2020 Rapture Draft

Tall Mike (Blue Team) and John (Gray Team) drafted yesterday. As soon as they submit their pairings for Four-Ball, Chapman (alt-shot) and Singles, I'll get those posted. Here are the draft results: 

1 - Dave
2 - Faz
3 - Chandler
4 - Casey
5 - Brendan
6 - Geoff
7 - Adam
8 - JW
9 - Gorecki
10 - Reid
11 - Gary
12 - Darren
13 - Troy
14 - Danny

The Concussion - Summer 2020 Recap

For the second time this season, Geoff had a guaranteed victory locked up before completely imploding down the stretch.

Beginning with the 99-yard 15th hole, a shank that should have gone OB (but was saved by trees) resulted in a double-bogey. Slicing his tee shot on the 17th earned him a triple bogey. And a bunker behind the 18th green gave him a BIPSIC max. It was horrifying to watch.

Dave wasn't even aware he was back in the mix until the 17th green. His par on 18 was clutch, capping off a 5-birdie performance. He beat Ho by one shot, which apparently was a 2-footer on the final hole that Ho yipped.

The leaderboard was great for Gorecki, as his closest challengers failed to score meaningful points. He continues to move forward toward a season championship, much like he continues to move forward and illegally tee off in front of the tee markers.

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This week we are at Cheval for the Hangover Invitational (10am). You're probably going to be on your own for the drinking, however. A bunch of you are leery of going to a bar, which is completely understandable.

Sometime before Friday I'll comment what I'm doing. Show up and hang out if you want. Based on the standings, there's nothing worth celebrating anyway.

I have to give Cheval the names of people playing Sunday. If you're going to bail... how about you do so now, instead of later in the week. Thanks in advance.

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The pitchers should be correct. But comment any Deadbeat List changes.

BGR Op-Ed: Gorecki having tougher route to League Champion than any other Champ

 

• No other champion has been targeted with such resistance than Gorecki on his track to winning 
• Members and board members lay silent and contribute to group think as hate gets spewed down from the Chairman of the Board 
• Will future golfers need to worry about such targeting as they blindly play their best, unknowing to the forces at work behind the scenes 

 

Defcon 3, Defcon 2, Defcon 1, Defcon 0? Michael Gorecki has been a mediocre golfer his whole life and some may say a less than mediocre person for longer. He has risen to above that this season and certain people aren’t okay with it. As he sits atop the leader board with 1650 points and his closest competitor sitting 675 points behind with 3 events left, people are getting nervous.  

No other champion has had to deal with as much chirping before, during, or after a round. Mainly led and encouraged by our league’s chairman. Other voted board members have been heard that they will no longer participate in the Champions Dinner if Gorecki is a part of it. So much as suggesting there will be a new dinner that is only for multiple league champions to exclude Gorecki. This opinion piece is being written to suggest that Gorecki might actually be our best league champion ever! With 2020 being a tough year dealing with the Covid outbreak, it makes it all the more difficult to practice and keep a sound mind when it comes to being on the course and dealing with personal matters. Through recent investigative journalism it was discovered that the leagues chairman was planning on scheduling courses that Gorecki has historically not played well at, making it all the more difficult. Last night there was a ploy against him to make him play with Brian Litman. This gentleman is not a golfer and from reliable sources would appear to be only playing in the attempts to get under Michael Gorecki’s skin. If Gorecki hangs on through all of this, he may go down as the best champion the Fort Brooke Golfers Club has ever seen! 

The BGR is a non-political group that supports and appreciates all members. Especially members that will bring a few twelve packs of TBBC beer and pass them out to the masses without an agenda. As the league continues, please give thought to the idea that if you were on track to win a championship how you would like to be treated. It would not be fair if you were moved to the back of the group pairings when you had earned the right to tee off first. It would not be fair if someone put a random non golfing individual that is not friends with individuals in that group to cause distractions. It would not be fair if someone picked specific courses that someone had historically not played well at. Chirping amongst the group is allowed and encouraged. 

With all that said, drink and be merry! Have fun! Gorecki Win! Gorecki enjoy your steak and wine at Berns! 

Boom GorecHated

Since there is (or once was) a full field of us attending this weeks Memorial   Concussion  GORECKI tournament and all work and no play is making me a dull boy, I decided to follow the ways of the great Michael Scott and show up unannounced, briefly roast you lesser golfers (standings wise), and drop the MIKE [sic] as I exit this blog...

So in descending standings rank order.. "I have some thoughts I'd like to share with you people" (Cue the index cards)...

Casey- You're forty-something years old but your bladder must be the same size as your 1 yr old son. Maybe you should start stealing his diapers to wear out on the course.

Tall Mike- The only people who seem to be attracted to you is your wife who looks to be 4' something when standing next to you and Senior Citizens holding their weekly Pinochle game at The Groves.

Chandler- You're gay.

Stanley err I mean Dub- You crush your wife during sex and your golf game sucks. Boom. GorecHated [StanDub starts to laugh] 

Geoff- The U called, they think you suck and you're gayer than Chandler. Oh, and you and like the other 99% of UM fans should stop cheering for a school you didn't attend. 

Reid-  Good news! The Groves is pro-rating your fee on Sunday since you only played 12 holes before  WDing last visit.

Danny- Good news for you also! These test results show you've officially recovered from COVID-19...

Dave- How much interest did you accrue from the time you collected your winnings in Kohler to when you blew it all with that very wise flop-shot bet with Adam? 

Mike Hauch- The sports of Golf and Hockey are begging that you abandon them and give something else a try... I heard Pickleball is gaining popularity and "your buddy" knows of a court in the Old Memorial community! 

Brendan- Wide brim hats, weekday golf rounds, and arriving 3 hours before your scheduled Sunday tee time has only regressed your performance to put together a good round of golf.

Katie, where's Katie? Well, there you are. I didn't see you behind those numerous Golf Instructors you like to date.

Melberg- A newbie to the GorecHate rants.. 

Did the commish prank you and say before establishing a league handicap you must first go play some rounds with Mike Ho?

 

Big John- I watched a Seinfeld re-run the other other day and George Costanza's "ME FIRST!" personality trait reminded me alot of someone I know...

Gary- I've recently learned that even the world's greatest eye surgeon can't correct your sight impairment. Consider this a blessing as its probably best you don't see what your golf peers witness from you each week. 

Darren- Your recent display of your golf game is like your prostate: Gone

Troy-  You know there's no rule that states your handicap index must match the number of cigarettes you smoke in a round right?

Buchert- Remember the days you used to hang out with us after each round of golf? A better question may be is do you remember the days you used to PLAY a round of golf?

Adam- Don't let those recent winnings from Dave go up in smoke... literally and figuratively.... sort of like what you've done to your golf game.

BOOM. You've all been roasted. GORECHATE OUT!

Odds Update

You know all of those preseason pickers for college football taking Notre Dame or USC to win it all and then never go back to own up to being so bad at picking? That's not going to be me. I'm very bad at picking club events, and even worse at setting odds for league champions. Or maybe Gorecki has my preseason write-up on his makeup bureau at his house so he can apply his anti-aging cream and get ready to win another FBGC event at the same time.

With only a third of the season remaining, one golfer has established a commanding lead over the rest of the field by finishing first in half of the season's events already: Michael J. Gorecki, AKA OMG, AKA the Stroking Skeleton, and so on and so forth. I had Gorecki going out at 100:1 odds to win the championship, and if I were an actual sports betting business, I would probably be broke. Net scoring gives pretty much anyone the chance to win, as evidenced multiple times this season. With four of the seven first place finishes this season owned by golfers who have spent nearly all of their league time in 20+ handicap territory, it's clear that talent isn't what drives wins. Anyway, let's go see how awful I am at handicapping our club now that only 5 players are within a win and a Masters win of possibly beating Gorecki at this point.

The New Guy: Melberg (Even)

This was dumb. Melberg's handicap was way too low to actually compete with Gorecki levels of stroke giving. Still, I had seen previous new members come in and steal a couple events, or even a season championship, based on mis-handicapping, so I guess I was working under the premises that Melberg was a scratch golfer playing at a 6 or something. Another great example of golf talent not mattering.

The artist formerly known as Big John (2:1)

I didn't realize that John would try to defend his title by... not showing up to events. Not only that, he's only broken 90 once this season, which isn't going to work well for this now 15-handicapper. The stroke and a half he's shaved aren't what's killing him. Him not being able to put up better than an 88 is.

The Sober Duo: Adam and Troy (3:1)

The Hangover is usually earlier in the season and I was leaning on one of these two winning against our group of drunken ne'er-do-wells to be higher in the standings. Also, I really expect Troy to crush the Concussion as he apparently designed The Groves and it fits his game perfectly. Still, we are four golfers in starting on the favorites side and we have Adam in last place and no golfer in the top half of the standings and all pretty much eliminated.

Brown Gypsy Magic: Chandler and Gary (5:1)

Finally getting to a golfer who only has to win two tournaments to catch up to Gorecki. When I wrote the original odds post on May 3, Chandler's handicap was trending towards good sandbagging range. Since then he's lowered it three strokes. In-season handicap management isn't what you're after, but reporting multiple single digit scores outside of league play is just silly. Miss a few putts here and there during your practice rounds, Gypsy. Gary is well on pace for his worst league finish in years. Guess the gypsy magic comes more from the Meyers side.

The Relatively Good Golfers: Faz and Dave (8:1)

Talent doesn't matter. These guys have no shot.

The Old Dads: Geoff (25:1), Casey (12:1), and Reid (20:1)

Three of the top seven in the standings here. Would have been good value for bettors as these guys are all past league champions and know how to operate at the top of the standings. Wait, what's that? Reid hasn't won? Oh. I must have skipped the end of Spring 19 and Spring 14 after seeing his commanding lead going into the last few tournaments. That kind of gives me hope for this season, though. Who will be the champions dinner hero to save them from being the earlybird special at the Sizzler? Perhaps Casey, who is the closest competitor and still has a real chance to win. Reid and Geoff probably won't be the heroes because they've been playing with me every week and my situational awareness apparently isn't great because cart girls take too long.

The Younger Dad's Group: Moostie (30:1), Brendan (30:1), Buchert (30:1), and Dub (50:1)

Moostie and I have been holding our own this season, each with a win and me with a second. Moostie has shown up more and done better on his less than stellar weeks while I couldn't even win my match play while struggling to a second to last finish at Waterlefe, though, so Moostie is another past champion with a real motive to keep the champions dinner free of jerky, and the ability to win multiple tournaments coming down the stretch. While Brendan and Moostie are boasting perfect attendance records, Buchert and I have not been. I will say my misses have been for other golf opportunities more than family constraints, though, so this one's on me.

The Reverse Sandbagger: Hauch (I'm now pronouncing it "How" because "How is his handicap that low?") (50:1)

A strong performance at Waterlefe seems like it might have boosted his confidence moving forward, but he followed that up with a pitcher and a pedestrian performance at the Jamaican. Everyone knows you can't walk off the island, and his season has officially drowned while sitting over 1,300 points behind with about 11 other league members.

Flirty Thirties: Danny (75:1) and Gorecki (100:1)

Tough to win anything when you only show up twice, even if you have the Rona antibodies like Danny. And here's where we get to our league's Leicester City. The golfer that would have been relegated to inferior leagues if they actually existed is about to win the whole damn season. I mostly blame Chandler for this. He started this league and now he's going to have to be the one to burn it down for the insurance. Those of us without season titles can rest easy at our new non-champions dinner at Red Dog, though. Still awaiting the league revolt I promised. Maybe Gorecki downloaded that mental golf app that keeps popping up on facebook ads?

Allegedly Going to Show Up: Katie (100:1)

She's been showing up, which is a vast improvement from the Spring. If she shows up for the next 5 events she'll once again qualify for the World Rankings, too.

Not Pictured: Darren

Folks, the Baron, the name applied to Darren's good golf game, is officially dead. He's now just regular Darren again and will need to get that handicap back up around 20 to start winning again. Presuming the cause of death is those cancer sticks. RIP Baron.

His reign ended with a poof.

Boozer's Golf Review Vol. 29 - Lake Jovita (North)

Lake Jovita was the host of our Summer 2020 Jamaican Open, Hooray Beer! We have played and BGR rated this establishment before but this time we were taking on their north course. Did this change our previous rating? Did they do something different that wow'd us? Not really.

There was a lot of uncertainty heading into the day with Hurricane Isaiasasisisis heading down Florida's East Coast. A one beer rain delay toward the end of the round but that was it.

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.

Lake Jovita is private so Pasco County's laws of no booze until 11am on Sundays do not apply. With Covid did that change? No, the snack bar on the bottom floor was open for purchases and the beer angel was floating around with that sweet nectar.

Thrifty boozing conditions
Not the thriftiest. They were charging $5 for Bud Heavy 16 ouncers and $5 for Bud Light Seltzers. The club house was a little better as pitchers were running at $11. I was there early and had a cart dropped off at my vehicle to put in it whatever I so pleased. Also the parking lot is right next to the practice green so very easy to rectify those marked up prices with a good booze smuggle.

On course service
She spaced herself out nicely on the course as we saw her 3 times. Easy on the eyes and pleasant attitude. What one would hope for and expect from the cart lady. Nothing more and nothing less.

Pissability
One restroom strategically placed where hole 5 meets hole 6, where hole 9 meets hole 10, and where hole 11 meets hole 12. The ladies of Lake Jovita had put a bucket of beers and sodas there for the taking. Very nice gesture but was just a diet coke left when we rolled through. After hole 12 there are plenty of hiding spots.

Clubhouse experience
No food and no popcorn! But were serving alcohol, AC, and a cozy environment. No opportunity to try their fancy quesadillas this time but with this china virus it was nice to see a clubhouse accepting guests. I also wouldn't be surprised to find out they were open earlier for lunch and had closed down by the time we got there.

Overall
Staying a 3 beer. As we predicted last time I think I could see them possibly moving up to a four but right now she ain't there.

Given we like to talk about beer and golf, I had to include this video. It made me chuckle. Who in our league is most like this individual?

Boozer's Golf Review Vol. 28 - Torrey Pines Golf Course

We have a special treat for the touristy or San Diego based Booze Golfers today. One of our esteemed leaders headed west in recent weeks in order to undertake the rating the course that hosted Tiger's last U.S. Open win and will host next year's championship, Torrey Pines. South and North courses both host the annual Farmers Insurance Open, but the South course takes the reins when our national championship comes to town. We were fortunate enough to play both courses and used some of our lessons from the Saturday round at South to increase fun at North on Sunday.

I believe this is the best actual course we've ever rated (and we might have an even higher rated one coming up soon), but it's not all about the course when you live that BGR life.

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.

We were able to purchase beer when we showed up for the 8:42 tee time the Sunday we played the North course, so a solid thumbs up here. There's a stand outside the clubhouse at the 9th green/1st tee box on the North course that you'll pass no matter which course you're heading to. There's also a restaurant closer to the South where you can get some go drinks. I went with a coffee and a water thinking I could Irish it up on my own, but alas my playing partner and I failed to communicate well enough and left the bag bourbon at home. Regardless, you can show up dry and help yourself out if you fail to execute your drinking plan.

No booze in hand on third tee box on the South course because, well, we forgot.
Saw the cart girl after the next hole.

Thrifty boozing conditions

If you do fail to plan, it will be EXTREMELY expensive as this lovely muni goes full resort pricing on pretty much everything. Beers are a la carte and range from $7 for the traditional 12 oz Budweiser to $9 for micro brews. Liquor drinks start at $11. We paid for our lack of preparation, but the Budweisers were very necessary. That said, if you do plan, you can bring a subtle backpack cooler with as much beer as you'd like. I recommend prepacking with ice as it won't be easily available at the course. Boozing will require a push cart with a basket or an actual cart to store your beverages of choice. Carts run $40, so you'll break even if you bring 5 beers in a small cooler (with tip). That won't make the golf traditionalists too happy, but we are Booze Golfers first and fun is still the primary reason for the game. Don't bring a Yeti that's too wide on the bottom if you're going to put drinks on the rocks. Cupholders are the least favorite of the BGR, as shown here.

Can barely fit the coffee cup.

Getting a cart also allows you to bring the significant other. We brought our wives to help move the cart along and carry the beer while we walked the North Course after learning our lessons on the South the day before. It'll require more booze, but when the views are as good as they are at Torrey Pines, everyone will have a great time. Plus, one of the guests can bring down the backpack with the booze in it so the sneaking is even more covert.

Taking a riding break going up to 17 at the North Course.

On course service

Cart girls were ready and willing to help, but required a mask for service and were card only. Don't much care for those restrictions, but the card payment was smooth and everyone has masks right now anyway. Service was great, prices were not. You'll only get a bag of ice to keep your drinks chilled, so, again, it would be wise to bring your own cooler. There's a turn stand on the South Course between 9 and 10 that you can hit between 14 and 15 as well. On the North Course you can hit the turn stand before 1, between 9 and 10, and between 12 and 13 if you're in dire straits and can run or take the cart up there quickly. Despite the prices, we recommend buying a few craft beers for the group from the cart girl or one of the stands. Great selection out there, and the money you'll be saving on the volume beer should allow some fancier stuff, too.

Pissability

If there are better places to piss in golf, I haven't seen them. Right on the Pacific for various parts of  both courses, and plenty of wildlife areas as well. There are stretches where you can't get away from other folks enough to be fully comfortable that your aren't unlawfully exposing yourself, but the bathrooms are usually close enough for you to utilize during those stretches, particularly on the front on the North and the back on the South. The bathrooms were one in, one out, though, so do your best to wait for the ridges.

Looks like a good spot over there while a wife needlepoints in the cart.

Clubhouse experience

N/A due to corona, but there did seem to be some nice outdoor seating to view some really bad and really good golfers tee off on the first hole of the South Course. Most likely as expensive as the rest of the course was. Cost of living and boozing is just that much higher in some places, and La Jolla is one of them. Not sure how to do photo cred, but this one of the view from the Grill is taken from this article on the San Diego Reader.

Overall

Torrey is more expensive than any other course we've rated, and very strict on where the carts can go and staying out of the parking lot. That said, staff is pretty laissez-faire and friendly so bringing booze that isn't too overt is pretty easy if you work it correctly. By the usual metrics, this would be a two beer course, but we feel like the views and the ocean give this an extra kick into the three beer level, and if price isn't a concern for you it could very well go to five.

The Concussion - Spring 2020 Preview

This Club is concussed.

We're giving The Groves (in Land O' Lakes) another go this season. The Spring event was wonderful carnage. Troy destroyed the field winning by 11 damn strokes. Reid developed the shanks only one week after winning an event, and was forced to WD. Half of the field was in the bad-pitcher zone.

Expect more of the same. Short courses are funny like that. Most of you have your personal bests — in relation to par — on short courses. You may also have your personal worst. With smaller greens, what would usually be an easy 3-putt on a normal course is a nightmare chipping situation.

With only one event in the books, The Groves is ranked 3rd most difficult on our list of courses. Gorecki is going to win. I'm picking him every event for the rest of the season.

9am tee time. They have a range. Get there a little early, and expect to go out early.

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Everyone is on the tips (BLUE). Katie is on the women's tips (WHITE). No, you can't move up. Our policy has never been "play anywhere that's rated for your gender."

We select what we believe are acceptable tees, and you can pick your poison from that list. Anything else is some misinformed rumor started by one of our village idiots.

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Speaking of... Dear Leader's official stance on Gorecki playing the old-man GREEN tees last week is... "it's perfectly fine."

Those tees were on the approved list prior to the round. He lost 4 strokes moving up. And he didn't even overpower the course, since 5,800 yards isn't exactly "short" for his osteoporosis riddled body. It's definitely not short enough for anyone to complain about. He didn't use anything shorter than a 9-iron all day for an approach. So if you used a bunch of wedges... you had an easier course experience.

Is it a little pathetic? Absolutely. Remind him of that as much as you can. But he's completely trash at golf. Thousands of dollars on lessons and equipment haven't moved his handicap below 25. And any pro will tell you a 25+ handicap shouldn't be playing 6,200+ yards.

Gorecki beat us because he only had one penalty shot. He only went into two bunkers (made par from one of them). And he was +1 (gross!) on the par 3s.

He played so well on Sunday, that he started loudly bitching about the slow play in the group ahead of us. Four terrible golfers playing the BLUE tees, barely hacking it 200 yards down the fairway, and standing over putts for a full minute. I eventually had to tell Gorecki to "shut up," since we were basically playing behind four of his clones.

Jamaican Open - Summer 2020 Recap

2020 has claimed another victim. We founded this league 9 years ago, hoping it would be fun for awhile and cause some of us to play more golf. I'd say it was a success. I've had a lot of fun with you people. Sadly, we have to shut it down. RIP DPT FBGC.

Great round by JW, who unfortunately got blown out to sea during the tropical storm squall that came through at the end of the day.

Dave did all he could, needing a 76 to keep the Club alive. But ultimately he ran out of starchy tubers.

The rest of us were useless.

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This week we're giving The Groves another shot for The Concussion. It's the place where you can make more money dancing in the clubhouse than on the course. Tee time is 9am, and cost is around $25ish.

As of now it looks like all 20 members are in. Which is nice, since it's one of the last times we'll all see each other.

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The Rapture 2020 field is set, and we can draft on Sunday assuming the grill is open for business.

Tall Mike - first pick
Big John - second pick
Casey
Troy
Chandler
Gary
Gorecki
Reid
Adam
Geoff
Faz
Dave
JW
Danny
Brendan

Darren

For the first time we actually have some alternates that want to attend, so we'll swap them in if anyone needs to bail.

See you Sunday!

Jamaican Open - Summer 2020

We're back this week, 10:27am at Lake Jovita (North). Should be $50 plus tax (range balls extra).

Melberg on BLUE, Katie on RED, and everyone else on WHITE unless you tell me otherwise.

We've only played this course once in league play, and it turned out really easy fun. But that was back in 2013, and our dreaded points leader didn't attend. Reid won with -8, and Faz was two strokes out. Only Geoff owed a pitcher.

With the new handicap system, a lot of rain, and potential tropical storm gusts... let's say the winner (Tall Mike or Melberg) is -4.

Of course, if the radar looks like complete trash, the Board will vote early on Sunday and a group text will be sent out. If we cancel, we'll just shift everything in the season back one week.

See you Sunday. Maybe.

Boozer's Golf Review Vol. 27 - Waterlefe Golf and River Club

Good day, fellow Booze Golfers! It's been a long time since we actually got to review a new course, so we kind of forgot how to do it... promptly. Hence we have a review that comes almost two weeks late. As they say, though, better late than pregnant, unless you're a couple trying to have kids but not succeeding right now in which I apologize for possibly offending you but toughen up and at least enjoy the sex.

Corona will be impacting these ratings, but we will push forward with the reviews despite the obstacles because we have no idea when this will end. If it ends in early October, the republicans are running it, and if it ends after the election then the democrats are running it. We here at the BGR are single issue voters anyway: better Booze Golf conditions for everyone.

Let's see if we can remember how to do this...

You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning.

We had a practice round Friday afternoon to see how well we could prepare, and we prepared really well. So well, in fact, that we forgot to confirm the sale of alcohol before the round. Regardless, the bar was set up outside, and it being quasi-private and also in Manatee County, we are pretty sure you can buy booze out there. Doesn't matter, though, because...

Thrifty boozing conditions

6-packs were $25 for 12 oz cans of domestic. Do not buy beer at that price if you can help it. This is why we prepared so well coming into Sunday. Geoff got a liquor drink at the turn because he was getting scared that J.W. was catching up to him (spoiler alert: didn't happen) which he said was $5.60, so $7 after a normal tip. Not as egregious as the beer pricing, but not great, either. Cooler is highly recommended, but make it narrow because the basket of the cart was tight. They were out of ice at the machine by the cart barn/practice green, but they did have ice at the rest areas between 4 and 5 and between 13 and 14. Carts can go into the parking lots pretty easily. Park by the range and fill up before heading out. Carts also fit the big Yetis and fake Yetis pretty easily.

On course service

No cart girl, but they had a convenient turn stand given the layout. I hope they keep someone outdoors even when corona goes away as it's a solid way to get booze out more quickly, which sometimes damages players fast play rating which is kind of bullshit but this member of the BGR didn't write that and wasn't given enough editorial control but I digress.

Pissability

Two restrooms in decent shape in case you need more than just pissability (shoutout to the Baron). Plenty of wooded areas to take advantage of on most holes, too. Pretty good pissability in general.

Clubhouse experience

N/A due to corona.

Overall

Pretty middle of the road boozing conditions, but no cart girl and no clubhouse (even when it was open it wasn't anything special) take it down to a two. This course is best utilized by prepared Booze Golfers, kind of a double black diamond for the thriftiest of us. And you're going to want booze during the last few holes, so overpack.

You can tell those were pre-packed because they're bottles.

Week 6 - Booked

We're off this week as 50% of the Club is out on vacation. But next week's Jamaican Open is booked at Lake Jovita - North.

First tee time is 10:27am.

We have a couple of ???s that need to update their status. See you then.

FBGC Championship - Summer 2020 Recap

We're in dire straits right now, and we need a hero. Unfortunately, none of you people want to step up and take on the role as our savior.

As I sit here in this unprecedented and trying time, here are some topics on my mind:

The Weather
How about those two downpours that barely missed us yesterday?? Standing on the 14th tee box watching Gorecki play ping-pong over the green, we watch as sheets of rain fell into the lake about 300 yards away. But it never quite moved in our direction.

An hour later ("feels like") when we had only advanced two holes — as we watched Group A hit 8 tee shots between three people on the 16th — it looked like the apocalypse was brewing behind us. Somehow that missed us as well, and we were left with the apocalypse that was already here in front of us.

The Course
Decent, and noticeably different than the original "Commander" course. Was in great shape all around. Fairways were too wide until the 16th & 17th holes, though. I hit some terrible drives that somehow found fairway. But at least they had large contours, making the next shots interesting.

The shape and contours of the greens were the best part. Large enough to give you something to aim at, but lots of very small sections they could place pins — usually on a shelf. Unfortunately, everyone was reminded that "new" greens take well over a year to soften up. This made getting close to any pins near impossible on certain holes.

We also had some people who will never fail to read the local rules on the scorecard again. Gorecki asked (with obvious disbelief) if I actually read the local rules every round on the scorecard. Umm... of course I do.

The Value
Not worth $85 in the summer. But nice to play it once.

The Tournament
Looked tight for much of the round until we hit #15. At that point, Darren who was in the last group had a pretty sizeable lead on the field, while the rest of us ahead of him began to eject. No worries though, because Darren is The Baron, and he surely won't choke away this tournament. No matter how difficult 15, 16 and 17 played.

Nope. Darren goes double-double-single bogey to fall into a three-way tie at the top. All he needs on the 18th handicap (and by far easiest) final hole is a par to help steal points from Gorecki. Darren pushes a weak drive to the right into some mounds, but has only 100-ish yards into the green. His approach sails over the flag... over the putting surface... over Ho-Chunk Nation... and 20+ feet into the conservation area. Triple bogey. Gorecki wins again.

With only 4 events remaining, we are officially DEFCON-2 (lower numbers are worse). It's time to panic.

The Gossip
None to report. Fun time at the bar after the round, though. Group A played "fast enough" for a threesome who struggled down the stretch. Might have to drop them back a couple groups if they're a foursome. We'll see how the RSVP process goes for the Jamaican Open.


The Rapture
Payments have been made by the following people:
Chandler, Moostie, Troy, Gary, Geoff, Faz, Dave, Danny, JW

That leaves: John, Casey, Gorecki, Reid, Adam, Brendan, Buchert left to pay ($165).

Darren and Melberg are chomping at the bit to take your spots! So get those payments in!

Sunday Info

Tee time is 10:09am.

Get there early to check in and warm up.

I got Katie on the Winnie (green) tees. Melberg, Dave, Adam, Faz, Buchert on the National (black) tees. Everyone else is currently on the Palmer (blue) tees. Let me know if anyone else wants to move.

The 2020 Rapture Post

Planning this year's event was quite the experience. Sure, we could spend a ton of money going to some high-end resort... but we already do a fancy trip out of town each year. The Rapture isn't supposed to be that. The only way The Rapture is supposed to be expensive, is if you get busted driving without a license. Or pissing in a closet.

This is basically a Club retreat. A chance for us to play some shit we wouldn't ever go out of our way to play. Turtle Run, Sarasota National, Juliette Falls, Candler Hills, El Campeon... those were awesome and affordable.

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We're going to Orlando September 24th - 27th.

We have two houses and check-in is Thursday (24th) afternoon.

Friday, September 25th - Four Ball - Celebration Golf Club
10:06am start. $52 plus tax.

A 1996 Robert Trent Jones Sr. design. This place is weird from the minute you arrive, much like the town of Celebration. Old Frank Sinatra was blaring on the putting green, and by "old" I mean the songs he sang before anyone knew who he was. Terrible music. It's an odd layout... but you'll enjoy it for the team event.

Saturday, September 26th - Chapman - Hawk's Landing
9:33am start. $65 plus tax.

An awesome looking 1986 Joe Lee course, which I've never played. However, there's a twist. The Marriott hotel is expanding their conference center and water park, so they ripped up three holes this summer and closed the entire facility. It should be open by the time we get there. The 2nd and 10th holes (par 3 and 5) will be a little shorter due to the cannibalization. And the 18th hole, which was a really cool looking (on Google Maps) par 5, will now be an island green par 3 ("Like #17 at Sawgrass," says the pro). Now a par-70, the USGA will not have updated ratings/slopes by then, and all our apps and leader boards won't be accurate. Don't worry... Dear Leader will make adjustments and figure it out for us. You just worry about playing the correct format (ie: not a scramble).

Sunday, September 27th - Singles - Shingle Creek
9:06am start. $59 plus tax.

A 2003 "Arnold Palmer" design, despite him probably never stepping foot on the property. I played it before 2016, and since then they re-routed 4 holes after selling part of their land to a developer. All the greens were re-done as well. I suggested it to a few people and received positive feedback of their experience.

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The previously discussed qualified players can go ahead and start sending me $165 through the usual mediums. This includes housing for three nights and the $50 buy-in for Rapture Performance Payments.

I'll give you all until August 1st. At which time I'll start contacting the alternates in order of their qualification. We can't draft until we know who's officially IN... so send in your payment now.