Summer 2026 - Week 1 Summary

Oh boy. I'm not sure what to say about yesterday's tournament at the new "Saddlebrook National." The course is in great shape. The deal we got was amazing. The weather was warm and sticky but the wind wasn't blowing very hard.

 

And yet everyone played terrible.

 

We should have had a few people under par, yet Dave won with a +1 (net). Dave rightly pointed out that most of the course favored a player who fades the ball, which Dave isn't.

 

Danny set the course high record (with Geoff) and still finished T2 (with Faz). He was the only person to par the 14th hole, and also managed to make two 10s (we should up the +5 max!).

 

It's not a "fun" course. The routing is a disaster. But John reminded me par is a social construct so I'm not even going to complain about some of the scorecard decisions.

 

We should go back every season while prices are reasonable.

 

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Next week is 10:30am start at Seminole Lake. We had 20 spots reserved... I dropped that to 16... and now it looks like we only have 12 players attending. Not good!

I grabbed a couple of Ho's buddies to fill out our roster, but please invite others so we don't look like a bunch of chumps who can't fill out a tee sheet.

 

We might have to reduce the Rapture to 8 people! 

PGA Frisco - Fields Ranch East

In 2023, the PGA of America moved its headquarters to Frisco, TX after spending nearly 60 years located in Palm Beach, Florida. Keep in mind the "PGA" is NOT the "PGA TOUR"... rather it's the entity that oversees the Club Pros that fold your shirts and give lessons. They also run the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.

The East course was designed by Gil Hanse, and built specifically to host Major championships, becoming the final anchor location for the "Five Families" of golf:

The R&A - St. Andrews Old Course
The Masters - Augusta National
The USGA - Pinehurst #2
PGA TOUR - TPC Sawgrass (Stadium)
PGA of America - Fields Ranch (East)

Before Fields Ranch East even opened it was awarded the:

2023 and 2029 Senior PGA Championship
2025 and 2031 Women's PGA Championship
2027 and 2034 PGA Championship

And I fully expect a Ryder Cup to go there at some point (probably 2039).

 

So how was it? Pretty awesome!

 

It's a big-boy course that's listed at 7,860 for the Championship, and can easily be stretched beyond 8,000 (however, no Major is ready to be the first to officially do that, as it'll drum up more ball rollback debate). Their "signature hole" (I disagree with that assessment) is a par three that plays straight uphill into the prevailing wind... and is 269 on the card!

 

The 13th is back there somewhere.

  

The wind is brutal in this part of Texas, and we had a full weekend of constant 20+ mph sustained. The greens were surprisingly small, and work is already being done to soften the edges to add more pin-able areas. 

 

Not pin-able.

 

Caddies told me Scottie Scheffler bullied the course into adding a new teebox on 18 because he didn't like the angle (there's nothing wrong with the angle, he's a grumpy man-child). 

Bryson DeChambeau (another man-child) apparently walked off the course during a practice round after 11 holes because the teeboxes "weren't level" - a trick that Chambers Bay also used.

 

Those complaints make me even more excited for the tournament next year. When TPC Sawgrass opened, the pros immediately tried to have it banned after one event. Now it's regarded as a challenging masterpiece. Will Fields Ranch East be seen in the same light 40 years from now? Probably not. But there are a lot of great holes out there.

 

It's like one of those movies where the more you think about it... the better it gets. 

 

With thick fescue waste areas, they can make this course incredibly difficult.

  

The entire resort complex (and Omni hotel) was pretty nice as well. Logistically one of the worst run places we've been to (although not nearly as bad as Southern Pines), but you can see the potential. There's a massive putting and par-3 course that's lit until midnight, and plenty of places to get food and drinks. You really don't have to leave the resort.

 

From the hotel... 18th green in the center... 10th tee on the right.

Their other course on property was decent with even more land movement, but that was our windiest day and everyone was just trying to survive. I'm not sure we were able to fully appreciate it.

 

Bottom line... very enjoyable location and experience. Don't get caught up in the course/set-up discourse next year at the PGA Championship. It's a great test of golf. It's not unfair. And if scores are low it's because the PGA of America chickened out.

Saddlebrook Notes

It's been awhile since we played here... but...

 

The range has been moved "closer" to the first tees. Range is included in greens fee. 

 

Parking is basically valet only, unless you want to roll the dice and just park in the valet only lot. You'll then have a long walk to the pro shop. The entire setup is terrible, and even if you valet it takes forever to get your car when we leave. I'd recommend arriving early to avoid any delays parking.

 

The new "sports bar" is in the main hotel where the valet is located. We should just eat there afterward.

 

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Unrelated to this Sunday, you may have noticed our schedule changed slightly. 

• Ho is out of town Week 2, which would have doubled our Lake Jovita rates. So we moved that to Week 5. 
• Hunter's Green didn't inform me they are punching their greens days before our originally scheduled Week 3 event... so we moved that to Week 6
• It's been a challenge finding "decent" places for Weeks 2 and 3... Seminole Lake agreed to take us Week 2, but we need to go out after their members (10:30am).

Adjust your RSVPs accordingly. As it stands now I'm probably going to drop Week 2 down to 16 players. Or perhaps even 12...

Week 1 - Summer 2026

One spot remaining 

We're at the "new" Saddlebrook National on Sunday, May 31st - 9am start. What used to be the "Palmer" and "Saddlebrook" courses have been hacked together into three different nines. Their signature nines are Pine and Oak.

 

It's a Frankenstein's Monster of a course, with a par-5 now playing as a long par-4... and multiple par-4s now par-3s with teeboxes slapped in the middle of old fairways. You'll also drive past old par-3s that no longer exist (although it looks like they should). If you don't get the sense the entire routing is "off"... then golf architecture isn't for you. And that's OK! Slap balls and hit cups!

 

A couple of weeks ago the course was in immaculate condition. A new range sits on the old Palmer 1, 2 and 18 (yes, the fun little par-3 finishing hole is gone). And we're getting a $55+ rate with range balls included. It's a great way to start the season, and we should probably just play here every season.

 

I've already reduced us to 16 players.  The next 5 to register are IN.  By about Tuesday I'm going to start asking for guests to fill the spots.

 

Everyone is on the WHITE tees, with the old men / shit golfers on GOLD if they desire.

 

Here's their scorecard from our new top-secret classified alien technology:

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you want to move back. See you next Sunday. 

Week 6 - Hunter's Green

Hunter's Green is punching their greens a week before our scheduled event in Week 3. So we're moving it to Week 6 (July 26)... where it'll be two weeks after they punch a 2nd time. I guess that's better. Anyway..

Same deal as last time... $80 and an 11:30am start. 

I have to pre-pay for everyone, and we must get to 16 people. Send me $80 if you're playing that week. Ask friends if you have any.

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In a related note... as we build technology for the future... we're probably going to need to start locking the field 8+ days out. And by that I mean 1) dropping groups to whatever multiple of 4 allows, and 2) penalizing anyone who bails within 7 days of the event.

We have 20 spots reserved for Saddlebrook (week 1) and I'm about to drop that to 12 or 16 based on RSVPs. 

Spring 2026 Champs Dinner

Great night celebrating great Champions. Looking forward to the Summer season!

Summer 2026 Schedule

Schedule is updated on the blog, and reservation form is active. Nobody owes any dues thanks to our one-time collection at the beginning of the year.

 

I've scouted a few places — and it's pretty rough out there. We're going to start paying $130+ for places that charged us $40 a few years ago. So cancel your gooner subscriptions now.

 

Disney Palm - course was in excellent shape a few weeks ago. Not sure what they'd charge us but we should consider any of their courses. FL Resident rate seems to be around $140+ right now.

 

Seven Springs - I go here every few years to remind myself how bad the layout is. Greens were fine (borderline good, but slow). Fairways and rough lacked grass in many areas. $75 to be frustrated all day.

Club Renaissance - A FBGC staple! Greens are decent... firm with a few dead spots. Fairways were bone dry with no grass. Charged us $85 for a morning tee time.

 

Cypress Run - Dave's private course. Greens weren't good... bumpy and dried out. Guest rate is $130 and there's zero chance they'd host us anyway. 

 

Silverthorn - Front nine had me thinking we should go there. Back nine had no grass anywhere. The only green patches on fairways were weeds. Greens were ok... slow like Seven Springs. $71 to tee off at 10:00am.

 

As for places I was targeting... Southern Dunes was charging $185 for FL residents a few weeks ago. They're cutting that down to $80-ish because they're closing one hole per week all summer for irrigation repairs. So they're out.

 

Southport Springs was requested for a Concussion. Recent reviews say it's really bad. Same problem of no grass growing anywhere.

 

TPC Tampa is charging $200+ right now but I think there's a Florida or Group rate they don't advertise online.

 

Any other suggestions? 

FBGC Masters - Spring 2026 Recap

Tall Mike took care of business, winning his 5th tournament of the season and securing his 5th Club Championship yesterday at Glen Lakes. His gutsy... and grindy... performance was amazing to watch as he literally spent 2+ hours standing in a "golf position." My lower back started to hurt halfway through the round watching him frozen in that pose.

But the method to his madness paid off. He now has the most points per event in a season, 2nd most points scored in a season, most wins in a season, 3rd largest margin of victory, and he's the first player to win all three Majors in a single season.

 

And of course, his handicap has only dropped 1.1 since the start, so there's no reason to think he couldn't run in back in the Summer.

 

He's also all but guaranteed to be a Rapture Captain (for the 5th time).

 

The Goat Moose

Glen Lakes was great as always, but very difficult as the winds picked up throughout the round. There were 8 holes were three or fewer players carded a par or better: #2, #3, #5, #10, #15, #16, #17, and #18. The closing stretch in particular was brutal to the field. And the pin on #2 was so bad it's good, but a pace of play nightmare.

 

Speaking of, great job by everyone on playing fast per Glen Lake's request. Three of the groups finished under the posted pace, which included two foursomes - one of which took 409 strokes! Unfortunately, our greatest champion of all time wouldn't have finished in under 4 hours if not for playing in a threesome. Because of this, he has been docked 1,007 "DPT Points" and has now won the season by a mere 0.5.

 

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We're off for 2 months as we didn't need any of our scheduled make-up weeks. I might need that entire time to recover from the after-after party yesterday...

 

I'll probably do a bunch of scouting to see if any turds have turned into gems. So if anyone wants to experience some shit golf, let me know.

 

Great season, everyone! 

FBGC Masters - Spring 2026 Preview

Long drive #10

Closest to Pin #7 

 

We've officially played Glen Lakes twice, and it's been difficult on most of the field. Gorecki won the 2023 season opener there with a -10 (net) good pitcher... on a day when we had 9 bad pitchers! Two of those was a +22 (net) by Troy.

 

Marcus won his only tournament to date last year, and the scores were much tighter with only two pitchers owed. Looks like we're improving!

 

We're off at 7:44am. They have a range but I honestly don't know how much sunlight is out at that time.

 

Everyone is on WHITE unless they want to move back. The olds are on White/Gold if they desire. I went ahead and put Gorecki and Gary on them.

 

 

Some "long" hitters complained (must have been Ho) about using #9 last time as long drive... so congrats, now you get #10.

 

We are setting the pace for the entire course. The Board will be voting to DQ anyone who single-handedly causes a slowdown to the point the ranger gets involved. 

 

See you Sunday. 

Jamaican Open - Spring 2026 Recap

The only relevant storyline of the day was if Chandler (me?) could finish near the top to put some pressure on Moostie in the finals. He could not. All throughout the bag was terrible, but especially wedges inside 120 yards. Dear Leader apologizes for his terrible performance, and congratulates Tall Mike on his 5th Club Championship!

 

Brendan was looking good to win his 13th career event, but completely imploded with triples on 16 and 18.

 

This handed a victory to Dave, who broke the league-leading current losing streak of 41 consecutive events! I believe this is Dave's first ever win at the Jamaican Open as well.

The course was fabulous. Maybe the fastest we've seen the greens at Big Cypress... and that makes their undulating greens a nightmare. I watched one of our best players 5-putt the 9th green! And the finishing stretch leads to a lot of leader board swings.

 

And for under $70, it's one of the best stops on tour. 

 

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We have a formality event next Sunday, going from one very difficult Ron Garl course to another. Glen Lakes is a bit of a ball buster but a fun layout.

 

As I've mentioned, our options were 7:30am or 12:00pm. While I do love a late tee time... we've done that already this year at Hunter's Green. 

So we're going to be some of the first people out. Our mission is to not jam up the course with you people's terrible and selfish pace of play. 

We're going out in reverse order - as is tradition - and I don't think that created any "problem" groups. But there were a couple tweaks to make sure. 

 

I'll see some of you (not Faz since he bailed) bright and early Sunday. And if anyone is late for their tee time they'll get the max per hole until they join the group.

 

Billy, make sure you bring the trophy.  

Jamaican Open - Spring 2026 Preview

Headed to Big Cypress this Sunday, a course that should definitely be on our every-season-ROTA. They like us... it's under $100... and the conditions are always solid.

There are definitely a handful of demanding holes off the tee, but looking at the past winners BC doesn't seem to favor any particular style of play.

 

Long Drive on #2

 

Everyone is on the GREEN tees unless you want to move back to the BLACK.

 

 

Tee time is 10:30am. Quoted rate was $65+ which includes range balls so don't buy any of those. Just grab a bucket from the shack at the range.

 

Weather should be perfect. 

 

All names have been given to the course to be used at the front gate. 

 

See you then. 

DPT Masters - Final Tourney Info

First of all, we need to re-name all our Majors. Whoever comes up with any name that gets accepted by the Board (for any of the 3 Majors) will have a future pitcher paid for by Dear Leader.

I've been discussing our final event with seven different courses over the last week. It's the worst part of this "job," as we don't send our best and brightest to work in the retail golf industry. And as I've been complaining about, some of the quotes are astronomical (one course quoted me $130+ when their own website has tee times for $112, which they denied while I was looking at the screen).

I'm going to explore coming up with a ROTA where we play the same handful of courses every season that have strong relationships with us and want our business. We already do this with Jovita (and previously Southern Hills). But it's time to expand the list of staples.

Anyway, I just convinced the guys at Glen Lakes to host us for our finals. They have a policy of non-members going out after noon... but I talked him into 7:44am as long as we didn't bring more than 16 people. Not a problem, as we won't even get 16 people. The current ???s are now OUT.

Rate is $80+. 

Avg Greens Fees - Inflation Adjustment

My wife complained the avg greens fee chart wasn't adjusted for inflation. So using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website, here's an updated graph:

 

 

Fees are up $30 per round (60%), mostly in the last three years. 

Season Finale Options

I'm searching for a place to play our final event of the season, and I've narrowed it down to a couple of choices:

 

Based on a tip from Marcus, I went to look up recent reviews for Wentworth... which was a pristine private club (with a terrible layout) back in 2005. This picture was taken last month:

 

  

Brooksville CC is another terrible layout, but has a handful of fun quarry holes. We've played two events there, and they should be cleaning up now that World Woods is no longer an value option in the area. This picture was taken 6 days ago:
 

 

I'll select one of these based on their beer specials.

The Hangover - Spring 2026 Recap

The season continues as our 2nd best Champion of all time — Moostie — failed to secure enough points to lock up his 5th title. There were a couple of egregious course management mistakes on his part, but a lot of his struggles were on Diamond Hills new, but un-mown, greens.

 

Those were insanely frustrating, because you had to hammer putts (and I do mean hammer) to even have a chance of making. Balls would easily stop above the hole if you were defensive. But the severe undulations created a risk of running a putt 8 feet by, giving you comeback putt you'd have to uncomfortably smash.

The rest of DH was fine, conditioning-wise. The rough was manageable, the fairways had green stuff on them, and there wasn't much hardpan if you stayed away from the (overgrown) tree lines. I don't think we should avoid this course, but it definitely should be on the list of places we visit sporadically. The biggest complaint was the cost, leading to the perception of low "value." Unfortunately, value is subjective, and Diamond Hill is one of the few courses under $100 at the moment.

It was a great set-up for Troy, who has been battling debilitating back pain all season. As a man who usually has control of his ball, he was able to overcome five double-bogeys to shoot even (net) and win.

Gary also played well most of the day, as he's starting to find his driver again. It was always his biggest weapon throughout his golfing life, so he could be dangerous in the Rapture later this year.

Chandler finished T3 with some pretty atrocious wedge play.

 

Faz and Ho became Blue Buddies and posted "meh" scores of +4 (net).

Marcus dominated the first half of the day, reaching -4 (net) at some point before reverting to his factory settings on the back.

 

Geoff had a rough six hole stretch to fall out of contention.

And Gorecki ignited the betting markets with a 10 on the 9th hole, earning another course record, and failed to make a par (28 active hole streak).

 

We had a fun time the night before as well, with some complementary shots and pints provided by TBBC:

 

Tequila and Bourbon

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We're off next week for "Spring Break." I get asked about this bye-week a lot... and all I can say is that you people complained that travel with your kids should be built into the schedule. Now you other people complain that we have a random bye week for no reason. I'm not sure if all the people who needed the break quit... but as the least needy person in the Club, I'm observant enough to know some of you need bye-weeks in general.

We're back in two weeks at Big Cypress. I'm officially reducing the field to 16 people. We have 15 signed up right now, so the next person to get in on the RSVP sheet gets the last spot. 

 

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Finally, we had some continued talk (kvetching?) about the rise of greens fees. I obviously track this shit, so I might as well share it:

Recap of this season, by price (includes tax):

Lake Jovita - $118 

Calusa CC - $102 (potentially) 

Diamond Hill - $91

Hunter's Green - $78 

Scepter - $75

Lexington Oaks - $73 

Big Cypress - $69 (scheduled)

Hernando Oaks - $65 

Countryway - $29

 

As always, I very much welcome any "we should play [course name]" commentary, so I can explain why we don't/didn't.