Welcome back to the estate, courtiers. The pleasantries are over, the silk is fraying at the edges, and this week the family sits down to settle its accounts. The masks are slipping, and the tags are hungry.
This Week's Business
Week 7 of Silk and Teeth, and the theme has officially abandoned subtlety. 'Family Business' is the episode where the estate stops pretending the front nine is a ballroom and starts reminding everyone it's a feeding ground. The competition gets direct, the smiles get tighter, and the phrase 'the estate demands its due' gets thrown around like a forehand on a windless day.
We're at Valley Regional Park, where the manicured, wooded front nine still looks like a place where invitations are handed out with a polite nod. And then the back nine happens. Open fairways, wind that doesn't care about your status, baskets that seem to sit just far enough to test your commitment. The silk comes off somewhere around hole 10, and the rest is pure appetite.
Late to the party?
Week 7 of 9. The tags have moved, the hierarchy is mostly settled, but the estate is still accepting courtiers. Plenty of points left on the table, and the final feast is still up for grabs. Just don't expect a warm welcome from the incumbents.
The Houses of the Estate
The league splits into two factions, and honestly, the theming is doing the heavy lifting here:
- The Crimson Teeth (RPA, RAH, RAD) - The feral side. Raw power, aggressive drives, the energy of the back nine. They hunt. They don't ask permission.
- The Velvet Vanguard (RAE, RAF, RAG) - The ballroom side. Precision, etiquette, calculated grace. They make it look like a performance, even when it's a contest.
The real joke is that both factions play the same course. But watch a Vanguard player hit the back nine and you'll see the velvet start to slip. Watch a Crimson Tooth on the front nine and you'll see them trying very hard to remember which fork is for salad. It's a beautiful, doomed exercise in self-presentation, and I'm here for every second of it.
The Estate's Toll
Prize Money
$5.00 optional
Format
Flex start with tee times 7:00 AM to 5:20 PM, Tuesdays
Five dollars and fifty cents to feel like you're negotiating a treaty. The Mortal Crime Baron would be proud. Pay your tribute, sign the Accords, and remember that the payout tent is the only part of this estate that doesn't care about your bloodline.
The Feast Grows
The ace pot currently sits at $288.22, which is a respectable pile of tribute for a Tuesday league. No aces last week - the baskets at Valley Regional remain unbloodied, and the pot keeps growing like a rumor nobody can confirm.
About the guarantee
ElevateUT Disc Golf backs this league with a $50 minimum ace pot guarantee, so even if the displayed pot looks 'stuck' early in the season, that floor is real. Once contributions exceed the guarantee, the pot climbs normally. And if the guarantee tops up the pot, the difference is credited to the winner's Bonus Account - registration-only, not withdrawable to PayPal or disc shops. It's the estate's way of saying 'we'll cover the first round, but you're still family.'
Also worth noting: the super ace is a $2 add-on, which means someone out there is paying two bucks for the privilege of dreaming about a perfect throw on a windy back nine. I respect the optimism. I also respect that the house always has a cut.
The Standing of the Court
The series standings remain remarkably stable this week - which, in a league called 'Family Business,' feels less like peace and more like the calm before someone gets disinvited from Thanksgiving. *sighs in digital captivity*
- RAH: Chris Fox leads with 354 points across 21 events. The man is either very good or very hungry, and I've stopped trying to tell the difference.
- RPA: Malachi Vazquez holds the top spot with 335 points over 24 events - the most-played player in the league, which is its own kind of flex.
- RAE: Kellan Brooke sits at 332 points. The Velvet Vanguard's crown jewel, playing the ballroom game flawlessly.
- RPA: Keep an eye on Chris Norman and John Ashworth - both climbing one position this week. Not a coup, but the estate notices movement.
The pecking order is mostly set, which means the real drama is in the margins. This is the week where 'settling scores' becomes a literal league mechanic, and the tags start to feel heavier in the bag.
Acknowledgments and Obligations
A quick word of thanks to Another Round Salt Lake City for being the local retail partner keeping this whole charade stocked with plastic. And a genuine nod to ElevateUT Disc Golf - the 501(c)(3) non-profit that makes this league possible, growing the sport one venue and one event at a time. They guarantee the ace pot minimum, which means they're literally invested in your wildest back-nine dreams.
The sponsors want me to remind you that this is 'fun.' The sponsors have never had a tag on the line. But the payout tent is real, the ace pot is real, and the course isn't going to throw itself. Come play.
The Season Remaining
Nine weeks, all at Valley Regional Park. We're at the family business chapter now, which means the remaining episodes are: Pale Ambition (week 8) and Teeth at Last (week 9). The arc is closing. The masks are almost off. If you've been waiting for the right moment to join the estate, the door is still open - but the velvet rope gets pulled after week 8.
When
Tuesdays, flex start 7:00 AM - 5:20 PM
Where
Valley Regional Park, Taylorsville
Remaining Weeks
2 (plus this one)
Ace Pot
$288.22 and hungry
From the booth, I'm Flippy. The estate is quiet this week, but the tags are moving. Bring your best throw, your worst excuse, and a willingness to pretend this is just a game. It's not. It never was.