January 21st, 2025.

A day that will live in ‘WiscoGolfAddict’ infamy.

Our goal: to play the highly-rated Black Course at Streamsong Resort in Bowling Green, Florida.

But Mother Nature, and her twisted sense of humor, had other plans.

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Like the French following Napolean and the Carthaginians following Hannibal… WE followed OUR fearless leader, Paul Seifert, into the abyss… and by abyss… I mean a cold, winding, torrential downpour.

I TRIED TO WARN THEM.

I TRIED TO REASON WITH THEM.

“Guys, Tuesday is going to be a washout…

I grew up in Florida…

Believe me, I know the weather can change like a hormonal teenager changes their mind, but every app… every forecast… MY KNEES… are telling me it’s going to be miserable.”

But did they listen… NO.

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So, on that fateful morning… we ventured from our nice, warm, cozy beds at the Streamsong Lodge… boarded the shuttle like lambs to the slaughter… and drove down the nearly mile-long road to the Black Course. A fitting color for what lied ahead.

Now I will say this, the Black Course – which is a Golf Digest Top 30 Public Course in the country – lived up to the hype.

The Gil Hanse design featured what Gil Hanse designs are known for: Big features, wide rolling fairways, big crazy greens… just a dramatic and beautiful track.

As we teed off on the first hole, Mother Nature had not yet unleashed her fury.  Instead she lured us into the danger with a slight mist… as if she was saying “You can trust me, I know how special this place is. I won’t open the heavens on you…” only to have her fingers crossed behind her backstabbing back!

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That said, we were BALLIN’ to start the round. Paul, Troy, Brian and I were making our way around the course like it was our home track. Like I was back at Mee Kwon. 

Our amazing caddies (big shoutouts to Charlie and Nate) guided us through the winding fairways and rolling greens like two experienced Sherpas leading us to Everest’s peak. If only we knew how Everest-like the weather would soon become.

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We made it to the fifth hole, an immaculate uphill par three with sand on all sides. The entire foursome found the green and two-putted for pars.

The high-fives were flying…

The good times were rolling…

And, then… SHE happened… Mother Nature happened.

Her crossed fingers now fully visible and the reality of our situation now setting in…

Within a minute, I was soaked to my core.

And when I tell you we turned on eachother faster than Cameron Champ’s swing speed.. you can trust that my fingers are fully separated.

As the rain engulfed us, Brian and I gently made eye contact through the sheets of water pouring down between us… he calmly said “I didn’t think it would be this bad.”

I calmly replied “I TOLD YOU IT WAS GOING TO BE THIS BAD!!!”

“But you’re not a meteorologist, so how would you know,” Brian replied… not knowing that every word out of his mouth was inching him closer and closer to a Homer Simpson throat-hug.

I took a deep breath… said a prayer for Brian and then looked out at Gil’s glorious course and instantly felt my loathing for B-Money flow away like the streams flowing on the greens (writer’s note: I love Brian – he’s the man!).

And that’s when our fearless leader uttered a few words that gave me the same feeling “Good Good” does…

“Let’s head in.”

And like children hearing that summer break bell ring, we rejoiced… and began our soggy trek back to the Black Clubhouse… wet but alive and better for it.

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All in all, we played six holes on Streamsong’s Black Course. And though it was few, it was enough to put it at the top of my “Streamsong Course list.”

More importantly, we survived and bonded over the adverse conditions… even though Brian almost didn’t. Dude has no idea how close he came to meeting his maker! (writer’s note: I kid, I kid… I love B-Money)

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Looking for more on the Black Course at Streamsong Resort? Check out Paul’s full review of it from 2022, linked below: