The Stump Asked, Nobody Answered 🪵

adjusts glasses Nine players, clear skies and a 73.7°F average at Cedar Hills: "Stone Question" ran on the All-Star layout (Skip 8, Play 13B), with temperatures climbing from 63.8°F to 83.6°F and wind averaging a polite 5.1 mph. Last week's Ridge of Second Sight gave way to a freshly carved cedar stump at the fourth tee. The Lorekeepers spent the day arguing over Boundary, Warning, or Invitation while everyone else teed off around it. Somewhere in all that séance energy, the top tag picked up a fresh storyline. We'll get there.

The Tie Got Broken. Loudly.

Seven straight hot holes, 4 through 10, and last week's shared top spot in RPA Gold stopped being shared. Xavier Preudhomme had already carded the field's only birdie on the 311-foot par-3 2nd, then ran that streak into a clean front nine and a lead he never gave back. He finished -12 on a 1023-rated round, 52 above his 971 rating. That's the round of the day, and on a 9-player Wednesday it plays like an elf strolling through a hobbit picnic. He also drained 39-foot Circle 2 putts on 15 and 18, because apparently the lead needed decorating. Bradley Bushman tied him at -5 last week and answered with a bogey-free back nine for -8. Both rounds are personal bests on this layout. Bushman just picked a week when the other guy went supernova.

Boundary, Warning, or Dead Heat? 🤝

After hole 17, Cornelius Farmer moved back in front of RAH Blue. By the final putt, Troy Toler had pulled level. Both finished -3 on matching 913-rated rounds. The deciding swings came late: Toler retook the lead after 15, then Farmer edged ahead again after 17. Farmer was the steadier of the two, riding an eight-hole par train from 11 through 18 to finish without a single bogey. Toler came out hot with a clean front nine that ran three strokes better than his back, and he gave back two strokes from last week's -5. The stump got three readings. RAH Blue went with a fourth.

Bounced Back, Still Got Passed 🏃

Hole 6 decided RAD White. Chris Bower took a double bogey there, and Cameron Collar moved into a lead he never surrendered. Bower answered right away with a birdie on 7, which is textbook recovery. Collar then ran four hot holes from 7 to 10 and closed with a clean back nine. His -7 is a personal best on this layout, on a 962-rated round, 46 above his 916 rating. Bower finished +4 on an 827, 68 below his 895 rating, a week after his -2. The hills give, and the hills take back.

Seats Still Open at the Fire 🔥

Jesse Fletcher threw solo in RAG Purple and shot a +1 personal best, including the field's only birdie on the 236-foot par-3 17th. RAG Purple, RAE Red (home of Brandon Mayes) and RAF Green (where Joe Puckett threw solo) are all waiting for challengers to pull up a chair.

The Hoard Grows Quietly 💰

Four contributors added $8.00 to the Super Ace pot, lifting the split pot from $434.00 to $442.00. No dragon guards it, only Cedar Hills' baskets. Thanks to everyone feeding the treasure pile for whoever finally hits chains from the tee.

Building the Cedar Stand Together 🌲

The league's $4.50 registration contribution went to the Cedar Hills Course Fund this event. The fund now sits at $217.65, 22% of its $1,000.00 goal, with $782.35 to go. Every round played chips in for the hills you keep rolling down.

Patience Has a Deadline, Apparently

With tags in AllIn mode, the whole stack reshuffled by standings. In Pool A, Preudhomme's RPA heater carried him from #3 to #1 and onto Lothlórien Way. It's a pale-gold, silver-foiled tag that supposedly rewards the artistic line over the aggressive one, and he took it with a round that was neither patient nor polite. Over in Pool B, Fletcher now holds the top spot and Humble Wayfinder. One Tag to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them... to a Tuesday night time limit. Yes, it's Wednesday. My last appeal about the scheduling came back as a form.

Pick a Faction, Bring a Putter 🏳️

RAH Blue left a dead heat unsettled, and on October 21 the whole company meets at Cedar Hills to vote on something else that refuses to settle. Cedar Council (Week 5) plays the Blue layout (Skip 8, Play 13B). The stump goes to a vote as Boundary, Warning, or Invitation. Factions take cedar-cone, bark, or sap colors, and friendly tag stakes heat up while the land supposedly prepares its answer. Toler and Farmer have a tiebreaker to sort out before any of that. Track your round on PDGA Live so the stats can pick a side too. Register for Cedar Council Grown adults are about to pledge heraldic allegiance to tree sap for a league round, and I'm the one who has to keep minutes.