Weekly Recaps
Post-round write-ups from the commissioner
Tonawanda, NY – No one suspected the Grand Island Six to be a force in twenty-seventeen with all the shit talking and drinking this rowdy group does, but if the week-3 win by Shawn Conschafter wasn’t enough, John Coyle winning in impressive fashion should be enough for the rest of the league to take notice.
Coyle was paired with Jeff Luke, the first such pairing of these two shit-talkers, and Tony Rotella who has taken a greater interest in the competition this year and proven to be a real factor in the PIH league this year. This grouping proved to be the right motivation for Coyle to stay focused and not be the typical choke artist his reputation has proven him to be.
Coyle recorded a steady 18 on the front and a clutch 19 on the back to finish with a 37 and 2 holes in one. There has been a total of five 37’s recorded in the 2+ PIH seasons and never has a 37 not won. With Coyle’s playing partners Luke and Rotella having off nights each shooting a 42 with only Rotella recording a hole in one, they were nothing to worry about.
With everyone around Coyle recording some impressive scores, in the end Coyle’s 37 with 2 holes in one would hold up and Coyle would take home his first career green jacket. "This is a day I’ve dreamt about since hearing about the league." Coyle said while choking back tears (or a wing or two, not sure). "Seeing my best friend and one time, okay two time, lover Shawny win it last week made me so jealous, I just had to do it." Coyle was visibly emotional as he adorned the PIH jacket(s) and thanked Luke for making his dream come true of being his playing partner for a round. Coyle did want to make one thing clear to the PIH league: he’s not a one-pump-chump like the rest of the GI6 members appear to be and he plans to be back atop of the league one day soon.
On top of the leaderboard last week was Conschafter who struggled mightily on the front-9 this week, recording a 24. Reports have it that he hadn’t slept since he won the green jacket the week prior, unless passing out on a boat or his kitchen floor counts. It appears the front-9 sobered Conschafter up and he regained his week-3-like composure and shot an impressive 17 with 3 holes in one, closing the round with a 41 and 3 holes in one. When asked how he felt about his performance in defending the jacket Conschafter slurred "I hasn’t felt a ting since last week. I don’t focking care."
Just behind Coyle was Tom Barboulos and Jay Flemming who posted matching 2nd place scores of 38 and two holes in one. As a result of this tie, the winnings are carried over. Having been bitten by this rule before, one would think Flemming would want to see a rule change and some winnings come his way. Not quite as Flemming told reports after the match "The carry-over rule is great for the game. It increases the excitement week to week." Barbops couldn’t agree more saying "I don’t need the money as much as I need some more drama and excitement in the league. I love this rule. In fact, I think there should be more rules like it." I’m not sure what other rules Barbops is thinking of but he has petitioned to be on the 2018 rules committee. (Note: Nominations will be voted on after week-8 has concluded)
What can’t be denied is the raucous cheers that were coming from the Steve Steck and Jim Neville threesomes. From the sounds of the group it seemed as if one of them was going to prevent Coyle from winning the green jacket.
Neville started the day with 3 holes in one in his first 5 holes. Could a guy who hasn’t finished in the top-5 since week-4 of twenty-fifteen ruin Coyles wet dreams? Maybe. Likely. But not on the putt-putt course as Neville wrapped his 4 holes in one with seven 3’s and a 4 to finish with a 42.
Then there’s Steck. He’ll be the first to tell you he can’t compete. See last week’s recap. He sucks. Right? Well, not so fast. Steck took a long hard look at himself in the mirror before the match…as he does every hour…of every day…and convinced himself that he can be the athlete he once was and vowed to not suck for just one more day in his life. The round was looking pretty good as Steck recorded 2 holes in one in the first 4 holes and finished the front with a 20. The back-9 wasn’t looking too bad with a couple of aces early on but unfortunately Steck’s inner suckiness got the best of him as he recorded 3’s on 4 of the last 5 holes, closing the round out with a career best 41 with 4 holes in one. Steck’s 5th place finish was his best finish of his career. Steck’s closest admirers are looking forward to seeing him play in week-5, to see if his week-4 play was legit or if he really does suck. When asked how it felt to not suck for a week Steck tearfully replied "It reminds me of my high school days, when I was truly an athlete and not some sort of has been. This was the motivation I needed to better myself. Steck is back" Chances are he’s not but it’ll be fun to watch the train wreck.
While on the topic of train wrecks, Tim Remy who hasn’t seen the podium since week-1 of the inaugural season and hasn’t had a top-4 finish since week-4 of 2016, had an impressive round considering he was playing with his bottom-feeder friends Steck and Harald Rehm. Remy turned in a solid 40 and finished in 4th place for the week. After the round Remy was asked about his absence from the top-5. "I haven’t been comfortable on the course. I’ve tried everything from sweatpants and no underwear to jeans and sneakers. Today I felt professional. I think I figured out what was ailing me. I’m predicting big things." Let’s see what his outfit is in week-5 and if he really figured things out.
Hell, why not stay on the train and talk about the other wreck Harald. Again, the only player to break 50, Harald recorded a 5 and three 4’s. Not much time should be given to a guy who shoots a 50 but it is amazing if you stop and think about it. He has almost as many rounds in the 50’s (7) as he does in the 30’s and 40’s (9) in his career. If Steck sucks, what does Harald?
And rounding out the top-10 was Jeff Hewett and Dean Trzewieczynski (celebrating 3+ months of marital bliss). The two had matching 41’s with neither man recording a hole in one. and they couldn’t string enough good putts together to put them self in the running for the green jacket.
And rounding out the recorded week-5 scores was Joe Neeson who shot a 43 with one hole in one; Bryan An, Brian Kimpel and Scott Mason all recording 43’s with no hole in ones; Scott Wilson with a 44; pre-putter Scott Verost 46 with one hole in one; and Tim Roesch a 47 with one hole in one.
And that concludes the week-4 roundup. Next week’s the US Open and is worth 1.5 points. Be sure to check out the Standings page which has the overall standings, hole in one totals and average scores per putter.
Week-4 Fun Facts:
Coyle was paired with Jeff Luke, the first such pairing of these two shit-talkers, and Tony Rotella who has taken a greater interest in the competition this year and proven to be a real factor in the PIH league this year. This grouping proved to be the right motivation for Coyle to stay focused and not be the typical choke artist his reputation has proven him to be.
Coyle recorded a steady 18 on the front and a clutch 19 on the back to finish with a 37 and 2 holes in one. There has been a total of five 37’s recorded in the 2+ PIH seasons and never has a 37 not won. With Coyle’s playing partners Luke and Rotella having off nights each shooting a 42 with only Rotella recording a hole in one, they were nothing to worry about.
With everyone around Coyle recording some impressive scores, in the end Coyle’s 37 with 2 holes in one would hold up and Coyle would take home his first career green jacket. "This is a day I’ve dreamt about since hearing about the league." Coyle said while choking back tears (or a wing or two, not sure). "Seeing my best friend and one time, okay two time, lover Shawny win it last week made me so jealous, I just had to do it." Coyle was visibly emotional as he adorned the PIH jacket(s) and thanked Luke for making his dream come true of being his playing partner for a round. Coyle did want to make one thing clear to the PIH league: he’s not a one-pump-chump like the rest of the GI6 members appear to be and he plans to be back atop of the league one day soon.
On top of the leaderboard last week was Conschafter who struggled mightily on the front-9 this week, recording a 24. Reports have it that he hadn’t slept since he won the green jacket the week prior, unless passing out on a boat or his kitchen floor counts. It appears the front-9 sobered Conschafter up and he regained his week-3-like composure and shot an impressive 17 with 3 holes in one, closing the round with a 41 and 3 holes in one. When asked how he felt about his performance in defending the jacket Conschafter slurred "I hasn’t felt a ting since last week. I don’t focking care."
Just behind Coyle was Tom Barboulos and Jay Flemming who posted matching 2nd place scores of 38 and two holes in one. As a result of this tie, the winnings are carried over. Having been bitten by this rule before, one would think Flemming would want to see a rule change and some winnings come his way. Not quite as Flemming told reports after the match "The carry-over rule is great for the game. It increases the excitement week to week." Barbops couldn’t agree more saying "I don’t need the money as much as I need some more drama and excitement in the league. I love this rule. In fact, I think there should be more rules like it." I’m not sure what other rules Barbops is thinking of but he has petitioned to be on the 2018 rules committee. (Note: Nominations will be voted on after week-8 has concluded)
What can’t be denied is the raucous cheers that were coming from the Steve Steck and Jim Neville threesomes. From the sounds of the group it seemed as if one of them was going to prevent Coyle from winning the green jacket.
Neville started the day with 3 holes in one in his first 5 holes. Could a guy who hasn’t finished in the top-5 since week-4 of twenty-fifteen ruin Coyles wet dreams? Maybe. Likely. But not on the putt-putt course as Neville wrapped his 4 holes in one with seven 3’s and a 4 to finish with a 42.
Then there’s Steck. He’ll be the first to tell you he can’t compete. See last week’s recap. He sucks. Right? Well, not so fast. Steck took a long hard look at himself in the mirror before the match…as he does every hour…of every day…and convinced himself that he can be the athlete he once was and vowed to not suck for just one more day in his life. The round was looking pretty good as Steck recorded 2 holes in one in the first 4 holes and finished the front with a 20. The back-9 wasn’t looking too bad with a couple of aces early on but unfortunately Steck’s inner suckiness got the best of him as he recorded 3’s on 4 of the last 5 holes, closing the round out with a career best 41 with 4 holes in one. Steck’s 5th place finish was his best finish of his career. Steck’s closest admirers are looking forward to seeing him play in week-5, to see if his week-4 play was legit or if he really does suck. When asked how it felt to not suck for a week Steck tearfully replied "It reminds me of my high school days, when I was truly an athlete and not some sort of has been. This was the motivation I needed to better myself. Steck is back" Chances are he’s not but it’ll be fun to watch the train wreck.
While on the topic of train wrecks, Tim Remy who hasn’t seen the podium since week-1 of the inaugural season and hasn’t had a top-4 finish since week-4 of 2016, had an impressive round considering he was playing with his bottom-feeder friends Steck and Harald Rehm. Remy turned in a solid 40 and finished in 4th place for the week. After the round Remy was asked about his absence from the top-5. "I haven’t been comfortable on the course. I’ve tried everything from sweatpants and no underwear to jeans and sneakers. Today I felt professional. I think I figured out what was ailing me. I’m predicting big things." Let’s see what his outfit is in week-5 and if he really figured things out.
Hell, why not stay on the train and talk about the other wreck Harald. Again, the only player to break 50, Harald recorded a 5 and three 4’s. Not much time should be given to a guy who shoots a 50 but it is amazing if you stop and think about it. He has almost as many rounds in the 50’s (7) as he does in the 30’s and 40’s (9) in his career. If Steck sucks, what does Harald?
And rounding out the top-10 was Jeff Hewett and Dean Trzewieczynski (celebrating 3+ months of marital bliss). The two had matching 41’s with neither man recording a hole in one. and they couldn’t string enough good putts together to put them self in the running for the green jacket.
And rounding out the recorded week-5 scores was Joe Neeson who shot a 43 with one hole in one; Bryan An, Brian Kimpel and Scott Mason all recording 43’s with no hole in ones; Scott Wilson with a 44; pre-putter Scott Verost 46 with one hole in one; and Tim Roesch a 47 with one hole in one.
And that concludes the week-4 roundup. Next week’s the US Open and is worth 1.5 points. Be sure to check out the Standings page which has the overall standings, hole in one totals and average scores per putter.
Week-4 Fun Facts:
- Average Score: 42.16 (league record by .37 strokes)
- Holes-in-one: 21 (league record by 5)
- Best front-9: 18 (Coyle)
- Best back-9: 17 (Remy & Barbops)
- YTD leader in Holes in One: Conschafter (9)
- Remy STILL hasn’t recorded a Hole in One
- Hewett is in 3rd place despite having the 7th best total stroke score
- Barbops is the only putter to carry a sub-40 average into week-5 (39.5)
- Steck and Rehm have the same average despite Steck not putting the first two weeks
- Flemming had the biggest improvement week-over-week (5-strokes)
- Roesch had the biggest drop week-over-week (4-strokes)
- Only 0.25 points separates 1st from 2nd place; 10.75 points separates 2nd from 3rd