Results from the Chubby Classic

At the end of the day Sunday, it was Mother Nature - 4 and BJG – 0.

After St Annes told us that they would be open on Sunday despite the probability of flooding and the possibility of seeing Noah’s Ark, we changed the Chubby Classic from Agawam to St Annes.

Joe T and Chris were already out, and because of the late tee times at St Annes, Bryan was also out. That just left 8 brave warriors.

EJ and Joe get to the course early. They want to put on their new Cart Cover so they can stay dry and warm, hoping to play better golf.

They get to the Pro Shop, and sure enough, there is a man there, and he takes our money with a smile and a “good luck”.

While they turn on the grill to make our breakfast, we brave the elements, putting on our new accessory.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to do but worse than that, you could hear the echoes of every mechanical twist and turn that cart has made during its 40-year life span… and it was LOUD.

After the cart is all packed and ready to go, we saunter on into the clubhouse to order some breakfast. That is when the man who took our money said that the course is CLOSED.

It seems that the Owner came in, saw the flooding, and decided that 8 greens fees were not worth killing his golf course. Well, that was unexpected, especially from St Annes.

At that point, Adam and Dustin come walking down the hill with their own cart cover, and I explain the situation. EJ tries to call Agawam and Airways, but they did not even get out of bed this morning, so the telephones just keep ringing in their empty buildings.

The guy in the golf shop says that we can walk, but the course is under water. Adam, who had just driven up from the NY Sound, and EJ, a new golfer, wanted to walk, but I already decided to call “Uncle” and send the text out to BJG that the course was closed. My thought was that we would just split the points among the 8 golfers that had committed to playing in this monsoon and call it a day.

Adam was not quite ready to head home yet after his long drive, and EJ and Joe had not had breakfast yet, so we made a plan to go to the Lighthouse bar in Ludlow and play simulator golf at noon. You could not beat the price of $25 an hour. If memory serves me correctly, Adam won by one stroke. I have to say, Adam is playing good golf in 2023.

Most of the day Sunday and as the new week started, I had been in contact with EJ (acting as the Scheduling Director in Joe T’s absence) and Cody, our Rules Director. I have to tell you there was a lot of back and forth, and it wasn’t all peaches and cream.

By the end of the day Wednesday, I was finally ready to make my ruling on the Chubby Classic.

1. At the 2023 BJG Winter Meeting, I said that we would not chase golf courses and tee times. Yes, it is true that we have not played on a scheduled golf course to date, but we had not CHANGED a golf course and tee times AFTER the blog came out which left Bryan out in the cold. This should not happen in the future.

2. While we did have 8 golfers scheduled to play in the torrential downpour, we only had 4 at the golf course so we could not go early and I don't think the golf course had enough walking carts.

3. No one actually played the course. Yes, Adam and EJ wanted to, but I had canceled the Chubby Classic at that point. We are looking at adding a "walking" rules for when carts are not allowed on the course.

4. Truth be told, I should have known better. I (we) knew the rain was going to be bad, and that Agawam and Airways were 98% sure they would be closed. I should have called off the Chubby Classic earlier and saved us all some time, money, and effort.

There will be no points awarded for the Chubby Classic.

I will work with Joe T to try and reschedule the Chubby Classic for a later date in the year and on a date that all 11 golfers can commit to. If we find that date, great, if we don’t, then we will just move on with our lives.

I suggest Aug 20th, 2023, which is currently scheduled as the Non-BJG Event. Yes, it is after the BJG Championship but before the First Round of the Playoffs. With 8/20/23 being the date of the Chubby, this could potentially change the playoff picture. I will leave this to Joe T, after all, that is his job and he should be well rested after his vacation.

So, after all of that, there is no change to the points, only to my wallet after buying a cart cover that I probably won’t use until the Winter Classic.

Next on the 2023 BJG schedule is the Pretenders (Players) Championship, The Pretenders will be played on May 7th, 2023 at Edgewood Golf Course.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner