Last night we held the 2015 Ryder Cup draft... and all the "experts" predictions were immediately washed away with the 50 inches of rain we've gotten this weekend. While Gary as the #1 overall pick isn't a huge surprise... Buchert went with consistency and perhaps an elevated handicap taking Chandler and Reid with his first selections. Darren immediately snatched up two more bombers, while Buchert stocked up on even more high cappers.
Darren in blue. Buchert in red.
1 - Gary
2 - Chandler
3 - Reid
4 - Dave
5 - Faz
6 - Tall Mike
7 - JW
8 - Brendan
9 - Guest
10 - Gorecki
Be sure to bring golf attire that matches your team's colors.
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After much discussion, both fist time captains set their pairings and order. Technically we could (and probably should) have set the singles matches as well. But we'll do that either the first or second night up at World Woods.
You can view the pairings here.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Season Update
Ryder Cup draft is tomorrow night (Friday), 9pm at Irish 31 in Westchase. Attending is Buchert, Darren, Chan, Faz and Gorecki. Let me know if anyone is going so we can save a spot. Or just show up and surprise us.
Saddlebrook on Sunday is: John, Buchert, Chan, Reid, Gorecki, Darren.
Hangover bar on Saturday, August 1st is going to be in Temple Terrace / New Tampa. Still looking into that. 9pm mandatory attendance. You can go home at 1am. Make sure to carpool or Uber it there.
The actual golf tournament is going to be at Countryside in Clearwater. It's a private course with great greens and three nines. Basically a MUCH better Northdale (and has a range). I met the pro today and he's going to give us a discounted rate off the "member guest" fee. Details on that to come once we're on the tee sheet.
Saddlebrook on Sunday is: John, Buchert, Chan, Reid, Gorecki, Darren.
Hangover bar on Saturday, August 1st is going to be in Temple Terrace / New Tampa. Still looking into that. 9pm mandatory attendance. You can go home at 1am. Make sure to carpool or Uber it there.
The actual golf tournament is going to be at Countryside in Clearwater. It's a private course with great greens and three nines. Basically a MUCH better Northdale (and has a range). I met the pro today and he's going to give us a discounted rate off the "member guest" fee. Details on that to come once we're on the tee sheet.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Registration Updates
People that said they're IN for John's outing this Sunday at Saddlebrook:
John
Chan
Darren
Reid
Gorecki
(I might have one more)
Tall Mike... while looking up who said "yes" I noticed your comment from last week. John's friend scheduled the Saddlebrook deal. So while we aren't playing a league event because Brendan is getting old... not all of us are going to the FSU thing.
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The Hangover is next Sunday (August 2nd), which means if you're playing you need to attend the bar next Saturday night. We'll be headed towards Reid's area... details on that later. Here's who I got playing:
IN
Chan, JW, Gary, Brendan, Reid, Darren, Dave, Guest, Gorecki
OUT
Faz, John, Buchert, Tall Mike, Dan
No Idea
Darryl (assuming no bar), Geoff
That's 9 people in... 5 people out... and 2 people I haven't heard anything from. If it stays like this, I might actually win an event!
John
Chan
Darren
Reid
Gorecki
(I might have one more)
Tall Mike... while looking up who said "yes" I noticed your comment from last week. John's friend scheduled the Saddlebrook deal. So while we aren't playing a league event because Brendan is getting old... not all of us are going to the FSU thing.
-----------------------------------------
The Hangover is next Sunday (August 2nd), which means if you're playing you need to attend the bar next Saturday night. We'll be headed towards Reid's area... details on that later. Here's who I got playing:
IN
Chan, JW, Gary, Brendan, Reid, Darren, Dave, Guest, Gorecki
OUT
Faz, John, Buchert, Tall Mike, Dan
No Idea
Darryl (assuming no bar), Geoff
That's 9 people in... 5 people out... and 2 people I haven't heard anything from. If it stays like this, I might actually win an event!
Monday, July 13, 2015
Ryder Cup Draft
The Ryder Cup Draft will be held at Irish 31 in Westchase, 9pm on Friday, July 24th. It's a location and date that worked for the two captains.
I know there's some other stuff going on that weekend, and obviously attendance isn't mandatory. But if you want to come hang out make a comment so we can save a seat for you.
The draft itself doesn't take long. The captains will also set their rosters for the first two events (Four-Ball & Alternate Shot). The rest of the night we'll drink beer and talk crap about those who didn't show up.
I know there's some other stuff going on that weekend, and obviously attendance isn't mandatory. But if you want to come hang out make a comment so we can save a seat for you.
The draft itself doesn't take long. The captains will also set their rosters for the first two events (Four-Ball & Alternate Shot). The rest of the night we'll drink beer and talk crap about those who didn't show up.
Site Issues
Google has been slowly converting all their Sheets (their shitty version of Excel) to a newer, allegedly better, version.
Last night they finally converted the main sheet that runs most of our data. Of course, that broke a ton of things embedded on this site.
It'll take me a bit to figure out what all is broken and how to fix it. Assuming there is a fix.
So... Dave's in 1st place. The rest of you aren't.
Last night they finally converted the main sheet that runs most of our data. Of course, that broke a ton of things embedded on this site.
It'll take me a bit to figure out what all is broken and how to fix it. Assuming there is a fix.
So... Dave's in 1st place. The rest of you aren't.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
DPT Championship - Summer 2015 Recap
On the range, Big John mentioned to me he thought I was over-hyping the difficulty of Fox Hollow. He proceeded to shoot 55 on our first nine and looked to be hanging out in the double-pitcher zone.
The course was a beast, as expected. And the weather made it a disaster. Luckily we teed off early enough to get most of the front nine in, only playing the final few holes in a monsoon and lightning death trap. After a break in the clubhouse to let the storm pass, we were able to move along pretty quickly on the soaked front nine.
Also as expected, the top three guys were either long hitters or a high handicapper who kept the wheels on. Dan played an excellent round to win his first career Major, only blowing up on two holes (one probably due to lightning). Dave recovered from an opening 49 (gross) to shoot +2 on the second nine and finish 2nd. Also tied for 2nd was Tall Mike who played consistent throughout the day. Both those guys were shocked to be in contention.
At the other end of the spectrum, Big John had a crazy finish shooting EVEN on his final 4 holes to escape the previously mentioned double-pitcher zone. And Faz struggled all day, making the mistake of buying a hotdog during our rain delay and not washing it down with beer.
The rest of us were terrible in various spots. The back nine scorecard is littered with double pars.
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The standings continue to be a jumbled mess, as we now have 6 different winners in as many events. Anyone in the top 12 can potentially take the lead by winning JW's Hangover Invitational. Granted, we don't play it until next month. And it requires a mandatory bar attendance the night before (Saturday, August 1st) in order to enter the tournament.
Currently OUT of the next event is Faz and Tall Mike. If anyone else isn't playing, let me know. I imagine Darryl is out of the actual event since he's not going to make the bar... but he's still welcome to play with us regardless. I'm thinking of booking us at Esplanade (near Bradenton).
---------------------
All qualified players paid for the Ryder Cup before the deadline. So the field is set. All we need to do now is draft some teams. I'll talk to Darren and Buchert to work out a date. You don't have to attend but if you're free... come drink some beers and find out what team you're on. It'll be held in either Westchase or Carrollwood.
The course was a beast, as expected. And the weather made it a disaster. Luckily we teed off early enough to get most of the front nine in, only playing the final few holes in a monsoon and lightning death trap. After a break in the clubhouse to let the storm pass, we were able to move along pretty quickly on the soaked front nine.
Also as expected, the top three guys were either long hitters or a high handicapper who kept the wheels on. Dan played an excellent round to win his first career Major, only blowing up on two holes (one probably due to lightning). Dave recovered from an opening 49 (gross) to shoot +2 on the second nine and finish 2nd. Also tied for 2nd was Tall Mike who played consistent throughout the day. Both those guys were shocked to be in contention.
At the other end of the spectrum, Big John had a crazy finish shooting EVEN on his final 4 holes to escape the previously mentioned double-pitcher zone. And Faz struggled all day, making the mistake of buying a hotdog during our rain delay and not washing it down with beer.
The rest of us were terrible in various spots. The back nine scorecard is littered with double pars.
---------------------
The standings continue to be a jumbled mess, as we now have 6 different winners in as many events. Anyone in the top 12 can potentially take the lead by winning JW's Hangover Invitational. Granted, we don't play it until next month. And it requires a mandatory bar attendance the night before (Saturday, August 1st) in order to enter the tournament.
Currently OUT of the next event is Faz and Tall Mike. If anyone else isn't playing, let me know. I imagine Darryl is out of the actual event since he's not going to make the bar... but he's still welcome to play with us regardless. I'm thinking of booking us at Esplanade (near Bradenton).
---------------------
All qualified players paid for the Ryder Cup before the deadline. So the field is set. All we need to do now is draft some teams. I'll talk to Darren and Buchert to work out a date. You don't have to attend but if you're free... come drink some beers and find out what team you're on. It'll be held in either Westchase or Carrollwood.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Ryder Cup Registration
Only Guest has failed to pay for the Ryder Cup. Perhaps he will bring cash to Fox Hollow on Sunday. Or maybe he'll 4-putt his chance for an awesome weekend, allowing an alternate to sneak into the event. Stay tuned!
Pairings are up to date, but they might change if we fill out the last two spots with amateur players. Regardless, get there by 8am. Sooner if you want to hit range balls. Speaking of... those are free for our group, so if you get there before me make sure they don't charge you more than the $45+ tax for the round.
See you all Sunday.
Pairings are up to date, but they might change if we fill out the last two spots with amateur players. Regardless, get there by 8am. Sooner if you want to hit range balls. Speaking of... those are free for our group, so if you get there before me make sure they don't charge you more than the $45+ tax for the round.
See you all Sunday.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Fox Hollow Preview
I walked off the course yesterday loudly complaining that I was moving up to play the gold tees with Gorecki this weekend. Fox Hollow is a 6,400+ yard par-71 course... which means it actually plays 6,500+. And it is a beast. I literally didn't even bother going at the green in two on a bunch of the par 4s... instead hitting away from trouble and hopefully scrapping out a bogey.
But after a couple of beers inside, and chatting about the league's "tee it forward" conundrum, I'm going to stay put and just take a beating. After all... it is a Major, and I'm the PGA equivalent of Ben Crane.
The course is excellent and in phenomenal shape. They have some of the best greens in town, fairways are fluffy and the rough is isn't too deep. I really liked the layout as well... but there is a TON of water/marsh and OB. So help your playing partners out and watch their tee shots closely.
The winner this week will be the bomber with the fewest penalty strokes. A higher handicapped player could win... but only if they scramble and play smart bogey golf. Darren and myself literally have zero chance, and at best could shoot around even par (net).
The head pro is going to give us free range balls so get there early to warm up. Tee time is at 8:30AM. Some of you might even make it home before your WAGs wake up. But don't promise them anything!
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Only FOUR people have yet to pay for the Ryder Cup: Guest, Tall Mike, Brendan and Gorecki. Bring me $80 cash on Sunday or pay me on PayPal. After this weekend I'm going to reach out to the "alternates," and I expect the final spots to fill up fast.
But after a couple of beers inside, and chatting about the league's "tee it forward" conundrum, I'm going to stay put and just take a beating. After all... it is a Major, and I'm the PGA equivalent of Ben Crane.
The course is excellent and in phenomenal shape. They have some of the best greens in town, fairways are fluffy and the rough is isn't too deep. I really liked the layout as well... but there is a TON of water/marsh and OB. So help your playing partners out and watch their tee shots closely.
The winner this week will be the bomber with the fewest penalty strokes. A higher handicapped player could win... but only if they scramble and play smart bogey golf. Darren and myself literally have zero chance, and at best could shoot around even par (net).
The head pro is going to give us free range balls so get there early to warm up. Tee time is at 8:30AM. Some of you might even make it home before your WAGs wake up. But don't promise them anything!
----------------------------------
Only FOUR people have yet to pay for the Ryder Cup: Guest, Tall Mike, Brendan and Gorecki. Bring me $80 cash on Sunday or pay me on PayPal. After this weekend I'm going to reach out to the "alternates," and I expect the final spots to fill up fast.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Upcoming Outings
I got a couple of outings to tell you about.
First one... if you're in town this weekend and want to play a practice round at Fox Hollow, I got one spot open on Sunday at 8:50am. First person to contact me is in.
Next up... July 26th. Big John has a buddy who can get anyone and everyone who wants to play Saddlebrook out for a 10:30am shotgun for $35. He thinks it's the Palmer Course, which should be 10 days after punching their greens. Make a comment if you want in, so he can keep a headcount.
First one... if you're in town this weekend and want to play a practice round at Fox Hollow, I got one spot open on Sunday at 8:50am. First person to contact me is in.
Next up... July 26th. Big John has a buddy who can get anyone and everyone who wants to play Saddlebrook out for a 10:30am shotgun for $35. He thinks it's the Palmer Course, which should be 10 days after punching their greens. Make a comment if you want in, so he can keep a headcount.
Monday, June 29, 2015
DPT Championship & Ryder Cup
Our next event will be at Fox Hollow up in Trinity on Sunday, July 12th. They're a private club that recently started allowing public rounds. All throughout the year they host FSGA and USGA events, and the pro told me the course is in excellent shape.
He also gave us a group rate of $45 plus tax, but our tee time is a little earlier than usual. First group out is 8:30am (the other option was noon and that's no good).
Since this is a Major, I'm not going to force you kids to play the old man (aka: correct) tees. Even though I still truly believe the shorter set-up (ie: Eaglebrook) provides us a better "PGA Tour" experience, where birdies and eagle chances are more prevalent. Instead we'll have a Major set-up with the longest yardage in league history.
The only person I know that's OUT is JW. However, I really don't like assuming any of you are in. Make a comment and let me know your plans.
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The Ryder Cup qualifiers are set. As expected, Darren and Buchert are captains this year. I've already paid for the lodging, so everyone highlighted blue in the registration grid has two weeks to pay me $80. This covers TWO nights up at World Woods (Friday August 21st & Saturday August 22nd). We individually pay for the golf while we're there (Saturday and Sunday rounds).
You can PayPal me $80 at chandler.brown@gmail.com. Just make sure to select the "sending money to family/friends" option. Or you can pay me cash/check in person. After our next event on July 12th... I'm going to open it up to whatever alternates want to join. Pay up now to secure your spot.
Once all 12 people are official we'll host a live draft. It'll be a "snake draft" with Darren getting picks 1, 4, 5, 8 and 9. Buchert selects 2, 3, 6, 7 and gets stuck with the last pick. More on this later.
He also gave us a group rate of $45 plus tax, but our tee time is a little earlier than usual. First group out is 8:30am (the other option was noon and that's no good).
Since this is a Major, I'm not going to force you kids to play the old man (aka: correct) tees. Even though I still truly believe the shorter set-up (ie: Eaglebrook) provides us a better "PGA Tour" experience, where birdies and eagle chances are more prevalent. Instead we'll have a Major set-up with the longest yardage in league history.
The only person I know that's OUT is JW. However, I really don't like assuming any of you are in. Make a comment and let me know your plans.
----------------------------------------
The Ryder Cup qualifiers are set. As expected, Darren and Buchert are captains this year. I've already paid for the lodging, so everyone highlighted blue in the registration grid has two weeks to pay me $80. This covers TWO nights up at World Woods (Friday August 21st & Saturday August 22nd). We individually pay for the golf while we're there (Saturday and Sunday rounds).
You can PayPal me $80 at chandler.brown@gmail.com. Just make sure to select the "sending money to family/friends" option. Or you can pay me cash/check in person. After our next event on July 12th... I'm going to open it up to whatever alternates want to join. Pay up now to secure your spot.
Once all 12 people are official we'll host a live draft. It'll be a "snake draft" with Darren getting picks 1, 4, 5, 8 and 9. Buchert selects 2, 3, 6, 7 and gets stuck with the last pick. More on this later.
Fazioli Match Play Recap - Summer 2015
It took 21 events, but Irish Dave finally has his first ever league victory. He shot an impressive 78 on a course where blow-ups lurked at every hole. There were 19 double-pars... but also for the first time in league history we had two eagles! Dave overpowered the 7th hole to get the first one, and JW had a crazy hole-out from the middle of the 9th fairway (his first ever eagle!). While JW's deuce was a little lucky, what Dave did to the 18th hole to win the tournament was incredible. He pounded a driver basically past the water to a tiny landing area, before sticking his approach tight and closing out with a birdie. It was the only score of par or better in the league on the final hole.
JW played great all day, with only one true disaster hole. Sadly, for the second time in two events, JW lost to a miraculous birdie on the final hole. It's probably for the best as he's allegedly missing three of the final four events. Despite that, he's having fun playing golf... which is more than Chandler (hey, that's me!) can say. I've never seen so many people fighting to get beer from a +10 pitcher!
Outside of Dave's -8 and JW's -7 net scores, most of us were over par. Faz finished 3rd and Rookie of the Year Darryl impressively placed 4th.
As for the matches, Guest beat Big John on the final hole to win, allowing him to jump Reid to #1 in the standings. Buchert crushed Brendan as predicted. JW never trailed in his match against Chandler. Mike fell apart on the final holes to lose to Darren. Faz beat Geoff in the biggest blow out of the day (6&5). Despite reporting that Dave won... his birdie on 18 actually only tied Gary. And Darryl reminded his son that he can still deliver a good spanking
The standings are insanely tight, thanks to five different winners in the first five tournaments. Anyone in the top 13 spots can win our next event and vault into 1st place.
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The second group this week finished about 30 minutes behind. For you Game of Thrones fans... I felt like we needed to follow them while ringing a bell and loudly chanting: "Shame! Shame!"
We'll try to put the perceived slower people in the later groups, but there are things everyone can do to help speed up play. If you're behind, try to watch where everyone's balls go on terrible shots to decrease the time hunting. Maybe instead of driving to your ball 280 yards down the middle of the fairway... head to the OB stake 100 yards out and help Gorecki locate his ball.
Also (and this is one a lot of you people could work on)... drop people off at their ball and then go drive to yours. No reason to sit in the cart watching someone hit, only to then drive over to your ball and restart the process. It's not a huge deal to walk a little bit after a shot. We don't need the cart within 5 feet of us at all time.
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Later today I'll post about our next event and Ryder Cup sign-ups.
JW played great all day, with only one true disaster hole. Sadly, for the second time in two events, JW lost to a miraculous birdie on the final hole. It's probably for the best as he's allegedly missing three of the final four events. Despite that, he's having fun playing golf... which is more than Chandler (hey, that's me!) can say. I've never seen so many people fighting to get beer from a +10 pitcher!
Outside of Dave's -8 and JW's -7 net scores, most of us were over par. Faz finished 3rd and Rookie of the Year Darryl impressively placed 4th.
As for the matches, Guest beat Big John on the final hole to win, allowing him to jump Reid to #1 in the standings. Buchert crushed Brendan as predicted. JW never trailed in his match against Chandler. Mike fell apart on the final holes to lose to Darren. Faz beat Geoff in the biggest blow out of the day (6&5). Despite reporting that Dave won... his birdie on 18 actually only tied Gary. And Darryl reminded his son that he can still deliver a good spanking
The standings are insanely tight, thanks to five different winners in the first five tournaments. Anyone in the top 13 spots can win our next event and vault into 1st place.
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The second group this week finished about 30 minutes behind. For you Game of Thrones fans... I felt like we needed to follow them while ringing a bell and loudly chanting: "Shame! Shame!"
We'll try to put the perceived slower people in the later groups, but there are things everyone can do to help speed up play. If you're behind, try to watch where everyone's balls go on terrible shots to decrease the time hunting. Maybe instead of driving to your ball 280 yards down the middle of the fairway... head to the OB stake 100 yards out and help Gorecki locate his ball.
Also (and this is one a lot of you people could work on)... drop people off at their ball and then go drive to yours. No reason to sit in the cart watching someone hit, only to then drive over to your ball and restart the process. It's not a huge deal to walk a little bit after a shot. We don't need the cart within 5 feet of us at all time.
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Later today I'll post about our next event and Ryder Cup sign-ups.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Match-Play Info
Eaglebrooke has a range which is included in the fee. They also have a pretty solid chipping and putting facility.
BRING CASH this week. As mentioned before, three of us already pre-paid for your round. So you'll owe $30 cash when you arrive.
Remember that the regular stroke play tournament is still in effect and will determine cash payouts. Keep that in mind and feel free to deny any gimmie putts to your playing partners, even if you aren't in a match against them.
See you all Sunday.
BRING CASH this week. As mentioned before, three of us already pre-paid for your round. So you'll owe $30 cash when you arrive.
Remember that the regular stroke play tournament is still in effect and will determine cash payouts. Keep that in mind and feel free to deny any gimmie putts to your playing partners, even if you aren't in a match against them.
See you all Sunday.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Fazioli Match-Play Match-ups
For a moment, we had ALL 16 league members attending the tournament next weekend. The scheduled match-ups were great and we didn't need to find any fill-in players. But then Reid informed me he wasn't attending, making it the second week in a row the overall standings leader was absent. And every pairing changed as a result.
Below are the official groupings, match-ups and predictions (number of match-play strokes in parenthesis). You can also view the stroke play and match-play scorecards here.
Group 1
#10 Geoff (10) vs. #11 Faz - Going out first as the pacesetter, Geoff is scheduled to make his second appearance of the season. He's getting a lot of strokes, but is it enough to foreclose Faz's season? Or can Patito finally transform his ugly duckling game into a beautiful swan? Geoff has never played Eaglebrooke, while Faz has played it three times in his life: twice from the golds (shooting 85, 87) and once from the longer white tees (also an 87). Look for Faz to end his day atop the leader board, while Geoff will lose his most recent commission check.
#11 Faz (3) vs. #16 Dan - The Fazioli Match-Play almost always has an "odd man out," and this season it's Dan. In his second event he will take on Faz for the 100 bonus DPT Points. Faz won't earn any points for a victory, but he can keep them out of Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. Dan's DPT record has been DOA since he decided to start playing the tips every tournament in Spring 2014. Prior to that, he had never placed lower than 4th. So I'm booting him up a set of tees, which will shorten the course 300 yards without taking away any strokes. I predict a top 5 finish for Dan even if he loses his match to Faz. Which he probably will, because in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Mr. Rogers still thinks he's good enough to break 80 from the back tees.
Group 2
#13 Gorecki Jr. (6) vs. #15 Gorecki Sr. - It's taken 38 years, but will Gorecki Jr. finally become the man of the house? No. He won't. Even with a victory it's embarrassing to get 6 strokes from your retired father. I predict Junior wins the match, but both Goreckis finish out of the points. Away from their Buffalo Creek comfort zone, Eaglebrooke will beat up on the Wisconsin boys and leave a nasty rash. Luckily for Mike... Nurse Dan is in the group ahead of him.
#12 Gary vs. #13 Dave (1) - Gary's ancestors left Europe to find religious freedom. Dave's ancestors refused to budge during the great potato famine. As fate would have it, those decisions would lead us to this match-up hundreds of years later. An old guy in the New World versus a young guy from the Old World. Both can bomb the ball off the tee. Both are prone to wild hooks that will find water and OB at Eaglebrooke. And both exhibit a terrible short game from time to time. This match is a true toss-up. I'm giving the edge to Gary since he's seen the course. And also, America.
Group 3
#8 Darren vs. #9 Tall Mike (6) - As a result of the recent uprising, The Baron has been overthrown and now lives in a cellar on the outskirts of town. Tall Mike has moved in next door, deciding to trade in his freedom for the isolation of married life. On paper, whoever makes the fewest mistakes should win this battle. But the victor will be the one who discovers the perfect combination of vices. Can Darren find the right mix of beers and smokes? Can Mike blend together a winning formula of whiskey, pain meds, dip and practice swings? Actually... Tall Mike wins in a blowout because The Baron lost all the sand in his bags. Six strokes is too many to overcome when both guys will shoot in the mid 90s. I expect Mike to also finish in the top three of stroke play.
#6 Chandler vs. #7 JW (12) - The Dub is getting one stroke for each expected beer he'll consume. But unlike a golden handcrafted brew slowly aged in beachwood chips... JW's game isn't very consistent. He has drastically improved each week, but he can't seem to avoid the blow-up holes. Last season, Chandler stomped JW with a perfect 10&8 while giving him 15 strokes at an easier course (Lexington Oaks). However, JW's morale has improved so the beatings will not continue. Chandler finishes higher on the stroke play leader board, while The Dub wins the match 2&1 despite a double bogey on the final hole.
Group 4
#4 Buchert vs. #5 Brendan (8) - Nobody is playing better golf right now than Buchert. All aspects of his game are sharp and he leads the league in gross scoring average (80.5). Brendan gets 8 strokes and can win if he plays bogey golf. The first hole is literally the only "easy" hole on the course, so Brendan should get an early lead. But it all comes crashing down on the 2nd hole, which requires an accurate tee shot before a forced carry over a swamp. Buchert should also have no problem going for three of the par 5s in two. Final prediction: Brendan gets beat badly. Nurse Dan fails to revive him. Gorecki Jr. builds Brendan a cat coffin. JW pours out one of his beers. Dave turns Brendan's grave into a potato garden. And Chandler runs out of terrible jokes for this write-up.
#2 Guest (1) vs. #3 Big John - Only one stroke in this match. The gift of gab versus an insatiable appetite. Playing in the final group means you're near the top of the standings and control your own destiny to win the Cup. Will Chris play himself on to the Champion's Dinner guest list? Or does John have big plans for a dinner in his honor? The greens at Eaglebrooke will be the fastest and most undulating we've seen all season. Don't put your money on a guy who historically has putting issues, even if he claims they're fixed. John wins and jumps ahead of Guest and Reid in the overall standings. He also blows out one of his knees during said metaphorical jump.
Below are the official groupings, match-ups and predictions (number of match-play strokes in parenthesis). You can also view the stroke play and match-play scorecards here.
Group 1
#10 Geoff (10) vs. #11 Faz - Going out first as the pacesetter, Geoff is scheduled to make his second appearance of the season. He's getting a lot of strokes, but is it enough to foreclose Faz's season? Or can Patito finally transform his ugly duckling game into a beautiful swan? Geoff has never played Eaglebrooke, while Faz has played it three times in his life: twice from the golds (shooting 85, 87) and once from the longer white tees (also an 87). Look for Faz to end his day atop the leader board, while Geoff will lose his most recent commission check.
#11 Faz (3) vs. #16 Dan - The Fazioli Match-Play almost always has an "odd man out," and this season it's Dan. In his second event he will take on Faz for the 100 bonus DPT Points. Faz won't earn any points for a victory, but he can keep them out of Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. Dan's DPT record has been DOA since he decided to start playing the tips every tournament in Spring 2014. Prior to that, he had never placed lower than 4th. So I'm booting him up a set of tees, which will shorten the course 300 yards without taking away any strokes. I predict a top 5 finish for Dan even if he loses his match to Faz. Which he probably will, because in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, Mr. Rogers still thinks he's good enough to break 80 from the back tees.
Group 2
#13 Gorecki Jr. (6) vs. #15 Gorecki Sr. - It's taken 38 years, but will Gorecki Jr. finally become the man of the house? No. He won't. Even with a victory it's embarrassing to get 6 strokes from your retired father. I predict Junior wins the match, but both Goreckis finish out of the points. Away from their Buffalo Creek comfort zone, Eaglebrooke will beat up on the Wisconsin boys and leave a nasty rash. Luckily for Mike... Nurse Dan is in the group ahead of him.
#12 Gary vs. #13 Dave (1) - Gary's ancestors left Europe to find religious freedom. Dave's ancestors refused to budge during the great potato famine. As fate would have it, those decisions would lead us to this match-up hundreds of years later. An old guy in the New World versus a young guy from the Old World. Both can bomb the ball off the tee. Both are prone to wild hooks that will find water and OB at Eaglebrooke. And both exhibit a terrible short game from time to time. This match is a true toss-up. I'm giving the edge to Gary since he's seen the course. And also, America.
Group 3
#8 Darren vs. #9 Tall Mike (6) - As a result of the recent uprising, The Baron has been overthrown and now lives in a cellar on the outskirts of town. Tall Mike has moved in next door, deciding to trade in his freedom for the isolation of married life. On paper, whoever makes the fewest mistakes should win this battle. But the victor will be the one who discovers the perfect combination of vices. Can Darren find the right mix of beers and smokes? Can Mike blend together a winning formula of whiskey, pain meds, dip and practice swings? Actually... Tall Mike wins in a blowout because The Baron lost all the sand in his bags. Six strokes is too many to overcome when both guys will shoot in the mid 90s. I expect Mike to also finish in the top three of stroke play.
#6 Chandler vs. #7 JW (12) - The Dub is getting one stroke for each expected beer he'll consume. But unlike a golden handcrafted brew slowly aged in beachwood chips... JW's game isn't very consistent. He has drastically improved each week, but he can't seem to avoid the blow-up holes. Last season, Chandler stomped JW with a perfect 10&8 while giving him 15 strokes at an easier course (Lexington Oaks). However, JW's morale has improved so the beatings will not continue. Chandler finishes higher on the stroke play leader board, while The Dub wins the match 2&1 despite a double bogey on the final hole.
Group 4
#4 Buchert vs. #5 Brendan (8) - Nobody is playing better golf right now than Buchert. All aspects of his game are sharp and he leads the league in gross scoring average (80.5). Brendan gets 8 strokes and can win if he plays bogey golf. The first hole is literally the only "easy" hole on the course, so Brendan should get an early lead. But it all comes crashing down on the 2nd hole, which requires an accurate tee shot before a forced carry over a swamp. Buchert should also have no problem going for three of the par 5s in two. Final prediction: Brendan gets beat badly. Nurse Dan fails to revive him. Gorecki Jr. builds Brendan a cat coffin. JW pours out one of his beers. Dave turns Brendan's grave into a potato garden. And Chandler runs out of terrible jokes for this write-up.
#2 Guest (1) vs. #3 Big John - Only one stroke in this match. The gift of gab versus an insatiable appetite. Playing in the final group means you're near the top of the standings and control your own destiny to win the Cup. Will Chris play himself on to the Champion's Dinner guest list? Or does John have big plans for a dinner in his honor? The greens at Eaglebrooke will be the fastest and most undulating we've seen all season. Don't put your money on a guy who historically has putting issues, even if he claims they're fixed. John wins and jumps ahead of Guest and Reid in the overall standings. He also blows out one of his knees during said metaphorical jump.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Eaglebrooke Preview
We are all set to play Eaglebrooke next weekend, Sunday, June 28th at 10am. Cost will be $30 cash... so make sure you actually bring dollar bills! Everyone's round has been pre-paid by three league members.
Darren and I went out to play a scouting round today, and it's in phenomenal shape. Fairways are lush, rough is thick, greens are smooth, fast and have some crazy undulations. We played it from the white tees, which at 6,316 (128 slope) would be the longest course in league history. Personally I didn't have any issues... but the track is extremely difficult with a lot of forced carries. Not to mention a ton of water and OB lining most fairways.
Long story short... there's too many BIPSIC holes out there for our high handicaps. And I'd much rather err on people shooting lower scores than making this "US Open" caliber.
Short story even shorter... I'm afraid Gorecki won't be able to shoot under 115.
So we're taking Jack Nicklaus' advice and teeing it forward to the "old man" gold tees. It plays an even 6,000 (124 slope), which is in line with our other tournaments. It's still a very challenging layout, and the long guys can pound driver on most of the holes (if they choose). Dan is also being pushed up one box to the blues, but that's because his handicap is the same there as it is the tips. It's time for him to stop hemorrhaging money and to actually compete in these events.
Tomorrow I'm going to do a write-up previewing each match. Try not to let the suspense kill you.
Darren and I went out to play a scouting round today, and it's in phenomenal shape. Fairways are lush, rough is thick, greens are smooth, fast and have some crazy undulations. We played it from the white tees, which at 6,316 (128 slope) would be the longest course in league history. Personally I didn't have any issues... but the track is extremely difficult with a lot of forced carries. Not to mention a ton of water and OB lining most fairways.
Long story short... there's too many BIPSIC holes out there for our high handicaps. And I'd much rather err on people shooting lower scores than making this "US Open" caliber.
Short story even shorter... I'm afraid Gorecki won't be able to shoot under 115.
So we're taking Jack Nicklaus' advice and teeing it forward to the "old man" gold tees. It plays an even 6,000 (124 slope), which is in line with our other tournaments. It's still a very challenging layout, and the long guys can pound driver on most of the holes (if they choose). Dan is also being pushed up one box to the blues, but that's because his handicap is the same there as it is the tips. It's time for him to stop hemorrhaging money and to actually compete in these events.
Tomorrow I'm going to do a write-up previewing each match. Try not to let the suspense kill you.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Gorecki Memorial - Summer 2015 Recap
Chris Guest became the 4th winner in as many tournaments this season, posting the impressive score of -10 at the Gorecki Memorial. It's also the 3rd pitcher bought this season for someone shooting double-digits under par. Buffalo Creek played as easy as expected, with the median net-score to par at -3 (easiest on record). If you made bogey or worse on a par 5 today, you were really losing strokes to the field.
Guest kept his round consistent with two birdies and a lot of bogeys. As he says, it seems he's fixed his putting issues. Buchert finished second with the low gross round of the day. And his 76 would have beaten the league average at Countryway! Reid rounded out the top 3 with an excellent 40 on the back nine despite a double-bogey on the 17th hole. He also takes the lead in the season standings.
The Baron peeked his head out of the cellar this week, only because Gary blew up on two holes to finish last with a +2 net score.
The course was in decent shape. Maybe a little wet in spots... but the fairways and rough were nice. The "Countryway Haters Club" liked the course a lot, but depending on the schedule we might head back to Countryway in the Spring if we play on Masters Sunday. Outside of that, I'm all for playing Buffalo Creek again, especially in the summer seasons.
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We're off this upcoming week for Father's Day. Enjoy it if you're going out of town.
The week after, June 28th, we're playing the Fazioli Match Play. It's our mid-season event, and one of the most important. Comment by next Friday if you're IN. If I don't hear from you I'm going to assume you're not playing.
The order of which you officially register might matter if we play Eaglebrooke (due to pre-paid vouchers). So don't miss out on cheaper golf because you're too lazy to contact me or comment.
Currently registered are: Chandler, Buchert, Reid, Guest, Gary, Darren and Faz.
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There was some inconsequential movement in the Official Golf Rankings. Next week is the last time you can boost your standing for the Ryder Cup. However... the 12 qualifiers have basically been set for a few weeks. And nobody is going to surpass Darren or Buchert in the captain's spots. Start sucking up to them now if you want to be drafted higher than you deserve.
After the Match Play, everyone will have two weeks to pay for their spot. More on that next week.
Guest kept his round consistent with two birdies and a lot of bogeys. As he says, it seems he's fixed his putting issues. Buchert finished second with the low gross round of the day. And his 76 would have beaten the league average at Countryway! Reid rounded out the top 3 with an excellent 40 on the back nine despite a double-bogey on the 17th hole. He also takes the lead in the season standings.
The Baron peeked his head out of the cellar this week, only because Gary blew up on two holes to finish last with a +2 net score.
The course was in decent shape. Maybe a little wet in spots... but the fairways and rough were nice. The "Countryway Haters Club" liked the course a lot, but depending on the schedule we might head back to Countryway in the Spring if we play on Masters Sunday. Outside of that, I'm all for playing Buffalo Creek again, especially in the summer seasons.
-----------------------
We're off this upcoming week for Father's Day. Enjoy it if you're going out of town.
The week after, June 28th, we're playing the Fazioli Match Play. It's our mid-season event, and one of the most important. Comment by next Friday if you're IN. If I don't hear from you I'm going to assume you're not playing.
The order of which you officially register might matter if we play Eaglebrooke (due to pre-paid vouchers). So don't miss out on cheaper golf because you're too lazy to contact me or comment.
Currently registered are: Chandler, Buchert, Reid, Guest, Gary, Darren and Faz.
-----------------------
There was some inconsequential movement in the Official Golf Rankings. Next week is the last time you can boost your standing for the Ryder Cup. However... the 12 qualifiers have basically been set for a few weeks. And nobody is going to surpass Darren or Buchert in the captain's spots. Start sucking up to them now if you want to be drafted higher than you deserve.
After the Match Play, everyone will have two weeks to pay for their spot. More on that next week.
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