Kreyling Korner – Week #2 – May 21, 2020
THE LIPSMACKER MATCH OF THE WEEK
The Florida Scramble is in the books and week 1 of match play starts on what promises to be a dreary, potentially rain soaked Thursday. Honestly, what other type of weather would we expect for the GCCGL. With week 1 of match play comes the start of the MOW. I want to point out one major change to the MOW starting in the 2020 season. There will only be one MOW a week. I know this change will come as a shock to everyone, but I’d like to point out the two major reasons for the change. 1 – I’ve done a lot of reflecting on the GCCGL since I tore my hamstring way back in July 2019. In that reflection I realized – it’s the MATCH of the week; not MATCHES of the week. 2 – I end up using the same matches over and over during the year and there are only so many times I can write about Rayburn screwing with opponents using terms like “blue waffle” or giving parenting advice. Without further ado…
Week 1 MOW – George “Portuguese Warrior” Almeida vs. Troy “Gobstopper” Bachmann – I couldn’t imagine a better week 1 MOW. Two of the leagues most likeable guys square off if in what will be their 5th match. George holds the advantage at 3-1 with Bachmann picking up his only win back in 2014. PW and Quid Pro Crowe have the early season lead, and I’m sure George wants to keep his team rolling with an opening week of match play W. Bachmann’s coming off a “lack-luster” 2019 and I’m sure he wants to start 2020 match play off with a bang. What’s going to be very interesting this year is the switch to the World Handicap system. This week, Troy gets two strokes from George whereas the last time they met (Week 11 in 2019) no strokes were awarded.
GLOSSY PREDICTION – I think George’s actual golf game could overcome the 2 strokes. I think George’s mental toughness is what holds him back. Don’t believe me? How often does he complain about Swiper’s handicap on the blog? Ever warmed up next to George when he has to give strokes? It’s one of the first things that comes out of his mouth. For this reason, I’m going with Troy. Gobstopper wins 5.5-4.5
THE KREYLING KORNER
In the offseason, I always have this grand plan to come up with new ideas for Kreyling Korner. In reality, I’m lucky if I end up with one. This offseason happened to be one of those years an idea struck me. As I’ve mentioned on this blog in the past, I read a lot of golf websites. One of those websites is golf.com. Each week they do a segment called PGA Roundtable where all the writers provide their opinions on a number of “hot topics.” In reading this, the little gerbil in my head started running quick on his wheel – why not have a GCCGL roundtable? In fact, the GCCGL members have opinions – let’s take it one step further and ask members of the GCCGL to be the roundtable in any given week.
Gentleman – I give you the GCCGL roundtable. The first three members are myself, Cupcake and Russell Crowe. If the league enjoys this bit, new members will be asked for their thoughts on topics in future weeks.
Professional golf made an appearance last week in the Taylor Made Driving Relief event. The event consisted of Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Ricki Fowler and Matthew Wolff playing a charity skins game, socially distanced of course, for Covid-19 relief. Did you watch? If so, what were your reactions to the round?
LipGloss: You’re damn right I watched this event. We’ve been how long without sports now? There were two things that did stand out to me in this event. First, a topic I’ve seen discussed on several golf websites, why aren’t professional golfers allowed to wear shorts? Seriously, they play golf outside all summer long in hot and humid conditions. This is one of those things I don’t get with golf – what does wearing pants actually do for the game? The other stupid thing in golf, which I’ve discussed before, paying for drinks if you get a hole in one. Second thing that stood out – each one of these guys carried their bags. Why can’t the join the three wheel cart gang like so many members of the GCCGL? You are telling me that all of their equipment sponsors couldn’t have given them a push cart?
Cupcake: I was not aware this even was taking place, so no, I didn’t watch it. I don’t watch golf on TV. Not during a normal year, nor during a global pandemic where any/all sports are non-existent on TV. I’d rather watch a dog run around the yard trying to get a long piece of grass out of his @ss after taking a dump. Golf on TV falls right in line with watching cars drive around in circles for hours on end, not very fun to watch. Just as I might tune into the last few laps of a Nascar event to see some good wrecks, I might tune in for the last few holes of a big tournament to see someone wreck their chances of winning, but that’s about it. Golf, like baseball, is meant to be enjoyed in person!
Russel Crowe: Yes, I was able to catch this event in spurts on Sunday. Nice to see competition being aired other than video games…. sorry George. There is something odd though watching sports with no spectators. In the Korean Soccer League, they have been using Asian Sex Dolls in the seats to give the appearance of fans. I have a feeling professional leagues in the States could benefit from something like this. There are a couple guys in the league that could help with the supply. Rayburn and Ollie probably have the most diverse collection to help fill up a stadium. Who doesn’t want to watch baseball with dolls wearing masks in the stands? As a Reds fan I do miss when they play at Milwaukee and seeing Front Row Amy. I look forward to that away series every time. Staying on topic with the golf event how in the world does Wolff swing like that? Truth is, Matthew Wolff has a great swing. The greatest thing about it? It works! It is memorizing and makes you think how much time the pros dedicate to their craft. So, I did what any other millennial did, and I googled how much does a pro practice/should practice. Internet claims it takes between 3,000-5,000 swings to ease or correct a habit. Need to hit 500 balls a day, 300-500 puts per day, 100 dry practice swings working on fundamentals per day and 100 up and downs per day just to name a few. I guarantee there is more involved than just this, but it is amazing what the human brain and body can accomplish. Unlike other sports where genetics plays a huge factor golf is a game to allow anybody to get good/better with work ethic and dedication. We won’t throw in expensive equipment or time. It is better to sit back an appreciate what a pro level golfer can do.
Abysmal scores the first week of the Florida Scramble. Bad scoring aside, most of the teams are bunched together. Except of course for Cupcake Exotics who are already 20 points out of first place. Most people would say, it’s a long season and anything can happen? I ask the roundtable, can you play yourself out of the championship in week 1?
LipGloss – I’d have to say it depends on the team. In the case of Cupcake Exotics…yeah, they’re done. The combo of Cupcake, LipGloss and Ollie hasn’t worked yet, what makes anyone think it will work now.
CupCake: I will first answer this with my initial response before actually digging into the facts / figures. I would say that while difficult, I think it is possible to go from worst to first in a typical season, but depends on the composition of the team. Some teams are doomed from the start (2014 Balls & Dolls), you know they aren’t going to win a scramble and they aren’t going to do very well in match play either. Other teams might not have a strong scramble team, but can make up for that shortcoming in match play and there’s far more match play during the season than there are scrambles. The 2017 all commissioner team comes to mind. They were written off before the season even started, and while their scramble play was atrocious, they dominated in match play and actually made it somewhat interesting at the end (only to fail miserably in the last scramble). Referencing the 2020 season specifically, I would say that after our performance in the FL scramble (having 2 A players!), our chance of a comeback is nil (see what I did there??). Now to answer this using facts and figures. Frankly, I’m surprised this was already in my bag of statistics, but it wasn’t. Digging through my 19 years of data, this is what I’ve discovered. The team that wins the first scramble ends up with a GCCGL trophy at the end of the season ~60% of the time. Finishing 2nd in the first scramble will yield you a trophy ~26% of the time. Beyond that, your chances are VERY slim if you finish worse than 2nd (refence below chart). One thing you will note, is that prior to the 2012 season the first scramble of the season was played mid-year and in all those years, if you finished last in the scramble, you finished last in the standings (expect for 2006 where excess rain didn’t allow the 1st scramble until week #11).
Russel Crowe: No, I do not personally feel the week 1 Florida scramble will cause a team to be out of the running. Data suggest otherwise though. It looks to be a common theme that the team who wins the Florida scramble is in the winner’s circle at the end. However, with a favorable schedule, health, weather, sub selection, luck, and effort anything is possible. The teams seem to be evenly matched this year, so time will tell.
Give me your MVP prediction for the 2020 season.
LipGloss: I feel good about Pete Goldenberg this season. Not sure his team has the firepower to get a championship, but I think Pete keeps Dixon Plainview relevant all season long. I’m predicting Pete to win a least one of the points leader, winning percentage or money leader categories. From the C/D group I’m saying Bedell has a big season. Nothing really to back that up, just a gut feeling.
Cupcake: This is a difficult one to answer without a single week of match play to use as a guide, so this will all be a gut feeling and from what I witnessed as we were (illegally) standing around waiting for the other groups to finish last week. From the C/D group I’m going to put my money on the Portuguese Warrior. I played with PW the first 3 practice rounds of the season and he’s hitting the ball well this season. As long as he can keep “strong arms” out of his head this year, I think he’s going to be a lock for win% and points champ. You can blame it on a new set of sticks or just having a bad year, but Roller had a horrific 2019, so I think he’s going to do everything in his power to return to his old self in 2020. While he won’t get points champ or win%, he’s going to shine as the best of the A/B group.
Russel Crowe: Dick Nuer! Hands down this is 2020 MVP. NO WIFE, NO KIDS, NO PROBLEMS……. 6.7 Handicap with a solid scramble team! He will out kick his coverage this year. Go ahead and take out a loan, the bank knows you’re good for it.
Until next week – fairways and greens my friends.
