

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Nobody this week beat any course records... Dave's 75 or Danny's 121. Holy shit! 121? Yep... it wasn't even a two-pitcher round as he got 33 strokes that day. Six more than he did last Sunday. He's growing up so fast!

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We're off this weekend, and back at the Groves on the 26th at noon.  It's been two years since we've last visited the best par-3 course in our ROTA. They have league play going out before us... which means the golf recession is near.

More on The Groves later.