I'm pretty sure we are long overdue for a picture of Natalie Gulbis.  You can only write for so long about golf before you are obliged to post a picture of her stretching....  so here it is.  Damn.  :)

Now on to league news.... The rankings were shook up a little bit and there is now a three way tie for second place.  Chris and Joe took over the top spot after another strong showing and 3 straight wins in convincing fashion.

Only one personal best round of the year was shot Wednesday.  Dan shot a 44 and took a good amount of cash away in the process.  I didn't hear much else of note, except Virgil chipped in on #17.

Mike Moffit... where are you?  We all like Brian's "new partner" Brandon, though.  Cracked up my grumpy arse on several occasions.

OUTING update - Mayfair is out.  The bastard in charge of outings over there will not call me back and the people in the pro shop continue to tell me he is the only person that can set up outings and tee times more than 2 weeks in advance.  That a**hole is really pissing me off.  So..... Andy is going to call Raccoon Hill to see if Beers will give us a good deal there.

Note: Andy wants everyone to know that they can get their money each week straight out of the box.  Just return the envelope after you take out the cash.  Self-service style.

Oh and one more thing... I don't know the specifics, but I'm told we need to pick up the pace at times.  So the public service announcement of the day is just try to stay cognizant of the pace of play and not falling behind the group in front of you. 

See ya next week.

No time to look for any kind of vaguely appropriate picture, so you get Happy Gilmore.  "It's your home!  Are you too good for your home!?"

Once again we managed to dodge the raindrops and it actually turned out to be a very pleasant night to play golf.

Marc and Steve have opened up a pretty big lead through 2 weeks after demolishing Ed and Bob 32-10.  Ron and Virgil just can't seem to get it going and are still in last place.  There is a tie for second and a pretty big group waiting to strike below that.

Other notes of the week:

• Personal best rounds of the year:
  • Andy, fresh off winning the Fox Den Club Championship, carded a 32.  A frickin 32.  Unlike his 33 a few weeks back that I called the ugliest 3 under I'd ever seen, this 4 under round was very tidy.  Driving down the middle, pitching close, rolling in putts.  Great round all-around.
  • Seal got it going after stumbling out of the gate and fired a 38.
  • Dan, Jason E, and Steve all tied their best rounds.
• Let's not talk about the 3 guys who fired their worst rounds of the year.  You'll get 'em next week...
• Every hole on the front was birdied by someone, except for two!  #1 and #3.

NOTE: SCORE CORRECTION was done Friday at 6:45pm....... changed money a little for the back 9 A-Flight Skins.  League policy dictates that the offender be disqualified from championship contention... yeah right... :P

See ya next week.

What a crazy, lopsided week!  Only one match was close.  The rest were ... umm... not.

Three of the guys playing without a partner put up great rounds (2 personal bests) and killed their opponents.  Without a partner, it's always feast or famine and these 3 guys took care of business!

For those of us that took it square in the jaw, at least there are 9 more weeks to get it back and we can take solace knowing that the handicaps of many of the guys on the top teams have dropped.

Notes from the week:

• Did anyone get a headache from their personal stat sheet?  There is no key explaining much of it, so if you have questions, just email me.
• Don't fire at a far left edge pin on #13.  It can be bad for your health.
• NO skins in the A Flight on the front 9.  None.  All ties.
• Several guys put up their best rounds of the year:
  • Bob F
  • Joe, not to be outdone by his pops
  • Brian
  • Fred
  • And 2 ties - Bob P and Steve

One more thing... if you and your partner aren't going to be here during a week, let Andy or me know and we can try and get a sub or subs for you.

That's all I got.  See you next week.

The First Half is in the books.  Congratulations to Jason and Mike on winning the first half by a landslide!  The first trophy goes to the low net of the 2nd place team.  His "trophy" is in the picture to the right.  Good work, Bob.  The first place "trophy" can be viewed by clicking this link (WORK WARNING): https://netbirdie.angelfire.com/blog/EpicWin.jpg

Some notes from the week:

• Already a lock for 1st place, Jason and Mike added insult to injury firing a team net 71 as they steamrolled Andy and me.
• Bob and Dan took advantage of this by beating Chris and Joe 25-17 and leapfrogging from 4th to 2nd.  They went from 7th to 2nd in 2 weeks!  Bob shot his ass off, shooting his best round of the year at the best possible time!  Clutch.
• 3 of the league rookies finished in the top 2.  Nice hazing vets.  Fail.
• Andy and golf are on a break.
• Chris won a skin worth mentioning.  Heard it second hand, but he apparently made a brilliant save while almost in water on #2 and then sunk a long putt for par... To the rest of the A's that failed to par #2.  Fail.  #2 is a dirty whore.
• Another beer cart girl sighting.
• Schedule change - I switched 2 weeks around because we had 1 team playing the back 5 straight weeks and one playing the front 4 straight weeks.  Now no one is playing one side for more than 3 straight weeks (barring rain-outs or a Round Robin).
• Questions about matchups and who you play twice.... Everyone plays every team at least once.  There are 11 possible teams you can play.  Two weeks are round robins.  With 19 weeks of play, that leaves 6 teams you will play twice (not including the round robins).  Those 6 teams are random and are the first 6 you played.

Next week will bring 3 things:

1. The first week of the 2nd half
2. Outing news
   • Most likely Sept 20 mid-morning.
   • I'm leaving messages with Dave at Mayfair every day till he calls back.  Good thing about there is it's $27 for 18/cart and includes food.
   • Most other places (Raintree, Turkeyfoot, Ellsworth, Brookledge, etc, etc are $35 or more and don't include food).
   • Oak Knolls was the 2nd cheapest at $32 riding, $25 walking.
3. Personalized statistic print-outs for everyone.  This will include estimated USGA handicap, best/worst holes, consistency measures, and more.  Yes you're right - my geekiness knows no bounds...

See you guys Wednesday.

Cheers, guys!  Only 1 week left in the first half.

The schedule for July 15th's round robin can be found on the "Standings & Payouts" page.  We have some recent rematches, but that always happens with the round robin week. 

A question about subs arose - should they be allowed in pin shots and skins?  Last year, they competed for the absent person with the potential to win money for that person.  We came to the conclusion that subs shouldn't compete in skins or pin shots at all.  Therefore, we awarded Brent the pin shot on #3 after the fact.  Andy graciously conceded it since we couldn't be sure whose would have been closer.

Some notes from the week:

• First Place is locked up.  Jason (who shot his lowest round of the year) and Mike are in first by 26 points after dominating the Todds 31-11.  That means they really can't be overtaken since a 34-8 match just doesn't happen.
• 2nd and 3rd place are up for grabs.  6 teams from 2nd to 7th place are separated by only 13 points.  Each has a chance to get in the money.
• Bob and Dan (subbed for by Paul) won 30-12 and leapfrogged into 4th.  One point out of 3rd and just 6 points out of second.
• Ed cleaned up in the B flight on the front with his second best score of the year while punishing Andy and me.
• No pin shot winners on the back 9 means........ more money for the Outing!

That's it.  Good luck next week. 

To all the guys that will be in Florida next week, have fun!  Congrats Joe. 

And as you're out there playing golf on the beautiful, watery, flattish golf courses.... remember that "not everything is flat in Florida."

That shirt is awesome. :)

Two weeks are left in the first half.  The Round Robin week will have the top 6 teams going off the front.  We'll reverse that for the 2nd half. 

Couple notes from the week:

• Lowest net score was 36.  6 of them in all.  Weird. 
• Virgil, recovering from the flu, was still a bit sick and so was his game.  I've never seen a score like that from him.  He wasn't alone.  Lots of unusually high scores for some reason.  Weird.
• Mike and Jason extended their 1st place lead to 11 points as Mike, playing solo, played well and tied his best score of the year.
• The Todds train-wrecked against Ed and Bob and dropped to 4th place. 
• While we're on the Todds.... Playing against Sawyer is scary.  Sure he can fire a 54 and you're golden, but he can also drop a 43 on you and leave you crying for your momma.
• Chris and Joe jumped up the leaderboard into 3rd place after drubbing Fred and Tom 32-10.
• Good news to those not in the hunt... "there's always next year" is actually "there's always next half"

Cash is building for the Outing (going towards greens fees and prizes).  Leaning toward Mayfair due to price ($7 cheaper per man than anywhere else).  Plus it includes free food (buffet breakfast and lunch).  I'll lock it up in the next week or two for sure.

Ah the picture.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

You're welcome.

We have 3 weeks left in the first half, including the Round Robin championship week.  The top 4 spots are separated by only 13 points.

Some random notes from last week...

• The church league is sloooowwww. This isn't really news, but they outdid themselves and deserved special mention, particularly for their efforts on the front 9.
• Our newest team of Matt and Jason now have handicaps. 
• Only one par 3 green was hit!  That just means more money going toward the Outing. 
• Steve swept the B flight skins on the back, blanking Ron, Marc, and Mike (Moffit). 
• Andy shot the ugliest 33 I've ever seen lol.  But still a 33.  So yeah.
• Brett, Wes, and I are secretly planning to drain the water of the pond on number 2. 
• A few guys shot their lowest rounds of the year - Ron, Dan, Chris, and Todd (Sawyer).
• Todd's lowest round of the year was unleashed on the new guys, despite 4-jacking number 10. 
• Lastly, there was a beer chick!!!!  I'm pretty sure a beer chick at Fox Den is the first sign of the Apocalypse.  You've been warned. 

See you next week.

At least we got a handful of holes in last Wednesday.  If not for the lightning, most of us would have finished.

So what does this do to the schedule?

Well, since we started the round and got most of our matches in before the lightning ended it, we will slot last week's matchups later on in the year so we're not playing the same people again Wednesday.

UPDATE - I have updated the schedule.  I moved the 6/17 matchups to the last week before the First Half Championship week.  Unfortunately, with all the rainouts, the Outing won't be able to have any bearing on the overall league champ.  https://www.angelfire.com/netbirdie/schedule.png 

***

RULE CHANGE - we are instituting the maximum points clause for fully absent teams immediately.  If neither team member or a sub shows up for a week (leaving the opposing team with no one to play), the maximum points the absent team can win will be 17.  If they get a bad draw, they could win less.

***

PS - Please welcome our newest team to the league.  Matt and Jason started last week, taking over for the Kovacs.

It actually looks like it will clear up this afternoon.  Scattered thunderstorms in the evening.  Will we get rained out or not?  That is the question.

If it's still wet this afternoon, I will try and post an update before 4:00.

weather.com has a new TruePoint forecast that is supposedly accurate down to a 1 sq mi region (limited to looking ahead 5 hours). 

Here is Fox Den:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/golf/hourbyhour/1034902:5?from=hrly_graph_tab