Week 11 Update

[dc]W[/dc]here do I begin? First let me say that I apologize for not updating the web site last week. Do to the fact the database wasn’t updated until after the 4th of July holiday, it didn’t make sense for me to update the blog. But now there are two weeks of pent up GCCGL information just bursting to get out there. So here it goes. We had a great turnout on a ridiculously hot day (19 of 20) golfers showed.  We had one sub not show (I’m sure he/she had a good reason). You may be wondering, why is there a picture of the Labatt’s beer logo on this post. Apparently there was an “incident” a couple of weeks ago at BW’s after league play (I was not there to witness said event). Syndrome and a few others went out as usual for some wings and libations when he ordered a Labatt’s from the waitress. To his surprise, there was no Labatts in stock that evening. Either there was a Canucks convention in N. KY or someone screwed up. He wondered how this misfortune can happen at such a prestige establishment and went on to question the young waitress for several minutes and then asked for the manager. I’m told the manager is the one who took the brunt of the rant as Syndrome reeled off a dozen or so multi-syllable words that no one understood, especially the poor manager. In the end, it was the belief of the majority of folks in attendance that evening that much of the shenanigans being put on by Syndrome was strictly for entertainment value. With all the technology available these days, there is no reason why that whole episode shouldn’t be up on YouTube right now. Maybe next time.

Once again the main topic of discussion at BW’s this week was the handicap system and the fact that there was another low net in the 20’s. Everyone had an opinion and they are all valid. The bottom line is that there is no ONE way to satisfy everyone but there are ways to make it as fair as possible for all involved. The current system basically calculates the BEST 18 of your LAST 20 scores, is based on course rating and and uses 80% of full differential to come up with your Handicap Index. For example: Take your best 18 scores from the last 20, average and take 80% of the total. i.e. if you average 85 on a par 72 course (so handicapped and sloped) for your best 18 scores out of last 20, you average 13 over par. 80% of 13 is 10.4, your handicap is 10.  Using 80% of the full differential actually lowers your HC. This system works best if you have a minimum of 5 scores but the more scores the better. The commissioner’s office has been testing out several scenarios and this one seems to be the fairest for the GCCGL.

FACT – Did you know with all that has been said about the HC system that in comparison to the first 11 weeks of 2010, the Low Net Score is only 1.53 strokes lower then that of this time last season. I am admitting that I was one of the folks pushing for a move back to the USGA calculation for next season but now after reviewing all the numbers, scenarios, and the countless discussions with fellow GCCGL colleagues, I’m admitting that my initial thought on this topic was wrong. There I said it. Don’t get used to it because it doesn’t happen often! I hope this puts this issue to bed…..who am I kidding……

T.W.I.G. (this week in golf)
An interesting side bet reared it’s head during this week’s BW’s get-together. A challenge from Mr. Big Donkey to Cletus. The bet is that Big Donkey will score better (straight up) than Cletus EVEN AFTER giving him 12 strokes! That number was calculated after taking the difference in HCs (Cletus 12, Harris 4) which is 8 then adding 4 which equals 12. All Cletus has to do is post a 48 and he’s at par. Big Donkey would need to post a 35 or better on the front nine of the Willows to beat Cletus in this scenario. It will be tough but once again, I originally thought this would be an impossible task for Big Donkey but after reviewing some past results and thinking about it, I’d be crazy to rule out our resident pro. In case you are wondering, the payout is $10. It should be interesting. Good luck to both of you.

As for golf it was a huge week in the standings. The Handi-Capped lost for one of the few times this season and managed only 16.5 points while Sphincter Says What? took 24 point for a net gain of 7.5 points.  They are now only 8 points behind first place. They were led by Shane “The Quitter” Metz who took another 7 points, this time the victim was Ollie. The Cletard Rollers moved out of last place with a big week (24 points). They were led by the old man Cletus who took 7 points from Eminem. You’d think 7 points was enough BUT NOOOOOO! Cletus wanted more after verifying an old rule in the GCCGL Rules Bible. On number 13 the Par 3 over the water, Eminem hit one in the drink. The drop zone for that hole has traditionally been off to the right of the pond BEYOND the water hazard. So Eminem took his drop and hit his third shot. However, the drop zone was not marked this particular evening because they finally decided to mow the grass. So Cletus tried to invoke GCCGL Rule Section 7C-3. This rule states that if you hit into a hazzard and choose to drop BEYOND the hazard (not the designated drop zone) then you shall be assessed a two stroke penalty.  The old man was going for an additional 1/2 point! Oh that Cletus! Gunga Galunga also had a good week picking up 22 points and they have a solid hold on 3rd place right now. The Heywoods dipped into last place after managing only 13.5 points.

More Features and Additions
We’ve added some more pics to the photo album and added Avatars   (that’s the little icon depicting an image that represents you). I have attached Avatars to all the registered members. For those where I did not have a suitable picture, I used a default picture of a golfer. Log on and check out your Avatar. The program allows for registered users to upload their own picture but there is a bug so it does not work properly. Therefore, if you have your own picture that you want to use, please email it to me and I will upload it for you. Your avatar will show up at the bottom of the GCCGL blog as well as when you make any comments. Speaking of comments, when we designed the new GCCGL blog, it was our intent to encourage a more collaborative site with folks blogging their comments about various pictures, posts, articles, etc. As long as we all use sound judgement about what we post, there should be no reason not to post comments up on GCCGL.com.  Maybe this will get folks started. Finally, keep checking the website, we continue to build and add to the GCCGL History and Members Only sections. People used to ask, why should I pay the GCCGL members dues when I can substitute for free? Well now there is a tiny incentive, perhaps insignificant but an incentive nonetheless, to become a GCCGL member. We love our subs but we felt we needed to give our Members their money’s worth.  Thank you for understanding.

Winners of the low net were Joe Cook (A/B) with a net score of 31 and Zach McNeil (C/D) with a low net of 29! Congratulations! We move to the front nine of the Willows for the next two weeks. Good luck to all and as always hit ’em straight!

George Almeida, GCCGL Co-Commissioner