Throwback Thursday

Today’s Throwback Thursday goes back to Summer 2015 and the 7th Hangover Invitational. By that point we’d already arrived at the "homebody era" where actually showing up was widely regarded as an unreasonable personal burden.

After three Hangovers in South Tampa, two in Carrollwood, and one in Westchase, we daringly proposed going somewhat near original Member Reid. PJ Dolan’s in New Tampa was selected - and was quite fun.

However, Tampa received a heavy downpour that was more than Darren and Gary were willing to endure. Brendan’s wife’s car literally flooded in South Tampa, so he was out too. And Gorecki... more on that below.

Attending the no-longer-mandatory bar was Chandler, Dave, Reid, and their WAGs. Countryside flooded overnight, forcing us to pivot to a noon tee time at Esplanade… which resulted in more bailings and a six-man field.

But what caught my attention was this passage from the recap:

The competition to find the best excuse to stay at home was fierce... with Gorecki ultimately winning by sending a screen shot of a weather radar, while at the same time suggesting we go to TopGolf which would require him to drive 25 miles in the very storm he was afraid of.

2026 Rapture - "Live" Draft

• These are not the official team colors.
• The strokes shown are mostly accurate... mistakes happen at the bar.

 

 

2026 Rapture Draft Details

We're a little less organized this year — but that's what makes it "fun"! Right?

 

As previously mentioned, we are only booked (allegedly) at one course right now. The good news is there's a ton of options down there so we should be able to pivot if needed.

 

But for the sake of the draft, here are the three scorecards I expect us to play. Please note (someone tell Moostie since he doesn't read the blog)...

 

1) Gary and Troy will be playing forward this year.

 

2) There's a chance Troy might bail due to his injured back. If that happens, he'll be replaced with whomever we can find. I wouldn't count on ANY of our Alternates stepping up, but if needed it'll be a first-to-commit situation.

 

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Verandah - Whispering Oaks - Chapman

We're booked here Friday at either 1pm or 2pm. Not sure... they haven't confirmed yet. Anyway, we played here twice in the 2024 Rapture. Since your memories are shit — that's the one where Geoff beat Brendan in a sudden death playoff.

 

We are playing the No. 3 tees - with Gary/Troy on the 3/4 Combo tees.

 

Scorecard

Handicaps:

 

Player	Low Man	High Man
Ho	1.864
Dave	2.259	1.506
Melberg	2.325	1.550
Chandler	4.892	3.262
Faz	6.143	4.069
Troy	6.756	4.504
Moostie	6.999	4.666
Gary	8.197	5.464
Buchert	8.579	5.720
Geoff	8.843	5.895
John	9.896	6.598
Brendan		6.685

 

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Ibis Landing - Four-Ball 

I've never heard of this course... obviously never played it. Looks hard. Ho convinced me we should all move up since it's a par 71. 

 

It has good reviews online. Hopefully they'll put us on the tee sheet.

 

We're on the III tees.

 

Scorecard

Handicaps:

 

Player	PHCP
Ho	3
Dave	4
Melberg	4
Chandler	7
Faz	9
Moostie	10
Troy	12
Buchert	12
Geoff	13
Gary	14
John	14
Brendan	14

 

 

 

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Webbs Reserve - Singles

 

We'll find out in a couple of weeks if we can get on here. They didn't think it would be a problem. Brand new course inside the Babcock Ranch development. Greens should be quite firm.

 

Playing the III tees - with Gary/Troy on the III/IV combo tees.

Scorecard

 

Handicaps:

 

Player	PHCP
Ho	3
Dave	3
Melberg	3
Chandler	7
Faz	9
Troy	9
Moostie	10
Gary	11
Buchert	12
Geoff	12
John	14
Brendan	14

 

2026 Rapture Draft - Details

Draft will be Friday, September 4th. We're going to do it up in Westchase at Shindig... the previous generic Irish pub.

I'll be up there before 7pm. Whenever Tall Mike is a captain we're at the mercy of his availability, selection and pairings speed. So expect us to finish around the time the bar closes.

 

See some of you then! 

2026 Rapture Qualification and Registration

Here's the official qualification list for the 2026 Rapture. You have a week to decide if you're IN, which requires you to send $254

 

This amount includes the $50 buy-in. 

 

As for golf, I imagine $80 per round to be on the high-end side of the spectrum. So call it $450 overall.

 

October 8th - October 11th 

 

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(locked indexes shown) 

 

Tall Mike  (13.0)

Chandler  (9.8)

Dave  (5.8)

Gary  (17.2)

Troy  (14.9)

Faz  (11.7)

John  (17.4)

Geoff  (15.8)

Ho  (5.2)

Brendan  (17.6) 

Melberg  (5.9)

Buchert  (15.4) 

 

Alternates (in order) 

Marcus  (15.1) 

Billy  (16.3)

Gorecki (banned)  (27.3)

Danny  (27.5)

Adam  (8.2)

Crum   (18.3)

 

Officially Out

Topor  (20.8) 

Reid  (16.4)

Dan  (6.8) 

FBGC Masters - Summer 2026 Recap

Rosedale was great, as usual, and a very surprising value at $63! Less than they charged us two years ago! Conditions were solid - maybe a little damp and "juicy" in the fairways. Greens were slow but I thought that was a good thing with how undulated they were. Overall a great end to our season.

 

Dave had a very impressive 77 (gross), falling one short of a course record. Chandler fell up the leaderboard with a sneaky good back nine thanks to some elite level chipping. Buchert continues to ride a golf roller coaster as he bounces from DFL to contention week to week. Great to see him playing better.

Everyone else ranged from "meh" to Trunk Slamming.

 

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Obviously Marcus had the season wrapped up last week. So not much to play for on that front. But he's our 15th different Champion in 29 seasons! Congrats on an impressive stretch of golf!

 

Marcus - First of his Name, Summer 2026 Champion

 

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We now turn our attention to The Rapture, and the continuous nightmare that is getting Tall Mike to attend a draft. Speaking of... the same guy who I wouldn't trust to plan a nap thinks we should be taking 16 people to The Rapture instead of 12. My thoughts on this:

• Only 13 players had enough events to potentially qualify. Embarrassing.
• The overall idea was to leave people at home. Hence the qualification process. We're not running some participation trophy event.
• The houses don't have enough beds, so any increase results in people sleeping on the floor.
• I don't have 4 groups booked at the first course. Our tee time is "either 2pm or 3pm".
• Every ounce of my soul believes that if I agreed to this, one of you people would bail last minute and destroy the competition. For 16 people, we really need 20 people to give a shit. We don't have that.

In a separate post I'll list out everyone in qualification order. You'll need to send me monies for lodging and entry fee now (amount will be in that post). 

 

And if you're NOT qualified... and you would 100% attend... humor Tall Mike and say so in a comment. Maybe my understanding of current sentiment is incorrect!

The Moses

 How do we feel about Rapture logo'd gear?

 

Flashback Friday

In July 2014, we announced our plans for the first ever "Ryder Cup" style event. We were shooting for World Woods ($150 for the weekend). People were interested but there was a lot of initial excuses about the weekend proposed, and my fear that we couldn't get 12 people. Funny how things never change:

• Darren said he might not be able to make it because it was his birthday. Geoff replied: "...someone tell Darren he's not 12 and no one cares about his birthday. We can buy him a smash cake and a tiara if need be."
• Gorecki chimed in to say it was also around his birthday, and felt the need to tell us he celebrates for the entire month. Chandler said: "I'm glad Brie will never allow Gorecki to attend/ruin this event."
•  There was lots of suggestions as to how Captains should be selected. Chandler wanted to legitimize the "World Golf Rankings" and give those a purpose. Gary was helpful as usual: "I would pay a lot of money (entry fee) if the first Ryder Cup could be the "Chanamericans" vs the "Goreckipeans"!"
• We had to navigate around Brendan's wedding, and the birth of Geoff's and Reid's first kids (separate kids... not surrogate related). 
• Reid was one of the last people to commit... and then bailed last minute (along with C. Guest) forcing us to beg my father-in-law to go on the trip. Faz picked him over Tall Mike who had a bad back and broken hand. It didn't work out.  

2026 Rapture Location

It's been a bit of a nightmare booking this year... to the extent that I've had multiple locations booked, but never the full outing.

 

We've had some great Raptures up at Inverness, so I first looked there. Candler Hills was accommodating and would host us in the morning for $125+. But the crown jewel of the trip is Juliette Falls and their amazing wait staff. Unfortunately, the same manager that was begging us to play in 2019, now says we aren't big enough to book more than a few weeks out.

 

So I started looking down south at "Ft. Myers". I really wanted to go back to River Hall, where the Singles round was held in 2021. They're now fully private. Awesome.

 

I heard Babcock National is good, and fairly new. They laughed at me, told me how many members they now have, and said they "maybe could take us if we call four days out." Nope. Don't they know I have cats to heard?!?

 

Anyway I found two very large houses with pools down there, managed by the same guy that does not speak one lick of English. So I booked those. What could go wrong?

 

Then I got Verandah who hosted us in 2024. That guy likes us but unfortunately one of their courses is closed for renovations. So they'll have us on Friday, but we have to go out at 2pm. Here's hoping we finish the round! They also didn't reply to my request for a rate.

 

There's a course down there called Ibis Landing that gets great reviews. The Ass-Pro was super stoked, but said we had to call 10 days out, which will be before their members are allowed to book.

 

And finally there's a brand new course called Webbs Reserve, designed by Nicklaus... although I can't tell if that's the part of the company that sued him or not. No chance Jack has ever been there. Anyway they don't know how email works, and when I finally got someone they said they'll let me book a month out.

 

If you're still reading this... Rapture is October 8th - 11th down in Lehigh Acres. Courses aren't booked. Houses might be cool. Put it on your calendar. If you already know you aren't going, say so now. We'll need to dip into the alternate list.

Jamaican Open - Summer 2026 Recap

It was hot as Jamaica out at Reunion, but the course was nice and we avoided the always present danger of rain and thunderstorms.

Topor — fresh off a personal best round of 86 (gross) at Scepter — just needed to score points to stay in the title hunt. Of course, he melted in the heat, physically turning purple, and shot a now course record 111 (gross). He was surprisingly the only pitcher owed on the day.

Ho and Dave couldn't get anything going either, ending their seasons as well.

 

Which means we have a new Champion, Marcus, in his 4th season (2 years already!) with the Club. Congrats, and hopefully both you and Tall Mike show up next week (with the trophy).

 

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Big John was literally shanking and topping balls on the range yesterday morning... and then "figured something out" on the course. Golf is a funny game. He got his first victory since Spring 2025, snapping a 17 event losing stretch.

 

Brendan was right with him all day, as the two were 5+ clear of the field coming down the stretch. But as we typically see in FBGC events, the pressure of the final hole was too much to bear. I believe he missed a very short putt which would have tied for the victory. Alas, he's put together two great rounds in a row, just in time to become the Jack Reacher pick in the Rapture Draft.

 

Chandler (da ich bin!) had a very rare moment of chasing down the leaders... falling one stroke short when he barely missed a 12-foot birdie on the final hole. Not clutch.

 

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Reunion was great. Course was in very good shape, with only a few washed out bunkers to complain about. For as difficult as it was, I'm surprised we didn't owe more pitchers. Everyone I talked to after the round confirmed the $118.95 was definitely worth driving out to "Orlando."

 

The pre-paid rounds are difficult, especially when people attempt to violate signed contracts, but the Board will probably ban Gorecki from any prepaid rounds in the future. Hunter's Green is another one that's too good to ruin, so we'll definitely need to tighten up our invite list.

 

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This Sunday is our finals down at Rosedale. While you'd think it "doesn't mean anything," there's Rapture qualification on the line. Two people currently on the list are going to drop off due to not meeting the 10 event playing requirement. Nobody else is eligible to jump back on the list... so we're only going to have one person below the cut-line.

 

This means alternates are definitely in play. Which... maybe means Sunday really doesn't matter, since we can barely field a 12 person event!

 

Anyone who plays Rosedale, even those that didn't mean the 4 event threshold, will be in the tournament competing for money and points. See you then!

Throwback Thursday

Some fun facts from Spring 2014:

• Gorecki is the one who (sarcastically in comment) suggested calling our par-3 tournament the "Gorecki Memorial." We used that name for 4 years until he did something so astonishingly dumb we changed it to "The Concussion." Perhaps we should change the name of our final Major to "The Karen"
• In Tall Mike's FIRST SEASON, he:
• Overslept the Hangover, showed up on the 4th hole, and argued the entire time that we should allow him to play those holes after the round. He was DQd and would have been DFL anyway.
• Drove to the wrong Stoneybrook (Estero... 1.5 hours south of Bradenton), and somehow still got back to Bradenton in time for the final group.
• Our finals at Copperhead cost $115 for: ticket to Valspar, parking pass, round on Copperhead which we used at 8am.
• I asked the entire league for someone to fill the final spot in a Bay Hill trip. Two nights on property, two rounds on Bay Hill... $420 total.  Dan was the only person to even consider it.
• We failed to get a pic at Geoff's Golden Era Championship Dinner at Koto's. But we did get this one from TAPS afterward:

 

Jamaican Open - Summer Preview

Gorecki called Reunion (multiple times) and was very "pushy" (their words) with the Accounting Rep. He demanded a full refund, and was angry that it needed to be cleared by the Group Leader (me). I told them my preference was to deny the refund, but ultimately agreed when it was confirmed it wouldn't affect the rate for anyone else.

I'm going to assume Gorecki will get refunded, and Marcus is now OUT.

 

If anyone (including Marcus) wants to show up on Sunday, the pro shop will charge them something. Could be more, could be less. A real "who's to say" situation.

 

As for Gorecki... I hope the time spent crying on the phone and being rude to people was worth the $18.96.  I've removed $100 (thanks for the penny) from your Membership balance and cancelled the Venmo request.

 

Should there be any penalties for Gorecki sullying our group's reputation? Comment below! And smash the "like" and "subscribe" buttons! 

 

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Our Club has never played the Nicklaus at Reunion. It's historically considered the most difficult of the three courses.

 

Everyone is on the WHITE tees unless you tell me otherwise. Gary is on the WHITE/RED (which cost him 4 strokes!).

 

The Nicklaus Course is on the WEST side of the interstate... not at the main hotel. You still enter the same main gate, but be sure to follow the signs after that. It has its own range. Get there early! Hopefully we can get out early to help beat the rain.

 

See you Sunday! Don't forget to wear your Jamaican colors (colours?) if you're a traditionalist and love all things from the Golden Era of FBGC!

 

The Hangover - Summer 2026 Recap

We had an absolute epic battle this past weekend, which came down to the final hole! Dan nearly missed a hole-in-one, to tap in for birdie and a 1-shot lead over Andrea on the Black Course. The pressure got to her as she completely duffed her tee shot into a fairway greenside bunker. Stymied by a catch-basin and some strategic mounding, the packed gallery watched in astonishment as her birdie attempt scared the hole — but ultimately settled for a par.

 

Chandler and Reid finished T1 on the Black Course (-4), with Chandler also taking the top spot on the Red Course at +3.

 

A big thanks to the "others" who hosted a record 70% field-turnout!

 

Not pictured: two WAGs and one kid

 

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On Sunday we had another epic battle at Scepter, also reaching the final hole! Chandler (that's me!) made a classy two-putt par on 18, followed by Dan's short par-miss, to tie for the Hangover Pot. Both players had some bone-headed swings on the back nine, but still walked away $25 richer in Chandler Bucks!

 

Reid had the money in his hand until a triple bogey on 18 lifted his hopes, cleaned his dreams, and placed his chances further down the leader board.

 

Gary would have easily won the day, if not for a cinco and quad bogey on two par 5s. His even-par run from 10 through 15 was still impressive.

 

Back-Nine-Ho reared his ugly head again with a 37-45... but he did make an eagle!

 

Buchert looked like a man who has been gallivanting around the globe instead of working on his game. He hit every possible ball flight that can be applied to a golf ball.

 

At the other end of all the spectrums, somehow Gorecki tied Buchert at +17 (net), despite seemingly playing well! PopStroke unlocked something in his brain I've been telling him for years. If he could get off the tee (I can fix that too if he'd ever listen) he might find the winners circle!

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And finally, we have to discuss the rain-out that never was. I was literally soaking wet, standing in Gary's garage, watching Davis Islands flash flood, and listening to my parents (and multiple Member texts) exclaim: "it's raining!" Yes, I'm aware. 

 

But it wasn't raining in Sun City Center. And the largest cells appeared to be missing to the north and south. And the forecast showed it clearing up by 11am, only an hour after our scheduled tee time. 

 

I don't want to drive down to Sun City Center and get rained out. But I also don't want to spend additional time and effort scheduling an unnecessary make-up week. We need to err on the side of attempting to play. If Scepter was already flooded like Pinellas and Tampa... then we'd obviously cancel.

 

Did we get lucky? Or does Chandler actually know how to read a weather radar? The real answer is: it's irrelevant! 

 

Every event is at least 6 hours of our day that we've blocked off. If we get rained out... then we're still within that window. We can have a few beers and an early lunch. It changes nothing on the calendar.

 

Now... I'm well aware that for some of you... this may not be the case. The thought of hanging out with any number of the people on our roster is too painful. A rained out golf day — of which we've had maybe five in 31 seasons — isn't worth the time away from the nest.

 

Boy, do I have some good news for you! You all have personal agency!

 

As soon as you get in your car, YOU are deciding it's worth the attempt. Your actions are literally agreeing that we shouldn't cancel. If you truly felt otherwise, you'd stay home and laugh at those of us who "wasted" our Sunday morning.

 

And this applies well beyond a weather forecast. We've had sporadic outbreaks of Grumpy Boy Syndrome over the years among current, former, and perhaps soon-to-be-former Members.

If the tee time is too late. If the temperature is too hot. If the round might get rained out. If the course is too far away. If you don't like the pairings. If the greens fee is too expensive. If you're playing in a group behind Tall Mike. If you hate the course. If you're golfing against your family's wishes. 

 

Stay home.

 

Quarantine yourself for at least 15 days to stop the spread. Wash your groceries. Wash your clubs. Triple mask. Do whatever performative things stop you from feeling like someone is making you play golf.

 

Our penalty for bailing the morning of is laughably weak. Take advantage of it!

 

Gorecki said on Saturday that the league is dying. Reid replied the league will always exist as long as we have at least four people. As a two-time Champion in the Golden Era of FBGC, I wonder if that number is too high!

 

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The pace Sunday was amazing. Group 3 — with two players shooting +17 (net) — played in 3:29. This is vastly more impressive than Group 1 playing in 3 hours. They had 25% less people, and 33% less shots... and only played 14% faster?!? Embarrassing! Topor, Marcus and Ho are the new Group of Death. Unfortunately, those three along with Molasses Dave are going to jam up the course this weekend. 

 

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We're at Reunion this upcoming Sunday. Twelve spots have been prepaid ($118.95, which is far lower than Gorecki remembers). If you have to bail, good luck selling your spot.

 

It will probably rain on us. It rains every day in Orlando. So here's the rain policy from our contract:

• 3 or fewer holes played – rain check issues for full amount
• Hole 4 – 12 completed - 9-hole rain check to be validated for 6 months
• Hole 13 –18 completed - No credit

 

I'll post the scorecard in a bit. 

Hangover - Summer 2026 Preview?

 Long drive on #12.

 

Scepter's range is the old Falcon Watch range in the middle of the neighborhood. You can not take a golf cart to it. 

 

Looks like we're down to 10 players... not good when we initially booked 20. But because of the forecast, they'll probably just be happy if any of us show up.

 

Speaking of... we play in the rain if the course is open. So be prepared.

 

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I'll get to PopStroke around 6:30pm on Saturday for food and drinks. As of now the wife will be joining me. That could always change.

 

I'll see 3 of you there! 

FBGC Championship - Summer 2026 Recap

It was the Cellar's Revenge yesterday as our top three finishers all came from the unsupervised final group of the day. Moostie overcame a triple-bogey on the first hole, to shoot a -4 (net) and win for the second straight time at Hunter's Green.

 

Reid made a quad on two and still finished solo-2nd, his best finish since August of 2025. 

 

And Melberg opened with 8 straight pars, and set a new course record (76 gross) despite double bogeys on 9 and 18.

 

John did not do as well, probably because he tried to switch out of this group before the round!

 

Faz won the closest-to-pin for the 2nd time ever - netting him a healthy $14. 

 

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Everyone else was unimpressive. I highly doubt Ho's 13 stroke swing from front to back is a record, but it was his first official trunk-slam of the season.

 

Hunter's Green was in excellent shape, and the brutal heat went away for a couple of holes - before coming back - as we dodged all the rain.

 

It's by far the best value we're getting right now, so hopefully it continues. 

 

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With Gorecki bailing on Reunion, Marcus is now back in - a huge boost to his chances. Ho is in 2nd - but not really relevant with his low handicap and current mental state. Moostie is only playing one more event so he's basically OUT.  Dave is only playing two of the final three.

We could easily see Marcus win the season without scoring another point!

 

Reminder: anyone who doesn't play in 4 events BEFORE the finals can not be in the field for money or points. They're still welcome to play for fun down at Rosedale. This rule is going to apply to a bunch of people.

 

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This weekend is the Hangover - our season party. The "others" have picked PopStroke out in Wesley Chapel, which I believe will be our first visit to the area. Bring your wives... perhaps your kids? Maybe your putter?

 

Their food is decent, and I've hung out there a couple of times without even playing putt-putt.

 

Everyone who makes an appearance will be playing for the side-pot at Scepter on Sunday (9:56am).

 

Speaking of, I guess we're dropping the field down to 12 based on those who said they were in. I'll see some of you Saturday! 

Open spot this sunday

Topor had to bail due to a family emergency. If anyone wants to get back in or bring a friend, let me know. 

Reunion Hotel Option

My contact at Reunion has agreed to waive the 2-night minimum stay, allowing us to go the day before (August 8th). There's 4 beds in each villa, and the cost will be $82 per person for the night.

Here are the people who asked me about doing this:

 

Chandler (me!)

Gary

Geoff

Ho

Billy

 

Comment if you're interested in doing this, and if we get another villa filled I'll set it up.

 

Villa #2 - (need at least 3 people):

 

The Championship - Summer 2026 Preview

Long drive on #17

The most important TOUR on golf continues this Sunday, with a sprint to the finish.  No more breaks unless there is a rainout.

First up is The FBGC Championship - something we still need to rename. It's our 2nd Major of the season, and we'll be at the private Hunter's Green with an after-member start of 11:28am.

 

It'll be hot, but not as bad as recent weeks. It also looks to be dry, which is nice. Fort Brooke was founded in the boiling swamp of the Hillsborough Bay... so hydrate and soldier on.

 

Their greens were punched a couple of weeks ago and they've been closed that entire time. Hopefully that means it won't be so bad? We've seen a wide range of putting surfaces this year, and you'll need to adapt.

 

All 16 spots have been paid for.

 

Base tees are the WHITE... with allowance to move up to WHITE/GREEN if you're in the 55/25 club. Gary is moved up... Reid told me two weeks ago he wanted to move up... if any of that isn't correct let me know.

 

The course is fairly difficult with only a few under winning so far in our history.

 

See you Sunday.

Match Play - Summer 2026 Recap

We had a very hot and slow day yesterday. The 4.5 hour pace at 8am was set by some 2-man scramble tournament going on in front of us. I don't think I've ever played a fast round at Jovita on a weekend.

 

Aside from that... it was a pretty good day. Conditions - especially the greens - were the best I've seen in awhile out there. The course played very easy for some reason, with nearly half the field finishing under par (net).

 

Marcus got his 2nd victory of the season and is playing some very consistent golf at the moment. His driver is really good, and he avoided any huge numbers with only two double bogeys on the day. He now has a commanding lead, but will be missing at least one tournament coming down the stretch.

 

Gary finished one back, with his best tournament performance since January 2023 (where he also finished 2nd at Glen Lakes).

 

And we broke BOTH course scoring records, with Ho tying a personal best 72 (gross) on the North Course, and Gorecki shattering Danny's previous worst with a 121. Genius move by the Board to bend the rules for Gorecki and get us all two more pitchers of beer!

 

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Quick match-play notes:

 

- Gary's beatdown of Melberg (8&6) was not only Melberg's worst loss of his career... it was the first time he's ever been closed out before the final hole!

 

- Dan/Brendan had Dan winning 2&1 on their physical card... but they only had Brendan receiving 9 strokes (they didn't use the custom scorecards). Brendan actually got 10 strokes, and lost on the final hole!

 

- Watching Geoff make a 40+ foot putt on 18 to tie his match against Reid was cool. However, he didn't fist-pump like Reid would have.

 

- Ho handed Chandler (me!) his first match-play loss since February 2022 (ending a no loss streak of 12 events)!

 

That's about all I got. Great turnout at the grill afterwards!

 

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We're off this upcoming weekend for the British Open at Royal Birkdale. 

 

Fun fact... the last time The Open was played at Royal Birkdale was 2017. Ho, Greg, and Robbie were playing as guests to become FBGC Members.

 

On Sunday, we were rained out at Pebble Creek, and most of the field got sloppy drunk at the pub (Mulligan's) watching Jordan Spieth beat Matt Kuchar. We had such a great time, we made The Open a permanent bye-week on our calendar (this was actually John's suggestion).

 

A few times over the years we've met at bars or houses to watch, but like most things in life, it's impossible to capture the magic and spontaneity of our youth.

 

Enjoy the week off!

Match Play - Summer 2026 Preview

Long drive on #15 

 

Pairings have changed for the 3rd time... Big John "forgot" he was in.  Crum's guest pushes him and John to final group.

 

8am shotgun start at Lake Jovita North this Sunday. I'm waiting on Ho to officially tell us what holes we're starting on... but this is the first time we'll have Match Play in a shotgun. Which kinda changes the official final score, unless we just "start" every match on hole 1.

Overall it doesn't matter. Stroke on the holes the card says you stroke on. The same winner (or tie) will happen regardless.

 

Everyone is on the WHITE tees unless you tell me otherwise. The 55/25 can play the GREEN tees if they desire.

 

We should be fine missing any rain due to the early tee time. Here are the match-ups and strokes received:

 

Hole 1A 

Marcus

Topor (6)

 

Ho

Chandler (6)

Hole 1B

Geoff

Reid

 

Melberg

Gary (5)

Hole 18A

Dan

Brendan (10)

 

Troy (6)

Adam

 

 

Hole 18B 

Crum (1)

John

 

Ghost John

Gorecki (5)

 

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It doesn't seem like we're going to hit our minimums for Reunion (12). So go ahead and ask any friends if they want to fill spots. The Reunion spots are supposed to be pre-paid by Friday... and we only have 8 people signed up. Looks like the hole-in-one pot is about to be reduced by $1,000!

 

See you Sunday! 

Upcoming Pre-Paid Rounds

Both events are full at the moment. Everyone who was a maybe or didn't sign up is now OUT.

 

We have two rounds coming up where we need to bring a minimum number of golfers. If we fail to do that, any balance owed will come out of our Club funds. Unfortunately, that balance is only about $850... so we could end up dipping into the hole-in-one pot!

August 9th - Reunion (Nicklaus) - Need 12 people minimum - July 10th deadline to pay

 

Go to this link: Reunion Deposit Payment

 

Group Name: Chandler Brown Golf Group Aug 2026

 

Arrival date: 08/09/2026 

 

Deposit amount:  $118.95

 

Pay with your credit card and then let me know you've done so for my records.

 

Signed up so far:

 

Chandler

Ho

Topor  

Geoff 

Gary

John

Brendan 

Gorecki 

Dave

Billy 

Reid 

Tom (guest) 

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July 26 - Hunter's Green - Need 16 people minimum

 

Event is now full.

 

Get on it. Nicer courses come with more hoops to jump through. If we'd rather have the flexibility to bail last minute with no consequence... then we can do an entire season at Southport Springs. Doesn't matter to me. I just like to golf and compete.

The Concussion - Summer 2026 Recap

It was a pretty good day of competition yesterday at a bombed out and depleted Southport Springs. Seven players were within 3 strokes of the winner! That's a lot of people who feel like they could have won.

 

And everyone probably left at least 3 strokes out there due to a few unfortunate green bounces. So I guess it all evens out and the right guy won.

 

I'd tell you more about his round but he's already done that.

 

As for conditions, a few people said I over-sold the shittiness. Some said I was pretty accurate. Nobody said it was worse than expected... which is good. Geoff had a valid point: playing lift-clean-place everywhere definitely made it less noticeable.

 

And we still had a ton of birdies (and an eagle) which is fun. 

 

We'll try SPS again in 3 years, as it is the correct amount of "quirky" for this tournament.

 

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We're off for 4th of July this weekend. Next weekend is Match Play at Jovita North... an 8am shotgun start. We'll be grouped by standings the rest of the way, so check the event sheet to see who you're playing as people inevitably bail.

 

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A few schedule updates:

• Have you put the Rapture on your calendar yet? October 8th - 11th?
• Are we even going to get 12 players to qualify?
• Only 7 players have sent me money ($80) for the July 26th round at Hunter's Green (11:30am).
• This is one of the best deals in town, and we have to bring 16 players. Very soon I'm going to start filling the sheet with outsiders. I've put a few paid posts on golf architecture message boards, looking for replacements for some of you people.
• I've somehow talked Reunion into honoring our rate ($119) for 12 players on August 9th (Jamaican Open). I'll be posting a link for that soon... and anyone attending needs to pre-pay by July 9th.
• We can add up to 16 players depending on how fast people pre-pay. 

The season standings are tighter than usual at this point of the schedule. 

The Concussion - Summer 2026

This event is more and more starting to resemble its founder.

 

Long drive on #18

 

Annoying things to note:

• #7 is a par 4. It'll say par 5 on the scorecard. That is incorrect according to GHIN (and our app), so we're playing it as a par 4. 

• GameBook has the nines reversed. But I have every group starting on #10 (within the app... we're still physically starting on #1), so you shouldn't have an issue in the app. 

• According to this post - our Fall of 2020 Board Meeting unanimously established that a "greenie" can't be a 3+ putt.

• There is no range on Sunday - only two shitty nets near the first tee.

• We're playing the WHITE tees.

• The grill is not open on Sundays.

• Beers are somewhat cheap, but only available in the pro-shop. 

Reunion Golf

Reunion is offering us $119 (all in) for the Jamaican Open (August 9th) - starting at 10:20am on the Nicklaus course. It's the same deal they offered us last year, which I turned down for being too expensive.

Now a year has passed. What do we think, chat?

Any appetite for this?

Concussion Time Change

Southport Springs is in rough shape. Slow, fuzzy greens… with a bunch of dead spots. Fairways are the same.

But the scout team voted to just keep it booked since Countryway and The Groves are reporting similar conditions. 

We are going to play lift-clean-place everywhere.

We also moved the tee times up to 7:45am. There’s no range… so let’s get in and out faster.

If you’re someone who can’t handle shit conditions, I’d recommend you skipping next week.

Throwback Thursday

Spring 2013 Hangover Party - April 5th - TAPS (downtown Tampa)

Drinking mind-erasers.

 

FBGC Open - Summer 2026 Recap

Didn't we rename this thing?

 

Anyway, Waterlefe is an amazing course. It's a fun and interesting layout that really elevates players who are hitting it well. Any non-committed, scared swings are penalized heavily.

 

Unfortunately the greens still hadn't recovered a month after being punched. This is not normal, and it's clear they haven't been watering for whatever reason. The rest of the course was in great shape, and some of the rough was surprisingly juicy.

 

So who hit the ball the best? I watched a handful of Marcus' tee shots and he was striping it. With only three "blow-ups", he was able to win comfortably as the only player in red-net figures. Three birdies on the day is impressive! Marcus now has two career wins — both Major victories — and jumps to the top of our standings.

 

Billy made par on the final three holes... which is also very impressive... and high-fived Dave as he passed him on the leader board.

 

Everyone else isn't worth talking about, but here are some odds and ends:

• At most places, if you're in the clubhouse first, you can watch yourself move up the leader board. This is very true at Waterlefe with a daunting finishing stretch. This week we saw Chandler (that's me!) move up the leader board long after the round was over... because some idiot in his group (also me!) didn't give him credit for his birdie on 17 in the app.
• The par-3 15th at Waterlefe is the closest we'll ever see to the par-3 12th at Augusta. This is not a joke. In fact, it's probably more penal because the surrounds are tighter and the green is more severely sloped. We had one birdie (Geoff) and two pars (Chandler, Ho). Everyone else made a double-bogey or worse!
• It's very difficult to win at Waterlefe with a double or worse on the first hole. Geoff made a 9 on it and won by a stroke back in 2013! Buchert did it again in 2022! But most people who eject on this hole are done for the day. 

We're off for Father's Day weekend. Southport Springs will host our next event in two weeks. See you then! 

FBGC Open - Summer 2026 Preview

Long drive #12 (par 4)

 

First tee time is 10:12am.

  

Not much new to say about Waterlefe. This will be our 10th official event on the course, placing it only behind Southern Hills (17) and Countryway (13).

 

Everyone fears this course, but it's actually rated slightly easier than average in terms of difficulty (+4 median net to par). Wide fairways and sizeable greens help lower the scores.

 

9 of the 13 winners at Waterlefe have a first name that starts with "C".  So Faz with his inflated handicap should win Sunday.

 

See you then. 

Random Club History - 2012

On June 29th, 2012... Gorecki beat his dad in golf - straight up - for the first time in his life (35 years old at the time). He did this in an exhibition match at Legacy Golf Club (now part of Lakewood Ranch G&CC) with a score of 100 - 107. We were practicing for our first ever Major, played at Southern Hills the next day.

Geoff and I were lucky enough to witness this touching moment of Father/Son history.

Three weeks later on July 21st, we played the first (of only three) "Just the Tips" tournaments. It was a back-to-back tournament weekend due to a rainout. Only four people showed up. There were no greenies or sandies earned. Northdale was playing 6,824... and this leader board was amazing:

No, we will not be bringing this event back.  

The very next day we played a soggy TPC Tampa, which resulted in Gorecki's first ever victory and this gem of an excerpt from the write-up:

Everyone played like crap with the exhausting conditions, except Gorecki who shot one over his handicap to earn his first victory of the season.

Of course... he cheated all day... pairing himself with the Clique-o-Ballics, who couldn't watch him while they were constantly hunting for Dino's wayward drives. After we caught Gorecki hitting a mulligan on the first tee, he responded: "I'm not in your group, so I don't have to play by your rules." Commissioner Geoff pointed out: "You also don't have to win our money."

Skins Game - Summer 2026 Recap

As predicted in the weekly preview, Topor won at Seminole Lake this past weekend, with an impressive 44 (gross) on the front, followed by typical Topor-Ball on the back. He and Marcus had a double-bogey-party on the final stretch, with Topor's par on the difficult 16th proving to be the difference.

 

Other stats of note:

• Faz going 4 - 10 - 4 on the par-5 stretch on the back. He also hit 7 balls OB on the day which is probably a record for him.
• Gary making 6 pars in the final 7 holes on the front... only to implode with a 53 on the back (draining a long putt for birdie on 18 to avoid a pitcher).
•  Geoff with three sandies on the day.
• Dave did this back in 2022
• Buffalo Ben had 4 at the old Stoneybrook back in 2013
• Chandler (that's me!) hit all 14 fairways 

The rest of you were not noteworthy.

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

 

Seminole Lake had probably the best conditions we've seen in a long while. Great fairways, rough, and greens. The first group waited on every shot and still played in 3:52. Somehow, Tall Mike's threesome kept up! 

 

It sucks that they increased our rate 23%+ over last year... but at least it seems they're putting it back into the course?

 

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We play our first Major of the season next Sunday at Waterlefe. Tee time is 10:12am (allegedly after their members).

 

They only increased their rates 13% on us year-over-year.  I don't think range balls are included. We might be at the point where it's too expensive to warm up anyway. 

Season Updates & Rapture Dates

Long drive Sunday is #5 

 

Everyone is on WHITE tees unless they want to move back:

 

 

 

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Week 3 (Waterlefe) and Week 4 (Southport Springs) are booked and officially capped at the first 16 to RSVP.

 

Week 5 (Jovita) has 24 spots reserved, I believe.

 

Week 6 (Hunter's Green) is capped at the first 16 people to send me $80. There's a slight chance we can go to 20 people.

 

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It's been a nightmare booking Week 3. The Rapture hasn't been much better.

 

Dates are October 8th to October 11th. Anyone who tells me later the dates weren't published will be sent a passive-aggressive screenshot of this post.

 

We are only taking 12 players. 

 

I have Candler Hills reserved for the Saturday round.  Juliette Falls won't let us book until 2 weeks out... so not sure how that'll work. The same manager chick was sending me emails in 2019 begging us to come back!

 

AirBnB options aren't great. I'll probably book us in Inverness again (40 min away from courses) just because those were decent setups (nice, many beds, pools) and the town actually has bars.  Black Diamond wants $350+ per person to play.

 

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Speaking of greens fees, they've been a hot issue since the foundation of our Club. Our technology upgrade project has me going through old seasons, and I've been re-reading old posts. This one was our announcement of the new stroke play era, where I wrote:

"As I complained to co-founder Geoff regarding the incessant whining about tee times, greens fees, availability, locations, handicaps, etc... it dawned on me that we didn't really need anyone else..."

Here's a list of all our after-tax greens fees when that post was written (2012):
 

Heritage Harbor - $19

Northdale - $22

Bloomingdale - $24 

Summerfield - $26

The Eagles - $27

Bardmoor - $27

Crescent Oaks - $29 

Cypress Creek - $32

Heritage Isles - $33

Dunedin CC - $34

Pebble Creek - $36

Diamond Hill - $37

World Woods - $48

For context, $35 back then is about $52 now, adjusted for inflation.

See you Sunday!

Skins Game - Summer 2026 Preview

We're playing the best public-access option in Pinellas on Sunday, a 10:30am start at Seminole Lake. It's a solid old-school Florida layout... pretty flat with pushed up greens and lots of bunkering. Built in 1962 by Chic Adams who also designed Diamond Hill — a property and layout that couldn't be any more different.

 

Unfortunately, Seminole Lake is in high demand so there are no deals to be had and we have to go out after their members. Such is the state of golf at the moment.

 

It looks like mid to high handicaps excel here, as the firm greens rack up strokes for everyone at an equal clip. Gorecki won last year by 5 strokes (he was getting 27). This makes Topor the early betting favorite if he can play smart, avoid the numerous lakes and OB boundaries, and not physically overheat.

 

The weather looks dry and hopefully overcast.

 

We're going out in order of Skins Handicap this week, with guests sprinkled in as needed.

 

See you Sunday. 

Summer 2026 - Week 1 Summary

Oh boy. I'm not sure what to say about yesterday's tournament at the new "Saddlebrook National." The course is in great shape. The deal we got was amazing. The weather was warm and sticky but the wind wasn't blowing very hard.

 

And yet everyone played terrible.

 

We should have had a few people under par, yet Dave won with a +1 (net). Dave rightly pointed out that most of the course favored a player who fades the ball, which Dave isn't.

 

Danny set the course high record (with Geoff) and still finished T2 (with Faz). He was the only person to par the 14th hole, and also managed to make two 10s (we should up the +5 max!).

 

It's not a "fun" course. The routing is a disaster. But John reminded me par is a social construct so I'm not even going to complain about some of the scorecard decisions.

 

We should go back every season while prices are reasonable.

 

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Next week is 10:30am start at Seminole Lake. We had 20 spots reserved... I dropped that to 16... and now it looks like we only have 12 players attending. Not good!

I grabbed a couple of Ho's buddies to fill out our roster, but please invite others so we don't look like a bunch of chumps who can't fill out a tee sheet.

 

We might have to reduce the Rapture to 8 people! 

PGA Frisco - Fields Ranch East

In 2023, the PGA of America moved its headquarters to Frisco, TX after spending nearly 60 years located in Palm Beach, Florida. Keep in mind the "PGA" is NOT the "PGA TOUR"... rather it's the entity that oversees the Club Pros that fold your shirts and give lessons. They also run the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.

The East course was designed by Gil Hanse, and built specifically to host Major championships, becoming the final anchor location for the "Five Families" of golf:

The R&A - St. Andrews Old Course
The Masters - Augusta National
The USGA - Pinehurst #2
PGA TOUR - TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)
PGA of America - Fields Ranch (East)

Before Fields Ranch East even opened it was awarded the:

2023 and 2029 Senior PGA Championship
2025 and 2031 Women's PGA Championship
2027 and 2034 PGA Championship

And I fully expect a Ryder Cup to go there at some point (probably 2039).

 

So how was it? Pretty awesome!

 

It's a big-boy course that's listed at 7,860 for the Championship, and can easily be stretched beyond 8,000 (however, no Major is ready to be the first to officially do that, as it'll drum up more ball rollback debate). Their "signature hole" (I disagree with that assessment) is a par three that plays straight uphill into the prevailing wind... and is 269 on the card!

 

The 13th is back there somewhere.

  

The wind is brutal in this part of Texas, and we had a full weekend of constant 20+ mph sustained. The greens were surprisingly small, and work is already being done to soften the edges to add more pin-able areas. 

 

Not pin-able.

 

Caddies told me Scottie Scheffler bullied the course into adding a new teebox on 18 because he didn't like the angle (there's nothing wrong with the angle, he's a grumpy man-child). 

Bryson DeChambeau (another man-child) apparently walked off the course during a practice round after 11 holes because the teeboxes "weren't level" - a trick that Chambers Bay also used.

 

Those complaints make me even more excited for the tournament next year. When TPC Sawgrass opened, the pros immediately tried to have it banned after one event. Now it's regarded as a challenging masterpiece. Will Fields Ranch East be seen in the same light 40 years from now? Probably not. But there are a lot of great holes out there.

 

It's like one of those movies where the more you think about it... the better it gets. 

 

With thick fescue waste areas, they can make this course incredibly difficult.

  

The entire resort complex (and Omni hotel) was pretty nice as well. Logistically one of the worst run places we've been to (although not nearly as bad as Southern Pines), but you can see the potential. There's a massive putting and par-3 course that's lit until midnight, and plenty of places to get food and drinks. You really don't have to leave the resort.

 

From the hotel... 18th green in the center... 10th tee on the right.

Their other course on property was decent with even more land movement, but that was our windiest day and everyone was just trying to survive. I'm not sure we were able to fully appreciate it.

 

Bottom line... very enjoyable location and experience. Don't get caught up in the course/set-up discourse next year at the PGA Championship. It's a great test of golf. It's not unfair. And if scores are low it's because the PGA of America chickened out.