The Weekend that WAS for me and COULD HAVE BEEN for Chandler...

So I know I may be drinking the Kool-Aid and bragging what a great town Atlanta is since I've come up here. But I do miss the guys golf weekends, bowling mondays and kickball Thursdays in Tpa. And of course the verbal abuse I receive from most of you. So as I left I extended the invite for whomever wants to come visit is more than welcome to.

Well the stars seemed to aline this past weekend as there were 2 great events going on here. So I enjoyed a 3 day weekend (I'm the Boss) and enjoyed the following:

Friday: Fed-Ex Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club
If you were living under a rock (or gave up watching golf cause football is here) this event is the Final Stop for the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs. Only the top 30 in the standings are invited and the winner of the Fed Ex Cup gets awarded 10 million plus another 1.x mil for winning this tournament. The top 5 golfers had a chance to win the cup so unlike the Pods err now Transitions Tournament at Copperhead I got to see all the top golfers feel the pressure of a tournament that had a feel of a major. I found discounted tickets online and also gained "championship club access" where they had a hospitality tent on the 17th fairway (the one Snedeker hit into the stands on Sunday but free relief and ended up chipping in for birdie). I also sneaked a pic of Phil teeing off on #3 and got scolded at for doing so. oops.

Friday Evening I hit up the Sweetwater Brewery where they have THE BEST happy hour special around. For $10 you get a pint glass (that you keep) and 6 tickets for "samples" Well the sample sizes they fill ur glass 3/4 or more full (so 12+oz) of good tasting high octane craft beer (5.5% and up). The place fills up with eye candy and if you are really into the beer, they conduct tours every 15 min where you get an extra pour for participating. (Picture below is to reference to souvenir glass and size pour)

Saturday I awoke to some awful background noise when tuning into college game day. Florida State you REALLY have to tell the band to learn more than one tune. And headed to a house party to watch the Gators vs the Kittens. After a comfortable size lead at halftime we all walked to Piedmont Park to enjoy Music Midtown. Friday's lineup which I did not attend included Joan Jett, T.I. and Foo Fighters. Saturday had a bigger lineup and included Garbage, Adam Ant, Ludacris, Neon Trees, Florence and the Machine, and Pearl Jam. Ludacris mentioned 30 times that hes from Atlanta and pretty much played every hit song he makes a guest appearance in. I think you had to be high to listen to Florence but Pearl Jam by far did not disappoint. He played 6 songs from the Ten Album and then a ton of other hits. Here's their set list:

1. Why Go
2. Save You
3. Animal
4. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
5. Corduroy
6. Got Some
7. Amongst The Waves
8. Wishlist
9. Better Man
10. Do The Evolution
11. Even Flow
12. Know Your Rights
    (The Clash cover)
13. Nothingman
14. Supersonic
15. Jeremy
16. Porch
Encore 1:

17. Crazy Mary
    (Victoria Williams cover)
18. Given To Fly
19. The Fixer
20. Rearviewmirror
    Encore 2:

21. Unthought Known
22. Black
23. Alive
24. Rockin' in the Free World
    (Neil Young cover)

and here's a picture of the crowd gathering when Florence was on:

 

 

So after stumbling my way home I spent Sunday recovering and watching the final round of the Fed Ex Tournament on TV. Probably couldve found my way onto a golf course but I figured to save the tennis elbow deterioration of my right arm for another day.

 

So the weekend was eventful and one Mr. Brown was claiming to come up and participate in. His loss and I'll open the invite up once again to come visit anytime, before you heart fills with regret. I may even have you come play a golf course with real terrain as it seems they're aren't any under a 130 slope.

DPT Masters - Season Results

Seven us of headed down to Sebring this past weekend for the prestigious DPT Masters. I assumed the trip was going to be a disaster... but the price was right so we couldn't pass it up. Turns out Justin booked us an awesome trip that we'll definitely do again.

DPT Masters

Round one was one of the best "days" of golf I've ever seen. As in: the weather, course and atmosphere was excellent. Chandler shot a lights-out 80 (with one double-bogey) and still managed to finished 3rd. Justin "Hollywood" Miller finally put together a round worth a damn, shooting 86 with two birdies and a 2nd place finish. But it was Mr Sandbags... "handicap system favors better players"... Gorecki who shot a 94 and took a first-day lead (and our money). The 31 strokes he received netted a criminal score of 63. He should be ashamed.

Round two was also played on a very nice course, albeit a more difficult one in my opinion. All of us were tied, and the scores showed it. Gorecki took only 30 strokes this time to secure a 2nd place finish for the tournament. But it was Hollywood who again played his best golf in months, shooting 85 en-route to a 4-stroke total victory.

Congrats Justin. The first ever Ginger to win a DPT Major tournament.

Summer 2012 Season

Long before we headed to Sebring, Chandler had the season just about locked up. Geoff needed to win the Masters to have a chance... and all hopes of that disappeared on hole 4 of the first day. We'll get pictures of the new trophy up as soon as it's finished.

Next season will probably start at the end of September. We'll review the point system, but I think it worked out just fine. There will also be a couple of rule clarifications and enforcements for next season.

Geoff is ordering trophies for the following side-bet winners:
- Long Drive: Chandler won a long drive each day to finish the season with 4.
- Greenies: Chris didn't even attend the Masters OR the par-3 tourney and still wins the total greenies with 10. Amazing accuracy!

Hangover Invitational Recap

I considered writing a long recap of the events as they unfolded Friday night at The Retreat for the E-Flo Hangover Invitational.  As the (somewhat) sober, self-appointed bar stenographer I was tasked with recording the number of drinks each participant had (Gorecki was surprisingly honest - I think) as well as the random debauchery for posterity purposes. But as my (and everyone else's) alcohol intake increased it became harder and harder to keep track of the night's events. Thank God I didn't have a Mind Eraser shot, courtesy of Papa Jensen, or else the following documentation might never have existed.

The Mind Erasers

Dudes

E-Flo Hangover Bar

E-Flo has chosen The Retreat as his bar this Friday. The following people must attend during the hours of 9pm to 1am:

E-Flo
Chandler
Gorecki
Geoff
Faz

Luckily for us, The Retreat has "$6 Jack Daniels liters and $3 domestic drafts" on Friday. See you fools then.

Deja Vu- Another request to tee it forward and here's why...

So how much fun did we all have this past weekend? I think we all would agree thats a tough course and at times we make it even tougher when we tee it off poorly and find ourselves at a disadvantage cause our 2nd shots are now gonna be a longer more difficult shot to hit, almost guaranteeing ourselves a bogey or worse.

So when Chandler proposed we play summerfield at 6,400 yds and a slope of 125, I asked if this was a "DPT Major" cause that seems like a difficult slope and why would we set ourselves up for another potential day of displeasure.

When I learned there is an option to play the forward tees at 5,800 and a slope of 119. Chandler proposed I write a blog post persuading why I think we should play from these tees.. So here we go....

I originally assumed tee box selection should be based on your handicap. But when I researched this the USGA had a direct answer to my question:

Shouldn't golfers select tees based on their handicap?Not in this approach. The idea is to help golfers play from tees that allow them to hit more lofted clubs for their approach shots.

So I asked Chandler what he believes our league participants average drive distance is. He answered 200-225 yds.

Here's what the USGA recommends:
PGA of America/USGA RecommendationsIn 2011, the PGA of America and USGA issued a set of recommendations designed to encourage golfers to play from appropriate yardages. These guidelines are based on golfers' average driving distance. So find your driving distance, then see what yardage these two organizations recommend.
Avg. drive - Recommended Tees
300 yards - 7,150-7,400 yards
275 yards - 6,700-6,900 yards
250 yards - 6,200-6,400 yards
225 yards - 5,800-6,000 yards
200 yards - 5,200-5,400 yards
175 yards - 4,400-4,600 yards
150 yards - 3,500-3,700 yards
125 yards - 2,800-3,000 yards
100 yards - 2,100-2,300 yards

Now I spoke with Geoff tonight at bowling and he associates shorter tee boxes with limiting the use of his driver in fear of driving through the fairway. But Chandler informed him that Summerfield has very few doglegs and mostly straight ahead tees to greens. So I just finished reviewing their course layout and sure enough, I only count approx 4-5 dog leg holes. (I'm sure Chandler will do a much more thorough investigation into this to confirm) So for you "long drivers" this can only serve as an advantage if we tee it forward as your second second should be a a high lofted iron approach.

So let me know your opinions. You obviously know my vote. I also was going to propose using different tee boxes, but Chandler shot that down due to our greenies and long drive competitions. I also to complain to the USGA on their choice of wording listed below:

Should golfers of all different abilities in one group each play from different tee markers?They can, but you should recommend that the group play from the same tee markers. This is more sociable, plus is proven to be faster. Recommend the group select tee markers that are most appropriate for a majority of the players, while ensuring that the weakest player could still enjoy the experience.

Just cause I prefer to tee it forward doesn't conclude I'm a "weak" player. The DPT Standings will back me up on that!

Early Bird & Other Things

Getting up early sucks. Sure, you have the rest of the day to do things... but that's wasted when you're so tired you just go home and nap.

Regardless, a full 8 person field showed up to take on Bloomingdale... and we all lost.

That course is hard. It shouldn't be, but it is. We had some of the worst scores as a group I've ever seen. Everyone played horribly, except for Gorecki who played "normal."

He should get a little more credit, as he constantly laid up on difficult holes in order to reduce the triple and quad bogeys. This strategy worked and he easily won by 4 strokes, shooting to the top of the money list.

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We have 4 people signed up for the E-Flo Hangover. Summer field had tee times at 10:30am and 11am, so I booked both of those. If nobody else signs up (Justin, Ried, Robb etc) by Wednesday I'm going to cancel the 11am tee time.

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Justin knows of some stay-and-play place in Sebring for the DPT Masters. An update on that will go out as soon as he locks it down.

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Let me know if you're partaking in the PGA Championship best-ball event. Right now it's just me and Geoff.

PGA Championship Challenge

The LAST golf Major of the year is next weekend. So... one more best-ball pool to go.

Same shit as last time. Get me $10 before next Thursday. And set your teams by Wednesday night!

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Sign up here:
http://games.espn.go.com/best-ball-pga-majors/en/group?groupID=3437

Group: DPT Golf
Password: donkeynoms
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Entry fee is $10 and you must pay before August 9th. If you're interested, bring money to kickball, Yard of Ale etc etc.  You can "gift" me $10 through PayPal under my email address, but make sure you select the gift option so it doesn't take any fees out.

Anyone who hasn't paid by the time the rosters lock will get the boot.

E-Flo Hangover Invitational

It's registration time!

E-Flo's Hangover Invitational is the funniest of all our theme tournaments. Because he lives a rough life... and we need to experience it.

Sadly, he won't be playing due to his cankles... but he'll still be at the bar. Here's the deal:

Sometime this week we will announce what bar we're attending (probably in SoHo) Friday night. In order to compete in the tournament, you have to show up and hang out with us until 1am. We'll then tee off somewhat early the next morning, probably at Summerfield.

Comment if you're in!

Faz Open Review

With no Chandler and the Bito/Dan drop outs, we were left with 4 DPT golfers (Geoff, Justin, Gorecki, Chris) and two amateurs (Jim Miller, Steve P.). Since Gorecki wanted to Ride with Steve and Justin with his dad, I just flipped a coin to see which pair Chris and I would be joining. I rode along with team Miller-Time and it went something like this... Holes 1 and 10 had fairway construction going on so instead of par fours, both were par threes, making the course a par 68. Which of course Gorecki complained that this change would be an advantage to lower handicapped players and i'm sure he bitched the whole day. I started the first 4 holes with 3 double-pars. My irons were errant and my driver was OB most of the front nine. Luckily I managed to squeeze in three pars, but still was losing to Justin by 4 at the turn. My back nine was marginally better, but our group only had one person hit a green on the 6 par threes of the day; sad. Our long drive hole was much the same. Justin hit is in the rough almost OB and I hit mine about 5 feet from that. We decided to make the next two par fours long drive bets between the two of us, so at least I got to win a couple bucks from the Bank of Ginger. I don't know how the other group fared, except, Faz played really well and took a bunch of money from Gorecki and co.

End of Season

Since I can't do a write-up of Fazioli's tournament, I'll post an update on our last three tournaments.

Two B's - I initially booked three tee times, but with Dan backing out I'm going to downsize. There is one spot open for this tournament. I'm still waiting on Justin to make up his mind if he wants to play... but if I don't hear from him today I'll ask my dad. Tee time is 7am, so get there early.

E-Flo Hangover - Eric has a bad ankle or something. Based on Cong's recovery time, I'm assuming Asians take forever to heal... thus he probably won't be playing in his own tournament. No worries though, hopefully he'll still go out drinking with us. To remind everyone, in order to play in this tournament you must attend the chosen bar until 1am. Details on this after I talk to him this week. We'll be trying to play Summerfield since a lot of us have vouchers.

DPT Masters - The final Major and tournament of our season is "invite only." Anyone who has a tour victory is eligible to play, and the remaining spots will be filled by those at the top of the rankings. So far that includes:

Winners
Chandler
Robb
Geoff
Gorecki
Chris

Remaining
Justin
Gary
Reid

Of course, these lists could change depending on who wins the next two tournaments, and who is available to play on the 18th and 19th.

Initially Geoff and I thought the tournament would be a two day event where we could stay and play (ie: World Woods). I'll be emailing the winners to see their availability, and thoughts on staying overnight somewhere.

Virtual Gorecki

With me going on vacation this weekend, I can't help but feel like I'm missing out.

No... the empty feeling doesn't come from me not playing golf for the first weekend this calendar year. Nor does it have anything to do with missing the company of my friends, laughing and partaking in friendly competition.

I'm going to miss Gorecki whining in my ear for 4+ hours about how unfair everything in the league is.

So I've created a Virtual Gorecki. This way I can log onto the blog Saturday morning and still feel like I'm right there in the action!

See you all soon.

Just the Tips & DPT Championship

Just the Tips Challenge

Brutally hot day at Northdale, and slow as always. But hey... we live in Florida and at least we can golf year-round.

Geoff turned into a par-machine, shooting 6 pars en-route to a large 5-stroke victory. Even back-to-back triple bogeys to end the round wasn't enough to choke the tournament away. While Northdale isn't long from the tips (6,800)... it's long enough to make scrambling a must. Especially for us high-handicappers and short-hitters.

Gorecki complained the entire day about playing from the tips. Ironically, he drove the ball very well... shooting a horrific 121 due to numerous chunks with his long irons and woods. If he just accepted that he doesn't need to kill the ball with every swing, he'd win some tournaments. Speaking of...

DPT Championship

Ugh. God pissed all over Tampa late Saturday... soaking our 2nd Major of the season. TPC Tampa was in good shape, but a lot of it was soggy and we had to play cartpath only. Everyone played like crap with the exhausting conditions, except Gorecki who shot one over his handicap to earn his first victory of the season.

Of course... he cheated all day... pairing himself with the Clique-o-Ballics, who couldn't watch him while they were constantly hunting for Dino's wayward drives. After we caught Gorecki hitting a mulligan on the first tee, he responded: "I'm not in your group, so I don't have to play by your rules." Commissioner Geoff pointed out: "You also don't have to win our money."

Allegedly Mike changed his ways and played according to our stringent rules. You know... the rules established (and evolved) by the R&A since 1897. Damn us for trying to play the game correctly while we gamble!

Justin was also a sight to see, as he showed up still drunk from the night before and slurring incoherent ginger phrases. He got his shit together just in time to shoot a 45 on the back nine and finish 2nd.

Congrats to Geoff and Mike for winning over the weekend. With me out of town this week, the leader board could get pretty tight!

Up Next

Still at least one spot open for Fazioli's tournament. And we have two tee times booked for Robb's tourney at 7am. It's gonna be rough. But sign up if you haven't.

Early Bird Classic

While I'm out of town, I'll need to set up tee times for the Early Bird Classic. Robb might even attend his own event.

A bunch of us are playing in a charity golf tournament on Saturday... so this event is scheduled for Sunday, August 5th.

Tee time will be as early as possible. Some of us bought vouchers to play Bloomingdale ($15). I have 4 of them, so if you need one let me know.

Comment if you're playing or there won't be a spot for you!

Fazioli Invitational

**Update**

Chris has set up two tee times for this Saturday at Babe Zaharias, 9:30am tee time. Cost is $36.45 plus tax, and the 1st and 10th fairways are under construction. But allegedly the greens are good to go.

Check out the roster to see if you're on it. If you're not, and should be, make a comment. If you are, and shouldn't be, also make a comment.

I'll fill in the handicaps soon.

Geoff will handle the money and scorecards this week.

I talked to Chris and he's cool with playing the white tees this weekend. So there shouldn't be a Gorecki tantrum, but Dan's driver might be sad.

DPT "British" Open Challenge

The Open best ball challenge is now active. Let me know if you're in and haven't paid yet! Everyone else who is not on the list on the right column of this blog will be cut.

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Sign up here:
http://games.espn.go.com/best-ball-pga-majors/en/group?groupID=3437

Group: DPT Golf
Password: donkeynoms
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Entry fee is $10 and you must pay before July 18th. If you're interested, bring money to kickball, Yard of Ale etc etc.  You can "gift" me $10 through PayPal under my email address, but make sure you select the gift option so it doesn't take any fees out.

Anyone who hasn't paid by the time the rosters lock will get the boot.