The Championship - Summer 2023 Recap

Topor attempted some semblance of "smart golf" yesterday, and it resulted in his 3rd career victory. Despite a horrendous start, he put the wheels back on with four pars in a row on the back nine. The 24 handicap definitely gave him room to recover, and he made the most of it. Best of all, his handicap is going to increase before the final event, with him dropping a 91 (gross) at Bayou Club (his first victory).

 

Speaking of high handicaps... fresh off a Michigan induced 1.5 Index increase... Reid immediately put those sand bags to good use, sharing the victory with an impressive 87 (gross). Especially since he carded a cuatro-bogey on the front and a couple of triples on the back. It's his lowest score to par in tournament play since he won back-to-back events last season.

Dave and Faz were close crashing the winner's party... but mistakes on 18 ultimately cost them.

The rest of you weren't very good.

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Apparently the course got 7+ inches of rain last weekend, so they were finally getting back to "normal." Which is why some sections of rough were a little... thicc. And the greens — despite rolling decent — were slow. I imagine we collectively had a ton of 3-putts out there.

 

Still... great for the money, and a good test of golf. I've adjusted everyone's Club Credit if you used a voucher today but weren't in attendance last time. And vice versa.

Except for Travis who straight up didn't pay during our previous visit. I donated that voucher to Marcus... the potential new guy John is sponsoring. So if you haven't met him, you should probably introduce yourself. We have a shit ton of hoops to jump through for our membership, all because of something you did. Yes you, dear reader.

 

Any and all issues/concerns should be expressed to John via a hand-written letter.

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Dave finds himself in the driver's seat once again, but five people are mathematically still in the race for the Cup. Realistically, I think Topor is the only true threat — exactly 100 points behind. Everyone else needs a victory and Dave to score minimal points.

 

Moostie could be dangerous if he stuffs enough Titleist 1 balls in his pant legs.

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World Rankings update:

After telling Reid he had "zero chance" of being a Rapture Captain... and that Troy/Faz were locks... apparently Dear Leader can't do math good. Reid vaulted to #1 in the World with his performance at Big Cypress.

With Troy unfortunately missing the final event, he'll slip to 194.1 points, and unable to catch Reid or Faz. Faz should jump Reid if they tie next Sunday, due to Reid dropping off more points from the 2022 Summer finals.

Chandler, Melberg, and Dave are the only other guys who could possibly be Captains. Assuming Reid and Faz get zero points at Skyview:

 

- Chandler would need a minimum of 288 points

- Melberg would need at least 315 points

- Dave would need 469 or more points

Obviously any points Reid/Faz get would make it more difficult for those three to ascend.

 

There's also a lot of drama around the qualification line, as Topor rocketed up to #9 — his highest ranking ever. I'm never up to speed with all you family men, but I haven't heard of anyone who is 100% OUT of the Rapture (October 5th to 8th). If that's wrong, please let me know now, and help alleviate some sleepless nights for the chumps below the line.

Plugging in "all zeros" for next week, we'd find JW, Casey, John, Adam and Billy below the cut-line (Buchert and Travis won't have enough events to qualify). Which means Casey — who is dropping 600 points from a solo win in the 2022 Summer finals — would fall from 8th to 18th! That would tie a record for the largest one-week drop in rankings (Brendan week 6 of last season).

See you Sunday. Update your RSVP now if you're bailing.

FBGC Championship Preview Notes

We're back this week at a re-do of Big Cypress. No rain in the forecast and the high will only be 92... so it should be a good day.

Let's try the long drive again on #6.

We didn't make it to hole #15 last time, but just as a reminder there should be a drop zone near the green if you go into the lake.

Be careful of the OB tight to the right of #4... and to the left of #8. Anything that looks like it's going near a house is probably OB.

Do not pay without getting a rain-check voucher from me. Even if you didn't play last time, you can use a voucher to save a few bucks. I'll probably be there an hour early... so if you're rolling in late you'll need to drive all the way to the range to find me before checking in.

Speaking of... factor the time it takes to get through the front gate in your arrival time.

And finally, range balls are now included somehow... so don't buy any. Just grab a small bucket at the shack by the range.

See you Sunday.

FBGC Masters - Venue Set

For the first time in-season we're headed to Skyview on September 17th. They're giving us a $75+ rate, and were nice enough to squeeze us in (literally creating an extra tee time) before their members... starting at 8:28am. This is the course we used for Singles in last year's Rapture. Some of you need redemption.

We'll probably tee off before that time... so don't be late up there. Update your RSVPs so I can drop the extra tee-time if needed.

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In attempting to book this final round, here are the courses I reached out to:

Southern Dunes - couldn't get us out until afternoon due to another event

Lakewood National (2 courses) - would only let us book 3 days out and probably not until after noon

Esplanade - members only

Esplanade Azario - left two messages... crickets

Eaglebrook - 11:30am tee times at $100+

Reunion - could get us out at 11:45am at $95+ on Nicklaus course... I told him that was probably a little too late... but I had a good chat and we might be able to use them in the future

Waterlefe - still closed for renovations 

Seminole Lake - still on temporary greens due to renovations

All of this is to say... our list of "Major worthy courses" is quickly dwindling! Travis checked on River Strand earlier in the season and they said no. Saddlebrook is in bad shape at the moment as they prepare for a renovation. Scepter won't get back to me either.

I'm afraid we're going to be hosting Majors at Buffalo Creek soon...

Jamaican Open - Summer 2023 Recap

Wagwan, fellow golfers?

The early morning shotgun start at a fairly "unkempt" Lake Jovita is in the books, with Dear Leader (me!) winning for the first time in 12 events.

 

I could go into great detail about how courageous of a performance it was, keeping the wheels on after a triple on #1. Or how I overcame the adversity of being chased by Reid and Dave... the former attempting to win his national open... and both desperately fighting for King and Country.

I could talk about the back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11, with additional birdie lip-outs (kinda) on 12 and 13. Or blasting the actual flag (and flag stick) with a bad chip on 14, which saved at least one stroke. Or the 30+ foot putt for par on 16 after I thought I choked the event away.

I could also point out the victory was my record-extending 6th Jamaican Open championship.

A lesser man would tell these stories about himself... but not me. As a man of the people, I know why you're really here.

 

Pictured: not why you're here.

 

- Gary has now tied JW for the most consecutive tournaments without a victory (61).

- Adam got very close to adding his name to the list of people who have withdrawn at the turn. Off the top of my head, those who have walked off a course (for bad play and/or "other" concerns) are: JW, Darren, Gorecki (multiple times), Geoff, and Ho. Adam heroically decided to stick it out and was immediately rewarded with a few pars on the back nine.

- On my group's first hole (#18), Gorecki played the wrong tees (whites instead of greens) and proceeded to almost hit across the lake to the 9th green. A much harder shot... and I should have just let him do it.

 

- Dave set a new good course record of 77 (gross).

 

- Only two people are mathematically eliminated from contention after yesterday. Travis — with his zero points — and Danny, since he didn't play enough events to qualify for the FBGC Masters next month.

 

- The course was in much better shape than earlier this summer. But there's still a lot of dead patches in the fairways, and inexcusable thick rough which slows down play due to lost balls. The greens were decent, at least. Thanks again to Ho for getting us out.

 

- Even after the 8 pitchers I recorded as purchased yesterday, we still have over 20 in the hopper. We might do something about that at a Club party in the off-season... or at the Rapture Draft party. Or both. It's a long off-season, so I'm sure we'll figure out some fun things to do. We are a social club, after all.

 

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I've crunched the numbers on Rapture Captains... and just about everyone is still in the mix if they win the final two events. While Chandler (me, again!) is currently #1, he has the most points dropping off the final weeks of those at the top of the rankings.

My guess is Troy and Faz will be #1 and #2 captains. We'll have a much clearer picture after our event at Big Cypress.

 

Draft party will be Saturday, September 23rd at Gorecki's house. Mark your calendars.

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We're off this week for Labor Day. Our next tournament is at Big Cypress at 10am on September 10th. It's a make-up event from our previously rained out Major.

 

I have 16 rain checks which will get you half-off the $48 green fee. Those who are entitled to them are:

 

Dan

Dave

Casey

Topor

Travis

Chandler

Billy

Geoff

Reid

Adam

Faz

Gary

Moostie

John

Danny

Brendan

If you're on that list and playing September 10th... make sure you get the voucher from me before you pay. If you're not on that list... give me like $20 and I'll hook you up with a voucher... and use that money to repay someone unable to attend (ie: Travis). It'll save you $4 and everyone "wins."

Update your RSVP now to reflect if you're playing.

See you then.

Jamaican Open - Summer 2023 Preview

Tournament is now a shotgun start at 8am. Don't be late.

 

We are back to meaningful golf... with a tournament at Lake Jovita (South) in 100+ degree heat index on Sunday.

 

We've been here many times before. It wasn't in good shape all summer, so I'm hoping that has somehow miraculously changed. But shout-out to Ho for getting us on at a decent rate ($70).

Tee time is early at 8am.

 

Everyone is on WHITE unless you tell me otherwise. The 55/25 group can play white/greens combo if they want. Let me know!

The Concussion - Summer 2023 Recap

Dan won his third ever tournament, snapping an 8-year winless streak (36 events)... a stat that may never be broken. His five birdies (two of which were chip-ins) and an eagle on the final hole led to a -2 (gross) performance, just three weeks after another potential victory was washed away with rain at Big Cypress. A horrible shank on 10 — which led to a double bogey — was the only real blemish on his card.

Troy was right on his heels with another impressive performance, moving himself to the top of our season standings.

And Gorecki/Moosite had a shot at winning until they were derailed by 13 and 14, finishing third.

John shanked his way to a new high course record. Hole 7 was moved up for maintenance so we played it in -9 (gross) as a group. And after two rounds at the Springs, we still haven't had anyone make worse than bogey on 18.

We also got extremely lucky with the weather as lightning struck all around us at the finish. I'm not sure how we avoided all the rain.

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We're off for two weeks with 26% of the Club exploring Michigan. I don't know what the threshold should be to warrant bye-weeks... but we had well above 33% at the time the schedule was posted. Many of you have benefited from this policy before (we had two weeks off for Scotland and bye-weeks for various other destinations)... so this isn't anything new.

Next year I won't build in a bye-week for Ireland (mid-June), since attendance on that trip is so light.

 

In any case, you all will be somewhat missed. Enjoy the long break and spend time with your families. 

Next event is on August 27th at Lake Jovita (South). Update your RSVPs if something has changed.

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The Rapture draft will need to take place on either Friday or Saturday, September 22nd / 23rd. That'll give us ONE week for teams to get together before we head to Sebring on October 5th.

I'm pre-paying for everyone's hotel... so when World Rankings (and handicaps) lock on September 18th, I'll start collecting deposits to secure your spot.

Gorecki has volunteered to host the draft party again, so comment if you have any other suggestions. I'm fine going anywhere, and his place did suit our needs.

The Concussion - Summer 2023 Preview

Faz wanted a preview post, but I don't have much to say about this event, because I'm not sure what to expect.

As previously mentioned, Southport Springs is probably the most "tricked up" layout I'd allow us to play. It's a legit course, but extremely narrow and penal until you reach the final 4 holes.

Long drive will be on 18, a hole that we played -2 (gross) as an entire group (20 players) last time. That's 7 birdies and only 5 bogies. Easiest hole in league history.

There are multiple "driveable" par 4s out there, but most are surrounded by dense woods and/or swamp. The 13th and 14th holes are maybe 15 yards wide, flanked by a million oak trees. The 11th is a 197 yard par 4, which I guess you can try to take direct aim at if you hit the ball as high as Dan.

 

Conditions are also a big question mark. Online (Golfpass) it got 4-stars on 7/20 and 7/22... and 5-stars on 8/1.

In the recap two years ago, nobody was bitching about it... rather just in awe of what Melberg accomplished.

Lightning won't strike twice, so I don't think a low handicap will win this week. It feels like a Geoff victory.

Looking forward to the chaos. See you Sunday.

Speaking of chaos:

It appears the nines are reversed in GolfGameBook. So I have every group "starting on hole 10" in the app. Make sure whoever is keeping score in the app is the most aware of the group, so they can figure it out.

Match Play - Summer 2023 Recap

Topor won his 2nd career event, which was quite shocking since it had to be one of the hottest rounds we've ever played. I don't get physically drained often — since I'm the epitome of human fitness — but I was struggling swinging the club.

Considering how difficult University Park played, it was quite shocking Topor was able to build a 6 shot lead on the back nine. We all made jokes that it wouldn't last... and it almost didn't... with a quad on 12 and a him playing double-bogey golf from 13 on.

Meanwhile, Moostie made a charge with nothing but pars and bogeys on the back to lose by one. They were the only guys living under par (net)!

Greens were great. Rough was lush... with balls sometimes sitting up and sometimes not. Fairways were a little bare which was surprising. To me it seemed the transition from rye to whatever strand of Bermuda wasn't going well. And like all courses, they have a tree problem... if you consider dwarf/saw palmettos to be mini trees. Those things are pretty damn penal and they're everywhere! That course would look amazing if they killed back some of those areas and just made it pine straw.

 

Congrats to all the winners of the matches. The site should be fully updated, including your individual records.

 

Also, jokes aside, we are going to miss Travis. Good luck starting your new life... and I hope whatever new friends you make are way worse than us.

 

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The Concussion this week is at Southport Springs... a tricked-up "short" course in Zephyrhills we played two years ago. Melberg shot -6 (gross!) and only tied for the victory with Ho due to his +1 handicap. Ho was a 7 course handicap back then, and is now a 1 on Sunday #roadtoscratch!

 

Dave will be a +1 this week, and Melberg a +2! We birdied the course to death last time, and I'm thinking -2 (net) gets the victory.

I haven't been out there in two years, but current reviews online say its in decent shape. More importantly, they're charging us like $25.

Tee time is 9am. I don't believe there is a range. Everyone is on the WHITE tees (one set up from tips) for this event. No moving up or back. Be careful on all the drive-able par 4s. Yes, I'm well aware holes #11, #13, and #14 are terrible.

We have one spot open with two MAYBE Members (Troy/Adam). First one to change their RSVP to IN gets the final spot.

 

See you Sunday.

Match Play Notes

Looks like we'll have a full field of 20 for our re-do of Match Play (and Travis' final event ever!).

We'll do long drive on #12.

University Park has three nines, each with handicaps 1-9 (just like Countryside). You'll need to do some math in order to dot your cards. Front nine will be odd handicaps, back nine evens.

 

Card says sidewalk to the left of #5, #6, #7, #8 and #18 is OB.

I'm assuming by now everyone has told me if they're moving back. Nobody said they wanted to move up, which is probably smart.

Match handicaps in parenthesis:

Group A

Troy (8) vs. Dave

Casey (2) vs. Faz

Group B

Moostie (10) vs. Melberg

Adam vs. Topor (5)

Group C

Billy (8) vs. Chandler

Gorecki (7) vs. John

Group D

Geoff (0) vs. JW (0)

Dan vs. Gary (3)

 

Group E

Ho vs. Reid (5)

Travis vs. Danny (8)

Match-Play Make-Up - Summer 2023

We're headed down to University Park for the 2nd time in Club history... but this time playing the 1/10 routing (#1 & #2 in Golfshot).

Everyone is on Platinum (White) unless you tell me otherwise. The 55/25 club can move up to Platinum/Gold combos. Be sure to comment your preference.

Keep an eye on pairings, as they will shuffle if someone bails.

Tee time is 10am. Cost is going to be $87ish. There is a range. Long drive on #12.

 

Give yourself plenty of time to get down there as it's about as far south as we travel. We should eat elsewhere afterwards, near the interstate.

I'll post the strokes closer to the event. See you Sunday.

Schedule Updates

Unfortunate rain-out yesterday. The course was in excellent shape and there were some good matches playing out. Brendan - with a 62 on the front nine - was on pace to take away Gorecki's course high record as well (119)!

We probably could have finished as the next batch of rain never materialized... but that wasn't our call to make.

Anyway, we've slightly shuffled/adjusted the schedule so we'll do Match Play down at University Park. We only have 20 spots and Brendan is already on the alternate list. If you can't make the tournament please update your RSVP so he can get in.

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Brendan is going to host people at his house this Sunday - July 23rd - to sit in the pool, watch the British Open and grill out. He last hosted this in 2018, so I guess enough time has passed that we're allowed back over.

• You must RSVP so he has an idea of headcount. Make a comment or text Brendan.
• Bring your own drinks.
• Bring your own meat (real or impossible) for the grill.
• WAGs are always welcome.
  

Starting time should be whenever final groups tee off... which should be around 9:30am. Coverage ends at 2pm.

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Just a reminder (which apparently I need) that Rapture dates are October 5th - 8th. We're headed down to Sebring, the site of the first ever Rapture in 2014. Tee times are booked:

Friday, October 6th - 8:24am - Turtle Run

Saturday, October 7th - 9:00am - Deer Run

Sunday, October 8th - 9:00am - Turtle Run

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See you in a couple weeks if not before.

Match Play Pairings - Summer 2023

We are now down to 4 groups for 16 people. We do not currently have any open spots.

 

Assuming nobody else bails... below are the pairings for Match Play, with strokes received in parenthesis. Remember to ride with your real-life opponent. And use the handicaps on the card to track your match... not the leader board app.

 

There's a drop zone near the green on the last par 3. 

 

There are no good long drive holes... so let's do it on #6. Keep in mind you can easily drive it into the water off the tee if you take a conservative line.

Group A

Dave vs. Casey (3)

Faz vs. Brendan (4)

Group B

Tall Mike vs. Adam (1)

Topor (6) vs. Billy

Group C

Chandler vs. John (5)

Geoff (10) vs. Dan

Group D

Gary (0) vs. Reid (0)

Travis vs. Danny (8)

The Hangover - Summer 2023 Review

We set a record of 14 Members in attendance at the hangover party — proving Carrollwood is the true center of our Club. Sure, the live music was too loud... and the locals were weird... but that last point is a feature, not a bug. I had my ass grabbed like 3 times by some troll of a woman. And we saw haircuts and dance moves that should never have left the house.

Most importantly, for the first time since Spring of 2021, someone won the Trojan Horse award!

Danny about to lose his putter.

While I'm a Red Dog aficionado — I've been there with Danny 1,000 times. He's easily batting 0-1,000 at the Dog. And yet he's 1-1 at O'Brien's. The stats don't lie!

I also want to give a shout-out to our waitress, who somehow served a section of 30 people quickly and without complaint or errors. Good service has been impossible to find since COVID destroyed the youth's ambitions.

Thanks to those who attended the bar. I had a lot of fun pretending I could hear what you were saying.

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The golf on Sunday was brutally hot, and very difficult. I was shocked at the scores — as Countryside B/L played 6.5 strokes more difficult on average than the first time we played it. Although, it's no mystery why that happened...

Those were the absolute worst greens I've ever paid $80+ to play on. And it wasn't a "recently punched" issue. Conditions were honestly terrible in a lot of areas... and if I hadn't already lost my Club Corp membership, I'd resign right away!

But as I've always said... conditions are the same for everyone. And not everyone played terribly.

Brendan won with the only score under par (net), looking like he was going to run away with it on the final hole after a monster drive. Of course, nothing matches the pressure of trying to win a FBGC event. And it took Brendan 6 strokes to get in from the middle of the fairway.

Faz then birdied 16, leading the group of guys inside the clubhouse to proclaim the event was over. Chandler (this guy!) gave everyone a "not so fast, my friends!" The 17th hole is sneaky difficult, because anything short, right, or long is dead. Sure enough, Faz pumped an entire sleeve of balls into the water to eject from the tournament.

Congrats to Brendan on his 8th career victory!

Other congrats go to:

• Casey for winning the Hangover side-pot.
• Topor and Faz for earning some 2nd place side-pot money... and Topor with his best finish since July of last year.
• Danny for setting a new high course record of 119, our 14th highest score in history.
• The soggy bottom boys of Crum, Gorecki, Danny, and Gary who combined for 5 pars total between them.

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This week is Match Play out at Big Cypress (South) in Lakeland/Kathleen at 10am. Yes... this is the course in the trailer park. I have no idea what the state of their greens are... but it's only going to cost us $45+ and it's an amazing Match Play course.

 

Pairings are set based on standings. With Hamliton "penciled in," we don't have any open spots at the moment. Update your shit if your plans change.

 

Everyone is on GREEN tees unless they want to move back to BLACK. This scorecard should be accurate. See you then!

Countryside Info

Tee time is 9:10am on Sunday at Countryside. Please let me know if you're moving back from the WHITE tees.

 

Long drive on #2... just because it's the most bunched tees.  All the par 5s in this routing are narrow. Good luck.

July Updates

The Hangover party will be Saturday, July 8th at O'Briens in Carrollwood. I'll probably arrive around 8pm. Show up for a chance to win the Hangover side-pot on Sunday.

Golf on Sunday will be at Countryside at 9:10am. It'll be around $80. Thanks to Casey for getting us on... earning himself Member of the Month for July!

See you all next weekend.

Spring 2023 Champions Dinner