There are only 11 more weeks until the Winter Classic. Damn time flies. The funny part of this equation is that 18 weeks have gone by since the start of our golf season. Out of 18 weeks we, as a group, have only taken 4 of those weeks off. Of course, people have had to take an additional week off here and there.

On week 4, we took the weekend off because of the cold but it ended up not really being that cold.

On week 8, we took the weekend off because of Mother’s Day but Chris, Joe, Dave and Matt played their annual grudge match. On week 15, we took the week off because we were supposed to go to Baltimore but in the end just Chris and I went to NH to play golf and video games. On week 18, we took the week off because Uncle Jim died and the funeral was in Philly that weekend.

My point is that in 2015 we did not take any weeks off as a group. Yes, people took time off but not everyone on the same weekend. This year we are not only playing towards the Winter Classic Championship but also for the “Points Total” (think Fed EX Cup) at the end (Rules for Broken Joe Golf, posted April 16, 2016). It just doesn’t seem that people have that competitive edge this year. I have news for you, if you have to work, go to a birthday party or mow your yard; I am playing golf sometime between Monday and Sunday to get my points and practice.

We all discussed the point system at the beginning of the year and that each Thursday Dan would collect $2.00 for each person so that we would have a cash prize for the top 3 point leaders and money in the pot to by the trophies. According to Dan, the Treasurer, everyone said that they would rather just pay the lump sum at the end of the season. At the beginning of the season it is easy to give up $2.00 a week with the hope of winning at the end of the year. It is a whole different story to have to give Dan $64.00 because you lost by between 49 and 79 points.

I know that everyone (except Leon and I) have a lot of things going on. Chris has the new house, Dan has Amanda and the 2 kids, Dave has a new job and another baby on the way, Jake works a lot of hours and has his kids to think about, Rock has a new job and a little girl on the way...

Matt has… Matt has… to help Chris with his new house.

My point is that there are 11 weeks left to make a difference. Don’t just hand Leon $64 of your hard earned dollars without a least a fight. Besides, after looking at some of these weekly scores it’s not like you can’t use the practice.

This week we are at the Chicopee Country Club. 7:00am shotgun start on Saturday. (Dan set your alarm for 4am)

This week's Handicaps:

Chris – 27

Dan – 35

Dave – 18

Joe – 27

Jake – 26

Leon – 36

Matt – 36

Rock – 36

Cart Assignments

Group A

Cart 1 – Matt & Dan

Cart 2 – Chris & Jake (?)

Group B

Cart 3 – Rock & Dan

Cart 4 – Leon & Joe

Next week we are at Westover. I know Leon has to play on Saturday and I need to know when Chris and Dan are coming back from Florida.

The week after that we are back to Chicopee Country Club for the 3 club challenge.