Summer 2025 - Week 1 Preview

Long drive #8

We're back with a clean slate, and an old-school tournament this Sunday at Lake Jovita (North). Only 13 players in the field!

 

Now's your chance to show what you learned during the off-season, and to take a large head start over Dear Leader.

 

Don't forget precious Rapture points are on the line!

 

Tee time is 10:30am... and it's NOT a shotgun start, as the South Course is closed due to aerification so the tee sheet is quite full.

 

Rain shouldn't be a problem, and the current forecast is calling for slightly cooler (high 80s) than recent temperatures.

 

I won't be there, so you people will need to do a few things for me:

 

1) Make sure the leader board on GameBook is correct. Double and triple-check it against your physical score cards.

 

2) Have someone from each group text me who won greenies, sandies, etc. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume nobody won anything.

 

3) Tell me who bought pitchers after the golf

 

If you want to change tees from the WHITE base tees, let me know now. The set-up committee is allowing the 25/55 Club to move up to the GREEN tees, and has preemptively adjusted Gary and his older brother Gorecki.

 

Also, update your RSVP for week 2 now. I need to let Seminole Lake know if we're dropping a tee time. By mid-week I'm just going to assume any ???s are OUT.

 

Good luck. We'll be watching.

 

Here's a scorecard: 

Southern Pines - 2025 Golf Trip

Just returned from golfing up in Southern Pines. Here's a review nobody asked for:

Tobacco Road

 

A perfect example of golf course maximalism design, which is difficult to fully grasp without seeing it. Unfortunately, your initial appreciation for the course will depend on how you're striking the ball. Nobody in our group hated it... but only a handful of us loved it (and we played well).

 

It's a pure strategic and execution test. Every tee shot is visually daunting, but there is a lot more room than you perceive. Think of Waterlefe with blind tee shots and giant mounds of deep fescue rough.

 

The opening tee sets the tone.

 

The greens are absolutely wild, with multiple sections that are sometimes barely connected. There are lots of kicker-slopes and punch-bowl areas that lead to birdie putts if you land in the correct spot. What looks like a giant green is actually two or three smaller greens. And what looks like a tiny green is actually a couple of connected microscopic putting surfaces!

 

There are various "dead" areas on every shot. And it's impossible to know where those spots are without playing the course multiple times. So you end up firing at the center of each green and hoping for a good bounce.

 

The approach on the uphill par-5 13th. The green is completely hidden...

 

... and only 20-yards deep with two distinct sections (right and left funnels).

As someone who doesn't often hit shots off-line, I felt the course was "fair." I had no issues looking at the GPS and generally knowing where I should land my ball. Others felt Tobacco Road was completely "tricked up" — which I believe was the entire point: a tricky test you won't find anywhere else.

 

They're currently charging over $300 per round, all day every day. No twilight rates. And the tee sheets are completely filled six months in advance.

The Pines Courses

 

The other three courses we played are all Donald Ross courses from the early 1900s. They were also all restored in the last decade, and felt like a time-capsule in the North Carolina sand hills. Greens fees currently running about $240 per round:

 

Mid Pines

 

Probably ranked the lowest by everyone on the trip, but still a beautiful course. My complaint was there were no real standout holes. Even now I'm having trouble remembering the routing.

 

The par 3s were all very challenging.

 

The rest of the course looked like this. Subtle land movement framed with pines.

Honestly, I got World Woods (RIP) vibes from Mid Pines. If this course was located in Tampa, it would be one of the best in the area. But compared to its NC siblings, I thought Mid Pines was mid.

 

Pine Needles

 

Located across the street from Mid Pines, the property sits on much more dramatic land. There are very few flat lies on the course. It also hosted the 2007 and 2022 U.S. Women's Open — and rightfully so. I found this to be a very difficult test throughout.

 

Downhill tee shot over water, with a sharp dogleg left. Deep bunkers protect cutting the corner.

Their greens were most like Pinehurst #2 on the trip, with how high they were pushed up from the approach surfaces. Conditions were excellent, and the lodge was the best hangout spot. Overall, a top choice by our group.

 

Southern Pines

 

The newest restoration of the bunch, this course was a lot of fun. Off the tee it was pretty straight forward. But the greens were "potato chips" and sometimes elevated into volcano positions. Overall, these putting surfaces were the most difficult we experienced.

 

Wider than Mid Pines, and more memorable / fun.

 

This place was basically a muni for the last 70 years... and exists as a shining example of what all lower-tier courses should strive for. While a full renovation/restoration isn't always economically feasible, the key components of these old Donald Ross designs can easily be replicated: Wall-to-wall fairway, remove all but the most strategic trees and bunkers, and slap some large wavy greens down surrounded by mounding.

 

 

Final thoughts:

 

The golf was excellent, and better than most of the courses at actual "Pinehurst."

 

The new owners have pumped all their money into the golf. So while the Mid-Pines lodging was suitable for our needs, it was pretty run down.

 

The town of Southern Pines is very small with a few dive bars and a handful of bistros. Pinehurst is only 10 minutes away so it's easy to go hang out there as well with all the other Bag Tag Bros your brain can handle.

 

It's definitely worth a trip due to how easy it is to get in and out of Raleigh.

 

 

Summer 2025 Season

We start up in a couple of weeks at Lake Jovita. It's a non-shotgun start at 10:30am.

We're missing 8 Member's RSVPs for the season, and 5 Membership dues. Check to see if you owe anything and send it over.

 

I'm basically only booking 20 players per event based on historical attendance.

Shrink the Game - Update

I've been working on potential Rapture locations, and figured I'd share what I'm seeing out in the wild.

 

For context, our most expensive Rapture to date was last year at Verandah — $423 per player (inclusive of lodging and golf).

 

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Reunion wants to host us, but quoted me $754 per player for 3 rounds and 3 nights. That equates to a 67% increase in lodging and an 18% increase in golf over our round last Summer (four of us stayed the night before).

 

I'm telling Reunion no based on price.

 

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Black Diamond just re-opened after renovations. Adam heard it wasn't in good shape at the moment, which I assume is due to grow-in. 

 

Anyway... I noticed they have a new golf sales manager, so I decided to reach out.

 

$325+ for the Quarry and $300+ for the Ranch course.

Even if we only played the Quarry for Sunday Singles... total cost would be an estimated $740 per player (golf and whatever AirBnBs I can find).

Spring 2025 - Champions Dinner

 

Not pictured: Buchert

Big John Hole-in-One

Big John — who you may remember — made a hole-in-one over the weekend on his buddies trip. Enjoy this fun video of him confirming the achievement.

 

Summer 2025 Schedule

Schedule is loaded. RSVP link is active.

 

Be sure to check what you owe for Summer dues and send that over (highlighted red in the "Summer Owed" column). Or if you're retiring let me know so I can cash you out ("Final Balance").

 

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The current Board has our last meeting this off-season. If there's anything you'd like us to discuss, make a comment and smash that like button. We'll meet in a couple of weeks.

 

Somehow, Crum is the only guy under the 6-tournament (in rolling 2 season) playing requirement, so we need to figure out what his status is.

 

I would have bet there was about 4 guys auto-suspended!

 

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Rapture dates are tentatively October 9th through October 12th. Location is still TBD.

FBGC Masters - Spring 2025 Recap

As predicted, Calusa Country Club was a windy, dusty mess. The course mixed fun with frustration: firm fairways, even firmer greens (though oddly slow), and OB lines so strange they’d confuse a surveyor. Scores ballooned.

 

Despite Gorecki attempting to get free golf with some convoluted trailer-park story... it seems they'll have us back if we want to try it again in the Summer. Let me know in the comments and smash those like and subscribe buttons.

 

Yesterday was wild: Melberg carded a 52 on the front, avoiding pars until the 12th. The back nine played 3.5 strokes tougher, yet Adam tanked 10 shots worse than his front. And the field failed to record at least 3 pars on five different holes.

 

But Ho won his 7th ever event and 2nd ever Major, from the tips at 7,404 yards, with an incredibly impressive -3 (net) performance. He also shot the low round of the day with 81 (gross). And it should have been better if not for a triple-bogey on the somewhat easy 16th hole. He also led wire-to-wire

 

Off the top of my head, I think this round ranks up there with Dave's 2017 DPT Open victory at Southern Hills — a 75 (gross) in 20-30 mph cold winds.

 

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But all eyes were on the final group, as Chandler, Moostie, and Casey battled for the cherished DPT Cup.

 

Moostie ejected early, hitting his approach shot on the first hole OB and carding a quad. He made a course management error on #2, opting to hit 3-wood off the tee which led to a double. He somewhat put the wheels back on playing bogey-golf for the next nine holes. But all hopes were lost with a disastrous triple on 12, followed by a tee-ball into "internal OB" at 13.

 

Chandler (me?), despite some terrible play early on, figured he had the season won as Casey required a solo-2nd or better to steal. Of course, Casey shot a 39 (gross) on the front with some of the best driving I've ever seen. His entire round felt like he was destined to win the title:

• Hitting over the lake into the wind on #2, leading to an easy pitch and par.
  
• Crushing a drive on #4, getting home with his second shot, and barely missing an eagle. 
• Hooking his tee shot OB on #5, re-loading and driving it to the fringe pin high. He then chipped it to two inches for a tap-in bogey.
• Pulling it less than a foot from OB on the left side of #9. Pitching out sideways while standing on the other side of the black tarp. Hitting his approach to 8 feet and draining the par putt.

At this point in the tournament, Casey found himself in solo 2nd — while Chandler only had 30 of the 49.7 points he needed. Casey also had his sights on catching Ho and winning outright, making everyone else irrelevant. 

 

For whatever reason (we're dumb), the final group thought Chandler needed a T4 or better to overtake Casey. So we really had no idea how close it was. Here’s how it unfolded (assuming the entire field finished each hole at the same time):

 

10th hole: Casey was a foot from driving the green, but turned a 20-foot downhill eagle putt into a par. Chandler hit his approach to 8 inches and tapped in a birdie. Chandler up by 5.4 points.

 

11th hole: Chandler hits his drive left of the fairway bunker and into a lake. Of course... we discover the lake is marked as OB. Taking a stroke-and-distance penalty, Chandler makes a long putt to save double bogey (Casey makes bogey). But because Adam made a net-birdie to tie Casey in 2nd, Chandler increased his lead to 45.4 points.

 

12th hole: Casey drives it into a fairway bunker and has to play his 2nd shot on his knees. He leaves it in the bunker for an Adolf... advances his 3rd shot to 170 out (up hill, down wind)... and nukes a 7 iron 190+ carry into a lake behind the green. I've never heard that sound from Casey's irons. He then makes an insane up-and-down from a blind spot behind the green for a double bogey. Chandler makes a ho-hum par and leads by 144.2 points.

 

Not ideal.

 

13th hole: Adam implodes vaulting Casey back into solo-2nd. Casey's drive went through the fairway and somehow stopped on a steep hill, just feet from OB. As he hit the approach, his Gap Wedge snapped in half. Chandler leads by 33.7 points.

 

14th hole: It's "Gypsy Time" as Chandler yanks two balls long left — which we assume is OB. Both balls are up and there are no white stakes to be found! Chandler flops on from some rotting sod behind a freshly planted tree, and two putts for bogey. Casey 3-jacks from long range. Chandler leads by 22.9 points.

 

15th hole: Chandler was just off the green in two, and used putter to "chip" to a couple of feet for birdie (net eagle). Casey was in a greenside bunker in two... blasted it over the green... chips to 30 feet... and then drains the putt for par (net birdie). Chandler leads by 33.3 points.

 

16th hole: Chandler makes a boring par while Casey finally hits a bad drive - into a lake. A few chunks later he records his only triple of the day. His mood is deflated, and he begins to accept things might be over. Chandler leads by 50.4 points.

 

17th hole: Casey drains a 12 foot downhill putt for par to keep the dream alive, but another boring par by Chandler eliminates some of the drama. Adam and Marcus have now officially ejected from the event, so there's even less people to play spoiler. Chandler leads by 112.9 points.

 

18th hole: Chandler thought he would win the season with a bogey, and lose with a double bogey. This was NOT the case due to another bogey by Marcus on the final hole. Chandler could have made triple on #18 to win the season by 0.4 points!

 

So the finish was anticlimactic for those watching on 18... and incredibly nerve-wracking for the dumb-dumbs in the final group who can't do simple math. For as close as it felt, this was only our 7th smallest margin of victory in Club history. Regardless, someone was going to win the season without an actual win. 

 

Not the Champion you wanted, but the one you deserve.

 

We start back up at Lake Jovita on Sunday, June 1st. Enjoy the extended break.

Calusa Country Club - Preview

Long drive on 12

As everyone except Marcus should know... the schedule says we're off this weekend. But I'm going to go ahead and share the details for our final event of the season on April 6th.

 

It's been awhile since I felt like we got a "deal" somewhere, but we'll be teeing off at 8:48am for $79+.

 

Calusa Country Club opened the final week of January this year. It's probably not on any of your apps or GPS - although I did just get it added to GolfGameBook.

 

The carts have GPS screens with distances to the pin, so definitely rely on those.

 

It plays a LOT like Champions Gate Country Club (another Lennar community), but with more water. There are a handful of lakes/ponds you can't see from the tee, so be sure to check the GPS in the cart!

 

There's basically zero infrastructure out there. Anyone who wants to celebrate Tall Mike's 5th championship will need to hang out down the road (The Greyson by the interstate is decent).

 

Other notes:

• The retention ditch down the left side of the 5th hole is all OB. Everything is clearly marked... but you've been warned. Don't hit it up the left side.
• There's a lot of doglegs where you hit over water. There are no drop zones. If your ball doesn't clear the water... you'll more than likely need to re-tee.
• Fairways and greens are firm. Back nine is a little shaggier than front, as it was probably completed most recent. 

Below is the scorecard. While the base tees will be III... I highly recommend anyone who thinks they're a longer hitter to play the II tees. There's a lot of holes out there that don't require driver, so you might as well get the strokes.

Get your RSVPs up to date. We have one open spot currently. JW, Crum, Danny and Dan (the only four not in) aren't eligible to play as official participants. But they can fill the spot as a guest.

Jamaican Open - Spring 2025 Recap

A wonderful day on the course yesterday for the 26th edition of the Jamaican Open. The weather was perfect. The conditions at Huntington Hills were decent. The value was solid. And the first group somehow played in 3:49.

 

Holes 2 through 4 wrecked some mornings, as expected. I'm a little surprised the 5th hole only stung a few people — mainly Brendan who mentally ejected. The rest of the course played fairly easy, with sporadic blow-ups on the back nine.

Gorecki apparently had his game dialed in, stringing together a bunch of pars after the turn. He should have won this event outright by a lot, but he tried to choke it away going +5 (gross) on 16 and 17. Amazingly, he made a par on the final hole, knowing he needed it to be the clubhouse leader.

John was in the group behind, also faltering down the stretch. But with people watching on the final hole, and Dave's hot swing tips circling in his brain, John drained a 40-foot birdie putt to tie Gorecki for the victory. This was John's first win in over two years, as he's been severely struggling with his new domesticated life.

 

Chandler did all he could to finally get a win this season, but came up one stroke short despite setting a new course record of 76 (gross). Regardless of where he finishes in the standings, this will be one of the most underrated seasons in Club history, with six top-3 finishes, and three events only one stroke out of the winner's circle. 

And just three weeks after posting a career best (84 gross) and winning by 5 strokes... Geoff tied his career best to lose by three! And somehow his handicap is scheduled to increase next revision!

 

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Only three guys are mathematically in the running for the Cup. And there are a ton of ways this could go. The most likely scenario... Tall Mike grinds his way to a 5th title.

But more on that later. We're off next weekend for a make-up week we don't need.

Then we're hopefully playing the brand new Calusa Country Club in Lakewood Ranch. The course opened in the last week of January and is pretty cool... so you'll want to check it out. How often do we get to see brand new courses?

Anyway, make sure your RSVP is up to date. I won't know the exact time or price until 8 days out. But expect a start between 9am and 10am. And rate to be around $125.

Jamaican Open - Spring 2025 Preview

8:30am this Sunday at Huntington Hills. We've only been there once in official league play - 5 years ago - and it played very difficult at 6 strokes median net to par. It reminds me of a mix of Cypress Creek and Lexington Oaks. A handful of really easy holes... but a lot of target golf.

It's under new management, and they're making slow "improvements." But apparently not the low-hanging fruit that would make this course a lot better. Like the 7 minute tee time intervals which immediately jam up the course as holes 2 through 7 are some of the most difficult.

 

But whatever. The greens are decent. And fairways/rough are about what we see everywhere this time of year.

 

Here's a few quirks to know:

 

- Hole #3 - There's a drop zone on the other side of the lake on #3. You can use it if your approach (ie: 2nd shot or later) goes into the hazard. But if your tee shot goes into the hazard you need to drop before the hazard, per our local tournament rule. It's also been recently re-sodded and there are signs everywhere saying "keep off." For this event, ignore the signs, as it's clear other people have been doing the same and the only other place to drop is next to the cart path in shit grass.

- Hole #4 - There's allegedly a drop zone on the other side of the same lake on #4. I have no idea where it is... perhaps far right of the green. In any case, if you go in the lake then go across to the other side and look for it. If you don't find it, drop close to the edge of the lake and hit your 3rd shot.

 

- Hole #8 - Drive-able green for some of you people. But it's completely blind. Please send someone to the middle of the fairway to alert you green in clear before topping it off the tee box. Or text the group ahead of you to let you hit up.

- Hole #17 - Same as #8. If you're actually going to attempt to drive the green, text someone ahead of you to wave you up... or wait for them to get to their carts.

 

There is a driving range.

 

See you Sunday.

 

The Hangover - Spring 2025 Recap

"The Others" hosted us at O'Brien's on Saturday night, for an evening of cheap beers and weird people watching. Over half the field showed up and were entered into the Hangover side-pot. There was lots of good discussion about the state of the game, courses we should visit, and the upcoming reduction of our membership. When other Clubs are desperately trying to grow, we lean into streamlining and efficiency!

 

Unfortunately, as you can see from the photo below, we got a lot of work to do and need more GLP-1 meds if we are going to properly thin the herd:

 

Not pictured: Chandler and Gary, who are already streamlined.

The golf on Sunday was also good — except for the pace of 4:35 by the members somewhere in front of us. It felt excruciatingly slow. Unlike the greens which were excruciatingly fast downhill. Putting seemed to be the biggest challenge. In any case, Big Cypress continues to deliver the best value in our rota.

 

Mike Ho played the tips - and shot a very impressive 78 with nothing worse than a bogey. He picked up his 6th victory, and first in two years. And thanks to the Hangover pot, his winner's share was almost that of a full-field Major.

 

Chandler (c'est moi!) had another epic collapse (aka: choke) on the final two holes, but was able to hold off Reid for the 2nd place Hangover cash. He's finished in the top-4 in six of our seven events so far this season.

 

Reid carded one too many double-bogeys, while Moostie struggled keeping the driver on the planet. John co-led at the turn, but imploded with a +14 (gross) on the final five holes! In an effort to avoid reflecting on his own swing issues, Gary has officially taken up the case that Gorecki (and only Gorecki) should be allowed to play tees under 5,500 yards. Gorecki ended the day with one par, which was one more than Geoff. And Topor maxed out his potential with four max scores.

 

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Moostie, Casey, and Chandler are still separating themselves from the pack in our standings, but twelve guys are mathematically eligible to win the Cup. We have another difficult course in two weeks at Huntington Hills.

 

More on this later, as we're off for "Spring Break." We'll be back on March 23rd at 8:30am!

 

See you then.

The Hangover - Spring 2025 Preview

Updates:

 

- Decided to change long drive to #17 (still not a great option)

 

On #14 there is an unmarked drop zone short and left of the green. But the tees might be on the street running up the right side. So if you choose to use the drop zone... you need to drive all the way around the green to get to it.

 

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Tee time is 11am Sunday at Big Cypress (South). Everyone is on GREEN tees unless you want to move to the tips.

 

Notes:

- There should be a drop zone near the green on #15 if you go into the lake.

- OB is very tight to the right of #4 and left of #8.

- Long drive on #17

 

Looking at the Strokes Gained:Net data... and comparing to who is playing well at the moment... here are some predictions:

• Dave wins
• Tall Mike and Reid finish top 6
• Casey gets inconsequential points
• Gorecki bails before the event

 

See you Sunday.

The Championship - Spring 2025 Recap

Rumors of Geoff's demise were greatly exaggerated. After winning back-to-back season titles, it looked like he was in for a reset. Instead, he shot his personal best ever gross score (84) to win his 5th event in his last 17 attempts. Geoff was +6 (gross) after four holes... and then proceeded to shoot +6 (gross) over the next 14.

 

Casey and Tall Mike had a revival of their own, shooting +2 and +3 (gross) respectively on the final seven holes. Moostie now sits atop the Standings, looking for his 5th season title. Casey won his only Cup back in Summer of 2017, so he's itching to get a new Stanley Tumbler... or whatever those things are called.

 

The rest of us weren't very good.

 

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I'm sure by now you've all seen the promotional materials from the "Other Brigade" - who after a lot of well-thought-out deliberation, selected O'Brien's for the Hangover bar this Saturday.

 

15435 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33618

 

This will be the O'Brien's 3rd time hosting our season party. Anyone who makes an appearance will be eligible to win the Hangover Pot, which at the moment is $90 split 70/30 between the top two finishers.

 

I'm assuming people will show up around 8pm?

 

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Golf Sunday is at Big Cypress (South) at 11am. While all the hangovers will be gone by then, it is the earliest they'll let us out due to member play. Rate should be $65+

 

Update your RSVPs if you can't make it. I'll post the scorecard later this week.

 

And don't forget we lose an hour of sleep Sunday.

FBGC Championship - Spring 2025 - Preview

Headed back up to Lake Jovita for our 2nd Major this Sunday. We'll be on the North course for an early 8am shotgun start. Be sure to check what tee you start on.

 

Also... twice this season we've almost had groups tee off without a player who was running late. Remember, you get the max score for every hole you miss.

 

I always find it funny when people are running late and calling/texting Dear Leader, especially when they aren't in his group. Not only can he not help you, he doesn't want to help you. He wants you to get max scores, lose the event, and purchase pitchers.

 

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Everyone is on WHITE as usual unless you tell me you're moving back. The 55/25 guys can play White/Green combos. I moved up the usual suspects, but a couple of you who are aging better can also join them if desired. 

I've been playing with ways to show performance metrics, over time and by individual course. Still not sold on what to use... and definitely not sold on it being worth the effort... but here's Lake Jovita North's "Total Strokes Gained: Net" in our five outings (players in Sundays field only):

 

This should give you an idea of who to bet on. And more importantly... who not to bet on.

 

Long drive on #8 since people bitched about doing it on #1 last time. 

 

See you Sunday.