Nobody Wins on the Blue
This blogger has belonged to the hole-in-one club since August 2001
November 12, 2024
VIBES wins MB11 by 1 point!
August 16, 2024
MB11 Friday Pairings!!
Friday Bestball Pairings Announcement
Captains match- Bill Nichols/Paul vs Dante/Ryan Bebrin
Continuing the tradition, the captains of the two squads will faceoff Friday on Moorland. Dante and Ryan won together last year at Mid-Pines, beating Nick/Cam Cox 4&3. That victory ended a long-ish drought for Dante in the format, and brought his record up to 2-2-1. Ryan is a Friday hero... his best format of the trip with a tidy 4-1-2 bestball record coming into MBX. His lone loss was on this course back in 2021 at MB8, playing with Beck and losing to Marty/Fliesser. Over half of Paul's lifetime MB points (4 out of 7.5) have come in bestball, it's his only respectable format with a 3-1-2 lifetime record. Both Paul and Bill Nichols won at Mid Pines last year, although they didn't play together. Nichols is undefeated in the format at 2-0-1. Should be an excellent matchup between our leaders to kick off the competition
Abe/Alec vs Dennis/Hill
This was the only non-captains match that was pre-determined. For some reason, the Vibes CT duo of Dennis (0-5-0) and Hill (0-4-0) have been asking to play the Abes in bestball at MB for quite some time now. They cannot stop losing in this format, going a combined 0-9-0. As a bestball pair, they are already 0-3-0 together with none of those matches being close. Woof. Last year, they had a chance at Brian/Alec in Alt shot at Southern Pines but the Abes won 3&2 and are more than happy to take this matchup on Moorland. Alec is 0-3-0 in bestball so it may be on Mr. Abetober, who carries a 4-2-1 Friday record... including a win last year vs Hill/Crooky. And yes if you re-read this whole paragraph it is a fact that Abe has the only bestball win in the group. Legend.
Peter/Trevor vs Ken/Crooky
The long time friendly duo of Peter/Trevor won with ease last year on Friday at Midpines, cruising to a 6&5 victory over a pair of rookies. Bomb Squad has these 2 mammoths paired up again, and will try to to extend Crooky's current 3 year winless streak on Fridays. Ken enters the match at 2-0-2 in the format after going AS in last years captains match comeback. Peter is 2-0-1 in the format as well, making this one of the best matches on the slate.
Jamie/Jeremy vs Coates/Nick
Who wants to take a swing? This matchup features the 3 most punchable faces in MB, according to a recent player poll. Jamie Bebrin makes his return to MB after taking a couple years off. Will he be rusty or rested? Only time will tell for this lifetime 0-1-1 bestball player. It should help that his partner, Jeremy, is a Friday stud! He carries a 5-1-0 Friday record with the lone loss (9&7 blowout to Abe/Andy) coming way back at MB6.9 when he was on fairway to heaven. That was the last/only time Mike Coates won a bestball match as well...his worst format of the trip (by far) at 1-3-2 overall. Paired with him is Nick, who owns a 3-1-0 record in bestball: his best format. Last year's loss (to this years BS captains) was Nick's first and only blemish on Fridays.
Duce/Ed vs Dan Cosgrove/Justin Cosgrove
Dan (1-4-1) and Justin (0-2-0) are teaming up this year to try and change their fortunes in the format. Straying from MB talk for one moment... I played with Justin at the Dogg Open in July and wow- what an improvement. He should be able to contribute a bit more than you may expect, and Dan is about as consistent as it comes, despite what the record may be telling you. Bestball is Ed's worst format (1-2-1) and Jim is average (2-2-1) so I'm expecting this to be a really good match that could go deep.
Craig/Danny vs Marty/Honeywell
Danny is looking for his first bestball win in his third 3 attempt this year. He lost to Steve/Honeywell at Midpines last year on the 17th hole. Craig is 2-1-0 in the format with his only loss being on the 18th green with this year's partner-Danny- a couple years ago at Heritage Plantation. Nice little revenge spot for this twosome. On the other side is Marty/Honeywell... I honestly think this might be Honeywells first golf shot since he won his singles match last year so if they can weather any early storms this pair should get better throughout the match. Marty owns a putrid 1-4-0 Friday and certainly will need to play better this year to improve his winning percentage.
Evan/Johnny vs Beck/Fliesser
Dogg team vs NY bros team. Classic good vs evil matchup here. Fliesser & Beck were paired up last year at MidPines as well, but lost that match to Marc/Jimmy Waitz. It was Fliesser's first loss in the format. #FreshBeck still owns a nice 4-2-1 bestball record. Evan (1-1-0) and Johnny (1-1-1) both back at MB after last years hiatus, so they should be hungry for a dub.
James/Jimmy vs Cole/Weibs
We are back, baby. Jimmy and I came back to win on Moorland in Bestball in the kid's first MB match his rookie year at MB8. My bestball record (5-0-1) remains elite after an 18th hole 1up victory last year at Mid Pines. This same Vibes sophomore pair got murdered last year by Peter/Trevor on Friday, but Vibes captains evidently had enough confidence in this duo to run them back out there again this year on Friday for attempt #2.
Dylan/Dotts vs Kurt/Steve
#FreshKurt is a problem. He is 3-0-0 on Fridays... as is his playing partner Steve. This is a tough team to beat, considering, ya know, they've never lost on Friday at a combined 6-0-0. Steve actually downed Dylan BAD at Pine Needles on Sunday last year too, so back to back MB matchups for the former, short time Dogg teammates. Dotts is for sure hungry after a disappointing 0-3-1 rookie year... he will need to get over it quickly having this tough matchup right out of the gates at a course he's never played before.
Oga/Marc vs Bahr/Cox
A matchup stocked up with Sophomores. Bahr/Cox played together last year in a very impressive win in Scramble, so they should have good vibes going into this match together. Bahr completed the undefeated rookie year at MBX which obviously included a bestball win and it came against Oga/Jimmy H. This was the round Oga got injured and had to WD from, which means he left MBX at 0-1-0. He's for sure ready to get back out there for the Bomb Squad in a rematch vs Bahr. Marc had a great rookie showing including a bestball win at Mid Pines... this is going to be a hell of a matchup.
Bill/Sean vs Jared/Campbell
This is like when you have a best friend in High School and then make a new best friend in College and you get together with both of them at the same time years later and there's a muted/underlaying level of competition and jealousy. AWKWARD!!! Campbell and Bill were best friends in HS and then Campbell met Jared at College and ended up rooming together. All kidding aside, Bill and Jared had a classic back and forth in bestball last year with Bill clutching up on 18 for the 1up win (his first bestball win at MB), making me think Jared is excited for another shot at Bill. Campbell has surprisingly never won a bestball match in MB (0-2-3) and Sean re-enters the MB scene with a nice little 2-0-0 overall record and chance to insert himself into a sick Dedham-heavy matchup right off the bat.
December 8, 2023
MB11 Announcement- Dates, Courses, Captains
OFFICIAL
October 18-20, 2024 @ HOME (Legends Golf Club)
12:20pm Friday- Bestball @ Moorland
7:00am Saturday Alt Shot @ Parkland
1:00pm Saturday Scramble @ Heathland
8:30am Sunday- Singles @ Heathland
CAPTAINS
Bomb Squad- Ryan Bebrin & Dante Rizzo
Vibes- Bill Nichols & Paul Taylor
October 23, 2023
Updated All Time MB Stats through MBX
All Time Winning % (Minimum 5 matches)
October 17, 2023
SUNDAY VIBES: A Comeback and A Kiss at MBX
Facing a 6 point deficit going into the final session, team VIBES pulled off a huge comeback by going 13-7-2 in the 22 singles matches at Pine Needles, resulting in a TIED COMPETITION for the first time ever. Unfortunately we were robbed of what could have been the second sudden death situation in MB History due to a scoring debacle in the anchor group on Sunday. The Bomb Squad and Vibes teams evenly split the 55 available points, 27.5 each
-Bomb Squad came out hot on Friday, winning the session 7.5 to 3.5
-The alt shot round Saturday morning was about the same, with Bomb Squad winning 7 to 4.
-A much needed 6-5 victory for Vibes in the scramble session brought the overall score to 19.5 to 13.5 and set the stage the eventual Sunday comeback.
-Pete Fallon, Steve Ferretti, and rookie Dan Bahr, led the way for their teams with perfect 4-0-0 records on the weekend.
-James (3-0-1), rookie Kevin (2-0-2), and Vibes captain Campbell (1-0-3) also left MBX undefeated.
Bestball- Friday at Mid Pines
The marquee matchup of the session lived up the hype. James won the first two holes for Bomb Squad to take a quick 2up lead, and the legendary MAGL duo of Brown and Poch never trailed. The match was AS at least twice on the back 9... Both Vibes guys Dan Cosgrove and rookie Jared Tise would not back down without a fight, making multiple birdies on the back 9. With the match AS through 17 and 30 guys behind the green, Bill won the 18th hole for the Bomb Squad. This was Jared's only loss on the weekend. James improved to a glistening 5-0-1 in bestball.
Andy SLAYED in his return match to MB with an 8&6 drubbing against Marty and Coates. I'm not sure if Dylan hit any golf shots or if he just cleaned Andy's clubs but either way these 2 had one of the easiest victories we've seen in bestball over the years.
Do haters fuel HoneyweLLLL?? Mr. Irrelevant and Steve won on the 17th green vs Ed/Danny, after the Trooper took a LOT of heat from "some people" on Thursday night. Nice response, sir. And, not to bury the lead... but this marked Steve's SIXTH WIN in a row. Wild stuff. As mentioned he finished the weekend 4-0-0 and is currently on a 9 match win streak. Impressive stuff really, no matter how you slice it. AND Steve went with pick #28 in the draft. Unreal value.
Old Friends Peter/Trevor took the rookies from New England out to the back of the shed for an ass whopping. Cole and Weibs lost their inaugural match 6&5 because they couldn't figure how to putt or chip on Bermuda grass... not unlike almost every rookie in MB History. Getting waxed on Friday because you can't chip/putt on this grass is basically a rite of passage of sorts, for this trip.
Kevin's played enough golf down South to get it, though, and him and Jeremy pummeled Dennis and Justin Cosgrove on the front 9, winning I think the first 5 holes? Something silly like that. Dennis loves going down big early in matches. Some could say it's his manifest destiny. Vibes actually almost came back in this one, but fell short and lost 3&2.
Another rookie won won his first match Friday was Marc, alongside his boy Jimmy Waitz. They seemingly cruised to a 3&2 victory with equal contributions vs the NY based team of Beckerman/Fliesser who couldn't get any momentum in the match.
Saturday Morning- Southern Pines Alt Shot
Shower Curtain Coates entered the match with 5 consecutive alt shot victories... but today he took another the L against his big bro James, who was previously winless in the format. Weibs moved to 0-2-0 on the weekend...Credit to Ed for requesting this Bomb Squad pairing from jump street 6 months ago & coming through with steady play in the 3&2 victory.
In what was expected to be a close match with a lot of talent- Adam & Peter destroyed Captain Ken and rookie Cam 8&6. Peter slayed all weekend but this was- surprisingly- Adam's lone win at MBX.
Danny Richards and Kevin Ewing also put a beat down on Marty and Fliesser in this format, winning 7&5 and for those counting at home... Marty stood at 0-2-0 with losses on the 12th and 13th greens, although to be fair it sounded like Fliesser put them in some tough spots throughout the round.
Dan Cosgrove and Bill Nichols have a history of playing against each other (Dan won heads up at MB007, Bill won bestball at MBIX) but this morning they were a team. It doesn't sound like they played particularly well but it also doesn't sound like it mattered, Henebry/Bebrin ran out to a quick lead. Closer to the turn Vibes gained some momentum with a win on #7 and in a great position on #8. But then Ryan hit a miraculous chip on #8 and Dan Cosgrove putted the ball off the green. A match that was looking like a little comeback just went back to 4up Bomb Squad through 9 and Ryan/Henebry ended up wining by that 4 hole margin, 4&2.
Dennis/Hill have lost all 3 matches they have played together in MB:
-Loss 4&2 to Duce/Crooky at MB007 in bestball
-Loss 5&3to Ed/Jeremy at MB8 in bestball
-Loss 6&4 to James/Paul at MBIX in bestball
They asked to play the Abe's on Friday at MBX but instead got them in this session on Saturday Morning in NC. Well... they lost. Again. CT Sucks. MA rules. Abes win 3&2.... If you ever see Hill/Dennis team (any format) on your MB schedule it's super safe to just write down a W and you'll prob be done early, too.
Bill Poch lost his partner Oga and unfortunately didn't get to play a real Alt Shot match... he lost to the Bahr/Nick Vibes team. It's a challenge to play the full 36 alone at MB and the vibes were just too high in the Bahr/Nick cart for Poch to overcome... he lost 4&3. This would end up being Nick's lone win & point at MBX.
In this session, Team Vibes also scratched out half a point in 2 different matches they were down late in:
-Kurt/Beck went 4 down early, and found themselves 2 down with 3 to play. They won 16, halved 17, and won on 18 when Dotts missed the makeable match winning putt, but did enough with Trevor to earn his first (and only) half point of the trip anyway.
-Paul/Cole, 3 down 3 to play, capped off the comeback with an 8 foot putt from Paul on the 18th green to square the match with Jimmy and Dylan who, rumor has it, were NOT on speaking terms for some period of time after this collapse.
After this second session, everyone on Bomb Squad had earned at least half a point (Excluding Oga)
Saturday Afternoon- Scramble @ Southern Dunes
The low point of the competition for team VIBES was probably between these two rounds, given the score was 14.5 to 7.5. BUT... this is where the comeback started. Vibes won this session 6-5. The theme of this session was most certainly "Vibes guys finally got on the board"... Cam, Weibs, Coates, Dan Cosgrove, Hill, and Marty all had goose eggs before, but secured at least half a point in the afternoon session.
The most lopsided match in this session was was a total surprise- Poch/Bebrin lost 7&6 to the rookie duo of Bahr and Cam. We're talking like, 18 years of MB experience vs 0 and it wasn't a close match, Bahr stayed hot pushing his record to 3-0-0 and Cam earned his first win. Vibes played lights out in this matchup starting with a 20 foot birdie putt on Hole #1, kickstarting the wire-to-wire victory.
Kevin & James have been trying to play a scramble match for 8+ years and got their shot vs Captain Campbell and Marty... and let me tell you this was a MATCH. Vibes was in control most of the match- although they did forfeit a lead at one point- but put the heat on by winning the 16th hole to go dormie (2up to 2 go)... Bomb Squad won both 17 and 18 with up and downs from the bunker. Plural. James hit the 2 gorgeous sand shots and Kevin nailed both putts dead center to secure the half point. Absolute stones- neither team deserved to lose this match. Marty's bid to win his first ever scramble match fell short yet again, he is now 0-3-2 in the format.
Dante/Craig vs Ken/Nick was a nail biter. Vibes was 3up at the turn, but won 0 holes on the back. Craig contributed with an amazing recovery shot he hit to 5 feet on Hole 14. On 15, the teams tied with 2 natural birdies from Ken and Dante. On 16, Craig pulled a bunker shot out of his ass to help win the hole and take the lead for good. #1 pick of the draft (Dante) threw an absolute DART to 3 inches to win the 18th before Vibes even had a chance to chip. This ended a tough day for Ken who was entering Sunday with 0 wins (0-2-1) at MBX.
Veteran Paul Taylor carried rookie Weibs to his first MB victory in the scramble round (not really, but lets run with it) which had to feel good getting a point on the board before Sunday for Weibs. Paul's weekend record to this point... 2-0-1 !!
Steve ran his record to 3-0-0 with another MB win vs Jimmy Waitz. Some people were hoping a veteran like Jimmy would be able to carry a struggling rookie teammate (Dotts) to victory but those people were disappointed. Vibes was 2up through 10.. this is when Coates hit the bar, ate enough food for 2-3 people, got his BAC up to 11%, and played "just about perfect" 2 man scramble as the lead shot.
Marc and Dylan stayed hot with a 5&3 win over Fliesser/Justin Cosgrove. Marc, a rookie, left the course Saturday Night 3-0-0. This win also locked in a winning record for Dylan on the weekend by standing at 2-0-1 going into Sunday.
Two of Bomb Squad's longer hitters, Andy & Duce struggled off the tee in this match. Had it not been for a hot putter from captain Duce, Vibes would have won in a landslide. Hill/Cole dormied Andy & Jim on the 16th green, but Bomb Squad fought back to win the last 2 holes and square the match.
Dan Cosgrove got his first point of the weekend, partnering with Crooky and taking down the all-Dedham duo of Adam/Alec 4&2. Cosgrove hit 13 fairways and Crooky came through with some putts on the green... At one point Vibes was 6up in the match, despite Alec playing well. Adam was just "meh" and ran out of holes in the wire-to-wire loss.
Ed wrapped up a 2-0-0 day by winning 3&2 with Jeremy against Dennis/Honeywell. He even consumed a beer during this round! The Vibes team played well enough to keep things close but there never seemed to be much doubt in this match. Dennis had a lot of Dennis moments where he said something that made no sense but said it with 100% confidence. For example, Dennis thinks no one can get a draw to stop on the green. Really questionable stuff. 2 losses to Jeremy in 2 days for Dennis.
Beckerman ran his scramble record to 4-0-1... still has not lost a scramble match in MB History! Vibes stayed slightly ahead on the back and forth front 9 but the flood gates opened when Beckerman chipped a ball on 11 close enough for a tap in birdie but Jared followed it up with a better chip that dropped for a natural eagle! After that it was a birdie brigade from Vibes and they won the match 3&2.
Sunday Heads Up Singles- Pine Needles
My goodness, what a golf course. Clearly the boss of the trio we played, Pine Needles delivered in every way. We had good weather. Everyone, for the most part, seemed physically ready to go and excited to play.
To clinch, Bomb Squad needed 8.5 out of the 22 points available on Sunday. They got just 8. Here's how.
Ed and Beck led it off, with Ed continuing his solid play from the previous day and winning 3&2. Beckerman has now won just 3 of his last 12 MB matches...In the same foursome, Marty earned his first win of the weekend with a decisive victory over Andy, 5&3. Marty is now an impressive 5-1-0 in Sunday Singles.
Next out was Captain Adam who was begging to play Jared- a golf pro- all weekend. Traditionally Adam slays at MB, especially on Sundays where he enter this match as a lifetime 4-1-1 singles player. Jared doesn't make many mistakes, though, and when he does you likely are going to as well. And this match didn't seem close, Adam lost 5&4 and ended the weekend 1-2-1. Jared bounced back after starting 0-1 to win 3 consecutive matches and a 3-1-0 rookie season.
With them were two of the best- Captain Campbell and Dante the Difference Maker. A great match that was tied until it ended and I suppose it's great that neither lost, but then again neither of them won either and clearly this made a difference in the overall. Match ended AS.
Kevin and Coates squared off, in a tight battle that Kevin likely should have won but it seems like he left the door open and Coates kicked it down when he needed to with some clutch moments. A 3 putt on the 18th green for Kevin secured the half point for Vibes and Coates. Marty is still the only person to beat Coates on Sunday in MB.
Another requested matchup: Jeremy wanted to be "fed" Fliesser. But what he got "fed" was a big L in a matchup the Bomb Squad expected to win. The match was close at the turn but Jeremy had a bad 4-5 hole stretch and Fliesser took advantage. He played the best golf of the weekend at Pine Needles, and won the match 5&4
Peter capped off his 4-0-0 weekend with a clutch 1up win vs Cam who lost his singles debut to the hottest golfer on the team. I'm sure Cam is itching to get back to MB and improve on his 1-3-0 record from this weekend. In the same foursome we got the Bill vs Bill re-match the crowd was begging for, and Nichols delivered for the Vibes in an important matchup between 2 of the teams best players. The match ended 4&3.
Next up on the Vibes Sunday hit were Marc & Henebry. Dan Cosgrove won on the 14th green vs Marc to prevent him from the perfect rookie weekend... and Ken got his big win vs Henebry on the 15th green and... holy shit at this point in the competition the lead had shrunk to a mere 2 points with 12 matches left on the course.
James vs Nick Sunday pairing was obviously one of the more anticipated matchups, a pairing that featured back to back picks near the top of the draft. Bad/sloppy/uncharacteristic mistakes on the greens cost James a handful of holes on the front 9 and Nick emerged with a 3up lead though 6- the largest lead of the match. A tap in birdie for James on hole 7- a long par 4-seemed to change momentum a little... soon after this Nick missed multiple 50/50 putts... a couple times he needed a fairly simple up and down to win or push a hole and just wasn't able to make it happen. James made a 12 foot par putt to win the 15th hole and go 2up. Credit to Nick for stepping up to the 16th hole- a par 3- and hitting hit best shot of the day... a dart to 10 feet. Nick rolled in the birdie to go 1down with 2 to go. The match came down to 18 when James dropped the 4 foot match winning putt in the middle of the middle of the middle of the hole for a gritty 1up victory.
The other match in this group did not go as well for the Bomb Squad. Ryan did not lose this matchup, Bahr won it. It was a back and forth battle on the front 9 but early on the back 9 Bahr won 3 holes in a row to take a lead he would never yield. Ryan won one hole while dormied but it was too little too late. Ryan Bebrin lost again in Singles and it's unfortunately become a pattern:
MBV: Loss to Adam 4&3
MB007: AS vs Jamie
MB8: Loss 5&4 vs Oga
MBIX: Loss 8&7 vs Dante
MBX: Loss 4&3 vs Bahr
The matches in the next three foursomes went dead split down the middle, with Vibes winning one of the matches and Bomb Squad winning the other. Kurt beat Trevor 2&1, but Weibs lost to Waitz 3&2. Then it was Hill stomping out Craig 6&4, but Danny taking care of Crooky 3&2.
Following them was an epic foursome and anticipated matchup of Paul vs Abe. The scoreboard reads 2&1 but Abe actually won 2up. Paul won with an 11 net 10... while he was dormied on 17. The match trudged on to the 18th hole where there was no drama, and THE Legend improved to a 3-1 record for the weekend. Paul missed out on a shot to go undefeated, but still had a great weekend on the course overall.
Dennis made a MAJOR redemption move on Sunday in this singles re-match. These two went AS on Sunday at MB007. Dennis teed off standing 0-3 on the weekend and AGAIN found himself 5 down on the front 9. but this time he stepped up and fought allllll the way back to win 1up on 18 vs the co-captain (Duce) of the Bomb Squad. Given the real time score of the competition, this was without a doubt one the full points Bomb Squad absolutely needed to get.
This left just 4 matches out on the course, but with Alpha Steve already embarrassing the fuck out of Beta Dylan (6&5, lol) the real time scoring update was:
Bomb Squad 26.5
Vibes 25.5
Cole then won his match 1up vs Dotts, which tied the whole thing up 26.5 to 26.5.... I promise as admin in the future we will implement real time leaderboards so moments like Cole winning his match on 18 can get the proper fame they deserve. Not enough people are talking about Cole and Dennis coming clutch at the very end. Cole was 2up on the front but ended up being 2 down with 4 to play... he won holes 15, 16, pushed 17, and won 18 to finish 1up on the day.
Last on the course with the entire weekend competition tied was the formidable anchor grouping... Alec's 2 matches vs Justin Cosgrove and Honeywell. We know what happened here... Alec lost to Honeywell but beat Justin 2&1 and the final matches in brought the score to 27.5 to 27.5.
While yet to be set in stone, these 2 teams are going to face off again next year when we return to Legends on October 18-20, 2024.
At some point I will update the all time stats and leaderboards and send out trends and facts amongst individuals in a separate blog.
Random pics and other things about this trip:
-Most guys played practice round at Longleaf Or Cradle/Pinehurts #3. Abe Adam and Alec got murdered at Tobacco Road.
-We had a full group dinner on Thursday night in the loge at Mid Pines Quailty of the food was low, vibes and excitement were off the charts
-Friday Night & Saturday night most guys went to hibachi or Longhorns or other area restaurants or ordered pizzas in
-This trip did not have split tees so the gap between when the first group started and the last group started was wider than usual.
-Service people mostly were assholes, but the golf people around the courses were great
-No beverage carts and minimal turn house exposure = not as many mid day naps for guys like you usually see
-We need a live scoring option (and commitment to update in real time) for MB11 and onward