Current Top 10

Total Rounds: 59! There are already 17 more than the entire 2022 season and we still have 7 months remaining

Total Players: 25 (6 more than the entire 2022 season)

Course Stats

Kizer: 12 rounds

Morris Williams: 13 rounds

Cypresswood: 9 rounds

Memorial: 2 rounds

Gus Wortham: 4 rounds

Brackenridge Park: 4 rounds

Landa: 5 rounds

Olmos: 2 rounds

Muni Tour is open entry and can be started at any point in the season. Find us in Discord. Find a game. Boom, you’re in.

The new Mulligan Rule has been fantastic for getting guys out and playing, as have the Austin and Houston Meetup days! Keep an eye out for details about a San Antonio Muni Tour Day!

Find the standings here

Match Play Open Season

We’re almost two months into the new Open Season Match Play. There are some Stroh’s getting after it across Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Most notably, one of the newest Stroh’s, Mr. Jonny Perkins, who made a Capone-esk style entrance, straight capping players, and racking points by the whiskey barrel. Randy Elliott and Jonny are currently atop the points leaderboard.  

We have 35 players in the open season, 82% of which have competed in matches thus far. This has been an excellent start to the match play season! Additionally, players are taking advantage of the available double dip, Muni Tour round, and Match Play in a single game. We didn’t expect to see this much crossover, it’s certainly welcomed and encouraged. The match entry form and the scoreboard will continue to be tweaked as we refine this new “Open Season” format. Please continue to monitor your point totals, any feedback is always appreciated.

This format also allows us to always allow more people to join as they come throughout the season. If interested, please find us in Discord, message @tx_southpaw, and we’ll get you set up for your very own madness of matches.

Find the standings here.

Current Standings:

NIT Qualifier Profile:

Our very own Austin Alaniz qualified for the NIT at the Omni Frisco resort with the whole NLU Fam. Austin qualified for the NIT with his stellar performance at the Muni Tour Championship this year. He shot a 68 after the new perspective of his newest-born child, and showed the field just how to beat your quota.
Alaniz is a born and raised Texan, has loved the game his entire life, and is the very essence of what we want our NIT Qualifiers to be: redass. Tales came through the Discord of him meeting the likes of Tron, Soly, and Ben in his flight, and then in the later events he met Bob Vokey. Alaniz came up just shy of making it to the finals, but there was no quit in his game. We’re proud of you Austin. Congrats!

Upcoming STROHS’s Events:

January 19th-20th – STROHS’s Presents: Sixers on Ice, Landa Park
Signups for Sixers on Ice: Waitlist is open, click here

March – San Antonio Muni Tour and Match meet up, Brackenridge/Olmos
Signups will be on Discord, link is on our home page

April – Texas Cup, Pine Dunes
Singups will be in January, please go to refuge.nolayingup.com or Discord to find more information

May – Space City Slam, Houston Muni Tour and Match meet up, Gus/Memorial 
Signups will be on Discord, link is on our home page

New Members to the STROHS’s Community

Matt Dorsen (Austin) – Aspiethist at heart
Jake Waters (San Marcos) – active member of the Cult Church of Spieth
Jonny Perkins (Austin)  – denomination unknown
Hunter Myrick (Corpus Christi) – active member of the Cult Church of Spieth
Ryan Shimek (Austin resident at last) – active member of the Cult Church of Spieth

Thank you all for your participation and comradery throughout the events, and let’s continue to make Discord an inviting place for new-comers. Be safe on the road during your Thanksgiving holidays and here’s to hoping there’s golf in your future!

The post STROH’s Fall Update, Oct-Nov appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

Landa Park Golf Course, our home for this year’s festivities, is a hidden gem of a course. Stretching out to a whopping 6205 yards with reachable par 4’s, daunting par 3’s and fiery greens, Landa was a perfect place for a little sharpening of the golf skills. The format for ‘Sixers’ was as follows: head-to-head match play, with each match consisting of a designated six-hole stretch. Each player would play three matches per day with a total of six matches being played over the two rounds. Scoring: hole won = 1 point; hole halved = 0.5 points; hole lost = 0 points; match won = 1 extra “kicker” point for a total of 7 points up for grabs in each set of six holes. “We want this scoreboard to look like the first half of a basketball game.” -Austin Alaniz, Party Planning Committee Member. So, the rules are simple, win as many holes as you can over 36 holes. Oh, and each player brings a sixer of beer for…festivities.

Josh Donelson announced the beginning of the event by giving everyone a true announcement on the first tee. “Nothing gets the blood flowing quite like having your name called and less than a driver in your hands,” Donelson remarked when watching the first groups go off with varying degrees of success. The tournament was underway and moves were made early. Heston Heller jumped out to an early lead winning 6.5 pts in the first 6 with Tim Brooks at 6.0 and a gaggle of others at 5.5. Once everyone left the confines of the initial six holes, people settled down and got into a groove. The par 4 number 9 saw not one, but two people drive the green for eagle looks in the Alaniz, Mujahid, Thompson and Icenogle group. Fore calls were not heard from the group in front, but those may have just been lost in the Wurstfest buildings next door. Brooks continued to surge leading the pack with a perfect set of six to give him 13, while the likes of Alex Irion, 11pts, quieted Heller’s early lead, and Andrew Litschi, 10.5pts, worked his way back into the fight. Finally, in the last 6 holes of the day, we had a short par 5 and three reachable par 4s. Shots could be made, lines could be taken, but could you putt on these glass greens for this final stretch? Fore calls were made off 13 to get a line into the par 5 green in two. Clubs were dropped on 16 when cutting the corner meant getting your hand caught in the cookie jar going too far right. Alex Mahar chipped in from 30 yards away for birdie to dunk on Heller. Lamborghini’s feared for their life on 18 when driver’s were pulled to reach the green. Coming out of the dust of day one, there was one man standing above the rest at 16 pts, Tim Brooks. Day one ended with the understanding that the advantage of course knowledge was gone, feels for greens were getting better and calculated risks could be taken. There were 8 men within 6 pts of Brooks, could any of them get the job done?

The crew gathered at the clubhouse, and cheers, claps, and lottery tickets were given to Robert McCall for Closest to the Pin on hole 12, and Brandon Kusek for Long Drive on hole 13. Points were tallied and the Day 1 Leaderboard was complete.

Have you ever stayed at a water park in January? Sixers on Ice did. When we spoke about Schlitterbahn Waterpark being relatively close to the course, we meant a short par 5 away. Everyone rolled up, received their parking pass and room assignments from camp director Donelson, and then the festivities began. It all started pretty low-key. Grab a beer, hang out, talk about the round, and maybe pick the brain on golf courses from the three Coloradans. It quickly divulged into a contest of sorts where a particular orange cooler became the target of a chipping contest. Roars were heard. Nothing was broken, and the guy with the broken finger won the pot. As the evening wore on, barbecue was delivered, cigars came out, a man fell asleep in the middle of the room on a couch, and call of duty was played with a side conversation of religion. Everyone found their niche amongst the various people and conversations. A door knob was broken (but fixed the next day). The evening turned into night, the party grew to a low roar during a dice game and then backed off once it was realized golf was to be played the next day and we weren’t that young anymore.

A delightful breakfast was served by Stefan Icenogle, Andrew Litschi, and Josh Donelson, to a rather ragged-looking crew. Wandering into STROHshaus both tired and reeling from their previous decisions, copious amounts of Gatorade, coffee, and even a few beers were consumed by the masses. Breakfast of champions, to be sure. Tee times at 11 AM crept closer, so more and more people ventured over to Landa to warm up as best as possible. Day two of Sixers on Ice was upon us.

Is any lead a safe lead in a format where the pts come and go so quickly? Would Brooks be able to fend off his foursome to be crowned the champion? Or would someone come flying in from the cheap seats to sweep their group and win the whole dang thing? Let’s find out.

Coming out of the starting blocks hard both McCall and Donelson won 5.5 pts in the first 6 holes at Landa, sending a message that it was anyone’s game. Brooks picked up 4.5 pts to keep a lead of 2 over Heller and Icenogle, with Shields and Litschi hot on their trail. Moving into the middle 6 holes with three par 3s, two drivable par 4s, and one meaty par 4, there was aggressive golf that could be played. Listchi, Heller and four others drove the green on 9 with varying clubs. The par 3 tenth played extremely tough with a back left pin to a wild green perched up above a tributary of the Comal where left was not an option, but a right bail out meant certain bogey. Donelson, Litschi, Alaniz, and McDowell had an impressive 5-point swing in their favor in the middle match, and Icenogle managed 5.5 pts, but none could outdo Gardenhire pinning 6 pts to his score. Finally, we moved into the six holes that would determine our champion. Guys were in the home stretch and looking for a chance to spread their wings and hit down the par 4 14th to find a better angle. Fore calls were made, and play was excused for players hitting in traffic patterns that looked more like I-35 stop-and-go traffic than the expressways of Mopac. Through the chaos of 13 and 14, on 15 Portwood found his stride. After hitting his approach on the green some 20 ft away, then making the putt with authority, Omar Mujahid remarked, “Did I just walk into a buzzsaw?” Portwood answered in the affirmative, and took the match with 4.5 pts. The crowd favorite number 16 is a par 4 of only 345 yards, but with all the quirk that a certain Big Randy would love. It is a dogleg left with a centerline tree at 240 yards. If you hit the ball 210 or 250 yards you are fine, but anything in that range and you might have to find out how true the “90% air” rule is. The green is fortified by bunkers on its front and a large drop-off on its back. Here the crowd favorite Rob McCall rope-hooked a 4 iron to give him 80 yards to the pin, and newcomer Baccus made a 70′ bomb to halve the hole with Greg Shields. McCall, Mahar, Heller, Portwood, Moxey, Brooks, and Shields all came down the stretch winning 4.5 pts to finish the day.

Scores were tallied. Calligraphy was written by McCall. Scores had to be recounted due to a slight hangover by some individuals and the long drive and closest to the pins were announced. The long drive on hole 3 went to the rope hook hit by McCall at 335 yards and closest to the pin on hole 7 went to Alex Irion’s delightful 5 iron from 215 to about 8 feet. Scores were confirmed and we had our winners. Scoring 15 pts on the final day, and 28 pts total, Stefan Icenogle takes our runner-up spot. Finally our winner of the inaugural 6ers on Ice tournament, with 13.5 pts on the final day and 29.5 pts total was Tim Brooks of Houston, Texas.

Congratulations to Tim Brooks and Stefan Icenogle. We are proud and hope you choose to defend your titles at the 2024 6ers on Ice.

We are extremely proud of this group of 20 guys to come together and raise nearly $500 dollars for the Austin Firefighters Relief and Outreach Fund (afrof.org). We are looking to make 2024 even bigger with bigger prizes, bigger fundraisers and donations, and a bigger field – target next year is 40 players and $1,000 donated! Stay tuned and #getinvolved.

The post Sixers on Ice 2023 appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

On Thursday before, there were clear signs of life from the crew where donations were being raised on the refuge with raffle tickets to fundraise for the Austin Firefighters Relief and Outreach Fund. Items for the raffle included golf clubs, ferrules, headcovers, and much more. There was $1,350 raised to give to Austin Firefighters Relief and Outreach Fund through this raffle. Overall donations reached $2,225, between the raffle, hats, and 50/50 skins. We appreciate everyone who donated and those looking to donate can always get involved in The Refuge.

Practice rounds commenced on Friday where members of each team made the pilgrimage to Texas’ own version of Pinehurst. Attire was an easy choice that day, pink. A request was made by captain @jdonelson to show support for a young girl that is battling leukemia, by simply wearing pink and taking a photo of the group. Through the trees, whispers were heard of @jdonelson fulfilling his prophecy that Pine Dunes is gettable while cruising into a comfy pink-shirted 68. Cheers were heard, beers were drunk, and GHIN’s cringed only for a moment before remembering they were locked on Thursday. Matches were also determined this day for the STROHS Matchplay Massacre. In Pod 6, @xxtrastiffwiff routed @jbpayne32 in a 6&5 win but fell short to @rmaas91 1up. Pod 4 saw the aforementioned round of @jdonelson ‘s 68 to win over @desperateunder105 6&5.

That night’s dinner consisted of an all-hands-on-deck situation to feed the lot of golfers coming off the course. Thank you to @jsteve, @xxtrastiffwiff, @therealmarkymark, @rmaas91, and others for rounding up the supplies to feed the multitude. The party also found itself in awe watching a separate group participate in a Calcutta on their own terrible golf games. Rumors had it that $1000 was placed on a team and @iceman replied, “I’ll take all of you on for that money”. Nothing came of it, but the offer still stands.

Saturday morning started out like any other. Birds chirping, fog lifting, and mowers mowing. The only difference: the damn Texas Cup was starting up. Morning Session consisted of Fourball Matches where @alex.irion and @hellerhighwater rallied the troops of ATX/SA to try and start off strong against @whineycracker52 and @robrosson. Reports of @hellerhighwater turning into a backpack for @alex.irion were true, and the ATX/SA team had their first point with a 5&4 win. Across the course, images were flooding in of scorecards, pace of play issues, and @desperateunder105’s new-fangled foldable 60 degree wedge (patent pending). Pine Dunes was trying to win, but the crew was fighting back. @hellyeahdude’s putter was running hot while running in a 60ft par putt on top of his northern Dallas neighbors. Shouts of “shots for net par!” could be heard emitting from deep within pines. Labeling the 12th hole’s features also took shape, naming an area deep and below the putting surface, for how dirty the play is from down there. The STROHS were absolutely vibing.

After a quick club sandwich, re-up on Liquid IV’s, a shower, and wardrobe change, the afternoon Greensome Matches were set to begin. A small wait was in store for the players as the other group on the course decided to start late, but many conversations were had with the starter. He was a kind man, knew little about starting on a golf course, but gave wisdom out like he was throwing candy in a Christmas parade. May we all live by thoughts like: “Golf is hard, it takes more time for some than others,” and, “I hope when we get to heaven, we aren’t judged by our handicap.” Amen brother, amen.

Greensomes began all tied up between Houston and Austin/San Antonio. Matches started off as groups of four, abiding by the powers at be, but quickly turned into 8somes to “speed things up”. More people in a group means more chances for chaos. Quotes included: “you can’t hit during a song change”, “who wants some room temperature Fireball?!”, and “My girlfriend’s ex-husband is really good at golf.” Matches were played, and all were tight but two groups shined that afternoon: @anotherballromes and @drewski besting their opponents 4&3; @darikashi and @desperateunder105 cleaning up with a 6&5 win. However, a small TIE on the scoreboard also deserves mention. @hellyeahdude and @savemuny were down 3 on 16 tee, when the words “ALL OUT ATTACK!!! ALL OUT ATTACK!!!” came flying out of @savemuny like a war cry. Either in a frenzy or bending the match to their will, they fought and brought the match from all but done to eeking out a halve. Well done. 

That evening saw the NLU crowd head to the immaculate Pine Dunes bar and restaurant, where they may not be open past 10PM, but the burgers and friends were hard to beat. Singles matches hung over everyones’ heads and players started calling out other players for a grudge match. @the_korn_ferry called out @hellerhighwater for having too similar of a mustache years ago at The Alamo Duel. Captain on captain violence was called with @jsteve15 seeking out a match with @whineycracker52. Matches were announced, the community beer cooler was raided and when the night finally calmed down the scores showed that it was a dead-even race between Houston 7.5 and Austin/San Antonio 7.5.

Sunday morning singles arrived with the soft dulcet tones of the same starter calling the congregation to order; “Guys have fun, but there’s a bunch of people in front of you.” Perfect. Off the tee first, @xxtrastiffwiff and @savemuny for team Austin/San Antonio started against @heath for Houston and @spiehtgotmono for Dallas, respectively. Houston came out firing, grabbing the first three matches of the day and taking a quick lead over Austin/San Antonio. It was apparent to all teams though that the weekend’s activities did not make for the most conducive environment for high-level golf. Groans and slow starts were heard and seen by all. The middle groups traded blows, and all teams seized the moment during a slow Sunday round to take advantage of the bar after the blue laws lifted. The tide began to turn with @chitwood flexing his STACK system strength on @therealmarkymark, marking the start for the final wave of points coming down the pipe for team Austin/San Antonio. The final 5 points of the Texas Cup were awarded to @hellerhighwater, @hellyeahdude, @jdonelson, and @jbpayne32, giving Austin/San Antonio the 1.5 point win over Houston to win the Texas Cup.

The final tally for the Texas Cup was Austin/San Antonio 15.5, Houston 14, and Dallas 6.5. The south Texas contingent was excited about their second win and is looking forward to making it a three-peat next year in 2023. Thank you to captains @jdonelson for Austin/San Antonio, @jsteve15 for Houston, and @whineycracker52 for Dallas/Ft Worth, for a great year. We look forward to the next one to find out who are the real Texans!

The post Deep In The Heart appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

Here are your 8 finalists and matches:

ONE. Josh Donelson @Jdonelson
vs.
EIGHT. Nick Hurter @Nah18

…

FOUR. Stephan Icenogle @Iceman
vs.
FIVE. Evan Greco @Hellyeahdude

…

THREE. Ryan Maas @rmaas91
vs.
SIX. Austin Bush @vy4138

…

TWO. Tim Brooks @anotherballromes
vs.
SEVEN. Shawn Mestelske @Stelske

To see the standings click here.

The post Texas Matchplay Massacre 2022 Pod Winners Announced appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

Updates in the STROHS:

Thanks Evan, hellyeahdude, for creating such a succinct place of information on the important things: Tiger. If you would like to know if the Cat is winning please visit the site: isthecatwinning.com. You will never be disappointed and completely whelmed by the site.

Match Play Pod completion dates have been moved to April 30th to allow for all of the carnage to take place in deciding our finalists. Get crackin’ people!

MUNI TOUR

People are getting after it. Golf season is here and scores are rolling in.

Memorial saw an update on its leaderboard with drewski, jsteve15, ajsHTX and theboysfromberwyn. Rmcall is still holding strong on the top with a net 77.

Gus Wortham hosted the_korn_ferry and ajsHTX, where the_korn_ferry posted a solid 76 net 72 to become the clubhouse leader. Great job.

Multiple rounds have been reported over at the illustrious Brackenridge Golf Course. Jsteve, cgroom and jbrooks have added their names to the annals of STROHS history by braving this Tillinghast design.

Match Play

There are two matches to report since our last post:

Omarjhd and jbrooks had it out at the newly renovated Olmos Basin. Greens are firm, trees have been cleared and by all accounts, Alamo City Golf Trail has done a great job in the renovation. Jbrooks came away with the victory 2&1.

Hellerhighwater and jbpayne played their pod 6 match at Spanish Oaks golf course. Conditions were windy, the course was in great shape and some pillow fighting was had. Hellerhighwater came away with the victory 3&1.

Again guys, get after it on the Match Play brackets so that we can crown a champion!

If you need me this week, don’t, I’ll be watching the Masters.

The post A Tradition appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

MATCH PLAY
Chitwood vs Bush and jmg vs French took place at Kizer, where sources say that Bush and French are crushing drives and dreams with their gameplay. Good times were had by all, beer may have been consumed when matches were nearly decided on the 14th hole.

Bush vs French was decided at the wide-open Star Ranch Golf Club where both of their long-distance abilities could run wild. It was a close match where French was down 4 with 4 to play and took it all the way to the 18th hole. There have been reports of class acts by both and that either is a killer in Pod 5.

Jmg vs Chitwood was played at Morris Williams in conjunction with their Muni Tour round. It was a hard-fought battle of wills where ultimately jmg got the 2up win with a birdie on 18 to seal it.

Jdonelson vs joshsteinbach85 transpired at Teravista, where it appeared that the home game models were finally correct. Jdonelson beat joshsteinbach85 6&5 on a tough and windy day, but with great company in rmaas91 to witness.

Omarjhd vs iceman took place at the birthplace of the Senior Tour and home course of iceman, Onion Creek. With greens slick, old school golf course feel fully engaged, and a match that took it all the way down to the 18th, Omarjhd took the 2up win. Home game models were upset and money may have been exchanged.

MUNI TOUR
The first set of rounds at Memorial Golf Course, Houston Muni Tour #1, were recorded by RMcCall and AnotherBallRomes. Weather was less than ideal, the others that filled their group were in over their head, but both put up very respectable rounds.

Morris Williams, Austin Muni Tour #1, saw the likes of xxtrastiffwiff, jmg and chitwood posting the first scores to this course. A strong start from the three and a reputable source has it that aiming at the correct green can help sometimes.

Riverside hosted another set of Muni Tour Rounds with omarjhd, xxtrastiffwiff, RMcCall, and SaveMuny throwing up the lowest scores we have yet on the leaderboard. The coyote was spotted again and insider scoop has it that omarjhd can roll the rock.

Finally we had two entries into the Riverside leaderboard with hellerhighwater and jbpayne playing on one of the warmest days in this stretch since we last spoke. Brad is rumored to have speed in the bag and that they both “just couldn’t make any putts”.

Check the leaderboards for the full standings!

As we get through these next few weeks until spring just remember it’s only 29 days until the Masters.

The post Closer appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

Riverside, Muni Tour #2 in Austin, hosted the likes of hellyeahdude, jdonelson, jmg, and iceman for an early holiday round. A coyote turf war broke out on nine, and a war with the turf was being waged by the other four guys. Reports on the ground say that the turf won.

Gus Wortham, Muni Tour #2 in Houston, hosted both a Muni Tour round and Match Play rounds. Anotherballromes and jsteve had their match where anotherballromes found an edge to overtake jsteve 4&3 and desperateunder105 joined them for his muni round. There were some intense wind, good friends and it all ultimately resulted in a séance of a putter. Scores are posted, and points have been awarded. Always worth the time at Wortham.

Forest Creek saw the likes of a match-play situation with Pod 6’s, rmaas91, and hellerhighwater contending to be first on the board in their pod. Rmaas91 came away with the 2&1 victory, battling his way around a tough conditioned day to give him the edge over hellerhighwater.

Hang in there guys, the winds are tough, the greens are coming back and the Masters is only 45 days away!

The post Fore-Fathers appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

There were reports from the ground that it was a beautiful day, Tillinghast is considered a menace and hellyeahdude is absolutley flushing the ball with a net 68. Great job!

Remember that this event is going on all year at six different courses at Austin, San Antonio and Houston: Morris Williams, Riverside, Brackenridge, Olmos Basin, Memorial Park, and Gus Wortham. Grab another STROH or refuge member, play your heart out, and send us a pic of the scorecard and the people in your group. Keep it up!

The post Muni Tour Begins! appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

Matches started this weekend with a cold front barreling down on south Texas on two fronts: in Austin at Morris Williams we had alex.irion vs Hellyeahdude, Iceman and jbrooks, and omarjhd vs trev1n; in Houston at Gus Wortham jsteve15 vs ajsHTX, Drewski vs anotherballromes. Check out the results at https://www.strohs.club/matchplay2022, and the stories of the match on the refuge.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by South TX Roost of Hospitality (@stroh_roost)

The post Matches Are Underway! appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.

Please send us a photo, either in the Refuge or Whatsapp, of the scorecard with match results, a picture of you and the STROH member you played against, and let us know if anything wild happened in the round. We’d love to highlight your achievements and give proper kudos to those that golf their ball.

The post Match Play Round Robins Announced appeared first on South Texas Roost of Hospitality.