The Fog Was Promised, Clear Skies Delivered

adjusts headset Eleven players, clear skies, 48.7 to 69.3°F and wind averaging 4.6 mph at Buckhorn at Harris Lake County Park on the All-Star (2024 Redesign) layout, Tuesday, October 27. Thorn Gate gave way to the Ghost Round, Week 6 of 10, a chapter that promised a fog-swallowed front nine and a round that reshuffles the middle ranks. The fog never showed up. The reshuffle did, and nobody gets a weather alibi on a night like that.

One Par 5, Two Very Different Evenings 🦅

Hole 7, a 618-foot par 5, decided RPA Gold in both directions. Hudson Kozak led through hole 6 and bogeyed it, and Parker Chesson eagled it to take over. Chesson's front nine was bogey-free, and he carded the field's only birdies on 11 and 12 on his way to -10 and a 1018-rated round, 64 points above his 954. That's the round of the day. Bradley Bushman closed with four straight birdies from 15 through 18, including the only birdie on hole 17, a 322-footer that played +1.4, and signed for -7 on a clean back nine. That's one better than last week's -6. Kozak opened with the only birdie on hole 2 (609 feet, +0.5 average) and then signed for +1 on a 909, 57 under his 966.

Double Bogey, Then Immediate Retaliation

Hole 17 handed Joel Branscome a double bogey, and he birdied 18 to answer it. He led RAE Red all night and closed at -2 on a 939-rated round, 73 points above his 866 rating and a personal best on this layout. Last week he signed for +12 on an 839, so that's fourteen strokes found somewhere in the mist. Ruth Hudson finished +10 on an 820, 70 points under her 890. Buckhorn takes turns.

Two Cards, One Number, Zero Resolution

RAH Blue refused to choose: John Shearin and Cail Sullivan both finished at -1, both on 929-rated rounds. Sullivan led through hole 4 and steadied with a par train from 10 through 14. Shearin answered from distance, draining 59-foot Circle 2 putts on holes 3 and 10, and played his back nine five strokes better than his front. He went OB on 17, and the scramble that followed held the tie in place. The lore department wanted a ghost. It got twins.

Welcome to the Web, Now Duel

Ethan Metz took back the RAF Green lead through hole 17, the one he first grabbed through hole 3, and this time he kept it, finishing +9 on an 830-rated round. Devin Murray signed one stroke back at +10, and a five-hole par train from 9 through 13 kept him within reach to the end. One stroke over eighteen holes. That's a rivalry.

Divisions Seeking Company, Inquire Within

In RAD White, Ryan Metz answered a double bogey on 2 with a birdie on 3 and finished +2, while em eason posted +15 in RAG Purple. Both divisions have open seats on the card, so challengers, consider yourselves summoned.

Somebody Please Ace Something

The Super Ace prize stands at $500, and this week's $2 contribution pushed the split pot from $522 to $524. Thanks to everyone who chips in. That number keeps climbing because you keep showing up.

Paying Rent to the Pine Trees 🌲

The league's $5.50 registration contribution lifted the Buckhorn at Harris Lake Course Fund to $85.80. Thanks to the league for putting money back into the woods that collect our discs all season. Follow along at the course fund.

Elvish Flashlight Finds a New Pocket ✨

In the Iron Lantern Oath pool, the AllIn reshuffle moved Parker Chesson from #2 to #1, and he now carries the Starlight Path. It's a pale silver token forged in Lothlórien's workshops to guide the Fellowship through shadowed fairways. His 49 matched his personal average exactly, and the RPA Gold round above did the rest. The precioussss... I mean, the current standings. Every tag gets redistributed again next week, so no tag is safe, elvish flashlight included.

Chain Trial: The Baskets Are Getting Petty Now

The RAH Blue deadlock carries straight into Chain Trial, Week 7, on Tuesday, November 3, back at Buckhorn on the All-Star (2024 Redesign) layout. The baskets turn cruel and the spit-outs multiply, so which breaks the 929 tie first: Shearin's long-range putting or Sullivan's par-train patience? Meanwhile someone has started a historian's book, and it shows one player refusing every challenge for three weeks. The company has to decide what the code demands. Track your round on PDGA Live and give the historian something to read. Register here. Next week the baskets hold grudges, which means I'm now contractually obligated to narrate the emotional lives of chain assemblies.