Welcome to BJG 2023

As we get ready to embark on Broken Joe Golf’s 10th year, I thought it was important to look back at where we were at the beginning of last year’s season and how it unfolded.

In the 2021 BJG Thanksgiving Blog, I wrote that we would be getting back to our core values, Commitment, Competition, Comradery.

In the 2021 Christmas Blog, I had to say “goodbye” to Tim, Nic, and Matt T because they could not commit to the every-other-week schedule. Bryan was on that list, but he convinced me he would be more committed and would play in at least the first round of the Playoff.

I also wrote to the membership that they “may find that they cannot commit to a full BJG season, and that’s OK. I just need to know now, rather than during the BJG season when you end up being a "no-show golfer.”

The other big thing we did was put Golfers in Divisions to try and add more competition within divisional handicaps.

And last but not least, we finally have real PGA handicaps that brought the scores closer during the playoffs.

Let us see how that worked out.

The Good

Joe - Played every round. Joe had a great match during his Wild Card loss and shot his lowest score ever (88). Joe won 4 trophies in 2022 (The Pretenders, The Woods, Legends of Tomorrow, and the Winter Classic Championship).

EJ - Played every round, he had a great match during the Wild Card and lost by a putt. EJ won the BJG Championship (Major)

Adam – Missed one event, the Rider Cup because he was sick. Adam won his division, won the 2nd Round of the Fed Up Cup (again), and finished 2nd in the Fed Up Cup.

Joe T – Missed one event, the Rider Cup to watch his beloved NY Jet. Joe T won the Fathers & Uncles Championship (Major), won the Championship of the World, and the Race to Big Y (Dubai). Joe T also won his division.

Alex - Missed one event because of an unplanned honeymoon. Alex won the 1st round of the Fed Up Cup, and he won the Fed Up Cup Championship as a BJG Rookie.

Jason - Missed one event so he could return to Georgia to visit his family. Jason won the Victory or Valhalla, he won his Wild Card round with a score of 86, and he made it to the final four of the Fed Up Cup as a BJG Rookie.

Cody - Missed one event to play in a golf tournament in honor of his late father. Cody missed another event because of an injury to his thumb. Cody won the Chubby Classic, The Time Travelers, and the American Freedom Open (Major). Cody also won his division.

Dustin - Missed the Woods Shootout because of a work golf tournament, and he missed the Victory of Valhalla to help his girlfriend move. Dustin won his division and made it to the 2nd round of the Fed Up Cup.

The Bad

Bryan - Missed the Chubby Classic and the Misters (Major) with a back injury. Bryan then missed the Championship of the World for some reason he did not share. For the 7th year in a row, Bryan made it to the playoffs but did not play which open the door for Jake to walk into the 2nd round of the Fed Up Cup. Bryan also missed the Winter Classic Championship.

Rey - Missed the Championship of the World to watch the Red Sox get their ass kicked in NY. Rey then missed the Victory of Valhalla, the BJG Championship (Major), and the Legends of Tomorrow. For those that are counting, that is a whopping 77 days between BJG events. Yes, I am as surprised as you.

The Ugly

Jake - Missed the Fathers & Uncles (Major), Championship of the World, the American Freedom (Major) and the BJG Championship (Major), and the Winter Classic Championship. That is three Majors missed but still made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs when Bryan did not play in his Wild Card match.

Juan - Missed the Chubby Classic (Family), and The Misters (Major) (vacation). That is 66 days between playing a BJG event. Juan did play and win the “Scramble”, a non-BJG event, after bringing a “friend”. Juan also missed the Championship of the World to watch the Red Sox lose and was a no-call/no-show at the Victory or Valhalla. Even after missing all of these events, Juan still made it to the 2nd round of the Playoffs because Dan forgot he had to play in the Boyle Tournament. To add insult to injury, Juan went on vacation again and missed the Rider Cup. To Juan’s credit, when he played, he usually would win.

Rock - Missed the Misters (Major) because of a last-minute wedding, The Woods because it was too far away, the Championship of the World – did not want to participate in the walking tour, and the Victory of Valhalla – Fantasy Football draft. Rock also missed the Legends of Tomorrow.

Dan - Missed the American Freedom (Major)- No babysitter, he was DQ, at the Victory or Valhalla because he was late for his tee time, DQ, at the BJG Championship because he was late and also changed groups in the middle of the round), he missed the Wild Card round because the Boyle Golf Tournament surprised him, he missed the Legends of Tomorrow (?), and the Winter Classic Championship (no show, but he did tell Joe T and Rock that he wasn’t coming.

The Missing

Chris, Matt, and Jon took the 2022 BJG season off.

Look, I understand that life gets in the way. I understand that we all have other commitments. We have wives or girlfriends that want to spend more time with you. We have children that are growing fast and have dance and sports events. Some people have started new jobs. You may even have other things that you want to do in your life and not just play golf. I get it…

But, getting tee times are getting harder since COVID. With 15 golfers, we need to book four tee times and we are now looking at 9 to 10 am start times.

What really sucks is that most of the time we only needed three tee times because of no-shows. Sometimes we couldn’t even fill those three spots

I thought the Divisions were a great way to build some real competition into the regular season. Had everyone shown up to play, I think it would have been very competitive.

To be honest with you, in my division, A Few Good Men, golfers were showing up every week and we were competitive. I was starting to worry that I would not make the cut. Turns out, Rey took 3 events off, and I make the Wild Card. Jason and I had a GREAT match where I played my best golf (88) only to lose by 2 strokes on the last 2 holes. EJ and Alex had the same experience where EJ could have forced a playoff, but he missed his last putt for the tie and Alex was victorious by one stroke. Those wins and losses mean something.

Meanwhile, Dude, Where’s My Car and Team Mediocrity had so many people taking time off, we did not know who was going to be in the Wild Card spots. Turns out it would be Jake and Juan getting a free ride to the 2nd round of the Playoffs because Bryan and Dan did not play in the Wild Card round.

For at least 8 of us, we were committed & competitive, and it made for a great year. The question is, what is the rest of the membership going to do in 2023? Can you commit in 2023? Do you want to compete in 2023?

Before you kick yourselves too hard, remember that Matt T missed 9 weeks, Nic missed 8 weeks, and Tim missed 7 weeks.

I think I have gone on long enough. We seem to have the same issues every year and maybe that’s just the way life works.

What I need to know from you now is: Do you want to renew your 2023 Broken Joe Golf membership for 2023?

In honor of our 10th anniversary, there will not be any pink slips sent out in 2023. Everyone is invited back.

I need to have your answer by January 11th, 2023 . This will give me time to prepare for the upcoming golf season.

Send me a text if you WOULD LIKE to renew your 2023 BJG membership. If I don’t hear from you by the 11th, I will assume you have moved on to greener pastures.

I will send out the 2023 Draft BJG Schedule tomorrow to help you decide.

Respectfully,

Broken Joe

Commissioner