Week 8

This Sunday we're playing our final week of the regular season at Bardmoor Golf & Country Club.  I've never been there, but I hear it's nice... and pretty difficult.  Playing from the gold tees, it'll be the highest slope rating we've seen this season (127).

The first group goes out at 11:12am... and before anyone starts whining about that tee time being too late (Bito) it was the first time they could accommodate all of us.  The Pro Shop lady gave us a good deal ($25 + tax) but wanted to stress we better show up with twelve people.  So E-Flo and Buchanan need replacements if you guys haven't found them already.

So what's at stake this week?  Well... if Justin/Chandler, Reid/Geoff or Robb/??? win they are in.  The Asians (Cong/???) need a win and some help.  Bito/Gomez need a win to lock up the #2 spot... but can still get #1 if they shoot low and Frank/Steve lose.  Frank/Steve are guaranteed #1 or #2.

Later this week I'm going to eventually discuss handicapping... and put up a PayPal link for you to pay for the villas at World Woods.

Things to buy.

For the last few days I have been Richard Kimble'ing around at all the local pawn shops. There are a fucking bunch. I haven't find it... YET. But I fucking will!

But at least I found something else cool. Today I stumbled on a cart bag in pretty good condition. I gave it a 2nd look, don't like my bag, I want a cooler, better organization, etc.

Being in the hood, I'm not sure they knew what they had on their hands. Priced at $90 was the bag, a full set of fairly new Cleveland Tour Action Clubs, a brand new Odyssey White Hot Tour Putter, 10 Sleeves of new balls, 2 new Gloves, about 20 new loose balls, about 20 used loose balls, 2 golf multi tools, and a "excalibur". I took some pics, I'm selling everything but the bag & the loose balls.

Each sleeve = $2

Each Glove = $5

35inch Odyssey White Hot Tour #2 = $60

35inch Odyssey White Hot Tour #2 = $60

Golf Multi-Tool Brand New = $5

Excalibur?? = $1 .... Barter for a blow-pop?

*Not pictured - Swiss Army style Multi Tool = $5

If no one wants this stuff, I'll take it up to T&D

Week 7 Recap

Week 7 was the defining moment of our inaugural regular season.  While the top two teams battled it out for a guaranteed spot in the playoffs (they both ended up clinching anyway), the bottom four struggled to stay alive in the hunt.  Ironically, every team is still mathematically eligible.  But the Asians need a miracle and a sub-par round next week to have any chance.

The Claw was as bad as we thought it was.  While conditions were nice, it'sjust too tight and unforgiving for us high-handicappers who spray the ball off the tee. So far this season, only Bloomingdale ranks harder in slope.  On #14 (that horrible par 5 known as "The Claw) my team got a "smart" bogey by going: topped 3-wood, pitching wedge, 5-wood, pitching wedge, putt, putt.

Oh... and TMZito tried to get us kicked out of the clubhouse due to some provolone cheese.  Good times though.  And it was also nice to have everyone playing for only the 2nd time this season.

Justin/Chandler vs. E-Flo/Cong - The winner of this match controls their playoff destiny, while the loser needs a lot of help.  Both teams got off to a slow start, with the whities stringing 3 bogeys together before settling down and the Asians getting double-bogey on the first two par 5's.  And then it got really ugly on the back side.  The paring was a combined 11 over on the first six holes, and Justin/Chandler clung to 3-stroke lead with three to play.  Chandler basically wasn't even contributing at this point, so Justin decided to stick his tee-shot 4 feet from the pin on #16 to seal the win with a birdie.  But E-Flo/Cong got revenge after the round, as their soccer team karate chopped Pete Carroll and team USA.

Uhh....

Final score: Justin/Chandler win 78-83 (net).

Robb/Buchanan vs. Reid/Geoff - The second match-up also featured teams that needed to win to assure some post-season golfing. With two strokes to start the round, Ebony and Ivory were in great position until they decided to shoot 5-over in the first five holes. Robb/Ryan had a three stroke lead at the turn, which quickly faded as they began the second half: bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey, double-bogey, double-bogey, bogey.  That's right... 9-over in a seven hole span.  Not to worry, however, as Reid/Geoff shot 7-over in the same stretch, with a nasty triple-bogey on #15.  This match was ugly, and yet down to the wire.  Final score: Robb/Buchanan win 82-83 (net).

Bito/Gomez vs. Frank/Steve - A preview of the finals, perhaps? Maybe not.  The best two handicapped teams are still... well... handicapped.  But a win would go a long way to lock up the top seed.  So what's better: old school glass bowl or the vaporizer?  As Frank would say... the vape is hype!  Allegedly Bito had one of his bad days as his team recorded three double-bogeys. Frank added some miraculous shots to Steve's steady play, allowing them to close out the game on hole #15 (picking up 3 strokes on that hole). Final score: Frank/Steve win 74-79 (net).

Tomorrow I'll post up week 8 details, as well as an explanation of how you turn a "handicap index" into a "course handicap" (which we will be using for the playoffs at World Woods).

Playoff scenarios

It's crunch time. Only two weeks to go.

While no one can technically be eliminated this week. Eflo/Cong, Robb/Ryan, and Justin/Chan will be in serious trouble with a loss.

However on the clinching side. 3 teams can book their place in the playoff.

Frank/Steve - Win and they are in. If they lose they just need Eflo/Cong and/or Robb/Ryan to lose. Or a Justin/Chan & Robb/Ryan loss.

Bito/Gomez - Win and they are in. If they lose they just need Eflo/Cong and/or Robb/Ryan to lose. Or a Justin/Chan & Robb/Ryan loss.

Reid/Geoff - Win and they are in.

I didn't do ties, because we haven't had one yet. But the only teams a tie would be okay for would be Frank/Steve & Bito/Gomez, they would both clinch. Everyone else would still be in a precarious position heading into the final round.

Should be fun.

Week 6 Recap

Great week of golf... and I'm beyond shocked we didn't get any rain on Sunday.  The standings are a mess, with NO team clinching or eliminated from the playoffs despite only two weeks left in the schedule.

E-Flo/Cong vs. Robb/Buchanan - Gorecki filled in for Buchanan this week, and proved once again he is lights out... for the front nine.  I'm not really sure how he's going to survive the Reunion trip where we have to play three days in a row.  Anyway... with the Asians starting one stroke in the hole, it wasn't a good time for them to double-bogey the easy #1 (par 5) while Gramps & Young Blood laid-up for birdie.  By the time 13 holes had been played (right before Gorecki's nap), E-Flo/Cong found themselves down 3 strokes with five to go.  My team had the pleasure of watching Robb/Gorecki hit their second shot from 30 yards off the tee in standing water on the par-3 15th... which led to a 6.  I'm not sure what happened, but the whities went +7 on the last 5 holes to choke away the victory.  Regardless, it was some hot Ballic on Ballic action.  Final score: E-Flo/Cong win 77-82 (net).

Justin/Chandler vs. Bito/GoMex - One of the frustrating things about golf (there are millions) is how long the game is.  You can literally play consistently great for 3.75 hours... only to lose on the last two holes.  That's what happened to Justin/Chandler.  Getting two strokes at the start of the match, both teams showed rust with bogeys on #1.  Justin/Chandler were then able to sneak two birdies in the front nine, with only one other bogey to shoot even par and build a 3 stroke lead (net).  The next 5 holes were matched stroke for stroke by Bito/Gomez, and following a "lucky" bogey on #15 by White Obama & Casper it was only a two stroke gap with three to play.  That's when it all came crashing down.  Justin/Chandler missed a 6-foot uphill birdie on 16, scrambled to get bogey on 17 and hit two horrible bunker shots to get bogey on 18.  And during that time, Bito decided to make a 55-foot birdie putt on 17, and hit his tee shot less into the woods than Gomez on 18 to give his team a chance for par and the win.  It was quite demoralizing... but Bito stepped up and won the match.  Final score: Bito/Gomez win 71-72 (net).

Frank/Steve vs. Reid/Geoff - Bobby Boucher/Flay/Bottle Service stepped in this week to pound DPT into submission.  Giving an unprecedented 10.5 strokes... both teams were going to have to shoot well (relatively) to win.  In fact, Reid/Geoff probably had their best outing yet... but getting a double-bogey on #1 and bogey on #2 while Frank/Bobby birdied those holes immediately erased half the original lead!  The SuperBad Boys didn't falter until a double-bogey on #16... but still held on for a 1.5 stroke victory (net).  They also had an impressive 7 birdies on the round.  Final score:  Frank/Steve win 67-68.5 (net).

Next week we're going to try to get back on Westchase.  I'm waiting to hear from Buchanan on if his guy will set that up for us since we were rained out last time.  The make-up parings are killer and some of the tightest we've had all season.  Every match is a must-win.  Tomorrow I'll post up Bito's analysis, unless he wants to go ahead and do so today.

Embedded Balls

If you watch the "Big Break" (Reid made me start watching it due to his Jamaican brother going deep into the show) you may have noticed a controversial ruling about an embedded ball last week.  So let's clear this up for you fellow DPT Golfers.

First, the back story of what happened on the show.  Reid's boy hit his tee shot on a par 5 into a fairway bunker.  His second shot was crushed... directly into the bunker lip.  I'm sitting on the couch watching the show with the girlfriend, and I say: "That dude is toast. His ball is unplayable and with the penalty stroke there is no way he gets bogey."

All of a sudden, the show casually mentions how he's awarded a free drop outside the bunker.

I immediately lose my shit and start re-winding the episode.  How can I teach Ms. Alison the proper rules of the game, if the Golf Channel starts destroying the fabric of sports?  No, I'm not overreacting.

Let's look at the ball and the lie.

Actual image from the show.

Ok. That is one shitty lie.  I think Geoff had 3 of these at El Diablo. But how did the Golf Channel rule a free drop? Well, they claim the ball was hit so hard into the lip, it was sitting under the roots of the grass.  And no part of the ball was touching sand, therefore it was no longer in the bunker.  Since it was considered embedded in its on mark, a free drop was given.

Let's not get caught up on whether or not that ball is still in the hazard.  I'll take their word and assume it's not.  My problem is... you still don't get a free drop for the embedded ball.  Here's the USGA rule:

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25-2. Embedded Ball

A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green. "Closely mown area" means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.

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As the rule clearly states, you only get a free drop from an embedded ball in the fairway or any grass cut to fairway height.  The rule specifically mentions "paths through the rough cut to fairway height" because in PGA events where players don't use carts, they mow some of the rough to make a nice path for them.

See the path? Good for you.

The ONLY time you get a free drop in the rough is if your ball encounters an "abnormal ground condition."  The USGA defines this as: "any casual water, ground under repair or hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird."

Local rules also may apply, but 99.9% of the time that only involves a situation where a course doesn't want you to hit a ball out of their flowerbeds.  And such a rule is always listed on their scorecards.

Long story short... the Big Break fucked up.  A "free drop" should not have been given because the ball was not embedded in grass mowed to fairway height.  If you find yourself in the rough... you have to play that shit as it lies.  Or you can take an "unplayable" drop with a penalty stroke.

What is this world coming to?!?

Week 6 Preview

We have 3 weeks to go, and will undoubtedly have to play some of those in the rain.  I've reserved Northdale starting at noon for the discount rate of $21.

Steve is out, but will be replaced by the dreaded Bobby.  Buchanan is out and will be replaced by Gorecki.  I think E-Flo is out (unconfirmed) but I'll talk to Cong tonight about his replacement.  No team has been eliminated from the playoffs, so now is the time to turn it on.

See you guys soon.

Week 6 - Rain Out

Yesterday we had our first rain out, which tends to happen in the summer.  Course conditions at the time we cancelled were "cart path only," which indicates there was a lot of standing water.  Westchase is one of the worst draining courses in the area.

While the decision to cancel the week inconvenienced at least one team, 9 of the 11 responses from the league were to take the week off (which includes Bito who flip-flopped and decided to go to the pub all day).

But it's OK, shit happens. Since E-Flo and Buchanan made us push the playoffs to August, we still have the original playoff date open.  I've moved the match-ups from yesterday to July 24th.  I think E-Flo and Buchanan are out this day due to SCUBA lessons... so we might play on Saturday the 23rd instead.  Let me know if any of those dates are an issue for you.

Next weekend we have off due to the Fourth of July holiday.  So you have plenty of time to hit the range or take a break to forget all your bad habits.

In other news, four of us hit up Waterlefe last Friday for $25.  The course was awesome and definitely worth the drive to Bradenton.  I highly recommend it, but bring a lot of balls because there is water on every hole.

Course Difficulty

I've somewhat half-ass explained how the USGA calculates handicaps, but what about course difficulty?  Usually golfers just look at the yardage to determine what tees to play from.  Good golfers don't mind 6,700+ yards, while high handicappers prefer to stick around 6,200.  But that's not really the best way to go about it.

Course difficulty is determined by Rating and Slope.  Both numbers are found on the scorecard, and vary depending on which tees you play.

Rating is usually between 67 and 77.  This number is tells you what a "good score" is for a scratch golfer (someone with a handicap index of 0.0).  This Sunday we're playing at Westchase, which has a rating of 69.2 for the white tees.  So a scratch golfer would have a good round if they shot 69 (3 under).

But most people aren't scratch golfers.  In fact... the average amateur golfer shoots about 100 (yes, it's true).  The average official handicap for amateur golfers, however, is only 15.2 (mine has ballooned up to a 15 over the past few weeks).  The discrepancy between those two numbers exists because golfers who keep an official handicap tend to be able to shoot in the low 90's.

So it's kinda bullshit for someone with a 15 handicap to look at a number designed for a 0 handicap. That's where slope comes in.

Slope tells you the difficulty of a course for "bogey golfers" (people with a handicap of about 20).  The term "slope" references the actual mathematical slope of a line in a geometric graph.  The harder the course, the higher a bogey golfer's score will be ABOVE what their handicap index predicts.

Slope is a number between 55 (easiest) and 155 (hardest).  The average course difficulty is considered 113.  Let's compare some slopes (courses on our schedule are in bold):

• Reunion Nicklaus Course (Gold Tees) - 147
• Waterlefe (Back Tees) - 141
• Southern Hills (Black Tees - where I just played a tournament) - 138
• Augusta National (Masters Tees) - 137 (unofficial, as Augusta has never allowed anyone to come in and conduct a ratings test)
• Bloomingdale (Green Tees) - 127
• Dunedin County Club (White Tees) - 125
• Westchase (White Tees) - 123
• Pebble Creek (White Tees) - 122
• Heritage Harbor (Blue Tees) - 117
• Eagles Forrest Course (White Tees) - 116

So for those of you going with me to the Jamie E. tournament at the Reunion Resort... you haven't seen anything until we hit the Nicklaus Course.  I still get nightmares from the tips on #2, which I've had to hit from the last two years.

Anyway... if you're a high handicapper like me... look at the slope on the scorecard.  If it's below 120,  you should be in for an easy round.  If it's above 128... start drinking.

#2 at the Nicklaus Course

Handicaps and Match-Ups

We have some things to determine over the next few weeks.  Let's start with the easiest issue.

Bito/Gomez would like an opportunity to actually play against Robb/Ryan.  So I tweaked week 8 to give them that match-up.  In doing so, Frank/Steve now play the Asians in a rematch of week 4, but without Bobby dropping nukes on them.  I think this change actually makes the schedule better, giving E-Flo/Cong a chance to go up against the normal Frank Squad (assuming everyone can play that week).

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Next is the handicap issue of Frank/Bobby vs. Reid/Geoff in week 7.  Here's the data we have:

1. On the same course (Bloomingdale), on the same day, from the same tees... Frank/Bobby shot 67 while Reid/Geoff shot 89.  That's a difference of 22 strokes.
2. If I take Frank/Steve's actual handicap data... and plug in a round of 67 at Bloomingdale... it drops them to 5.6, which is a difference of 8 strokes from Reid/Geoff's HCP.
3. Frank/Bobby's gross average is 67 (one round of data) whereas Reid/Geoff's is 83 (five rounds of data), a difference of 16 strokes.

#1 is probably too many strokes since it's based on only one round.  #2 is probably too few since it's using a bunch of data for Frank/Steve with only one round of Frank/Bobby.  #3 is just a more accurate version of #1.

So I really don't know.  We can revisit it after we get one more weeks worth of data.  If I had to go on my "gut feeling," I'd say an accurate number of strokes would be about 11.  That way if Frank/Bobby shoot par, Reid/Geoff would tie with their average of 83.  And if Frank/Bobby go under par again, it forces Ebony and Ivory to go under their average.

But like I said... it's just a guess at this point.  So discuss, and try to get up to 70 comments this time.

Week 5 Recap

E-Flo/Cong vs. Reid/Geoff - Ebony and Ivory knew they needed to finally go low for an easy victory.  The Great Wall of Philipnam was already weary of their 4-stroke handicap, despite having a 6-stroke lead in gross average.  But neither team expected to suck to the tune of 82 and 85.  The Asians were somewhat consistent, carding zero birdies, 8 bogeys and one double.  Oreo Cookie, on the other hand, were all over the map.  Three birdies for them is impressive... but only three pars?  Neither of these teams' handicaps lowered after this week, which tells us two things: 1) they played bad and 2) we're getting close to having some solid handicaps set.  Regardless, it's never good when a team has to double-bogey #18 while watching their opponents bogey the same hole just to lose by one. Albeit, it probably was exciting.  Final score: Reid/Geoff win 81-82 (net).


Justin/Chandler vs. Frank/Steve - Once again, we have two teams going in the opposite direction.  Before the match started, it appeared Justin/Chandler just needed to keep pace with Steve (who is a very talented golfer) to have a shot at victory.  But nobody expected Frank to play lights-out hype-diggity.  The few times Steve was in trouble, Frank would be in the fairway.  On an early par 3 when Steve was over the green, Frank stuck it 8 feet from the cup.  And later on #15, Frank vaporized a 3-wood 10 feet from the pin AND made the putt to give his team the first eagle in the league.  Justin/Chandler want to blame their loss on two inexcusable double-bogeys... but that wouldn't be an accurate conclusion.  Frank/Steve won because they had only one bogey on the day, and finished with a 3-under 69.  Not many people will beat that if they keep improving.  Final score: Frank/Steve win 68-77 (net).

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So we have three weeks left, and every team is still in the playoff hunt.  It looks like we won't need subs at Westchase this Sunday, something that hasn't happened since week 1.  I'm still awaiting official confirmation from World Woods on our playoff weekend.  Their event person is a bit... aloof.

Anyway, below is a chart of the handicaps over time:

This tells me a few things:

1. Handicaps were pretty much right-sized by week 3.
2. We were a bit off on Robb/Buchanan, but dead-on with Bito/Gomez.
3. Justin/Chandler and E-Flo/Cong's initial handicap were very accurate in relation to each other.
4. The movement you see in Frank/Steve is due to a) Steve missing a bunch of matches and b) Frank getting much better at golf each week.  The 69 they shot yesterday was quite impressive.
5. Reid/Geoff are lagging behind the pack.

It should be an interesting finish to the season.  Watch out for the Game of the Week on Sunday, when the top two teams (who have the exact same gross average) go head-to-head with only a one stroke adjustment.

How I'm (Stupidly) Spending My Saturday Morning

This is one of those things that I said "yes" to, but immediately started regretting.  As an early Father's Day outing, my dad asked if I would play in a golf tournament at Southern Hills.  He's a member up there so we've played the course countless times and have even entered and won (at least finished in the money) a few handicapped tournaments.  It's a beautiful track... but very tedious, long and can give you a headache on most days.  Whatever... always good to spend time with pops.

Not so fast...

1. It's at 9:30am so we're leaving at 7:15am.  I'm one of the worst morning people on the planet (other than my girlfriend).
2. It's a full handicapped 2-man Best Ball format.  People always confuse "best ball" with "scramble." I don't blame them because the names aren't intuitive... but "scramble" is what we play in DPT Golf.  Everyone hits, you pick the best shot and hit from there.  "Best ball" is really "best score."  Everyone plays their own ball... you put the lowest score on the card.  So I'll actually have my own personal score for the round.
3. It's from the tips.

So issue #3 shouldn't really be a big deal, until you realize that Southern Hills is 7,557 yards with elevations from 60-250 feet. Whenever I play there I always laugh at how far back (and down) the tips are from the blue tees. So how long is 7,557 yards? Let's look at a handful of the most famous courses on the PGA Tour this year:

Congressional County Club (US Open) - 7,574
Atlanta Athletic Club (PGA Championship) - 7,467
Augusta National (The Masters) - 7,435
Firestone CC - 7,400
Bay Hill - 7,381
Innisbrook (Copperhead, here in Tampa) - 7,340
TPC Doral (Blue Monster) - 7,266
TPC Scottsdale - 7,216
TPC Sawgrass - 7,215
Royal St. George (British Open) - 7,106
Pebble Beach - 6,816

So of that list, which includes all four Majors this year, only the US Open (being played this weekend) is longer. And yes, I realize "longer" does not always mean "harder."  The slope tells you the difficulty of a course, and I'll post about that next time.  But "longer" is an issue for me since I've developed the yips over the past few weeks and can't hit a drive more than 150 yards.

Here are some course highlights:
#3 - Par 3 - 238 yards - Massive green with crazy ridges in it.  Anywhere you land is 4-putt zone.
#6 - Par 4 - 478 yards - Tee shot is all up-hill. I rarely get there in two from the blues.
#7 - Par 5 - 618 yards - Tee shot is probably uphill 75 feet.  Second shot goes downhill over 100 feet.
#11 - Par 4 - 491 yards - Probably a 200 yard carry over a hazard and tee boxes to find the fairway. No way I finish this hole.
#14 - Par 4 - 507 yards - Now this is just stupid.
#18 - Par 4 - 481 yards - Tiny elevated green which is impossible to hit with the 3-wood I'll be using on my 3rd shot.

So anyway, there is no "max" per hole in this tournament.  I might have to pick up a few times, but we'll see.  Start taking bets now on what I shoot.  I'm also pretty sure I can get anyone from DPT up there for $35 this summer.  We don't have to play the tips, so just let me know.

Week 5 - Preview

Second half the season starts now!

E-Flo/Cong vs. Reid/Geoff - Ebony and Ivory under-perform every week.  Their scoring average is 6 strokes worse than the Asians, but they're only getting 4 strokes in Dunedin.  On paper you'd favor the Slanties based on that statistic. But Oreo Cookie has to shoot close to 74 eventually.  And if that happens, there's no way our engineering friends can pull off a victory.  Prediction: Reid/Geoff win 71-75 (net).

Frank/Steve vs. Justin/Chandler - Justin/Chandler under-perform every week as well.  In fact, with recent scores together of 74, 77, 78... they're technically getting worse.  Chandler's AND Justin's drivers imploded over the past three weeks, giving them a huge disadvantage on a course they've never seen.  Meanwhile, Frank has new found confidence after watching his substitute put on a clinic last week.  So... playing on Steve's home course and giving one stroke to Scooby Snacks? Doesn't look good for JC.  Prediction: Frank/Steve win 76-77 (net).

Bito/Gomez vs. Robb/Ryan - Apparently everyone from this match can't play on Sunday.  Except maybe Gomez, who didn't really report back and is only rumored to have told Bito he was out.  Regardless, our first double-forfeit of the season might be costly come playoff time.  Prediction: no.

Dunedin CC Sunday

"Golf is an exercise in Scottish pointlessness for people who are no longer able to throw telephone poles at each other."

"We borrowed golf from Scotland, as we borrowed whiskey, not because it is Scottish, because it is good"

We will be playing at ye historic Dunedin Country Club on Sunday, June 19th, at 10:10 am and 10:19 am. The golf course is located at 1050 palm blvd., Dunedin Florida, 34698. Phone number is 727-733-2134. The fee for ye course is $32 per person plus tax.

Bring yer whiskey drinkin hat and bloomers, and come to the hometown of such greats as

"Willie" from the simpsons:

Fat Bastard:

And everyone's favorite: Rowdy Roddy Piper

Now here's to you, here's to me,
if we disagree, the hell with you, here's to me!

Below is a link to the course website, and description of each hole.

http://www.dunedincc.com/holebyhole.cfm

See ya at the course!
Frank

Week 4 Recap

Frank/Steve vs. E-Flo/Cong - To be a really good golfer, you need to be consistent. Frank's sub (Bobby) is a really good golfer.  He (with some clutch shots by Frankie) destroyed the Asians like Genghis Khan in the 13th century.  Thankfully E-Flo/Cong won't see Bobby again this season, so they don't need to build a giant wall for protection.  The match was actually pretty close after the front nine, with Frank/Bobby at -3 and E-Flo/Cong at even par.  But then it went downhill fast as the Asians took two doubles and a single bogey over the next three holes.  Final score: Frank/Steve win 67-77 (net).

Justin/Chandler vs. Robb/Ryan - Gorecki had to fill in for Justin this week, so it was determined the match would be played straight-up with an adjustment after every hole.  Chandler finally had some decent iron play, while Slow-and-Steady-Gorecki used his driver on almost every shot (even once out of the sand, I think).  Robb and Buchanan... just wanted the day to be over. Shooting 12-over on #4 through #12 put them in a hole that seemed impossible to climb out of.  A late collapse by Chandler/Gorecki made this game closer than it really was.  Final score: Justin/Chandler win 85-87.

Bito/Gomez vs. Reid/Geoff - The final match-up should have been pretty close, considering Bito/Gomez were giving 6 strokes to Reid/Geoff.  Nevertheless, Ebony and Ivory had no birdies and only three pars on the day, shooting a horrible 89.  Maybe it was hot?  Maybe they were hungover and tired from the Summer Sizzle.  Whatever the reason... it was ugly.  Bito/Gomez also didn't have any birdies for the first time this season, and shot a lackluster 80 for the victory.  Final score: Bito/Gomez win 80-83 (net).
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Cong brought up a good point that it seemed teams play their best against them.  So let's crunch the numbers.  Through 4 weeks... here are the average opponent's gross score of each team:

Bito/Gomez - 84.75
Justin/Chandler - 79.75
Robb/Buchanan - 80.00
Frank/Steve - 77.75
Reid/Geoff - 81.00
E-Flo/Cong - 71.50 (73.00 if you throw out last week's 67 by Frank and his ringer sub)

So... he's 100% correct.  I'm not sure why everyone shoots low when they're up against E-Flo/Cong... but you kids need to stop being so racist.