MATT IS THE NEW KING OF CLUBS

As usual, EJ and I get to the golf course early.  We want to make sure there are no surprises at the golf course due to the rain that has already fallen and the rain that is yet to come.  When we talk to the guy behind the counter, he seems unconcerned about the weather or our questions,

It was cloudy and chilly as we waited for 8:30 to get here before we got out of the warmth of our cars.  James arrives and almost immediately texts what we were probably all thinking, “Sometimes I really think about my life choices lol” 

James is not wrong. It has been a very cold start to our season, but we are usually good to go after the 3rd or 4th holes. Today, we will add rain and wind.  Right now, it is cold, with a light rain but no real wind yet.

What I love about the 3 Club Challenge is seeing what each golfer chooses to bring and the reasons why. It is also interesting to hear whether they brought the right clubs.

We have a busy day because we have the Misters Putt Off. We have brought in three new guys we met at Tekoa, and I need to go over our rules with them and then change the cart assignments.

I ask EJ and Iron Mike to handle the putt off, while I talk to Stone and his friends about our rules.  I do this mainly because it's not enough to play East Mountain with just 3 clubs in the cold, windy rain; we are also adding a Skins Game that everyone seems excited about.

We finally see Eric for the first time since October 19^th, 2026, when he only played half of the Winter Classic.  Eric looks good, and he seems ready to play.  He pays his fees, and we are ready to go.

James defeats the Rookie, Joe A, in the Putt Off, cementing James' legacy as a Mister's Champion.

I reset the groups and cart assignments, and away we go.  At least the rain has stopped… for now.

Front Nine

1^st Place:  Joe – 35 (46)

2^nd Place:  James – 36 (44)

3^rd Place:  Matt – 38 (48)

4^th Place:  Joe A – 41 (47)

5^th Place:  EJ – 42 (56)

6^th Place:  Iron Mike – 43 (47)

6^th Place:  Magic Mike – 43 (50)

8^th Place:  Rey – 44 (53)

Joe is on fire with his chipping on the front nine.  In many cases, people are rethinking their club choices, especially those who did not bring a putter.  The big exception to that was Stone (new guy).  He brought a Driver, an iron, and a wedge.  Stone was crushing his driver. I told Iron Mike that this is what it feels like when we watch him and Adam drive the ball.   Stone was also using his iron to putt the ball, and he was impressively good at it. 

So far, there has not been any rain since we teed off, and we were very thankful for that.

The easiest hole on the front was the Par 4, 8^th Hole, which played just over Par.  The hardest hole on the front was the Par 4, 2nd hole, which played almost 2.5 strokes over Par.

As a group, we shot 41 (49).

Back Nine

1^st Place:  Rey – 38 (48)

2^nd Place:  Matt - 39 (49)

2^nd Place:  Joe A – 39 (45)

4^th Place:  Iron Mike – 41 (45)

4^th Place:  Magic Mike – 41 (48)

6^th Place:  James – 43 (51)

6^th Place:  EJ – 43 (58)

8^th Place:  Joe - 45 (56)

Rey makes a big move, from last to first, while the wheels completely come off Joe’s game.  We would also have a little more drama before the day is over.

As Group One is ready to tee off on the 11^th hole, EJ comes riding up to us.  I can only imagine the consequences of this emergency ruling that I will need to make without my Rules Director…

EJ tells us that Eric is leaving… and he would like his money back.  It seems that Eric has made a terrible mistake by returning to Broken Joe Golf, and he is ready to go home. 

I give EJ his money, and we wish Eric good luck in all of his future endeavors.

HERE COMES THE WEATHER

By the time we get to the 15^th hole, it's WINDY, COLD, and WET!!! 

By the 17^th hole, the wind is howling, and HAIL is bouncing off the green.  I am thankful that I only have one more hole to play, but I do feel bad for the two groups behind us.

After putting all of our gear away and making our way to the clubhouse, we find out that the upstairs bar is closed.  We shouldn’t be surprised, I think I saw two people when I first got to the course, and I think there were only two people behind us.  Other than that, it was a ghost town.

EJ works on the scores as Stone figures out the Skins.

The easiest hole on the back was the Par 3, 17^th Hole, which played just over Par.  The hardest hole on the back was the Par 5, 15th hole, which played almost 3 strokes over Par.

As a group, we shot 42 (50) and a final score of 83 (99).

Final Score:

1^st Place:  Matt – 77 (97)

2^nd Place:  James – 79 (95)

3^rd Place:  Joe – 80 (102

3^rd Place:  Joe A – 80 (92)

5^th Place:  Rey – 82 (101)

6^th Place:  Iron Mike – 84 (92)

6^th Place:  Magic Mike – 84 (98)

8^th Place:  EJ – 85 (114)

New Guys

Stone – 72 (78)

Riley – 75 (81)

Jahan – 77 (89)

Skins Game – Each Skin is worth $15.00

James

Riley

Joe A

Joe

Matt – 2

Stone – 3?

Iron Mike wins the Closest to the Pin, and Rey wins the Longest Drive.

3 Club Challenge Points

1^st Place:  Matt – 21 Points

2^nd Place:  James – 20 Points

3^rd Place:  Joe – 18.5 Points

3^rd Place:  Joe A – 18.5 Points

5^th Place:  Rey – 16 Points

6^th Place:  Iron Mike – 14.5 Points

6^th Place:  Magic Mike – 14.5 Points

8^th Place:  EJ – 13 Points

Yes, with 7 golfers not playing in the Triangle of Sadness and Eric quitting, there were plenty of extra points to go around and to make up for the weather.

RACE TO BIG Y (DUBAI) LEADERBOARD

1^st Place:  James – 98 Points

2^nd Place:  Joe A - 93.5 Points

3^rd Place:  Magic Mike – 75.5

4^th Place:  Matt – 72

5^th Place:  Joe – 66.5 Points

6^th Place:  Iron Mike – 65.5 Points

7^th Place:  Rey - 64.3 Points

8^th Place:  JT – 56.3 Points

9^th Place:  Joe T – 49.3 Points

10^th Place:  Alex – 34 Points

11^th Place:  EJ – 30 Points

12^th Place:  Dustin – 29 Points

13^th Place:  Rob – 28 Points

14^th Place:  Stephen – 24 Points

15^th Place:  Joe V – 17 Points

16^th Place:  Adam – 8 Points

Ok, play time is over, and it's time to play golf.  We have the Woods Shootout (2 Points), The Pretenders / Players (4 Points), and our 2^nd Major, The Tin Cup Championship.  After that, we will get a quick break at the Championship of the World (COTW).  After the COTW, we will race towards the end of the BJG regular season.

Enjoy your week off, get dry, and stay warm.  I will see you at the Woods Shootout on 5/3/26, hopefully at Agawam Municipal Golf Course. Please let me know if you cannot play in the Shootout.

Once again, congratulations to James, Matt, Iron Mike, and Rey.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner