The Baskets Took It Personally 🕸️
Nine players took on Buckhorn's All-Star (2024 Redesign) layout on Tuesday, November 3, in 55.3 to 73.2°F air with wind that never topped 4.6 mph. The Ghost Round gave way to Week 7 of 10, the Chain Trial, the chapter where the baskets grow cruel and the inner circle demands perfection. With air that calm, every miss belonged to the thrower.
An Eagle Couldn't Outfly Hole Seventeen
Hole 17 decided RAE Red. Lee Kennedy carried the lead onto it, went OB and had to scramble, and Chase Fernandez took over to finish even par on a 917-rated round, 34 points above his 883 rating. Kennedy had the night's fireworks before that. He eagled the 618-foot par-5 hole 7, a hole that included a 39-foot Circle 2 putt. Then a three-hole heater from 13 through 15 put him back in front after 14. He signed for +2 on an 897, 22 under his 919, and only first place cashed. Fernandez never needed fireworks, because a six-hole par train from 7 through 12 kept him in range. Andrew Fisher finished +3 on an 887, a full 48 points above his 839. adjusts glasses The Web bit the leader on 17, exactly as the lore department scripted, and I hate when the script is right.
Two Opposite Rounds, One Identical Number
Seven strokes separated the two nines for Ryan Metz, and the front was the good half. It included the field's only birdie on the 609-foot par-4 hole 2, which averaged +0.6. Eric Guess went the other way: a five-hole par train on 4 through 8, then a back nine five strokes better than his front. The two met at +1 at the top of RAD White, with matching 907s and a shared finish. For Metz, that's 20 above his 887 rating and a stroke better than last week's +2. As a plot, it's deeply unsatisfying. As analysis, it's gorgeous.
Three Strokes Cleaner Than Last Tuesday
RAF Green split apart in the middle of the front nine. Ethan Metz took the lead after hole 7 and still had it after 9. He signed for +6 on an 857-rated round, a personal best on this layout and three strokes cleaner than last week's +9. Ethan Fisher posted +10.
Party of One, Seats Still Open
Bradley Bushman put up a 957 in RPA Gold, the highest-rated card of the night despite sitting 30 under his 987, with the lone birdie on the 322-foot hole 17 (+1.4 for everyone else) and a birdie on 6 to answer a +3 on 5. In RAH Blue, Troy Toler signed for +2 with the field's only birdie on 18, and both divisions have open seats on the card, so challengers, the Web is accepting applications.
Still Waiting on That Chain Rattle 💰
The Super Ace pot is still out there, waiting for one tee shot to skip the putting entirely. Every Tuesday it goes unclaimed, the next Tuesday gets a little more interesting.
Every Entry Feeds the Forest 🌲
The league's $4.50 registration contribution went to the Buckhorn at Harris Lake fund this week, bringing the total raised to $90.30. The course fund welcomes anyone who wants to chip in for the woods that keep eating our discs.
The Rookie Took the Lantern
Fernandez's 917 was the brightest lantern in RAE Red, and he carried it through Buckhorn's wooded tunnels without the stumble that caught the leader on 17. Lanterns are useful. They also show everyone in the dark exactly where you are.
The Vultures Are Already Circling: Ironwood Stand
The open questions are whether Fernandez can repeat that 917 with the whole company now hunting him, and whether Kennedy can keep 17 from stealing another night. Week 8, Ironwood Stand, lands Tuesday, November 10, back at Buckhorn on the All-Star layout. In this chapter, the long hole through the ironwoods demands both distance and accuracy, a climber from the deep tags could run a five-rank gauntlet, and vultures gather around anyone defending too much.
Register here, and track your round on PDGA Live while you're at it. They've named an entire chapter after a clump of trees, as if Buckhorn has ever had a hole that wasn't one.