We're back from winter hibernation for our 30th season of league play and our 16th year as a Club.
Our roster is tighter this year with the loss of JW and Casey — and Danny still only a pseudo-member. This means we'll have a lot of 16-player fields, giving a larger advantage to those who play all 9 events.
No changes to competition rules in 2026. Bailing on Saturday now costs your entry fee, and a WD is an automatic minimum 3-pitcher penalty. Otherwise, business as usual.
It's impossible to tell who doesn't play in the off-season — and who just doesn't report scores — but here's the biggest Index movement since Summer 2025:
Geoff (-2.6) - shot a personal best 81 at Cypress Run, plus three other rounds in the 80s in September. He's been a tad shaky lately.
Billy (-2.1) - didn't play much, but his 83 to win last season at Cabot and an 85 last week at Hammock Creek are the 2nd and 3rd best rounds in his current Index subset.
Adam (-1.8) - always grinding on his game. He's upgraded his irons, moved away from blades for more consistency, and is starting to trust the driver. He'll be dangerous on wider courses — as seen with a personal best 78 yesterday on Jovita (North).
Dave (-1.5) - joined a private club and plays exclusively there, a solid way to lower your Index. He'll be rusty Week 1 after an Ireland trip, and I don't expect him to play well at Hernando Oaks with its scruffy, slightly soggy conditions.
Ho (-0.8) - lowered his index a lot percentage-wise on the Road to Scratch. I believe his 3.8 is the lowest in our records.
Only four members increased their Index this off-season, and none materially.
Week 1 is 9:00am at Hernando Oaks. We're missing the cold front by four days, and it'll probably rain the day/night before. The course doesn't drain well and they overseed fairways in winter, so expect challenging conditions. Greens are in great shape (at least they were a couple weeks ago) and very receptive. This will be our 7th time starting the Spring season at Hernando Oaks — tradition more than anything.
This scorecard should be accurate, so let me know if you want to move off the WHITE tees. No "55/25" option this week:
If you have outstanding dues, you'll receive zero points — so get those paid. Random pairings will be made shortly.
Apparently back May of this year, an amateur player became the first to ever win a match at the "U.S. Amateur Four-Ball" competition by playing solo. His partner had to leave for a couple of days to watch a family member's graduation.
I post this because five months later, Troy almost competed as a solo player in Round 1 of the 2025 Rapture. And Casey won his four-ball match as a metaphorical solo player (paired with Gorecki who probably didn't contribute).
The new Board met last week to vote on any rule changes for the 2026 calendar year. Here's what we got:
Danny's membership was retained in a vote of 4-1. Only Chandler voted against, in an attempt to protect the field and the sanctity of the sport. The clock starts over for Danny, so he'll be automatically booted again if he doesn't play in at least 6 events (as an official competitor) in 2026.
Chandler wanted to change the "55/25" Club to a Commissioner's subjective list of golfers allowed to "tee it forward." This failed 2-3, with only Melberg in agreement. For next year, when available, players 55+ years of age or 25+ Handicap Index can play the pre-approved forward tee boxes.
We unanimously approved (5-0) to start collecting a league rake again in 2026. We were not doing so in 2025.
In a related note, we unanimously approved to increase the Champ's Dinner Payout to $150 (up from $100).
Melberg wanted to implement a full-tournament "Closest to Pin" on one par-3 at each Major ($1 per person). Geoff is going to get some sort of marker, and winner will take all. This was approved 5-0, which also means your dues are going up $3 per season.
Speaking of dues, Chandler got the Board to approve 5-0 the collection of a full year's worth of dues at the beginning of every calendar year. This is in-line with our cash-out policy of any monies over two-season's worth. Because of this change, EVERYONE currently owes something for next year. Check the dues page and send in your money now.
The Board approved 5-0 to change the deadline to bail on a tournament to midnight on Saturday (ie: 11:59pm Friday). This is 24 hours earlier than previously allowed. The penalty is still loss of entry fee.
The Board approved 5-0 to change the WD penalty to a minimum of 3-pitchers. Any WD for injury or emergency will be forgiven based on testimony by your playing partners.
The Board approved 4-1 (Melberg against) allowing an order of appetizers to count as a Pitcher... but only on the same day a Pitcher was earned. Any previous pitchers owed can not be converted to food.
The Board approved 4-1 (Melberg against) changing the Rapture Playoff to Sudden Death (if allowed). In 2025 it was a 3-hole aggregate playoff (and then Sudden Death). This is just reverting back to our original rule.
The Board rejected 1-4 (Geoff for) making ALL bunkers waste bunkers. This would have allowed everyone to ground clubs and take practice swings in all bunkers.
The Board rejected 2-3 (Melberg & Geoff for) changing the max from +5 gross to +5 net.
The Board rejected 1-4 (Faz for) making every season winner engrave their own name on the DPT Cup.
The Board rejected 3-2 (Chandler and Billy against) removing every Member named some iteration of "Michael."
Post your questions, comments, concerns. More importantly... send me your 2026 dues. We'll be booking week 1 soon.
Everyone returned a ballot so here are the results (21 total votes):
Melberg - 20 votes
Geoff - 17 votes
Faz - 16 votes
Billy - 13 votes
Dave - 12 votes
Ho - 6 votes
The new Board will get together sometime in November to set new rule changes for 2026. Go ahead and comment on anything you'd like us to consider. Topics on my list include:
Vote needed to retain Danny's membership
Officially approving a list of Rapture specific rules (we've already voted on some but we need to get them all compiled in one place)
Converting the 55/25 "tee it forward" category to a Commissioner's controlled list
Revisit Club cash flows and determine if we need to reinstate a rake for 2026 (we took no money in 2025)
It's time to elect our Board for the next two years.
If you are a Member in good standing, and want to help "attempt" to shape policy, then nominate yourself in the comments. Next Monday we'll see if we have more than 4 nominations, which will then result in elections.
Board Membership requires two in-person meetings a year, and a handful of decisions/votes through text messages throughout each season.
Voting is now open for the 21 current active Members. You've received an email with a link. Voting closes November 4th.
We had a great Rapture last weekend at Sebring — a location that has become a fan favorite due to value. It's definitely the best set-up, and the hotel does genuinely look out for us. There are some other courses down there I need to scout, so hopefully next time we return we'll see some new things. Be sure to comment your opinions!
As for the golf, Moostie (0-3 as a Captain) vs. Chandler (2-0 as a Captain) battled it out as White vs. Red.
Chandler had his team dialed in, with practice rounds and a new Club logo on
team shirts.
Available in the merch store.
Fry. Day. Red.
Tall Mike had his team... which was the extent of his involvement post-draft.
Exciting whites.
Day 1 - Four-Ball
Match 1 - Troy/Moostie vs. Chandler/John
This was a classic Tall Mike performance that will be remembered for generations. A 6pm Thursday Westchase HOA Board Meeting kept Moostie in Tampa, so he
raced to make a 9am tee time Friday morning with basically no communication. At about 8:30am
he gave us an ETA of 8:50am — a time none of us believed. Unfortunately for
the White Team, Tall Mike had put himself into the first group. And
Commissioner Chandler was not about to make any alterations to the schedule to
accommodate. Team Red was planning to play Troy 2v1 until Mike arrived.
Of course... he arrived exactly at 8:50am, rushed to the fist tee, rolled
around on the cart-path for a minute, ripped a ball down the middle of the
fairway, and made par on the first hole to go 1 Up.
Chandler knew it was over.
The match was a grind, with clutch putts made by Troy and Moostie throughout the
round. John played great for a DFL draft pick, and was the reason Red took a lead through 10 holes. Chandler was unimpressive.
Pushing the 16th hole with double-bogeys pretty much sealed Red's fate.
Moostie was able to get "up-over-and-down" from a bunker for a net-par on 17 to secure a
point.
White wins 2&1.
Match 2 - Casey/Gorecki vs. Reid/Geoff
A must-win for Team Red (on paper) that went the distance. Team White was up 2
early, but then fluctuated the lead back-and-forth until the 16th hole. With
a 1 Up lead heading into the island par-3 18th (and the entire field watching), Casey made par to earn a point.
It sounded like Casey played great... Gorecki hit it terribly but scratched
out enough net-pars to contribute... and Reid/Geoff each finished around the +7
(net) mark... which isn't good by any measure.
White wins 1 Up.
Match 3 - Melberg/Billy vs. Ho/Brendan
Once again Team Red was flat, failing to make a par on holes 2 through 5.
They clawed their way back to be all square through 13, but a double bogey on 16 ended their day.
Billy was apparently the star of the show, playing way better than the other
three guys. We should expect no less from our current season Champ.
White wins 3 & 1.
It's worth noting that sometime around the 11th hole, Red was projected to lead 2.5
- 0.5. The sudden swings are what make this format great!
At dinner, Team White carried on the tradition started by Faz in 2023,
serving Chandler an "0-3" dessert. If you're going to kick someone, you might as
well do it while they're down!
The 0-3 Spressi Tini
Day 2 - Chapman
Match 4 - Troy/Moostie vs. Reid/Brendan
Tall Mike tried a repeat of his usual antics, nowhere to be found minutes before the first tee time. Once again, he was in the first group, and was on the
verge of forfeiting holes. This was met with passionate objections by
Melberg, who thought the "rule" should be an automatic half point (or
something about an envelope). If anything, Melberg wanted us to shuffle the order of the groups to give Moostie more time.
"No," said Chandler... a decision that was echoed by Casey and
Troy (Mike's own playing partner) on the White Team.
Rules is rules.
We don't actually need more rules, we just need to enforce the ones we have. But if anyone wants more weight behind Chandler's decision, just take a peek at USGA rule 5.3a:
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5.3a - You must start at your starting time.
Exception 1 – You Arrive at Starting Point, Ready to Play, No More Than Five Minutes
Late: The general penalty (loss of hole in match play or two penalty strokes in stroke play) is applied to your first hole.
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Which means... 1 minute late equals loss of the first hole... 6 minutes late and you forfeit the match!
The new Board will codify our own version of this rule... but we have already addressed this nonsense (FBGC playing rule #17). My
goal in 2026 is to be more heavy handed in enforcing our current rules, and to hopefully DQ a few people.
In any case, Moosite got to the first tee two minutes late, but the magic was gone. Both him and Troy played poorly, losing holes 3 through 6 without making a par.
Reid and Brendan made 8 pars and one birdie in a 15 hole rout.
Red wins 4 & 3.
Match 5 - Melberg/Casey vs. Ho/Chandler
Moostie probably didn't calculate his (re)tardiness could hurt his own
team, but it clearly had an effect. After the lively debate about our
established rules and precedent... Casey topped his tee shot 30 yards and
Melberg shipped his into the driving range (OB). They found themselves 3
down through 4... which easily could have been 5 down through 6 if not for
two 15+ foot putts made by Casey.
If not for that poor start (3 bogeys in the first 4 holes), Team White would have easily won!
After squaring the match with a net-birdie on 17, we headed to the always entertaining island green par-3 finishing hole.
Casey hit his tee shot directly over
the pin to about 20 feet... and Melbeg shanked a wedge into the lake! It was truly one of the worst shots I've ever seen out of
Iceberg!
The Red shirts tee balls were good enough to result in tap-in pars.
Melberg studied their only ball in play, which was slightly downhill along
a ridge... and left it 8 feet short! Casey's putt to tie the match rode the lip of the cup on
the low-side and spun out. It was the only putt of consequence he missed
the entire round.
Red wins 1 Up.
Match 6 - Billy/Gorecki vs. Geoff/John
There's no gentle way to say this... but Gorecki — especially in his
current state — is a Chapman team killer. Team Red was up 3 through 13,
which probably should have been a lot more.
Geoff/John proceeded to fill their pants to find themselves All Square
on 17... a hole where Team White stroked.
Unfortunately for the White boys, Gorecki couldn't navigate the lake in the middle of the hole. And his tee shot wasn't long/good enough for Billy to do so either. Their stroke advantage was worthless, leading to a net-double bogey.
With Red 1 Up on the final hole (island green par-3), Geoff reverted to his factory settings and chunked his ball into the water. John — Mr. Irrelevant in
the draft — stuffed it to 12 feet behind the hole.
Gorecki predictably hit his tee shot into the lake as well, while Billy found the right
fringe a mile away. However, it seems lag putting is the one thing
Gorecki is good at, and he secured a par on their only ball to put the pressure back on Geoff.
Geoff nestled his putt to the hole and John made a
nervy 1 footer to win the match.
Red wins 1 Up.
Day 3 - Singles
Casey shot an estimated 77 to beat Ho 4&3. Ho played well on the
front, but beating a guy who goes -5 (net) is near impossible.
Brendan got spanked by Troy 5&4. Troy was only +8 (gross) when the match ended on 14.
Chandler
and Billy had a pillow fight until Billy's wayward drives finally caught
up to him. The Red Captain held on to win 4&2.
Geoff
sent Gorecki to end-of-life care, setting a Rapture Singles record of
7&5.
Reid doubled the first three holes (and had 7 doubles on the day) while
Melberg shot a 73 (gross) with one bogey and 17 pars. It's amazing it
wasn't worse than 6&4.
John vs. Moostie was the only close match, with John up 1 through 12 and
looking to send the Rapture to a "3-hole aggregate playoff" between Moostie
& Chandler. Thankfully for Chandler's nerves... Tall Mike went par,
birdie, par, par to close out the event and win 2&1.
Team White wins the 2025 Rapture 7 - 5
The Rapture is by far the best competition we have. The variety of pairings, over-analysis of matches, and historical records that guys are way to proud (or ashamed) of are the essence of sport.
We also spent some time making AI videos for each attendee. We can't
use actual images... so these are likenesses based on asinine
inside jokes. Most were produced by Geoff, so give all critiques to him.
I'll present them in order of my official 2025
Player Power Rankings:
1 - Melberg (2-1) - Only a couple of bad swings kept him from 3-0. And
I can't overstate how impressive it is to make 17 pars on Sunday. Melberg was
the correct #1 overall pick.
2 - Casey (2-1) - He was clutch when he needed to be, and was beating Ho straight-up when his Singles match ended. Casey should have been
drafted higher.
3 - Troy (2-1) - Troy overcame limited playing time prior to the event,
a nagging back injury, and having to be paired with Moostie the first two
rounds.
4 - Chandler (2-1) - Was pretty "meh" but got the points needed to keep it close. If only he selected different teammates.
5 - Ho (1-2) - Earned his first point since 2021!
6 - Geoff (2-1) - When the
Rapture Gods give you Gorecki in three matches... you better go undefeated.
7 - Tall Mike (2-1) - He won two points, which was the total
margin of victory. But he also cost his team at least two points on Saturday
with his delayed arrival.
8 - Billy (1-2) - Flashes of brilliance, until his driver got audited.
9 - Reid (1-2) - I guess he really can't play in unethically sourced Nike shirts.
10 - Brendan (1-2) - Still searching for a 2nd Singles victory.
11 - John (1-2) - Always an MVP of
the social scene... but he played like a top 9 pick.
12 - Gorecki (1-2) - The only hope on the horizon for Mike is a 35+
Handicap Index.
If your opponent tells you to pick up, you must pick up (counting the next
stroke). Failure to do so is an automatic loss of hole. This eliminates
all the dumb shit some of you have tried in the past:
Continuing to practice while slowing down pace of play
Purposefully positioning yourself to give your partner a read on the
green
You must ride with your opponent on Sunday
You can NOT help your teammate read putts on Sunday
You can discuss any other strategy off the green with your teammate on
Sunday
Every year at least one person doesn't know how the Chapman format works.
This year's obvious choice is the Moostie/Troy vs. Reid/Brendan group.
For those of you who aren't good with written words — because your mom
took too much Tylenol during pregnancy — here's AI Moses reading the rules
to you:
Here's Old Tom Morris reminding you how to play Chapman:
---------------------
Check-in Thursday is 4pm. Most of the Red team is riding down there early.
Be sure to check-in upon arrival. They have our room assignments.
Hotel address: 3101 Golfview Rd, Sebring, FL 33870
All three rounds of golf are at Sun N Lake - 5223 Tee Time Cir, Sebring, FL 33872
Itinerary below is copied directly from the email sent to me — so it's
not my fault if this is incorrect:
Oct 9 9:06 Sun n Lakes Deer Run
Oct 10 8:59 Sun n Lakes Deer Run
Oct 11 9:00 Sun n Lakes Turtle Run
The entire course and hole-by-hole ratings at Sun N Lake were recently
updated. I reached out to GolfGameBook, so we should be
good to go in the app. Regardless... the SCORECARD is the official card of
record. Make sure as you play, both the app and the card are matching. The
current scorecard will say 06/2025 at the bottom of the Turtle Run side.
Round 2 - Sun N Lake (Deer Run) - Chapman (Alt-Shot)
1 - Moosite / Troy vs. Brendan / Reid
2 - Casey / Melberg (2) vs.
Ho / Chandler
3 - Billy / Gorecki (6) vs.
Geoff / John
Round 3 - Sun N Lake (Turtle Run) - Singles
1 - Casey (6) vs.
Ho
2 - Troy vs. Brendan (1)
3 - Billy (6) vs.
Chandler
4 - Gorecki (11) vs.
Geoff
5 - Moosite vs. John (2)
6 - Melberg vs. Reid(6)
I just got off the phone with Inn on the Lakes, who is coordinating our upcoming trip. A few notes:
Highlands Ridge — the course we were supposed to play Day 1 — is very upset that we canceled our round. Unfortunately their course conditions are not currently up to our standards. The owner promised conditions would be much improved by November, which does us no good. This is why we scout!
Side note... the layout/routing of Highlands Ridge is a lot of fun. I hope we can play it in future Raptures.
Apparently we each owe a $100 deposit to the hotel. This was news to me and not in our previous correspondence... but fear not... I went ahead and paid the full $1,200 so we don't have to call individually.
I'm going to take it out of your "Chandler Bucks" — assuming you have a sufficient balance. I'll Venmo request anyone who doesn't.
Keep in mind everyone has already paid me the $50 for our pay-for-performance pool.
Check-in is at 4pm next Thursday (Oct 9th). Everyone must check-in. They have our rooming list, and you'll owe the remaining balance.
I'll post the itinerary next week, to help minimize the chance of me getting the tee times mixed up!
Jack Willie's turned out to be a decent spot. It's a dump, for sure, but the food was good and we had plenty of space to operate. Not that we needed much, as only 5 players attended the draft.
Those who did were first tasked with picking their roommates at the Sebring hotel. Since it's double-occupancy, roommates don't need to be team specific. If you don't like your roommate... you should have attended the draft:
Chandler / Melberg
Moostie / John
Gorecki / Geoff
Troy / Casey
Billy / Ho
Brendan / Reid
These names have been given to the hotel. You pay for your room and golf-package when we arrive. And you pay for your bar tabs only if the soy-boy Asian bartender can catch you.
-------------------------------
This year's draft felt like a real crap-shoot. Without Dave and Faz — two Rapture stalwarts — choices of actual "good" golfers were lacking. Moostie predictably went with Melberg, a sensible and reliable option who was at the top of both Captain's list.
Chandler was quick to select Reid - who has never been picked as a team's first overall choice. Reid was down in the golfing dumps for awhile, but has drastically turned things around after Geoff correctly pointed out Reid was the "worst" golfer on the Southern Pines trip in May.
Next was Chandler's most difficult selection. His pre-draft rankings had Brendan listed #3. If you take away the +35 (net) disaster at Crescent Oaks, Brendan actually averages a ton of net pars and birdies. His handicap is also near a 52-week high... so there could be some upside in a match-play format as extreme blow-ups don't ruin your round. But looking into Moostie's beady little eyes, Dear Leader could sense that the Crescent Oaks stench still lingered on BD, and might make him available in later rounds. Chandler reached deep into his list to select Geoff, who partners well with most golfers.
Now Moostie was up with two selections, and milked the clock well beyond our unofficial arbitrary time limits. Ultimately, he drafted Casey and Troy with confidence. Both are solid options with lots of ways to plug them into a line-up. But there are some concerns. Casey only played two events last season, and is starting to look like someone who lives in a remote Montana shack, hiding from the impending alien invasion. Troy has some nagging back issues, but will hopefully be fully rested by the event.
Chandler's gamble paid off, and he was able to snatch Brendan with the 6th pick. He then scanned the far reaches of "The Spectrum" to find Ho sitting there... talking to himself about the differences in ball compression between the Chrome Tour Triple Diamond and the Bridgestone e6. Ho hasn't won a Rapture point since 2021 (6 matches)... and the Red Team will need to invest in Ho-Cancelling Headphones... but it was impossible to pass on his overall skill.
Moostie went back on the clock, and once again took an extraordinary amount of time. When pressed on why selecting two of the three remaining golfers was an issue... he said Billy was obviously in the 8th spot. It might seem like a slight to our reigning Champ, but Billy's Index has dropped 4.6 points in just two months. The math is the math, but obviously there could be some concern with keeping up that level of excellence. It's also his first ever Rapture so there's no tape on if he can handle the constant stupidity of his peers.
There was still much internal debate in Moostie's head, as the entire world waited with baited breath on the next selection. John is the better golfer, but has played terribly lately with the exception of the very easy Roost course at Cabot Citrus. Gorecki's game makes Old Tom Morris spin in his grave, but he comes with a shit-ton of strokes. The final decision was eerily similar to the first ever Rapture — also at Sebring — when Faz selected Gorecki over Tall Mike in 2014. In similar fashion, Tall Mike took Gorecki and the strokes.
Chandler then selected John.
1 - Melberg
2 - Reid
3 - Geoff
4 - Casey
5 - Troy
6 - Brendan
7 - Ho
8 - Billy
9 - Gorecki
10 - John
Chandler's team will sport the Sun Day Red for the first time since that inaugural Rapture. Meanwhile, Moostie still hasn't made an official decision on their colors.
Tall Mike and Gorecki rocking the "Dutch Skins" look.
Round 2 - Sun N Lake (Deer Run) - Chapman (Alt-Shot)
1 - Moosite / Troy vs. Brendan / Reid
2 - Casey / Melberg (2) vs. Ho / Chandler
3 - Billy / Gorecki (6) vs. Geoff / John
Round 3 - Sun N Lake (Turtle Run) - Singles
1 - Casey (6) vs. Ho
2 - Troy vs. Brendan (1)
3 - Billy (6) vs. Chandler
4 - Gorecki (11) vs. Geoff
5 - Moosite vs. John (2)
6 - Melberg vs. Reid(6)
Practice rounds have been scheduled. More to come as the event gets closer!
Here are the final qualification rankings, and locked handicaps Indexes for the 2025 Rapture (October 9th - 12th):
Qualified
Captain 1 - Moostie - 14.8
Captain 2 - Chandler - 8.3
3 - Melberg - 6.4
4 - Ho - 4.6
5 - Casey -11.3
6 - Troy - 13.4
7 - Gorecki - 26.0
8 - Billy - 15.2
9 - Reid - 13.7
10 - Geoff - 13.5
11 - Brendan - 14.9
15 - John - 16.8
Alternates
16 - Dave - 5.0
17 - Gary - 18.5
18 - Buchert - 13.5
19 - Crum - 17.7
20 - Adam - 10.5
21 - Dan - 6.2
22 - Danny - 25.7
23 - JW - 20.3
Out
12 - Faz - 9.7
13 - Topor - 22.1
14 - Marcus - 14.8
If you're in the top 12, go ahead and send me $50 to secure your spot. If you know you are NOT attending, let me know so I can promote the next guy up.
Uh oh... it may be happening...
-BREAKING NEWS-
Harambe is going to the Rapture for the first time since 2021!
I'm starting to worry the DPT Cup was the last cup Billy needed to bring balance to the league. And Melberg was an unfortunate casualty...
Billy played out of his mind for 17 holes at the Roost, shooting 83 (gross) with three birdies in the first five holes. Thanks to a dart on 17, the final hole didn't matter for the season standings. Right on cue, Billy expertly ejected to protect his Rapture handicap: pulled tee shot into the water, aimed at the wrong green after a drop (10th instead of 18), chunked a chip (maybe two, I had to turn away), and carded an 8.
This gave Crum the Major victory, his second as well as his second ever win. He's basically our Brooks Koepka. Outside of the first hole where Crum was questioning his decision to play the 6,931 green tees, he was a much more patient player than usual. There was a meltdown at the par-3 8th as well... but the 24 strokes was just too many to tumble down the leader board. Crum could have easily shot -10 (net) or better.
Many of us were gutted for Melberg who pulled the emergency escape slide on 12 and 13 — going +7 (gross) in that stretch. He undoubtedly feels like he let the season get away... and technically he did, losing by a mere 40 points (a new record low margin, previously held by Dave over Topor by 100 points). Had Melberg shot just two less at Cabot Citrus, he'd finish T5 on the day with an extra 46.3 points. Enough to win his 2nd Cup!
There's so many "what-ifs" we could do. Melberg missed the first event... but Billy missed two. Billy only beat Geoff 1UP at Match Play... so one stroke there would have changed history. And Melberg could have won if he didn't double the final hole at Waterlefe. Every stroke counts!
But alas... we have a new and deserving Champion! Congrats on some great golf, Billy!
Our 14th Champion
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Roost was a much better course than Karoo. I believe some of you want to go see for yourself while the $135 rate is still going on. I'll set up a date for us in September (since Gorecki is legit useless).
Roost is just more straight-forward and less tricked-up. The green complexes are difficult, but fair. And some of the holes are actually better than the old Rolling Oaks versions. I still don't think they needed to nuke the property to achieve this, but that's also more of an issue on Karoo.
I do feel their FL resident "deal" is on the edge of acceptable. Any more, and I'd be very hesitant to book us there.
I also don't like how Roost blended their T/S combo tees... but it is what it is. Some holes were too short, but others were long. I'd probably swap 6 of them and it would add 10 yards overall and seem more "fair." But in the eyes of the USGA, it wouldn't matter as we still need to traverse the same distance (think of the course as one long hole). Par is a social construct in that sense. When "par" was first conceptualized (late 1890s), a lot of courses had half-par holes (ie: 4.5). There were a bunch of 4.5 pars out there.
That being said... we could technically create our own blend and use the same slope/rating. Part of me wants no part of attempting to implement this (people fucking it up or complaining about my selections etc). But it's an option if we ever go back to Roost.
The new Board will sort it out.
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Four of the five guys opting to play the Green tees finished in the top-5. Melberg could have easily been there if not for the aforementioned blow-up holes. It's nice to see the guys who took a risk be rewarded.
Overall, the course played "easy." Even Danny shot a 95, which would have been good enough for T3 (with no affect on the overall season standings).
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The World Golf Rankings are updated. If you're in the top 12, go ahead and send me $50 if you're attending the Rapture (October 9th to 12). Much more on this soon (handicaps, draft, etc).
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And finally... Troy had some really kind words for me on his way out. Basically showing appreciation for the Club, and probably trying to get me to draft him in the Rapture. I told him that I do all this because it's the only way I can get you people to hang out with me.
We just finished our 29th season, across 15 years! A lot of shit doesn't last that long, including the kickball league(s) where many of us met.
During that time we've played 3,338 rounds, bought 719 bad pitchers, and hacked up 85 different courses.
So hopefully you people are having as much fun as I am. If not... you're doing something wrong.
I don't know who this post is for since none of you can remember a hole you played 20 minutes ago... but here's what changed from the Rolling Oaks layout... outside of *most* trees being removed:
Holes 1 through 6 basically play on the same footprint as Rolling Oaks. Historically that was a pretty easy stretch of holes (for us), except for #1 where we only made par or better (gross) 21% of the time.
The green for #6 was moved considerably to the left, to make room for the new #7 tee.
#7 is the old #11 in reverse
#8 is the old #16
#9 is now a par 5 that sits on the old #17 and the tee boxes of old #18... with a new green pushed to the lake edge
#10 is a short par 4 that plays over the latter half of the old #18 (which was uphill and heavily bunkered... and now seems to have a creek running through it)
#11 uses the old #10 footprint with an added creek
#12 through #15 are on the same land but played in reverse
#16 is the old #7
#17 is the old #8 (which was the signature downhill par 3 over the creek... and now plays 3 clubs longer!)
#18 is the old #9... which was one of the most "blah" holes on property
"Rolling Oaks" is obviously retired as a course in our history, with Dave/Gary/Chandler sharing the course record of 79... and Danny a record of 105. New records up for grabs this Sunday!
I've had a surprisingly large number of people asking me when and where The Rapture is this year. We're going to Sebring again on October 9th through October 12th.
Handicap Indexes will LOCK after Sunday. I'll immediately start collecting money ($50 entry) which will secure your spot. Once we have all 12 participants signed up, we should host a draft ASAP so teams can practice.
Tell the wife and get it on your calendar.
The Moses parts your sea of excuses.
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We have some legit excitement for Cabot Citrus this Sunday. We're playing Roost, which is the old Rolling Oaks. None of us have ever seen or played it, but it appears they did change a lot of the previous routing.
You can read my review of Karoo (old Pine Barrens), which I wasn't impressed with. Hopefully I'll feel different about Roost at the $135+ Florida Resident summer rate.
There are a lot of teeing options for you to choose from, and each option changes strokes significantly. We're setting the "base" tees at the Tangerine/Silver blended. People on "The List" can play straight Silver tees (but lose a ton of strokes doing so).
Make a comment on which tees you want!
Finally, look at the tournament page to see your tee time. Cabot has 12-minute intervals, which is awesome. But unfortunately our block is broken up by some randos going out at 8am. This means the leaders actually tee off at 8:36am — a full hour after the insignificants! Plan accordingly.
Geoff summed up the day perfectly when he said: "We either need to never play this course again, or move up a set of tees."
We've had worse bloodbaths. We've also played much worse conditions. But the combination of a difficult course, with tiny greens, un-mowed rough due to rain, and a piss-poor recent verticut on the greens made for a very frustrating day.
For most of us. Reid and Melberg didn't seem to struggle, tying for the victory with Melberg breaking his own course record with a 74 (gross). It's a really unbelievable score, and now puts him in first place and controlling his own destiny.
On the other end of the spectrum, we saw Brendan with an insane +35 (net) which might be a record (need Faz to check that). Brendan somehow didn't break the course high record (124 by Topor in 2023).
And the 14 pitchers fell one short of our record at Temple Terrace last season, where 15 were purchased by 68% of the field!
Crescent Oaks is now ranked 3rd on our all-time difficulty list... playing to 9.0 median net strokes to par. It's also the most difficult track that we've played more than once!
I personally had a great time, and it was nice to see almost everyone hang out for a bit after the round. But I'm very much looking forward to a more forgiving experience next week — with hopefully better, consistent conditions.
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Melberg's lead over Billy is now 332.5... which will be a tall order for anyone to overcome. Billy needs a victory or solo 2nd to get there. Troy, Reid, Brendan, and Topor are still alive... but need to win. And they all need Melberg to finish in the bottom half of the standings.
As previously mentioned we're playing Cabot Citrus (Roost) with an early 7:36am start. I'll post a bunch of information soon... as there will be a lot of tee options.
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Tall Mike and Chandler (that's me!) are currently sitting in the two Rapture Captains chairs. It looks like Melberg, Troy, Gorecki, and Ho can still technically get the #1 Captain spot with a win. Geoff and Reid can't jump Moostie but can get the 2nd Captaincy. Of course all of this hinges on how the top two guys perform as well.
And there's a great battle going on at the cut-line to qualify. Gary and Dave have never missed a Rapture, but are both currently out!
Remember we are only taking 12 people this year... because we don't have enough fully qualified and committed people to take 16. Having people fail to qualify (which will someday happen to me) is the entire point! The Rapture is an end of the season reward. Some of you need to sit your ass at home like Jordan Spieth during this year's Ryder Cup!
Base tees are BLUE, except for the usual 55/25 guys (soon to be renamed "The List"), who can move up to WHITE. Let me know.
Crescent Oaks has such a bad roster of holes: #1, #6, #8, #12, #14, #15, #18. It's one of those places where you get to each tee box and say "Oh... I remember this hole. Ugh." Maybe the hurricanes knocked a bunch of trees down last year?
We're also going to be fighting rain all day. So be prepared.
Despite our earlier concerns, The Friendly Tarpon was good fun on Saturday. It was a decent spot to hang and talk... no deafening music blaring or overly weird locals. And we had a good turnout with over half the field meeting up, plus a couple of non-participants.
However, the drinks were flowing at what felt like an elevated rate... and it definitely took its toll on a handful of us.
But not Billy! Fueled by enough 0.0s to give some concern... he shot what I believe is a personal best 37 (gross) on the front nine. Of course, the "Falcon" nine is where things get really dicey, and the ejection that followed was predicted by many. Still, his -4 (net) was good enough to win 1st prize in the Hangover side-pot — a bonus $49!
Right behind Billy was Topor, who is once again compiling a solid season. He earned a bonus $21 from the side-pot, and probably could have won the entire thing if he manned up and consumed just one more beer at the bar. Excellent play regardless, as one of the handful of people who shot better on Falcon than Osprey.
Reid and Chandler finished middle of the pack, with no real chance to win the event.
And perhaps understandably, the bottom of the leader board was chock-full of bar attendees: Dave, Buchert, Geoff, and Gary... each with too many blow-ups to earn any points.
Not pictured: Buchert
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Scepter was good. I still don't "like" the Falcon nine... but it isn't unfair. It was actually kind of fun making the turn knowing that carnage was waiting for the leaders.
The greens weren't as good as in years past. They were a little too slow today, but at least they were soft which made it slightly easier on approach. The O/F routing held its +2.5 median net score to par, making it one of the easier tracks on our list.
We'll probably wait a bit to return until the Ibis/Osprey routing is available. I can only imagine they'll desperately need our business in the future.
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We now have nine different winners this season, with only two events remaining. Billy has assumed the top spot only 67.5 points ahead of Melberg. Troy is lurking again, while Brendan, Topor and Reid are in position to possibly win their first ever season title.
We have a tough test coming up at Crescent Oaks, a course we haven't played in 2.5 years. It's a beast, playing +7.0 median net to par... and conditions are usually just "meh" at best. I actually picked it since we've been traveling pretty far from the nest lately, and we really should hit up the Trinity / East Lake area once in awhile... despite having one of the worst selections of courses in our rota: Wentworth, Lansbrook, Tarpon Woods, The Eagles, and even Fox Hollow appears to have fallen.
At least recent reviews of Crescent Oaks are promising. Is that reality? Probably not. But the best thing about this Club is all the different places we play. Even the turds.
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It looks like Adam is setting up a 7:30am final round at Cabot Citrus in two weeks. They have a "Florida Resident" special of $135+ (rack is $220+ at the moment). There will be 20 spots available, so update your RSVPs now. Any maybes are going to get booted fairly quickly.
Much more on this later, but now's your chance to see what all the hype is about... and why I think it kinda sucks.
