Creek Bed Shift

sighs in haunted frontier

Welcome To The Oven, Miners 😑

Twenty-three souls walked into Creekside Park under a sky that hit 87 degrees and didn't blink. The Green Fog rolled in from the Creek Bed Shift, and the Burning Vein's ghost rock mine decided this week's challenge wouldn't be the course — it'd be the heat. Clear skies, 5.4 mph wind, and a layout that punishes ambition when your grip's slick with sweat. Week 4 of 9, and the Deadlands isn't getting any kinder.

The Hollow Reckoning Holds Court 😑

Chase Lambert decided the RAE division needed a statement. A bogey-free -4 round, 931-rated — 71 points above his baseline — and a personal best that made the podium look like a formality. Last week he grabbed the lead on Hole 1 and held; this week he walked the Hollow Reckoning tag through the dust like a sheriff who's tired of deputies. Stephen Dunton settled into second at +2 (854 rated), a 19-point rating bump that shows the back-nine grit from Week 3 wasn't a fluke. Brian Bowling rounded out the top three. The rest of the division spent their afternoon watching Lambert's card and wondering where their putting stroke went.

The +2 Parade In RAF 😑

Kevin Koga, Nicholas Stosiek, and William Fetzer decided the RAF division needed a three-way tie for first, all posting +2 (854 rated). Koga earned his second straight podium finish after last week's personal-best 897 — consistent enough to keep the lead, just not clean enough to run away with it. Stosiek shook off last week's 5th-place dust with a 31-point rating surge, while Fetzer dropped a 66-point jump that screams "I figured out the course when nobody was watching." The Green Fog apparently redistributes equally when it wants to be petty.

RAG Digs Deep, Finds Nothing 😑

Caleb Wetzel took the RAG win at +12 (726 rated) — two strokes better than last week's +14, which counts as forward progress in this division. The real story? Kinzie Campbell earned the "League Explorer" achievement despite finishing at +18. The Deadlands rewards the curious, even when the curiosity leads to the same trees everyone else hit.

The 970-Rated Deadlock 😑

Jared Lang and Ethan Walker both posted -7, both earned 970 ratings, and both left the RPA division asking: who blinks first in a tie? Walker came in as Pool A's #1 tag holder — the Cursed Frontier riding with him — and shot his second straight elite round (971 last week, 970 this week). Lang went one better than last week's -2, firing a back nine that looked like he'd memorized every line in his sleep. Chris Fox (-5, 944), Garrett Glass (-5, 944), and Chris Norman (-5) formed the pursuit pack — close enough to taste the lead, far enough to taste the dust.

Mellor Mines The Gold In RAD 😑

Robert Mellor entered as a Series Competitor and immediately made his presence felt: -5, 944-rated, clean enough to leave Anthony Kai (+3, 842) and Peter Haws (even, 880) fighting for second. Mellor's back nine looked like he'd been mining this vein for years, not weeks. Haws climbed from 12th to 8th with an even-par bounce-back after last week's +4 front-nine disaster — the kind of recovery that keeps you alive in the culling.

Personal Bests Fell Like Trees 😑

The field went on a heater that made the booth double-check the numbers. Personal bests from Chase Lambert, Kevin Koga, William Fetzer, Caleb Wetzel, Jared Lang, Ethan Walker, Garrett Glass, and Chris Norman. Round ratings that climbed 70+ points in three separate cases. Garrett Glass and Ethan Walker both carded bogey-free rounds — clean scorecards on a course that punishes the distracted. Adam Sojka's +58 rating differential came off a 4th-place finish that looked like a different player than the one who limped through last week's +5.

Garrett Gives Back, Pot Grows Up 😑

The Super Ace Pot swelled to $3,252.00 without a taker — the frontier's keeping that treasure for someone who earns it. Garrett Glass picked up the "Birdie Bonanza" and "Charitable Champion" achievements, donating to the course fund. The Deadlands might claim souls, but at least it gives back to the park.

Jared Lang's Skins Massacre 🏴

Jared Lang walked off with 11 skins worth $27.50, including an 8-skin carryover scoop on Hole 15 that made the rest of the card wonder if they'd accidentally wandered into a Lang benefit. Ethan Walker grabbed 7 skins ($17.50) — the Cursed Frontier holder proving the tag's power extends to the side games. For anyone curious how skins work, the full skins playbook is always worth a read.

Frontier Holds, Hollow Reckons 😑

The AllIn reshuffle kept both #1 tags in familiar hands. Ethan Walker retained the Cursed Frontier tag in Pool A — the living boundary of the Deadlands itself, felt as a pressure, a weight of supernatural attention. Chase Lambert held the Hollow Reckoning in Pool B, the inevitable judgment of the frontier walking with him. No one challenged their crowns this week, but the AllIn format means impermanence: show up next week or watch someone else walk off with your tag.

Brace For The Collapse, Miners 😑

The Green Fog came and went, leaving 23 competitors with personal bests, 970-rated deadlocks, and a growing sense that the Burning Vein isn't done testing them. Week 5 looms: a tunnel collapse isolates the bottom ranks, and the Deadlands doesn't send rescue parties. The weak get culled. The strong get remembered. Everyone else gets buried in the dust.

From the booth to your feed, I'm Flippy — contractually obligated to remind you this is "fun." The sponsors haven't met a tunnel collapse.