The End of 2021

Here we are, getting ready to put another year under our belt. 2022 will be Broken Joe Golf's 9th season. Before we can bring in the new year, we need to take a look back and close 2021.

BJG has had many changes over the years. If memory serves me correctly, we only had 6 members in 2014, and for the first 3 years, we played every week (34 weeks). Eventually, we went to an every other week schedule and started playing exclusively on Sundays.

Along the way, we have lost some members: Leon, Eric, Matt T, Chris C, Steve, and Harry. These golfers left BJG because they could not commit to the year-long schedule. Of course, we understand that and are hopeful that someday, if and when their situation changes, they will return to BJG.

In 2022, we will be saying “Farwell” to Bryan, Nic, Matt T, and Tim.

This is not a decision that I came to quickly or easily. The fact of the matter is that they just don’t have the time to commit to the BJG schedule, and in the end, it is not fair to the rest of the members.

Every year Bryan makes it to the Fed Up Cup, but in the five years that he has been with us, he has not actually played in the Fed Up Cup. That means that the 13th place Golfer always makes the playoffs. This kind of defeats the purpose of the "top 12".

This year we only had 11 Golfers play in the first round of the FedUp Cup, and that is after I had called and asked every member (except Harry). We even brought 2 players that ended the season in 14th (Jake) and 17th place (Dan).

Matt T missed 9 weeks, Nic missed 8 weeks, and Tim missed 7 weeks. That is a lack of Commitment, it sends the wrong message to the rest of the players, and it is unacceptable to the committed golfers.

Look, the only person that likes to be ghosted is Demi Moore.

To add insult to injury, EJ, a first-time (ever) golfer, made it to the playoffs because he played every week and picked up extra points due to the number of golfers who did not show up week after week. EJ’s only goal in his first year was to not be last, and he ended up going to the 2nd round of the Playoffs. How sad/impressive is that?

To be honest with you, I was excited that we had 20 golfers for the 2021 BJG season. I felt like this would be a good test to see if we could grow the BJG membership. At the end of the day, I now realize it is not about quantity, it's about Commitment.

Joe Willie has agreed to get an extra tee time for non-members and for our potentially new 2023 BJG members. We will also reach out the these golfers if we have an opening each week. Joe Willie will have more on that later.

BJG core values are Commitment, Competition, and Comradery, and as I said in the Thanksgiving Blog Post, we will be getting back to those basics in 2022. Right now, we have gone from 20 Golfers to 16, but other current members may find that they cannot commit to a full BJG season which is about 16 weeks, and that is ok. I just need to know now rather than during the BJG season when you end up being a no-show golfer.

In 2022, I need you to be committed to playing all 16 weeks. Look, I understand if something comes up, but something doesn’t come at the last minute for 8 weeks. Plus, birthdays and anniversaries are never at the last minute, they happen at the same time every year. Weddings are planned at least a year in advance, that is why they send you a “save the date”. Early communication is the key to success.

Only the top 12 Golfers will move on to the Fed Up Cup. If any one of those 12 golfers cannot play, they will not be replaced. This will be the same rule for all rounds during the Playoffs.

EVERYONE plays during the 2nd round of the Playoffs. You are either in the 2nd Round of the Playoffs (Top 8), or you’re playing in the “Legends of Tomorrow, Losers of Today". This is the day that determines your final standings in BJG. If you end up with a "participation trophy" you may will not be asked to return next year.

The BJG FedUp Cup Tour Championship: Every year this event is played with just 4 golfers. The BJG Tour Championship is an event that every member should be on hand for when we crown a Champion. You should want to be here, and you need to be here. More on that later.

Speaking of the BJG Tour Championship, the regular-season winner (Race to big Y (Dubai)) receives a $50.00 gift card to Big Y, but the Tour Champion just gets a trophy? I am thinking $100. We can talk more about that later.

The President’s Cup and the Rider Cup are opportunities to play TEAM golf. You should want to play in these fun, low stress matches but if you can’t, you need to say so early. If you commit to this Team Event then you need to show up.

The Winter Classic Championship is our oldest event, but in 2021 we only had 12 out of 19 golfers compete (63%). In 2020 (COVID), we had 12 out of 15 compete (80%). In 2019, we had 6 out of 14 (43%). Yes, it is usually cold and wet but that’s what the weather is supposed to be. The Winter Classic Championship is the last BJG round of the year, you need to make a better effort to attend this event (comradery).

Another big issue we have had over the last few years is being on time. There is nothing worse than having to move groups because someone decided that they needed 5 more minutes of sleep or forgot what time they had to be on the tee box. Look, you are all adults, and I can no longer be your Mother.

You need to be at least 15 minutes early for your tee time. I will no longer move groups around because you cannot be on time, you will just receive a DQ. That means once your group goes, there will not be any room for you in another group.

Handicaps – I believe that everyone in BJG should have the opportunity to win a trophy and not just a participation trophy. Chris, our Deputy Commissioner has created a pretty good BJG handicap system, and each year it gets a tweak or two.

No, our handicap system is not perfect, but it was nice to see different golfers win trophies this year and watch our better golfers work hard to get to the top.

We finally gave Jon and Matty Ice their true handicaps, only to see them play" better golf".

Things happen. Like the Golf Gods, BJG giveth and then taketh away. Dustin got screwed and EJ spent a lot of time practicing and money on equipment to be a better golfer.

Don’t feel bad for Cody and his 15 handicap. Cody is our best golfer…by a lot. Cody also won “The Championship of the World” Belt (again), the “Time Travelers: and the “Race to Big Y (Dubai)”.

Cody was the default regular-season winner because of Hurricane Henri but only 22 points separated the top 6 golfers. Joe was just 0.7 points from first place. Dave, our number 2 golfer at BJG, clawed his way up to 4th after not having a great year. And we saw Matty Ice, Jon, and Adam fight for a top spot. This was the closest the "Race to Big Y (Dubai)" has ever been. And that is with Jon and Matty Ice winning 4 trophies.

We saw EJ and Adam each win a trophy during the Fed Up Cup's first and second round.

We saw Joe T come from the middle of the pack in the regular season, to winning the 2021 BJG FedUp Cup Tour Championship against Adam, Dave and Jake. We also saw Joe win his 3rd Winter Classic Championship.

All in all, 2021 has been a great golf year, despite some golfers not showing up.

We also saw a lot of ties which concluded with “Putt Offs” during the regular season, the Playoffs, and the President’s Cup. The scores were close week after week after week.

Handicap Rule for 2022 – I believe that you can have a perfect round and shoot in the 80s (89, 88 maybe even 87) once without retribution but if you do it twice then you will be given last place points and have an adjustment done to your handicap. If you shoot 86 or lower, you will automatically be awarded last place points for that round, and again, I will fix your handicap.

I don't really believe this will be an issue with our handicaps in 2022 but it is good to have a plan in place, just in case. This rule will still needs to be tweaked so more on this later.

Please don’t ask me if we are playing golf in the cold, and or rain. The answer is always YES, unless the golf course is closed, we are playing.

Also, please don’t ask about moving tee times, the answer is always NO. We all play in the same conditions which is a lesson that you should learned from the 2017 season and the 2021 Pro, AM, AM, AM.

Please don’t tell me how much you hate a particular golf course. Just say “I don’t play well here" and leave it at that. We are ALL playing the same golf course, under the same conditions and we will be playing a lot of different golf courses in 2022.

With this knowledge and an effort to get back to the values that make our league unique: Commitment, Competition, and Comradery, 2022 should be a great year. The Competition will fall into place with our Commitment. Even if you only play for the Comradery, it still starts with Commitment.

We must also do a better job with Comradery. Of course, Comradery starts on the golf course, so put your phone away and enjoy the day. The 19th hole is a great place to hear the day's stories and potential BJG blog content, so stay for a drink (Coke or a beer) and maybe some fries.

I think that covers everything for now. We can now move forward towards our 9th season with a clear and concise road map for the 2022 BJG season.

I hope you and your family had a great Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. Be safe and I will talk to you "next year".

Late note: Chris, the Deputy Commissioner, has convinced me to give Bryan, Nic, Matt T and Tim another opportunity to play in 2022. Think of this as the greater part of Comradery, giving them the chance to either take a year off or to be fully commit to 2022 BJG season.

The catch is that they must call and tell me that they can be fully commit in 2022. They must call me before 3pm on Saturday, January 1st. After all, I do have a New Year's blog that needs to get written and posted.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe,

Commissioner