I was going to write about what a mess this Winter Classic Championship was but I decided that this whole year hasn’t been what I had expected so why would the Winter Classic be any different.

The fact of the matter is that I made it too easy for people to not be committed and that effected the competition which also effected the comradery. My bad but it will not happen again next year.

But enough about me, let’s talk about the Winter Classic Championship.

The Winter Classic Championship ended up at Agawam Municipal Golf Course and with the help of Tony Roberto, the Golf Pro, we got the schedules we needed and I at least had some laughs.

Joe T and Bryan played a week early; don’t ask me why because I don’t know. They both shot a 96 during the first round and a 92 during the second round. I thought these were good scores especially at Agawam but when I heard they did it in 6 hours it just had to make you say WOW.

They did play within the rules and to be honest with you, that’s all that mattered to me. At this point I just want to be third if I couldn’t be first. After all, at the end of this match only 8 people were moving on and I wanted to be one of them.

Chris and I played a practice round and it was not pretty. This didn’t help our mental game knowing that Joe T and Bryan were able to conquer this course with 96s and 92s while we were scoring in the 100s.

On Oct 14th, Me, Chris, Dave, Jake, Rock, Eric and Rey all arrive to play the WCC. Matt T texts me to say that he is sick as a dog and cannot play. I tell him he can play with Dan and Matty Slush next Friday but we are playing the first round of the Broken Joe Golf Championship next Saturday. I think that Matt T has been in the mix all year but if he gets a “Did Not Play” then he probably won’t make the cut. Dan was on vacation and I think Matty Slush was somewhere being in love. They are supposed play on Friday but from what I'm hearing that probably will not happen .

And we are off. Right from the start I knew we were in trouble. Dave played the wrong fairway and Jake was hitting it short.

After 9 holes, Chris had three 8s and I had an 8 myself. This was going to be a long day and it just wasn’t in the cards for the top 4 golfers in Broken Joe to win. I was now playing not to lose.

Round One:

Rock is on top shooting a 97 (68) followed by Eric with a 102 (72), Rey with a 103 (74), Joe with a 99 (79) and Chris rounds out the group with a 103 (84). Chris and I feel the pain because even with a practice round we still suck here. I never did see Dave and Jake’s score card after the first round so that must mean that they REALLY sucked.

Round Two:

After looking at our first round scores me, Chris Dave and Jake knew that we weren’t going to win so we decided to play against each other for money just to keep it interesting. Somewhere along the way Dave gets a phone call and we all know that isn’t good.

At the turn and after 27 holes Dave and Jake quit the Classic and head home. In Dave’s defense it was his son’s first birthday party so I understand. Jake must have went with him because Dave needed a ride. This is the 2nd time Jake has left in the middle of a round but at least this time we knew he was leaving.

Since there were now only 5 of us we decided to play together. I have to tell you, Rock was CRUSHING his drives and you could tell he was here to play!!!!

Eric was playing straight and Rey was finding almost every lost ball. I was losing balls that I didn’t think should have been lost and Chris’s back was getting sore from swinging the clubs so many times.

Rock is again on top and shoots a 95 (66). Rey shoots a 97 (68) and Eric shots another 102 (72 par). Joe shots a 103 (83) and Chris finishes depressed and in pain with a 120 (101).

Final Handicap Scores:

1st - Rock – 134 (-5)

2nd - Bryan – 141 (-1.5)

3rd - Rey – 142 (-1)

4th - Eric – 144 (Even Par)

5th - Joe T – 146 (+2)

6th - Joe – 162 (+9)

7th - Chris – 185 (+20.5)

Dan – DNP (Vac / Work)

Matty Slush – DNP (Love)

Matt T – DNP (Sick)

Dave – DNF

Jake – DNF

I think Rock, Bryan, Rey and Eric would have beaten the rest without their handicaps.

Weekly Money List:

1st - Rock - $6.72

2nd - Bryan - $6.24

3rd - Rey - $5.76

4th - Eric - $5.28

5th - Joe T - $4.80

6th Joe - $4.08

7th - Chris - $3.60

Matt T - $0

Dan - $0

Matty Slush - $0

Dave - $0

Jake - $0

Leaderboard

After taking a 3 week hiatus, Rock is back on top of the leaderboard

1st - Rock - $27.00

2nd - Bryan - $26.55 (45 cents behind 1st place)

3rd - Eric - $26.36 (19 cents behind 2nd place)

4th - Joe - $26.30 (6 cents behind 3rd place)

5th - Joe T - $24.60 ($1.07 behind 4th place)

6th - Chris - $24.45 (15 cents behind 5th place)

7th - Rey - $20.77 ($3.68 behind 6th place)

8th - Matt T - $20.04 (73 cents behind 7th place)

DID NOT MAKE THE CUT TO THE BROKEN JOE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND ONE

Dan - $19.59

Dave - $19.38

Jake - $17.61

Matty Sludge – $11.63.

Of course three out of four that missed the cut STILL owe their fees.

Dan - $58.00

Matty Sludge - $28.00

Who would have thought that after 27 weeks that our top two golfers would be out after the Winter Classic. For the most part the Leaderboard is tight and a lot tighter than I thought it would be. The total prize money for Round One is $40.00 with first place claiming $6.40.

Round One of the Broken Joe Golf Championship is Oct 21st at Veterans Golf Course. We have a shot gun start at 7:30. You had better bring your “A” game because only the top four will move on to the Championship which will be the following Saturday. This will also the end of the Broken Joe Golf season (Thank Godness).

New Handicaps:

Chris - 19

Joe - 22

Joe T - 22

Bryan - 24

Rock - 29

Rey - 29

Eric - 30

Matt T - 34

Group One:

Cart One – Rock and Joe

Cart Two – Eric and Joe T

Group Two:

Cart Three – Chris and Rey

Cart Four – Matt T

Group LOSER?????

Cart Five – Dan / Matt T ? and Jake

Cart Six – Dave and Matty Slush

Bryan has to work the morning of the 21st so he will need to play no later than Friday or he will get a DNP.