Winter 2025 - Board Meeting Recap

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. 

Winter 2024 Board Meeting

One of the most important skills a Board Member can have, is the ability to say "no" to everything proposed. With that in mind, we have one of the best Boards around! Here are the meeting notes:

- Topor was reinstated with a 5-0 vote. Welcome back, Big Fella. However, the Board would like to see an official notarized doctors note explaining your absence. There seemed to be a lot of Disney trips while you were "injured."

- Marcus passed the initial Board vote 5-0. He will now move on to a Club vote, where he needs 75% approval. Good luck to him, considering two Board Members said: "who's Marcus?"

- Twice (due to rainouts) we shuffled the schedule around and the final event was the Jamaican Open. The reasoning was the more expensive and "better" course should still be used for the FBGC Masters. The Board approved 5-0 that the final event should always be our last Major, regardless of course.

- The Board voted 4-1 to suspend the collection of Club money for the upcoming season (Reid voted to keep filling the coffers). We currently have a Club balance of $1,018... and beyond a few plates for the Moses, there are no expenses on the horizon. This means winners will receive more money next season, as only the Hole-in-One fee will be charged. Going forward we will decide before each season if we're going to collect rake.

- We spent almost a full hour debating how to handle found balls after the 3-minute hunt. This happened twice in the Rapture (once for each team), and both times the player was allowed to play the found ball, because it was way further up in an un-searched area.

 

Dozens of real-life scenarios were presented. Just recently, Geoff hit a ball into a tree... hunted for 3 minutes... dropped and hit from the base of the tree (with penalty)... and then we found his original ball up by the green in the middle of the fairway! All of our common sense reactions were: "of course he should play the original ball, because nobody thought to look 100+ yards ahead!"

Unfortunately, then we got into what happens in the same scenario if Geoff takes his drop (with penalty), duffs it a few times... and then finds his original ball in the rough by the tree? Does he get to un-do all those duffs? Isn't that the same as still hunting? Does it matter that the original ball was found in the general vicinity of the hunt... or are we only more lenient if it's found further up during normal advancement? We couldn't come up with a solid, easy to understand rule.

So with a 4-1 vote, lost balls not near OB will be handled like the USGA intended (Faz voted against). After your 3-minute search, you must drop and play a ball with penalty. Once that ball is dropped, that's your ball. It does not matter if you find your original ball - with the only exception of finding your original ball in the hole. 

We'll see how this more strict enforcement goes for two seasons, and then revisit next Winter meeting.

- Ho wanted a free "gallery drop" if you can't find your ball, and the group is certain it is not OB. This has been addressed multiple times, most recently in the 2023 Winter meeting. The Board denied it 0-5, with someone saying: "that's just cheating."

- Melberg wants the Rapture playoff to be a 3-hole aggregate instead of sudden death. The board approved 4-1 (Chandler voted no) to do so if the course allows. If it's still tied after 3 holes, then we'll go to sudden death. If the course doesn't allow any of this... then we'll probably just call it a tie. The one thing everyone agreed was any type of chip-off etc. was super lame and nothing we're interested in.

- JW was denied 1-4 to abolish the "Pitcher Rule"

- JW was denied 1-4 to get rid of stroke limits (aka: +5 max)

- Billy wanted to buy shared apps instead of pitchers. This was denied 0-5. The feeling was the Pitcher Rule is a specific punishment - not a reward - for everyone. Even if you don't/can't drink... the rest of us are punishing ourselves very slowly with every sip of beer. Please play better so we stop damaging our bodies.

- Brendan wanted to have a 2-man best ball event. This was denied 0-5. The logistics of needing an even number of players that is divisible by 4 doesn't make sense. That's what the off-season is for. Faz was quoted "The current league exists because we tried a year of 2-man teams and it failed miserably." John was quoted: "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

- Gorecki wanted to award money to the winner of the Skins stroke-play. He literally asked for this in Winter of 2019, and again in Winter of 2021. Both times it failed 0-5. Well... it just failed 0-5 again. John was quoted: "This is now the dumbest thing I've ever heard." The Board looks forward to Gorecki asking a 4th time for this in the near future.

- Gorecki wants people to play forward tees based on their perceived driver distance. This was rejected 0-5. The feeling is we already go above and beyond to consider forced carries for the meek and feeble among us. 

 

Other leagues would laugh at how short our "base tees" are - an average of 6,096 in our history (ignoring Concussion set-ups). And 55/25 guys are playing around 5,800 (sometimes as short as 5,400)! We literally can't embrace the "tee-it-forward" initiative any more than we already do. Please let the Commish know if you ever feel tees are unfairly too long.

- Gorecki wants some additional penalties for WDs the day before an event. He also asked for this in the Winter 2022 meeting. This was rejected 0-5. There are already penalties in place for bailing the day of.

- Dan wants an official 3-club challenge event. It was rejected 0-5 with Faz saying: "are you kidding me?" Reid saying: "What is this, LIV golf?" and John saying: "Holy shit this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"

- Dan wants to get rid of Club Credit and have cash payouts. Gorecki also asked for this in Winter 2021. This was rejected 0-5. Faz wants everyone to be reminded we used to do this and nobody would bring cash. Then in Summer 2022 (week 6) we had Dan pay the winners in cash, and he never did so again. The Board is questioning why Members are trying to make someone (who isn't them) do more work?

- Dan wants all 3-putts to incur a financial penalty. He also asked for this in Summer 2022. It was rejected 0-5.

- Dan wants closest to pin contests on all 18 holes. It was rejected 0-5. 

The Board would like to point out that you people do a shit job paying the few trash bets we track.

- Dan wants beers to be owed if anyone (mainly JW) WDs during the round. This was rejected 0-5. There's already a pitcher penalty for WDs.

- JW was then denied 1-4 to abolish all WD penalties.

That's it! Enjoy the rest of the off season and we'll start back up in early January.

Summer 2024 - Board Meeting

Notes from last night's Board Meeting. Remember, we can't change "playing rules" in the Summer... but we try to tackle any administrative issues that arise.

Increase Greenies, Sandies, Long Drives, etc

It's been brought up a few times (from Dan specifically) to increase the "payouts" of our Gambling Rules G2 through G5. This was rejected 0-5 by the Board. The feeling is the money wasn't ever really the point, and the payouts are inflation-proof... much like boobs at a strip club ($1 since the beginning of time!).

 

We also don't support the redistribution of wealth from Dave to Ho... which is what would happen if we increased the Long Drive payment.

 

Pitcher Issues

The board formalized (5-0) that a "pitcher" is one of three things:

• A standard pitcher of beer as sold at most bars
• Four 16-oz pints (or 16-oz cans)
• Five 12-oz cans/bottles, typically referred to as a "bucket."

Any one of these three things can lower your balance at the designated hang-out spot after any event, or at the Hangover season party.

 

We also recognize that sometimes you can't stick around after golf, and want to hoard your pitchers until a time you are available. The board is allowing a 2 pitcher balance for this purpose. If your balance is higher than two pitchers at the time of the Hangover season party, the Board reserves the right to purchase drinks on your behalf (at $20 per pitcher owed above 2 pitchers... or the cost of pitchers at the location of the party... whichever is greater) to serve to the Members in attendance. This payment will come out of your Club Credit balance.

Speaking of Club Credit...

Season Payments

Chandler wanted to collect TWO seasons worth of dues ($270) at the beginning of each calendar year. This would eliminate extra transactions before the Summer Season.

This was rejected 2-3 with only John siding with Dear Leader. As a result, expect Dear Leader to get snarkier at those who are slow to pay. Like Crum... who still owes Summer Dues ($94). We patiently await word from his wife if he'll be allowed to play this season!

Negative Pitchers

We needed another pitcher last weekend, and Ho agreed to buy one if he could get a negative pitcher on the Deadbeat List. Our Chairman (hey, that's me!) thought it was funny and agreed.

That did NOT go over well with the Board last night. They immediately censured Chandler and his decision to allow it. And John sent money to Ho to erase his own pitcher debt, as well as Ho's future debt.

So... I guess it was a 1-4 vote, rejecting the existence of "negative pitchers." Any pitchers purchased by Members who do not owe any, will be done so out of the kindness of their heart, and desire to hang out with their friends.

I haven't seen JW this upset since we contemplated mandatory ball marking. 

Review of The Great Slow Play Penalty

Last season's group of death — Gary, Gorecki, Dave and Brendan — were "penalized" the following event, and placed in the final group. Only Dave attended the event, so the "penalty" was symbolic at best.

At the time, Faz was the only Board Member to vote against it, saying it felt like we were making mid-season rule changes. Chandler, on the right side of history, argued it wasn't a rule change, but within the Board's powers to punish conduct unbecoming of a Member. The same way we would deal with cheating, violence, and Ho's excessive talking during play.

Last night we officially expanded The Board's power, voting 5-0 to impose any penalty we see fit, for any action we deem violates Rule 14. Penalties would still require the standard 4/5ths vote by the Board.

First Place Ties

Reid wants to get rid of ties for first place. JW agreed, suggesting that we use the scorecard comparison of final 9-6-3-1 holes on the back nine to determine a winner (as "suggested" by the USGA). This was rejected 2-3.

The feeling of those voting against: while ties for first place are lame... scorecard "count-backs" are even more lame. Only a true sudden-death playoff is in the spirit of the game, and those aren't feasible due to course rules, availability, and the potential of forcing someone from Group A to wait around for Group E to know if a playoff is happening.

It was a lively debate. So if any Members want to join in on the discussion, let your thoughts be known.

Nonsense

John motioned to kick out all Mikes and Daves. This was rejected 1-4.

2023 Winter Board Meeting Notes

Here's what was discussed in the first meeting of the new Board:

Rule 8.2

 

Per Buchert's request, we discussed (for a long time) what happened at Lake Jovita (South) between holes 2 and 3... specifically in regards to Rule 8.2.

 

Quick recap:

• Ball was "lost" in a collection of trees with overgrown grass between holes 2 and 3.
• No OB or Hazard lines anywhere near this location.
• No bushes in the area, so the ball was legitimately lost in the tall grass.

Board determination:

 
A one-stroke penalty definitely applies here, but where the drop happened was a subject of debate. We settled on letting the group deem the overgrown grass to be a "hazard," and allowing the player to drop outside of that area. The same way you would if a ball was presumably lost in a large palmetto bush. Be sure to keep your search to 3 minutes or less.

As with most rulings, it's up to the group to use common sense.

We also want to remind everyone there isn't a "free drop" rule for a lost ball. But we brought up two situations that have happened during our 12+ years as a Club:

• Ball landing in flooded fairway and getting swallowed up by the Earth.
• Ball running into a flooded bunker. The ball can't be seen but everyone knows it's in there somewhere.

In these two situations, a "free drop" would be given under the USGA's "casual water" rule. We just aren't going to make you wade into the water to identify the ball if the group is in agreement of the ball location.

I'm sure something will come up down the road that'll test our determination, but Rule 8.2 has been updated and Rule 8.3 has been added for clarity.

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Chandler asked the Board to review the path for new Membership. It currently takes well over a year for someone to join, and we want to make sure that is fair and reasonable. The Board decided not to change any of the requirements: 8 events in a two season span... followed by Board vote... followed by general vote.

We shouldn't fill spots just for the sake of filling them. But if a new person wants in, we need current Members to take an active role in the vetting process. And we definitely need sponsors to start acting like actual sponsors.

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Reid brought up mandating all Members to put a personal and unique mark on their golf balls. He thinks it would help in with any confusion while searching for lost balls. While this is true, the Board decided a mandate wasn't warranted. We do highly recommend you all start doing this.

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Finally, Chandler is tired of planning the Hangover bar night (aka: our season party) only to have elitists like Faz complain incessantly. So we're going to try something new, and break our Club into three different "brigades" based on location. Feel free to submit an official name for your group:

1 - "Tampa" - Chandler, Billy, Gary, Danny, Crum, JW, John, Faz

2 - "Westchase" - Dave, Brendan, Moostie, Buchert, Gorecki, Melberg, Casey, Troy

3 - "Lutz" - Geoff, Dan, Topor, Reid, Adam, Ho

The idea is to take turns rotating and picking the bar location. How you all do this, and to what degree you plan, is up to each group. I'm fully aware this idea is kinda lame. But the goal is to increase engagement and ownership of the social aspects of the Club.

The "Tampa" brigade will plan the upcoming season party.

 

Board Meeting - Summer 2023 Recap

The Board Meeting on Tuesday was uneventful, other than us placing 2nd at trivia. Congrats on electing Club leadership who knows a lot of dumb shit.

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Geoff proposed that Long Drives need to be "validated" with a par or better on the hole, much like we validate Greenies. This was rejected 1-4. 

 

The thought was that validating greenies with a 2-putt proves your approach was close enough for a reward of par (or birdie). If you're the only guy on the green but are 40 feet away from the hole... do you really deserve the money? Sure... if you 2-putt. It also adds a little bit of pressure and excitement.

But on long drive holes, we're already somewhat "validating" a well-struck tee ball with the fairway requirement. Too many unrelated things can happen after that (especially on par-5s) which have nothing to do with where you positioned your ball off the tee. There isn't much added "pressure" as you continue to traverse the hole until possibly the final putt. At which point most of you probably wouldn't remember who was in the fairway, or the longest.

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I was asked to post yet another reminder that the 2-stroke option for going OB is a last resort option. If you hit a ball near OB, you need to hit a provisional. If your playing partners tell you they think you're OB... you need to hit a provisional.

 

And no, you can't drop your ball in the fairway for 2-strokes.

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I tried to get us on Seminole Lake this week but they couldn't make that happen until after 1pm. And after this week they're ripping up all their greens and using temporary ones. While this would be good for Gorecki to make his 2nd ever "eagle," it's not an option for our Club this season. Some day we will get back out there, but they are one of the more difficult Clubs to work with.

 

The Board is considering hosting The Concussion from a full-sized course this year, but from the front men's rated tees. Not sure if we're really going to do it... but we're trying to find good options outside of Countryway and The Groves. Maybe Freedom Fairways is due for another visit? 

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Three people still have outstanding dues. Just a reminder you need to settle up to earn points on Sunday. See you then.

2022 Winter Board Meeting Notes

The improvement of our Club continues!

 

Let's start with my favorite topic... things we rejected:

• Buchert suggested the ability to raise (and I assume lower) handicaps based on the perceived playing ability of a Member. This was rejected 0-5. 
• Technically, the Handicap Committee (which is the Board in our case) has the ability to do this under USGA Rules of Handicapping 7.1. But that's typically reserved for injuries. And you people are only mentally injured.
  

• Buchert suggested "gimmies" after "good shots," which he claims happens "one or two times per round." This was rejected 1-4, with John voting in favor.
• Faz doubted the frequency of these alleged "good shots," while Chandler argued the best part of hitting a "good shot" to "a couple of inches" was slowly walking up and taking your time tapping it in as a way to troll your playing partners.

• Gorecki wanted more random pairings, outside of the 3 we have in our first four weeks. This was rejected 0-5.
• While not the worst idea we've ever heard, the Board didn't feel like a change was needed.

• Gorecki wanted to add a rule for bailing, which historically has been called "Gorecki-ing." This failed 0-5.
• Faz wants Gorecki to name courses we are missing out on due to un-signed contracts. Chandler already explained on a previous post how this rarely comes up. Chandler also reiterated that if any Member costs the Club money — for any reason — we will recoup it.

• Melberg wants to scrap all handicaps and just play straight-up from different tee boxes, based on your Index. This failed 0-5.

Here are the changes we've implemented:

•  Buchert wants the defending Champion to pick his tee time. This was approved 4-1, with Chandler dissenting.
• We're going to allow the defending Champ's preference for the first three (non Skins) events of the season. Pairings will still be random, and if you're in the Champ's group, you'll go out when they desire. Skins Game will continue to pair by Index, allowing the better (and faster) players to go out first.
  

• A new Cash-Out policy was approved 5-0. Starting immediately, you can request Dear Leader to send you any balance above two seasons worth of dues during the winter off-season. Currently that number would be $270.
• Coincidentally, we realized Geoff had a balance of $271. He immediately made a request, and was paid in full.

Physical cash payouts are at the discretion of Dear Leader.

 

 Changes to the Rapture (all of these approved 5-0):

•  Handicap Indexes used at the Rapture will lock at the end of the Summer season.
• This will disincentivize any manipulating of Indexes, and hopefully allow people to focus on improving before the event.

• The Rapture Draft will be held ASAP after the end of the Summer season.

• Rapture qualifying — including Captain qualifying — will now lock at the end of the Summer season (previously locked after Summer Week 3).
• World Golf Rankings will still be used, which is based on a rolling 18 events.

These are some pretty big changes to our premier event.

Enjoy the off-season, and I'll see you at the next BGR event!

Summer 2022 Board Meeting

Probably the quickest meeting we've ever had, which should be expected since the Club is basically perfect.

But we implemented a couple of big changes... which I imagine will ruffle some feathers. Here are the minutes:

• We revisited the "no gimmie" rule, as was decided in our previous meeting. It was voted 5-0 to stick with it. We feel some of you people actually play faster without gimmies.
  

• Chandler (hey, that's me!) continued his quest to "fix" the Hangover. His big idea was to payout 100% of the prize pool to those who attend the season party. If you don't show up and win the event, you get the points... but not the money. This received some push-back, but the board ultimately voted 5-0 on a compromise:
• 1) The Hangover entry fee is now $15, raising the season dues to $135. I apologize to the four people who already paid... but you owe another $5.
• 2) $10 of your entry fee will be used as it always has been — a combination of league rake and normal payouts for the top 3 to 4 players in the event, regardless of their Hangover attendance
• 3) The extra $5 of your entry fee will be paid in a 70/30 split to the top two players who physically attend the season party.

• We voted 5-0 to allow the Setup Committee to establish a "forward tee" in certain tournaments. This would only be done on a case-by-case basis, when the Committee deems it acceptable. I'm not sure what we're going to call this tee (please send suggestions) but for now we'll call it the "Senior Suck Tee."
• When this tee is available, you can only choose it if you are 55+ years of age OR possess a Handicap Index greater than or equal to 25.0.
• The goal is to provide a slightly shorter option for our aging members, and to entice anyone lacking physical talent to move up and hopefully lower their Index.

• The Dan Suggestions:
• Rejected (1-4) his suggestion to increase the stoke-and-distance penalty from 2 to 3. John was the only Board Member to vote for it.
• Rejected (0-5) the elimination of unmarked drop zones. Technically they are already eliminated unless the Board states otherwise before a round. And any disagreement about drop areas can be worked out by each group. However, we want to remind everyone:
• If you aren't sure a drop-zone exists you can play a provisional. But you must DECLARE it. If you hit that provisional to 2 feet and then find out there's a marked drop zone, you have to then re-hit from that zone. So make your intentions known before re-teeing.
  
• Rejected (0-5) his idea of a $1 payout every time you 3-putt. While we didn't necessarily hate the premise, this can and should be done as a side bet during tournaments.
• Rejected (0-5) his flag stick suggestion. This really only applies to Gorecki, and his group can sort it out.
• Rejected (0-5) a 3-stroke drop for a lost ball. We already have a rule for this (Playing Rule 8.2).
• Passed a Resolution (5-0) that Dan should read the published rules on this website. At his expense (additional Club Credit) the Board is willing to physically print them and mail them to his last known address.

 

The Chairman quickly adjourned the meeting right as someone mentioned the phrase "voting out."

That's all I got. Looking forward to next season!

FBGC Winter 2021 Board Meeting

Here's what was discussed at our Winter 2021 Board Meeting — now with more Geoff! My "minutes" are complete shit, so I apologize in advance to the Board when I misquote things:

New Membership

Dan was confirmed 5-0 for re-admittance to the Club, capping our Membership at 24 players. For the first time ever, if we have a prospective Member... they'll be on a wait list.

John wanted the record to show that if Dan quits a second time, he's never voting for him again. I feel this has to do with John's abandonment issues.

Dan re-joins the field with a 5.3 Index... increasing our number of "good" golfers to three. This will have dramatic Rapture implications, assuming Dan plays enough events to auto-qualify.

Elimination of Gimmies

This passed 5-0... but not without some hot debate and concerns. John was a resounding "no" for awhile, despite the fact that we could always revisit the policy this time next year. JW was also on the fence, creating a realistic chance the motion could fail. In an unprecedented move, the Board decided to eliminate gimmies, but with a special session after the Spring season to re-vote on the rule.

For the Spring 2022 season, "gimmie putts" are outlawed. If you casually miss a tap-in, it counts as a stroke.

Any gimmie related issues and concerns should be brought up to your respective Board Member, so they'll have some insight when we re-vote in the Summer.

Buchert Ideas

- Eliminate Lift, Clean & Place: This only failed 2-3.

JW & John voted to get rid of it, and play the ball down everywhere. Reasons for the three "no" votes dealt with the year-round mud-ball conditions in Florida fairways. Allowing you to clean a ball in the fairway is not only a reward for a good (directional) tee shot... but also an added penalty for straying into the rough.

 

There's a reason we require your ball to find the fairway on long drive payouts. It's an important test of the game, and it's OK to give a little bonus for accomplishing that goal.

 

Faz was very concerned with policing the elimination of LC&P in fairways — as many of you (like Brendan's buddies) would just continue to roll your balls anyway. Hopefully we don't have to penalize people for doing so in the rough. Stop touching your rough balls!

- Allowing Lift, Clean & Place Everywhere: This failed 0-5. The quotes I wrote down were: "No." and "Roundly rejected!"

 

 - Relegation: This had zero chance of passing (failed 0-5 anyway), as the Chairman would never allow membership to increase above 24 people (a By-Law change). 

 

So without adding Members, we'd need two separate divisions within our current population... perhaps 16/8 or 20/4. This would routinely demote those who miss a lot of tournaments due to seasonal life situations. Dave, for example, travels to Ireland and tends to miss events in the Summer. He would likely be relegated in the Summer, only to be promoted in the Spring (unable to win the Spring Cup), and then relegated again next Summer.

The idea just didn't seem to improve anything.

- Lock handicaps at the start of the season: Faz led the discussion with: "That's the dumbest thing Buchert has ever said." It then failed 0-5. We talked about updating handicaps MORE often, but we didn't think even weekly updates was worth the additional time/effort needed. There's also some concern with the lack of scores posted by certain people. So for now, handicap revisions will continue on the 1st and 15th. 

 

- "Good" pitchers lowered to -8, and perhaps making the worst player of that group pay for it? 

The second part of this — having the worst player in a group pay for another persons good pitcher — failed 0-5. None of the Board had any desire to further penalize players beyond the +10 (net) pitcher(s).

 

The first part of this — lowering to -8 — failed 3-2 (4 votes needed to pass). Chandler and Geoff blocked it from happening. While this would undoubtedly increase the pitcher counts, we already run an unacceptable balance on owed pitchers. Chandler stated: "I'm not voting for any beer-related suggestion by someone who doesn't attend the bar."

 

That's not to say all suggestions aren't appreciated. Speaking of...

Gorecki Ideas

- Pay out each week's winners in cash: Failed 0-5. Chandler's quotes: "That asshole doesn't pay his league dues in cash... so why would I go get cash from an ATM to pay out winnings?" 

 

And: "The purpose of pre-payment and Club Credit is to not deal with money changing hands before or after a tournament. Gorecki didn't like chasing down money in Naples... I don't like doing it 18+ times a year either."

- Pay out each week's winners in Venmo/PayPal/Zelle: Failed 0-5. More Chandler quotes: "Being paid electronically completely defeats the argument that he likes the feeling of receiving money after victories."

We've also historically had a lot of scorecard "inconsistencies." Standings aren't finalized until the next day, so we wouldn't pay out monies immediately following events anyway.

 

- Pay out any Club Credit balance over $130 at the end of every season: Failed 0-5. At this point John motioned to kick Gorecki out of the Club for "being a miser." The motion failed 1-4, but the time was 8:59pm for those who were betting the over/under on when it would be proposed.

 

Geoff wanted the record to show that it once took 2+ years for Gorecki to pay him a $3 bet. And when it finally happened, he paid in quarters.

The Chairman wants everyone to know that all balances were fully re-paid to each of the three people who retired from the Club in the "Club Credit Era." The accounting of such balances can be found on this blog in the Deadbeat List section. Chandler also suggested a $2.99 service fee for any balance withdraw before ending your Membership — but that wasn't officially voted on.

 

- Pay out skins AND stroke-play in the Skins Game: Failed 0-5. The Board congratulated itself for voting this down in 2019 and 2021.

 

- Collect and pay out additional money to the winner of each Match Play match: Failed 0-5. This adds zero value and each match can make their own side bets.

 

- Lift, Clean & Place in bunkers: Failed 0-5. Already a rule for your ball resting in a footprint.

 

Other Votes

- Lift, Clean & Place when it's cartpath only: We discussed this a lot, including how these decisions are currently made.

In general, if an entire course is cartpath only due to wet conditions, we've allowed LC&P everywhere except bunkers/hazards. If only one hole is cartpath only, we haven't historically ruled any additional relief. If a bunch of holes were cartpath only, we erred on just allowing LC&P on the entire course.

The point is... it's a game-time decision made by the Board. We discussed trying to make an objective "rule," but couldn't agree on anything that would pass. Especially when we have people who would point out that par-3s are always cartpath only, and thus one could then play LC&P on those holes.

One example was brought up about the 2021 Rapture, where our 2nd round at Vineyards miraculously wasn't cartpath only... despite being so the day before. We were rushed to the course (my fault), but because there were no restrictions we ruled you needed to play the ball down in the rough. Apparently on the first hole, Melberg and Travis were annoyed by muddy conditions in the rough and thought LC&P should have been allowed.

I didn't personally play this hole... so I can't comment on the specific conditions. Neither could any other Board member. But if it was as muddy as I'm being told, then "casual water" should have come into play (now called "Temporary Water" in USGA rule 16). If you stand next to your ball and water seeps up from the ground, then you get to move it (with lift, clean and drop). This is always the case, on every course, even in the bunkers (not hazards). If the ball was on dry land and just had mud on it... that's the rub of the green. Feel free to yell "mud ball!" after you hit it.

Of the 17 holes at Vineyards I did play, none of them needed to be LC&P in my opinion.

So we are going to continue to rule on flood-related LC&P on a case-by-case basis. Just talk with a Board member before any round in question.

- Comment links: The Board voted 5-0 to retire the "Pool Pump" comment link, in favor of "Shits Given".

Spring 2021 Board Meeting Notes

Here's a list of things discussed and voted on at the Board Meeting two weeks ago:

By-Law change:

• Starting immediately, any new prospective member needs to play in eight (8) official Club events within a two-season span, before they're eligible for Club approval.
• This is a change from 5 events, over any period of time. The reason for this change is to give prospects more time to socialize with Members, as well as solidify a more accurate handicap.
• We discussed requiring multiple Sponsors for new members, and ultimately decided against it.
• We also discussed implementing a handicap maximum, either for Membership (through By-Laws) or a playing maximum (through tournament Rules). We decided against it, and to keep following USGA guidance. The Handicap system has already been fleshed out by people smarter than us.
  

 Member Votes:

• All four prospectives passed the Board vote, as previously reported.
• John wanted to boot Gorecki again, specifically because at World Woods he "didn't know" you're not allowed to clean your ball in the rough, and thought you could clean it as long as you didn't "lift" it (vote failed 2-3).
• JW wanted to boot himself due to his performance at Saddlebrook (failed 1-4).

Hypothetical Rules Changes:

The Board can't change Playing Rules mid-year (only By-Laws), but we still discussed what we would do if allowed. This is merely to put on record for discussion amongst Members before future votes:

• Eliminate all "gimmies" - would have passed 5-0. This is something all Members should speak up on if they have any strong feelings one way or another, as this train is currently coming down the tracks.
  
• Brendan really wants us to be able to drop in the fairway for 2 strokes after hitting a ball OB. He's super passionate about it. This would have failed 0-5. The Board's sentiment is that actually hitting your 3rd shot (or provisional) into the fairway is part of the skill and challenge. You shouldn't just be allowed to assume you'd find a fairway.
• The Board couldn't agree on any penalty or change to people bailing on events the day/week before. We definitely had some group shuffling issues last season, but we didn't want a knee-jerk reaction to it. If issues persist then the Board can take it up again in the Winter when Rule changes are allowed.
• Automatically playing "lift, clean and place" on any "short course" was hypothetically rejected 0-5. John wants to be on record as saying it was "the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
• We currently allow you to play "lift, clean and place" on any surface that is a "closely-mown area." This includes fairway, tee boxes, and fringe. We discussed disallowing this from adjacent holes, but it wouldn't have passed.

Resolutions and Comments:

• The board unanimously felt allowing the WHITE tees at Heritage Isles was perfectly fine. They gave a vote of confidence to our Course Setup Committee, to continue choosing tees on a case-by-case basis.
• The Board wanted to acknowledge that there have been reports of "sketchy drops" by certain individuals. Specifically, people not understanding that you must begin the drop process from the point at which the ball crossed the hazard. Many times, this is located back by the tee box... despite you hitting the ball 240 yards. This post was made last year... and everyone needs to re-read it. Golf is a self-policed game, but tournaments require other playing competitors to help protect the field. Don't take it personally if you get called out for dropping incorrectly.
• Furthermore, if you report someone wasn't following a rule, the first thing I'll ask is: "did you say something?" If that answer is "no," then don't bother reporting it.
• Faz has been pushing for a spreadsheet of old equipment for sale. I don't personally think we need to go through all that, because anyone can theoretically make a post if they have an item. More people should be making posts about all types of things, but especially used equipment. When our posts increase, I'll consider adding more spreadsheet functionality.

This was the last meeting of our current Board. A new Board of Directors vote will take place before the 2021 Winter Meeting.

Fall 2020 Board Meeting

The overall theme of the meeting was the Board's desire to reinforce that the Club and weekly league events should be your "biggest priority." Obviously other obligations come up from time to time. But in general... we should be viewed as a serious organization.

This isn't at all related to anyone specific. We just want it to be the basis of any policy changes.

So anyway... every decision was unanimous unless otherwise noted:

Membership

Crum passed the initial Board approval vote 4-1. In the next couple of weeks I'll email a ballot to everyone for his Club approval. Assuming he gets enough votes, he'll be an official member next season.

Two members were brought up for removal from the Club due to conduct. In order to begin that procedure, we needed four affirmative votes:

Gorecki's removal failed 2 - 3. 

Brendan's removal failed 0 - 5.

Tee Boxes

The Board decided to not make an official ruling on tee boxes. The "set-up committee" will continue to allow whatever tee boxes they see fit. We felt applying some strict definition of what is allowable would only complicate the issue if an anomaly arose down the road (conditions, a players physical limitations, etc). So each tournament we will continue to list the approved tee boxes... and you can choose any from that list.

Handicap Allowance Changes

We are not going to adjust any of the handicap allowances at this time. But if JW or Brendan win any more events, then we will revisit.

Max Scores

We decided the +5 max is working, and didn't feel the need make any changes. Moving to +6 or 10 max on every hole was discussed. But  +5's seem like a good number for now.

Ties for 1st Place

Everyone on the Board dislikes ties for first place. However, everyone was also against moving to a "scorecard tiebreaker." We felt it was too subjective, random, and didn't make the subsequent victory feel "earned." The only acceptable solution would be sudden-death playoffs... but that's not possible for various reasons (some courses wouldn't let us, many of you people don't stick around afterwards, etc). Ultimately, we convinced ourselves that ties for 1st place actually make the overall season standings tighter, and thus better.

Penalty for WDs and DQs

We wanted to make an official decision on this, since multiple scenarios have happened:

WD before the day of event (midnight): No penalty. Keep your money. Get called a "Gorecki."

WD the morning of an event (after midnight): No pitchers owed, but your entry fee goes to the Club.

No-Show: No pitchers owed. Your entry fee stays in the pot for the tournament.

WD/DQ during a round: Entry fee stays in the pot. You get 1 net stroke added to your current score per hole remaining in order to determine owed pitchers. So if you are +9 at the turn and decide to quit, you'll be considered +18 and owe one pitcher. This is severely less penal than what we've been doing. You're welcome.

The Board also keeps the ability to waive any penalties depending on your situation.

Greenies on Par 4s

If you drive a green and two putt, you get a greenie.

Waste Bunker Sandies

If a waste bunker is next to a green, and you get up-and-down for par or better, then you get a sandie. You all know what "up-and-down" means. Don't come to me saying you two-putted and want it to count.

Winter Season

There will not be an official Winter Season. Enjoy your time off. Sports are back. Everyone is encourage to host an event. Don't text Dear Leader asking him to set something up. Make a post, book some tee times, and let's play! If anyone wants to post but doesn't know how, let us know.

Bailing on Match Play

If someone WDs before the day of play, we'll re-shuffle the field and pairings. 

If someone WDs the morning of or no-shows (see penalties above), then they get an official Match Play loss... and their opponent gets an official win and the 100 points that accompany it. This is a change from how we've handled it in the past.

Entry Fees for Skipped Events

We are not changing our current policy. If you skip an event (with proper notice), you do not get charged an entry fee.

Penalty for Arriving Late

This was a lively discussion, not because we all disagreed... but because it's very difficult to create an enforceable rule. John summed it up as: "We are all adults," meaning this shouldn't even be a thing. Yet, here we are. The Board voted to implement two new policies:

1) All players are expected to be at the course, checked in, and ready to play by the FIRST posted tee time.

2) If your group tees off without you, then you'll receive a max score for each hole until you re-join the group.

Yes, we are aware the last group could tee off 30-ish minutes after the first group. So you're more than welcome to roll the dice that we don't go out early. We just don't see how arriving at the very last possible second does anyone any good. It only leads to your group-mates having to delay their round.

Here are some real-life examples from last season:

- Tall Mike was the last person to arrive at Cheval. His group (A) was supposed to go out first, but ended up having to slide back to the third spot. This would be OK as long as it's before the first posted time (we went out slightly early). But once the first posted time arrives, Group A is allowed to tee off without him. Moostie would get the max on every hole where he didn't tee off with his group.

- Tall Mike (Group E) showed up extremely late to Waterlefe. Well past the first posted tee time, and even past his group's unofficial tee time. They graciously waited on him. Under the new policy, they can still do that... or they can leave him and make him take the max for each hole missed. So if you're running late, call your group and give them a sob story.

- Tall Mike (Group C) was on the putting green when his group teed off at Esplanade. Gorecki physically drove back to get him while the rest of us stood in the fairway. Under the new policy, Moostie would have received a max 9 for the hole, and Gorecki would have won the season!

Winter 2019 Board Meeting

It might not be "Blog Season," but we have some things to report.

The Board of Directors met last night to go over any proposed changes to the Club for 2020. Since we're such a well-oiled machine, there's really not much to tweak. Nevertheless, below are my notes of the meeting, which are covered in wing sauce:

By-Law items need 5 of 5 approval. Non-By-Law items need 4 of 5 for approval.

• Dave asked us to consider changing the number of events needed to qualify for the World Golf Rankings (and thus the Rapture) from 10 to 8 in a rolling 18-tournament span. This was denied by the Board, 4 to 1. Only John voted "yes." No change next year. You'll still need 10 rounds in an 18-tournament span to make the list.

•  JW wanted to revisit the rule requiring you to play in at least ONE event in the first 3 weeks in order to compete the rest of the season for money and points. The Board approved 4 to 1 to expand this to ONE event in the first 4 WEEKS. Only John voted "no."

• Gorecki wanted us to consider making the Skins game a $30 entry, where $10 was awarded based on stroke-play results. This was shot down unanimously. John instructed me to put on the record that he emphatically said: "That's stupid!"

• Gorecki also suggested if his first proposal didn't pass, that we divide the $20 Skins entry into $10 for the Skins and $10 for the stroke-play. This was also shot down unanimously. The feeling is there isn't an issue for one of our nine tournaments to be different in the way it pays out. And that Points, which are still awarded based on stroke-play, are much more valuable than money.
  

• John proposed changes to the Eagle payments. Currently, it's $2 from everyone in that specific group. It's a number we arbitrarily decided on back in 2012, and never really gave it much thought since it took forever for someone to even record an eagle. Now the league has 10 of them. John wanted the payout to be $1 from everyone in the field that day. This proposal narrowly failed 3-2, with JW and Chandler voting "no" and blocking the move. Their reasons for "no" dealt with: 1) difficulty in collecting an additional dollar from everyone after the round 2) accounting annoyance if attempting to collect from membership balances 3) comparison to sandies, where you should have to see the eagle to pay out on it, thus making it group-specific.

•  JW proposed changing the name of "The Memorial" to "The Concussion." This led to a debate where ALL but the Skins and Match-Play events were considered for the name change. Ultimately, JW's original proposal passed unanimously. More tournament name changes might happen down the road, as is the case on all professional golf tours.

• Chandler asked if we needed to change By-Law Article III.8, requiring members to play in 6 events of a rolling 2 seasons to maintain membership. The Board unanimously voted to keep that in place without change.

• The Board unanimously approved a new By-Law dealing with the dissolution of the Club. In the event this ever happens, all unused dues would be returned to each individual, and all Hole-in-One money must be used on booze at a Dissolution Party hosted by the Board.

• The Board unanimously approved to keep calculating handicaps as we've been doing in 2020, despite the USGA switching over to the World Handicap System. Our goal is to become compliant and on the new system ASAP, but so far that would require us to become an FSGA regulated Club, who will then charge us $30+ per person per year to use the USGA's GHIN system. It'll be difficult to tell how different the new system is from the old, since the calculation is now going to be a USGA secret. The Board will have an emergency handicap meeting in late December to discuss the few changes we are able to implement. This does mean that until we are compliant, we can no longer provide Handicap Cards for use in other tournaments.

• Finally, the Board unanimously approved a new name for the Club, and a new logo. I need to get with our graphic design guy before we can move forward. Spoiler alert: we didn't go with "Putt Stuff."

2018 Annual Board Meeting - Recap

At the end of each year, the Board meets to vote on Club rules and regulations. Here's a recap of last night's votes, as well as changes that immediately go into effect. For the most part, I don't expect to revisit these items every year, but each change is worth monitoring, and feedback throughout the season is appreciated.

New Members

• Adam was unanimously approved by the board for a new member vote. Sometime this week you'll receive an email asking you to submit a ballot for or against. Assuming 75% of the responses are "yes," he'll be our 20th active member.

Rule Changes (Requires 4/5 Board approval)

• The max for any hole is now +5, replacing the Double Par maximum we've used since inception. This means on a par-3 you can now make an 8, and on par-4s you can make 9s. Four Board members voted for this change, with JW the only dissenting vote as he pushed for a 7-8-9, 7-9-10, or 7-9-11 structure.
• The Board unanimously voted to overhaul the Skins Game. It's now a $20 entry fee, with $1 going to the Club and $1 going to the Hole-In-One jackpot. The remaining $18 will be used for skins within your group, with pairings based on handicaps. Holes will now roll-over, with any remaining Skins paid out to whoever won the first Skin of the day within that group.
• The Board unanimously approved mandatory pre-payment of all event fees before the start of a season. With the increased Skins Game fee, each season is currently $130 (four $20 events and five $10 events). In order to be eligible to play in ANY event, you must pay the Commissioner for the entire season. If/when you miss tournaments, your account will be credited for next season, or the fees refunded if you retire your membership. Detailed accounting of all dues and balances will be set up on the Club's blog/website.
• All Board members voted to create a Local Rule (#16), allowing any advice to be given or asked during all rounds, from any entity, as long as it's off the green. This officially allows anyone within a group to give yardages, lines of play, hazard locations, strokes/scores etc. All things we've been doing for years. However, we're still operating under the USGA Rule which prohibits the reading of putts by anyone other than your caddie or partner. 
• It needs to be clarified that in Singles Match-Play (during Rapture), your "teammate" is not the same thing as your "partner." You are a "single" and can not have your fellow Blue/Red teammate help read your putt. You can have them help read putts during Fourball and Foursomes.
• The Board failed to pass any changes to the Hangover Invitational. A measure to award 50 bonus points for attendance failed with only 3 votes, Faz and Gary dissenting. For now, that event remains the same. Show up if you want to hang out.

By-Law Changes (Requires 100% Board approval)

• The Board voted to change Article III, Section 8, regarding minimum participation to keep active membership (effective immediately). Instead of 6 events per calendar year, it's now 6 events in a two-season period. This equates to 33.33% (repeating, of course) attendance. A 3/5ths Board vote will be used to grant any reprieves as needed (medical, babies, etc).

Summer Board Meeting

Had our first ever Board of Directors meeting last night. We don't change policy or anything until the end of the year... but we discussed a handful of items we may consider down the road. Nothing big. For the most part everyone is happy with how the league is running.

Danny and Ben passed the preliminary new member vote 5-0. All current members will get an email later this week to officially vote on their membership.

The Hangover bar this season will be at The Retreat (near UT).

Everything else was administrative.

Hopefully some #content coming down the tracks soon.