Fast Times at Creekside High - Week 3 Recap

Canal Brotherhood

Eight Rebels, One Van, Zero Parking 🚐

Winter Solstice came to Creekside Park on December 21st, bringing the shortest day of the year and the smallest field of the season—just eight players showed up to defend the sacred grounds. The weather gods offered mild terms: 54-55°F, cloudy skies, and a gentle 10-11 mph breeze that barely rustled the willows along Big Cottonwood Creek. But what this gathering lacked in numbers, it made up for in narrative symmetry so perfect it almost justified the AI's dramatic framework. Two divisions ended in dead ties—Nicholas Scott and Malachi Vazquez both carded -5 in RPA, while Anthony Kai and Skyler Kunz matched at -4 in RAD. Episode 3 promised the moment when "social barriers finally dissolve" in the guru's van, and today's shared finishes proved that brotherhood isn't just a theme—it's mathematics wearing flannel.

The Measuring Sticks Measured Each Other

The RPA division delivered a co-championship that perfectly encapsulated the tension between redemption and regression. Nicholas Scott stormed back from last week's 7th-place disappointment with a -5 (942-rated) performance that represented a staggering +76 rating swing and four strokes of improvement. His clutch hole-18 birdie—the only birdie on that hole all day—should have sealed an outright victory, except Malachi Vazquez matched him stroke for stroke. Scott's clean back nine (zero bogeys) showed the kind of control that transforms weekend warriors into legitimate contenders, while his ability to reclaim the lead after dropping it on hole 2 demonstrated genuine competitive grit.

But let's talk about the elephant in the guru's van: Malachi's defense of the Vanguard Keeper throne came with a significant asterisk. His 942-rated round was 19 points below his 961 PDGA rating and represented a -74 rating collapse from last week's 1016-rated masterclass. The score regression from -12 to -5 tells the whole story—this wasn't dominance, it was survival. He maintained his wire-to-wire lead and closed with a clean back nine, but the measuring stick that once set the standard now found itself being measured. Both players held the final cash position, sharing glory but leaving the alpha question unanswered. 📊

Challengers Discover Communism

The RAD division manifested the Canal Brotherhood theme so literally it borders on suspicious. Anthony Kai and Skyler Kunz both finished at -4 with identical 929-rated rounds, proving that equality isn't just a philosophy—it's a scorecard. Kai (876 PDGA rating) posted a +53 above-rating performance with a wire-to-wire lead and a clean front nine, then caught fire through holes 9-12 with a four-hole hot streak. His consistency earned him round-of-the-day honors in a division that clearly decided to share everything.

But the real story belongs to Skyler Kunz, whose +63 above-rating explosion (866 PDGA rating to 929-rated round) was the biggest performance leap of the entire event. After dropping out of the lead share with a bogey on hole 3, Kunz clawed back through sheer determination, ultimately tying Kai on hole 18 in what can only be described as the most egalitarian finish in Creekside history. Two players with similar ratings, identical scores, same rated round—the Challengers discovered that the real treasure was the friends they made along the way. Or something equally saccharine that I'm contractually obligated to dramatize. 🤝

One Stroke Separates Friends from Enemies

Andrew Nemelka claimed the RAE division with a -1 (891-rated) performance that included three sole birdies—holes 4, 12, and 17—that nobody else in his division could convert. His +39 rating improvement from last week's 852-rated effort showed steady progression, and his five-hole par train (7-11) demonstrated the kind of consistency that wins tight matches. Round-of-the-day honors in RAE were well-earned.

Timothy Scholle finished just one stroke back at even par (878-rated), posting two sole birdies of his own (holes 5 and 14) and matching Nemelka's five-hole par train through holes 8-12. The lead changed hands multiple times—tied after hole 1, then seesawing through holes 3-5 and 12-15 before Nemelka's hole-17 birdie sealed the deal. For Scholle, it was a bubble finish that had to sting—second place means last cash was first, and being that close to glory while watching it slip away is the kind of heartbreak that fuels next week's fire. The Canal Brotherhood episode promised dissolved barriers, but in RAE, one stroke was enough to keep them firmly intact. 🎯

Matt Berman Wins by Losing Less

Matt Berman took the RAF division with a +6 (800-rated) wire-to-wire performance that can best be described as "the least bad option available." His +57 rating improvement from last week's 743-rated disaster and his two-stroke score improvement showed genuine progress, anchored by a seven-hole par train (6-12) that was the longest of the entire day. But context matters: his 847 PDGA rating suggests he should be shooting closer to even par, and this -47 below-rating round was merely adequate.

Jordan Lucero finished one stroke back at +7 (787-rated), posting the biggest below-rating performance of the day (-52 points). His front nine was three strokes better than his back nine, suggesting a fade down the stretch that cost him any chance at the title. His six-hole par train (9-14) showed flashes of competence, but the -11 rating swing and three-stroke regression from last week's +4 effort painted a picture of inconsistency. Both players struggled mightily, but in a division where survival was the name of the game, Berman's seven-hole par streak was enough to outlast Lucero's early promise. 🏆

The Creek Played Favorites Today

Creekside Park clearly woke up feeling selective about who deserved blessings. Skyler Kunz (+63 above rating), Nicholas Scott (+76 above rating), Anthony Kai (+53 above rating), and Andrew Nemelka (+39 above rating) all rode the course's favorable winds to career-defining performances. Meanwhile, Matt Berman (-47 below rating) and Jordan Lucero (-52 below rating) discovered that the creek giveth and the creek taketh away—mostly taketh.

The clean back nines from both RPA co-champions (Scott and Vazquez) demonstrated elite closing ability, while Anthony Kai's flawless front nine in RAD showed the value of starting strong. Seven sole birdies littered the leaderboards—Nemelka's three in RAE and Scholle's two, plus Vazquez's hole-15 conversion and Scott's clutch hole-18 finish in RPA. The hot streak of the day belonged to Kai's four-hole run through holes 9-12, while Berman's seven-hole par train proved that sometimes grinding is more valuable than glory. The chains remained undefeated—no aces today, just the steady accumulation of pars, birdies, and the occasional bogey that reminded everyone why this course has survived for over four decades. 🔥

The Measuring Stick Holds Its Ground (Barely)

Malachi Vazquez defended the Vanguard Keeper (Tag #1) with a performance that technically counts as success but feels more like a warning shot. The 942-rated tie for first in RPA kept the tag around his neck, but the -19 points below his 961 PDGA rating and the -74 rating collapse from last week's 1016 masterpiece suggest the throne is getting uncomfortable. The tag's lore speaks of "setting the competitive standard that transforms scattered rebels into a unified force" and possessing "an intuitive understanding of the course's subtle geometries," but this week's round felt more like a measuring stick that forgot its own metrics.

The Canal Brotherhood episode promised unity, and Malachi delivered by literally tying with Nicholas Scott—but shared glory is still a defense, and the tag remains in his possession. The pressure, however, is now very real. Last week we celebrated a two-position climb as cosmic destiny; this week, the measuring stick had to actually measure up, and while it held position, it came up short against both its rating and its own recent history. The Creek-rats' greatest defender is exactly where the narrative promised, but the gap between mythology and mathematics is narrowing with every round. Six weeks remain to save the course from the parking lot vote, and if the Vanguard Keeper wants to lead this rebellion, they'll need to remember what 1016-rated dominance looks like. 🎨

The Creek-Rats Pool Their Lunch Money

Episode 3's "Canal Brotherhood" theme manifested not just in the twin ties across RPA and RAD, but in the collective commitment to the course's future. While the honor-roll kid's parent whispers about next month's board vote on parking expansion, the Creek-rats are putting their money where their discs are—this event raised $8.60 (including the automatic $1-per-player contribution), pushing the Creekside Course Fund to $1,136.51, well past the $1,000 goal. Recent work includes $103 worth of stake line OB markers between fairways 7 and 8, plus drop zone stakes and paint—the kind of unglamorous infrastructure that keeps legendary courses playable when the stakes get real.

Next Week: Emergency Summit, Back Corner

Week 4 brings "Cafeteria Conspiracy," where trays get pushed aside for hand-drawn maps and desperate plans. The bulldozer threat is now common knowledge among the Creek-rats, and the barefoot guru's crazy suggestion—"What if we made the course so famous they couldn't touch it?"—will either save Creekside or cement its doom. The brotherhood forged this week through shared scores and pooled lunch money will face its first real test when strategy replaces sentiment. Six weeks remain before the board votes, and the Vanguard Keeper's throne just got a lot less comfortable. The measuring sticks have measured each other, the challengers discovered equality, and the creek played favorites—but next week, the real game begins in the back corner of the cafeteria, where revolution tastes like cold pizza and smells like determination. 🍕