Week 1 - Headcount

Esplanade is pretty solid, and a great place to open next season. They'll also give us a group discount.

So who is in for week one? So far I know:

Chan

Gary

Darren

Reid

Faz 

JW

Gorecki

Darryl
Geoff
Buchert
Guest
Brendan
Dave

I can assume the rest of you are in... But make a comment anyway. The sooner the better.

Out:
John
Dan

Esplanade - This Sunday

Got one spot open for a noon tee time this Sunday at Esplanade. $52. Heading down there around 10am.

http://www.esplanadelwr.com

Check it out and comment if you want the spot. We will more than likely be playing there this upcoming season.

Stats Post #2 - Brian

Although there wasn't any competition for this season’s rookie of the year, I have a hard time thinking anyone would have put up much of a fight with the way Buchert played.  He placed 2^nd in the overall standings with 1,665 points, won twice, and had the 2^nd highest average points per event with 208.125.

Brian technically played in all 9 events but was still establishing a handicap during week 1 so his stats are based off his 8 official starts.

Gross Scoring Average: 86.25 (1^st)

Net Scoring Average: 72.75 (2^nd to Darren)

Par or Better Percentage: 46.528% (1^st)

Par 3 Scoring Average: 3.410 (1^st)

Par 4 Scoring Average: 4.897 (4^th)

Par 5 Scoring Average: 6.037 (2^nd)

The 8 he posted on the 2^nd hole at Cypress Creek was his only max double par of the season.

He made one double bogey on a par 3 all season, which happened on the 3^rd hole of the Hangover Invitational at Quail Hollow…very understandable.  He made par on all of the other par 3s that day.

He only failed to break 90 once, which happened at Club Renaissance.  Must have been those “first official event nerves” getting to him.

Buchert has been a great addition to the league.  Hope to see him at all or most of the events in the Summer ’15 season.

Let the Stats Posts Begin...

Now that the season is over, it's time to let everyone (except Darren) know how bad they are.  This will be the first of many stats posts coming over the next several days.  Every person who officially played in 5 or more events this season will have their time to shine.

That 21 year old kid may have broken a lot of records last week at that other tour’s “prestigious” tournament but let’s not lose sight of what our very own Darren “The Baron” did this season.

• 4 wins ties Faz and Chandler for most ever in a single season
• Darren played 9 of 9 events
• Faz (Summer ’14) played 8 of 9 events
• Chandler (Spring ’13) played 11 of 11 events
• Has most career wins with 11 (Faz in 2^nd with 10)
• Accumulated 2^nd most points in league history (2,962.5)
• Chandler (Spring ’13) accumulated 3,087.5 when there were 11 events
• 329.167 points per event is 2^nd highest in league history (Faz 341.250 Summer ’14)
• Dropped his gross scoring average more than 5 strokes from last season (98.500 to 93.444)
• Gross scoring average has gone down every season, started at 106.444 in Spring ‘13
• Only person this season to have a below par net scoring average (70.778)
• Only 3^rd time anyone has had a below par net scoring average (Faz 70.071 Summer ’13, 70.125 Summer ’14)
• Increased percentage of making par or better from league worst 13.889% last season to middle of the pack 22.840% this season (remember his gross pars are net birdies, sometimes eagles)
• Lead the league in bogey percentage with 45.062% (those are all net pars, sometimes birdies)
• Dropped his double bogey or worse percentage from 44.444% last season to 32.099%
• Dropped par 3 scoring average from 4.125 to 3.744 (tied this season with Chandler, better than Dave, Gary, and Faz)

DPT Masters - Spring 2015 Recap

The "Season of Darren" continued Sunday, as The Baron hoarded more wealth from the peasants of the league. Picking up his 3rd win in a row (league record), Darren put Jordan Spieth to shame with an 8 under gross 88 round that won by 5 strokes. And the beatdown should have been worse if not for a sand-bagged quad-bogey on the final hole.

It was Darren's second sub 90 round in a row (personal record since joining the league), his 11th tour win (league record), his 6th Major title (league record) and he increased his earnings to an astounding $336 ($268 higher than the next golfer).

Basically... he's the greatest golfer in history. It's gotten to the point where we should consider a name change to DPD: Dudes Paying Darren.

Cypress Creek played as difficult as usual with two league members failing to score a single par. Double-pars were frequent (19 of them) and less than half the group broke 100. There really isn't anything wrong with difficult courses, especially when they add some balance to other venues like Quail Hollow. Cypress Creek isn't really "tricked up" either. It's just frustratingly hard. Unless you're Darren in the Spring of 2015. I mean... check out his entire history at the Creek: 107, 109, 105, 97, 111, 88.

Where did that come from?

Anyway... next season starts Sunday, May 17th. I'll slowly start changing over the information on the blog to reflect the new season.

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We are all set for the Ryder Cup during the weekend of August 22nd at World Woods. Check in is Friday night (21st), we'll play two rounds on Saturday, and one more round on Sunday before heading back to Tampa.

We're going to lock the Official Golf Rankings at the end of June, giving everyone 5 more tournaments to increase their standings. To be on the list you must have 8 tournaments played in the previous rolling 18. Once we lock the standings I'll give the top 12 guys a week to pay for the villas ($80 each). After that week we'll open it up to the alternates.

There's a slight chance we can increase it to 16 players if everyone wants in. But we'll talk about that after I collect money from the first 12. We could also just bring the alternates and let them play each day in their own group, so at least they'll partake in the trip.

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Not a ton of movement in the Golf Rankings, however. Buchert finally debuted in the 2nd captain spot (as expected). Geoff also finally dropped out of the rankings due to lack of tournaments played (as expected). He basically has to play all of the first 5 events next season to qualify. And there's zero chance that happens now that he's a weekend working man.

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A couple of people have expressed interest in increasing league fees to $10/$20. Doing so would give bigger payouts as well as allowing us to collect a bigger rake, which would be spent on the Champion's Dinner. Comment your thoughts on this. Luckily it's too late for The Baron to get a free meal. But next season it could be you...

DPT Masters - Spring 2015 Pairings

9am at Cypress Creek in Ruskin! They do have a range. Get ready for some high scores! $10 entry fee this week.

Group 1:
Chandler
Gary
Gorecki
Gorecki's dad

Group 2:
Reid
Buchert
Big John
Guest

Group 3:
Dave
Faz
Darren
Tall Mike

Masters party after our round at 3pm!

Eaglebrooke Voucher

DealCaddy finally has a decent deal today... and we're going to need some for the league next season.

Click here to see the deal (Orlando page)

I'm probably going to buy a couple of 4-somes just to have. It's the best course in Lakeland and we'll definitely go there.

Comment if you're buying a voucher as well... and how many people you bought it for  (there's an option for 1, 2 or 4).

DPT Masters

3 tee times set at Cypress Creek. 9am next Sunday, April 12th. $53. 

Masters party following the round. See you all there

Scotland Golf Trip - 2017

As many of you know, I take a trip each year to play a PGA Tour course with my dad. So far we've crossed off a handful of great courses... but it's time to go overseas. In 2017 we're planning a week long trip to Scotland to play a bunch of "British" Open courses. As with all our trips, you people are invited. Here are the details:

The plan is to travel sometime at the end of May or June for 5 days of golf (6 rounds), and three days of travel. Our first stop would be Troon (on the west coast) where we'll spend a couple of days to play Turnberry (Alisa Course) and Royal Troon. We'll then head over to St. Andrews (on the east coast) for a few days. There we'll play Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, St. Andrews New Course and finally St. Andrews Old Course. All except Kingsbarns and the New Course are on the Open Rota. The Open is being played at St. Andrews this year (2015) and Royal Troon next year (2016).

St. Andrews Old Course. Basically the home of golf.

Let me try to answer a few obvious questions:

Can my wife and/or girlfriend go? 
Absolutely. While we're golfing each day they can go sightseeing, shopping and exploring. After our rounds we'll meet up in the towns for dinner and pub hopping. From what I can tell these areas are pretty remote, but we have over two years to research activities.

Isn't this going to cost a lot of money?
Yes. The courses on this list are expensive (especially Turnberry since Donald Trump now owns it), you're limited on where you can stay, and flights overseas are never going to be "cheap." I already have a quote for the itinerary in April 2016, but those numbers don't really mean anything a year later in 2017. One of the many reasons we're planning this so far out is to help people save up money.

I'm estimating about $6,500 per golfer and $3,500 per non-golfer. That would include flight, hotel, food, transportation and golf. Also included in that cost is our own personal concierge driver who shuttles us around in a VIP bus. He handles our equipment, makes dinner reservations, offers places to visit, etc etc. We can cut costs by renting our own cars and driving on the "other" side of the road for a week, but that's a discussion we need to have a year from now.

Turnberry Alisa Course. Donald Trump is renovating it in 2015.

When would have I have to commit?
February of 2016. At that point I'll get official quotes and all those seriously considering can debate the specifics. By March of 2016 it'll be time to put down cash deposits. So all you need to do for the next 10 months is think about it... talk to your significant other... and let me know if you're considering joining the trip. You don't have to officially decide until the quotes come in.

As of right now we have myself, Gary and Darren signed up. Reid and Dave have told me they're interested, and Rachael's dad will probably also join us with some of his people. All are bringing their women.

Feel free to ask any other questions. I'd be happy to talk about all the research I've done for the trip and any other specifics.

Summer 2015 Schedule

It's never too early to put these dates on your calendar! We will be taking a month off after the current season ends. 

May 17 - Week 1

May 24 - Bye Week for Memorial Day

May 31 - Week 2

June 7 - Week 3 (Major)

June 14 - Week 4

June 21 - Make-Up Week if needed (Father's Day)

June 28 - Week 5

July 5 - Bye Week for Independence Day

July 12 - Week 6 (Major)

July 19 - Week 7

July 26 - Week 8

Aug 2 - Week 9 (Major)

Aug 9 - Make-Up Week if needed

Aug 16 - Make-Up Week if needed 

This will get us done before the Ryder Cup on August 22/23. Rankings for that event will lock at the end of June. So you have 6 events counting next week to improve your ranking. 

Hangover Invitational - Spring 2015 Recap

Every season the Hangover Invitational claims one victim. This year it was Dave, who didn't set an alarm and woke up 10 minutes before the first tee time. It's easy to make fun of him... but technically he was the big winner of the day since he got to go back to bed instead of struggling through 18 holes of golf.

The previous night was a lot of fun. The bar was perfect for our needs and it was nice to have our own area. Gorecki did a good job setting it up for us, despite somehow ordering a half-keg instead of a full one. Actually... it wasn't his fault. When you call a bar and reserve a keg, nobody in their right mind should assume you mean a pony keg. And a "deal" for said pony keg shouldn't be $110. I tried explaining this to the manager but she didn't really care.

Anyway, Sunday was a struggle. Nobody made par on the first hole, which is by far one of the easiest holes on tour. In fact, two of the eventual top 3 finishers (Darren & Brendan) made 8 on it. Reid made one par on the entire day. Chandler made a 9 for the first time in league play since June of 2013! Buchert was near the lead until finishing +10 on the final 5 holes. And Tall Mike started the day +19 on the first 7 holes!

Ironically... nobody owed a pitcher.

But there were some bright spots for a few high-handicappers. Brendan finally earned some decent points by finishing third thanks to six pars on the day. Gorecki won his 3rd tournament ever, and his first by breaking 100. Darren tied for the lead, notching his 3rd victory of the season and the first time he's ever broken 90 in league play.

Darren also becomes the 4th person to win the DPT Cup. He'll finally get his name engraved on it to go along with the dents he placed there last year. He also gets a permanent seat at the Champions Dinner, joined by Chandler, Faz and Geoff.

Looking at the stats, Darren appears to be our Jack Nicklaus. He has the most Majors (5 tied with Reid), most wins (10 tied with Faz) and by far the most earnings ($280 lifetime). I guess that makes Reid our version of Tiger Woods, since he used to win Majors but now he's pretty terrible. And he's black.

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We're off next week for Easter. Our final tournament of the season will be Sunday, April 12th. Location TBD but it'll be early (9am-ish) so we can get back and watch the final round of the actual Masters. Everyone should have received an invite on FaceBook for the party. So RSVP to that if you're attending.

For our final event I'm assuming everyone from the Hangover is in... plus Big John... plus Dave... plus Guest (making a return from his cocaine suspension). If any of you aren't attending let me know ASAP.

Also, JW and Geoff... let me know if you guys are in.

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Next season will start up in May. And I've already sent out requests to play this year's Ryder Cup the weekend of August 22nd. Mark it down on your calendar.

The Official Golf Rankings for the Ryder Cup will lock at the end of June. At that time the top 12 ranked players will be in, and the top two ranked players will be captains. More about this closer to that date... but play well and show up to events to help guarantee your spot.

Sunday's Pairings

Two tournaments remaining. Three guys in the race. Everyone else playing for pride and money. 

10am tee time at Quail Hollow. White tees. Bring Advil. 

Group 1:

John

Gary

Faz

Gorecki

Group 2:

Dave

Brendan

Reid

Adam

Group 3:

Darren

Buchert

Tall Mike

Chandler 

Jamaican Open Recap - Spring 2015

So as predicted, Pebble Creek screwed up our tee times... and for some reason the live scoring app did some weird things. But we still had a pretty good day yesterday.

Only 5 strokes separated the top 8 players. Darren "The Baron" limited the blow-up holes to win his second tournament of the year, despite only having one par on his card (and one birdie). Reid, John and Dave finished two back in ties for 2nd place. Reid had a sizable lead on the field until he blew up on the par 5 8th hole. John made a late charge but ultimately fell short with doubles on 16 and 18. And Dave is still searching for his first ever victory after making a hideous triple bogey on the 17th hole.

With Darren's victory, only Buchert and Tall Mike have a chance of catching him. Both don't necessarily need victories to win the cup... but they do need high finishes with Darren hanging out in the cellar. Mike basically can't finish lower than 2nd the last two weeks.

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This week is the dreaded Hangover Invitational. Everyone playing for points and money must show up to the bar at 9pm. Every 15 minutes late is a penalty shot. On Sunday we play at Quail Hollow, which has hosted three previous Hangovers. Tee time is 10am, cost is $40 plus tax.

I have a full 12 people signed up, which includes everyone who told me they were playing plus Reid's friend from out of town. If ANYONE else out there wants to play but isn't on the list, let me know ASAP so I can add another tee time.

As of today... Jesus is still causing Big John to play for fun on Sunday. Unless the leaders agree to let him in the event sans hangover.

We're also still waiting on Gorecki to finalize the deal with the bar. It's scary letting him be in charge of things, but I'll let you know how that turns out after his afternoon nap.

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Slight movement in the Official Golf Rankings. Buchert is two tournaments away from his debut near the top of the list. Watch for Geoff to drop from 4th to near last after this week. Darren has pretty much locked up one of the captain spots for this years Ryder Cup.

Jamaican Pairings

11:30am

Group 1 - Faz, Brendan, JW

Group 2 - Gary, Reid, John

Group 3 - Chandler, Darren, Dave, Buchert

Get there early to check in. PC has terrible management and probably double-booked all our tee times.

DPT Ryder Cup - 2015 Registration

Starting in May I'm going to call some places to host the 2015 Ryder Cup. My first choice is World Woods... but last year we attempted to book it too late and they couldn't accommodate us.

When the standings lock sometime in June, the top 12 people in the Official Golf Rankings will be eligible for the trip. Everyone outside the top 12 will be alternates. But we might as well get the availability of everyone in the league. If we can make it work we'll take 16 people on the trip (no promises).

So regardless of where you are in the rankings, tell me what weekends are free for you.

To the right of the blog I've placed a grid showing everyone listed in order of their current ranking. This will change over time as the rankings change. Look at your calendars and tell me if you're IN or OUT any of the weekends listed. I didn't bother putting Labor Day weekend on the list.

If I don't hear from you by May 1st I'm going to assume all the weekends are good.

UF plays at home September 12th against ECU. FSU plays USF in Tally that same day. So I imagine that weekend won't be good for those of you who like to watch shitty football.