2015 – Week 16
When I woke up last Thursday morning and looked out the window, it sure looked like this year’s GCCGL Battle Golf event was not going to happen. It rained throughout most of the day. One by one, every golf league in northern KY called the clubhouse and cancelled their league play but not the GCCGL. Not only did we play the round, it turned out to be a decent night and everyone finished the round before it got too dark and we had perfect attendance thanks to another great showing of from our subs. A big thanks to Watson, Knechtges, Schott, Tucker, Dominik and Frances!
By all accounts, this year’s Battle Golf event was another huge hit. Putting the putter in play seems to have added another element to the competition which provided a lot of extra entertainment for all involved. Looks like this addition is here to stay. I’ll admit, I was against this decision at this year’s commissioner’s Winter Meetings but after watching folks on the practice green experimenting with everything from their drivers to their wedges, I don’t know what I was thinking. It was absolutely the right decision! Thank goodness there are people much smarter than me making the important decisions around here. During the post-round libations ceremony at BW’s, it was suggested, in the spirit of this event that we tweak the rules for next year’s Battle Golf event so that you can only carry one club of everything. One driver, one putter, etc. Apparently, there were “gentlemen’s agreements” in the hallways of GCC that only the standard set of clubs would be used between some of the match play participants. So I ask YOU, the GCCGL members, what do you think? Take a second to answer the poll on the right. In addition, feel free to add any comments on this subject at the bottom of the blog post. You must be logged in to comment.
Some of the highlights of this year’s Battle Golf event included a few members playing without their putter for pretty much the entire round! Cupcake took Gordon’s putter after the first hole and he never saw it again. The Portuguese Warrior took the Golf Angel’s putter also after the first hole and watched as she tried several combinations of clubs. Interestingly enough, when she did have the opportunity to take her putter back, she didn’t. Instead she took my putter. I brought two putters with me for the BG event and I was still without a putter on several holes! Apparently this theme played out the same way across the board. No one was taking their putters back but instead they were taking their opponent’s putter so that they could experience the same pain as they did. This event is designed to take you out of your comfort zone and makes you do things you normally wouldn’t do. For example, I try and get to the golf range every 2-3 weeks. However, instead of hitting a bucket of balls this week, I brought four different putters with me to the practice green and spent way too much time putting with all of them before making my decision. JJ was the first player to chip it in and get his clubs back! Too bad it was on the third hole. Battle Golf has a knack for doing a number on people’s scores. I heard Victor Frances was teeing off with his 9-iron by the end of the night! The BG event is tough on everyone but especially tough on substitutes because subs don’t really have a good feel for their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. It is up to the GCCGL member to educate their sub and outline a strategy before their match play. As many of you know, there has never been a (10 – 0) skunking in the 20 year history of the GCCGL. Many believe that if it ever happens, it will be during the Battle Golf event. We had some close calls again this year but no one got shut out.
Not only were there raindrops falling, I heard it was raining golf clubs in Schott’s foursome. Unfortunately for Schott, his first BG experience got the better of him and he pulled a “Goldie” and threw his club in disgust. I’m still not sure how this happened but he wound up inadvertently throwing the club up a tree…..and it didn’t come down! This can only happen in this crazy league. Another GCCGL classic! Thankfully the folks in his foursome were on their toes and took this picture and video of the incident. Take a look at the picture below, see if you can locate the club! I couldn’t! Does Schott have a nickname? If not, then I’m sure he will by next week! How about Treehugger? The Arborist? SweetGum? What? It’s a type of tree. Come on, help me out. I can almost hear the creative juices flowing amongst this eclectic group of imaginative geniuses we call the GCCGL. Please, let us know your nickname ideas for super-sub Adam. He’s earned the right to a good one.
OK…OK….maybe that wasn’t a video of Schott climbing a tree to retrieve his golf club but it was the closest thing to it.
It was a huge, I mean HUGE week in the GCCGL standings. Usually, the team matches are pretty close but this week, all three team matches were blowouts. The Massholes destroyed the 2nd place Roller and Duer Again (24.5 – 15.5). They were led by Goldie who eeked out 7.5 points. Roller and Duer have slipped into 3rd place after being annihilated. This moved the Massholes back into 4th place and has brought them one step closer to realizing their goal of becoming the epitome of mediocrity. The last place Big Bang Theory apparently didn’t like being in last place and put a hurt’n on Back in Black (24.5 – 15.5) thus putting Back in Black back in the back of the standings. They were led by Dominik and Roddy who both stole 8 points each. They have moved out of last place by .17th of a point. Finally, Daddy Day Care pummeled the 1st place Offensive Line (24 – 16) and have moved into 2nd place. They were led by Knee Pee who squeezed out 8.5 points. The top three teams are within 10.67 points of each other with only three weeks left in the 20th anniversary season of the GCCGL! With two match plays and the Best Ball Scramble left, it is wide open! This could indeed be one of the greatest finishes in GCCGL history.
In other news, how ‘bout a big shout out to the first foursome of Lip Gloss, Syndrome, Cletus and the Golf Witch who bought enough beer for the entire league! Pretty cool guys….THANK YOU!!!
The low net winners were JJ a.k.a Das Boot (A/B) with a low net of 33 and Knee Pee a.k.a. KP (C/D) also with a low net of 33. Great rounds gentlemen! We move to the front of the Willows for the next two match play events. Please be aware that we have less daylight this time of year than we do in late April early May so please continue to tee off on time. This is shaping up to be another exciting and historic finish. We hope to see you on the course and as always, hit ‘em straight!
I leave you with a video of Radio mired deep in ”the gallery”. I’m pretty sure you don’t witness these moments in other golf leagues. We should change our motto to “The GCCGL, where golf etiquette and decorum don’t mean s**t!”
George Almeida – GCCGL Co-Commissioner
