2021 – Week 7
“Hasn’t everyone in the league wanted to take a swing at Rayburn at some point”? – Ben Leininger, June 3rd, 2021
The simple answer is “No”. But I feel a greater need to address the question, because leaving it right there, would make for a pretty short and boring blog, and as we all know, I do like to stir the pot on occasion.
I joked in last week’s blog (poking fun at George for not having enough blog material) that a topic could be “Does Leininger really want to fight Rayburn?”. I’m not entirely sure myself where that came from, and I never honestly thought there was anything to it… yet here we are.
The Tale of the Tape. Fighting out of the blue corner and coming from the friendly confines of Park Hills, KY, you have the challenger…. Benny “the Jet” Leininger. In the red corner, hailing from the Mistake on the Lake, Cleveland, OH, you have Johnny “Syndrome” Rayburn. The Jet comes in standing 5’ 7” and weighing in at 142 lbs soaking wet. Rayburn comes in standing 5’ 8” and weighing in just a few doughnuts north of 265. Leininger is a D golfer with a Pioneer course Handicap of 14. Rayburn is also a D golfer with a Pioneer course Handicap of 13. Leininger prefers Bourbon and a grass hybrid of Kentucky bluegrass, featherbed bent and Northern California sinsemilla. Syndrome likes Bourbon and beer and sometimes enjoys a fine wine with some chocolate chips. Benny has subbed in the league in the past, but this is his first year as a full-time member whereas Rayburn is a league veteran.
LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUUMMMMMMBLE!!!
So, what’s the issue between these two fine men? nThat’s the crazy part… it seems ONLY Benny knows. Obviously, he has an issue with Rayburn, but where is it coming from? These 2 played in week 2 with Leininger winning 6-4… and according to Jason Nill’s Week 2 “Head to Head” summary, these 2 had never matched up previously. In fact, looking back through Kurt’s weekly Tee Time Pairings sheet… I could find no evidence of them having even been in the same foursome prior to week 2 (even going back to prior years), and they haven’t played in the same foursome since. So, I asked John what happened in week 2.
NOTE: I have not reached out to Benny. I do not have his phone number and was not able to text him like I did the others. So, in all fairness, I would like to get his side of the story and his side of the feud.
Ben, I can be reached at 859.640.6637, or we can talk next week after golf. If neither of those options work for Ben, Aces Ventura plays against the Rollin’ 60’s on June 17th. Perhaps Kreyling can put me and Leininger in the same foursome that week?
As I said, I asked John what happened in week 2. I also reached out to both King George and the Assassin, who were both part of the group that night and both of their versions of the incident were consistent with the story Rayburn told me. Additionally, I went back and saw that George mentioned it on the Blog that week and it matched up, so as far I know this is an accurate version of the story.
Week 2. The first week of match play. The conditions were brutal. Cold and Windy. Leininger and Rayburn were in a closely contested match on the front side of the Willows. They were playing in the second to last group and darkness was closing in. They teed off on Number 9 with no issues. Due to slow play, darkness, the 6th group pushing them and the USGA 3 minute rule… there was limited time to search for golf balls. I don’t know if it was 1 lost ball or 2 (that part of the story is unclear) but Ben, on his way to an 11 for the hole was noticeably upset at the other members in the foursome for not helping him look for his lost ball(s).
“It was the second and fourth shots where things fell apart” said the Assasin.
By the end of the 9th hole, Benny was enraged! According to George “He was upset at the foursome, I think, which was me, JR and Serkan. But I think he was more upset with JR because he was playing against him”. “He was pissed on the green and politely said something to the effect of I’m not helping you mf’ers look for balls anymore”.
That’s it. That’s the story. There’s nothing in the rules of golf stating your opponent must help you locate your lost ball. I did a search, and there’s not a whole lot on the etiquette of helping others locate lost balls other than stating that you should always locate your ball first, then help. So, there must be something else. Maybe Rayburn just rubs Benny the wrong way. That happens. Sometimes people just don’t get along. I get it, but is that enough to ask “Hasn’t everyone in the league wanted to take a swing at Rayburn at some point”…
I would say, up until now, nobody has wanted to take a swing a Rayburn. Syndrome is universally and unconditionally loved in this league for a list of reasons too long to mention in this blog. Personally, I love playing golf with John and I know others do to. John rarely needs to search for players to fill up a foursome. Over the years, he’s played with dozens of people from this league on weekends and holidays… not because they’re forced to or because they were paired up with him on a Thursday night in the GCCGL. In this writer’s opinion, if anyone wanted to take a swing at Rayburn, they wouldn’t play golf with him outside the league. They wouldn’t have beers with him at the end of the round. They wouldn’t go to Barleycorn’s or B-Dubs knowing he’s always there. They wouldn’t play cards at his house and they certainly wouldn’t go on golf vacations with the man. IF somebody really wanted to take a swing at Johnny… it would’ve already happened. Has he pissed some people off before… sure he has. But I don’t know of anyone who’s wanted to take a swing at the man. Until now.
I’d still like to get Ben’s side of the feud, but it appears that maybe John is living rent free in Ben’s head… One thing is clear to me… The GCCGL’s version of “the feud”, at least at this point, seems to be short on content and mostly one-sided.
To be continued…
T.W.I.G. Notes (This Week in Golf)
With a solid 22 points this week, Jerry’s kids, lead by Peter Goldenberg’s 7.5 points, took over 1st place from their opponent, the Rollin’ 60’s. That win was Peter’s first on the season. There are now only 3 players remaining without a single win. Andy Crowe… Brian Roddy… and yours truly. There are 6 players tied for the league lead in wins with 4, and Jerry’s Kids have 2 of those 5… with Mike Morell and Mike Ethridge. Mike & Mike or M&M are both tied for 2nd in points with 35.5 apiece.
Dustined to Fail has the top 2 point getters in the league with Jason Nill and Oliver Livermore (tied for 2nd), and are currently 3.5 points out of 2nd place. Cupcake now leads all players with 36 points taking the crown from Ollie who currently has 35.5. After my blog about ties last week… there were only 2 ties this week. Eiser and Morell split as did Almeida and Etheridge. Speaking of Mike Ethridge… after pointing out last week that he’s never played against the low net winner… he still hasn’t. His opponent this week, George, was a late scratch due to an out of town funeral. On the flip side, my opponent, once again, tied for low net.
The A/B low net was split 2 ways between Goldie and Lipgloss. The C/D low net was split 3 ways between Kevin Klein, Dustin Allen and Syndrome. We still need some nicknames…
Final Thought:
I’d like to preface this by saying that I understand not everyone in this league drinks beer, so for those of you who don’t… for the purpose of this rant, you’re off the hook. However, the majority of this league does tend to drink and there is no excuse for what happened after the round on Thursday. For as long as I can remember, and I’ve been around for 17 years, this league has hung around after golf, quenching their thirst and trading stories of their adventures on the Golf Courses of Kenton County. Players have taken their turns (some more than others) buying beer each week. Usually, when the first group finishes, they purchase a few pitchers. As the pitchers are emptied, somebody else gets them refilled. It’s not a difficult process.
This week, Nick Duer, playing in the 1st group purchased 2 pitchers of beer. Nick didn’t drink both of those pitchers by himself. NOT ANOTHER PITCHER WAS PURCHASED. Nobody else stepped up and took their turn. This is unprecedented. I understand that others playing in the early groups left. Cook was leaving for the Memorial. Kreyling was leaving for vacation. A few others had left too for various reasons. Somebody needed to step up. John Rayburn, playing in the last group, was the first to say something. He shouldn’t have to. John goes out in the early groups more often than not, and over the years has purchased his fair share for the league. Hell, even the week before, Joe Carrier, who hasn’t been in the league in 4 years showed up with 2 pitchers. I was told that same week, that Rayburn, Roller and Morell, purchased 24 canned beers from the cart girl, for the league, as she passed the 9th hole.
As someone who consistently plays in the later groups, I can say there always seems to be plenty of beer when I arrive… but playing in the later groups is no excuse to not take your turn. Last year, I exchanged emails with Kreyling. I prefer the later tee times, but I sent him a note late in the year, asking to be moved to the first tee time for the sole reason that it was my turn to purchase beer for the league. If you’ve had a beer after golf on somebody else’s dime… step up and take your turn. Yes it was asked… and “No”. Your League Dues do not cover the cost of beer on a weekly basis. There’s 20 weeks in a season. There are (approx.) 20 beer drinkers in the league.
Step up and take your turn. And yes…. I’m talking to you.
As always, Golf is Hard. If it were easy, it would be called “your mom”.
Big Donkey – Guest Blogger
