The Hangover - Summer 2024 Recap

Good times hanging out with the boys (and WAGs) again at our seasonal Club party. This year the "Westchase" group hosted us up at Wild Rover Brewing. Ten Members blessed us with their presence, which included six of the eight "Westchase" group!

We've been averaging 10 Members per gathering the last six seasons, so it was a proper chop session.

Unfortunately, nobody dared to venture into the music hall to watch "Jaded"... an Aerosmith cover band who for some reason named themselves after the worst Aerosmith song. Nevertheless, we were still able to hear the shrill sounds of Budget Steven Tyler each time the door was opened, as the assisted living facility patrons ran back and forth to the bathrooms.

Missing: The Bucherts (early departure) and Tall Mike (late arrival).

Thanks, Westchasers! It's always fun to explore new places and see how other societies live!

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

As for the golf...

 

While there wasn't much grumbling about Rosedale back in 2022, there definitely was yesterday. Perhaps it was the oppressively hot weather? It's tight, target-golf, and you can't bomb a lot of drivers... but conditions were honestly decent (especially during aerification season), the price was good (for 2024), and it was clearly asking a specific question: "can you hit a 200 yard straight shot off the tee?"

I'd equate it to our version of Harbour Town. Not everyone's cup of tea... but still important for variety.

Contrast it to next week's event at Southern Dunes, which is a big ballpark and you can smash driver all day. Or Southern Hills (RIP) which would be our version of Erin Hills.

Forgiveness is fun! But we need a different test from time to time. And at least Rosedale wasn't a tough test covered in shit hardpan like Moccasin Wallow! Hooray grass!

Also, hooray for American golf! After getting absolutely pummeled in Ireland, Chandler (is it, me?) found Rosedale delightfully easy. Hitting 12 fairways and 10 greens will make the heat a little more bearable. It was his first Hangover win in 7 years, and his round was the only one of the day to be accepted by any of our handicap calculations.

Dave finished 2nd, also straight out of Ireland Golf Camp, earning 30% of the Drunkard Bonus.

Faz was next up with a decent round, but said he struggled a bit off the tee.

We then move to Geoff who continues a solid season in search of a rare repeat Championship. A top-5 finish with 4 triples further underscores the difficulty of Rosedale.

Moostie was next, and could have finished top 3 if not for a quad on the long-drive 12th.

Melberg had four doubles and was quite defeated in the clubhouse. Honestly, his scorecard doesn't look that bad with 8 pars. But I guess the final petal fell from his Enchanted Rose.

Pars were hard to come by for Buchert, but he avoided catastrophic numbers... the opposite of Brendan's round... who was +5 (gross) on 11 holes, but +21 (gross) on the other 7.

And finally, we have Gary. His day was painful to watch, as he could not find any semblance of a golf swing. Advancing the ball in a forward direction was an issue for most of the day. This after he lost last week's Major by a single stroke! His self-deprecation was stronger than usual, and you could really see (and hear) the gut-wrenching struggle of a man who was having zero (if not negative) fun.

But, all the praise in the world goes to Gary for not allowing his terrible day to affect the rounds of Chandler and Brendan!

One of the things we argued in the Great Slow Play Debate of 2024, was that slow play "ruined rounds" - as one seasoned Board Member stated. In codifying our penal powers, the Board justified that doing anything that negatively affects the rounds of others — like slow play — was unacceptable and a violation of Rule 14. Other examples given (but not limited to) in the post-Board Meeting write-up were: "cheating, violence, and Ho's excessive talking during play."

 

So thanks again to Gary, for keeping it cool despite some of the worst golf I've ever seen out of him in roughly 30 years of playing together.

 

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

This Sunday is Match Play at the aforementioned Southern Dunes. Tee time is 9:40am. Cost is $70ish (range balls not included, of course).

We're teetering on not needing a 5th tee time, so update your RSVP if you can't make it out to Haines City... or if you need a break from golf and/or mostly meaningless competition.

More on the course later this week!