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:
-------------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------------
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!
