RUMPLE 2005: ORLANDO MAGIC
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RUMPLE 2005: ORLANDO MAGIC |
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ORLANDO, FL OCTOBER 14-16, 2005 
Orange County National 
ChampionsGate 
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In 2005 the Rumple more than doubled in size, reaching 16 golfers for the first time. We had successfully survived a thin 2004 and pressed on to meet Orlando head on. We did it up in style with vacation homes including heated pools and room to spread out. The courses were the toughest we'd faced to date and the weather was an unbearable 95+ with request florida-armpit-nasty humidity. We had enough men for a keg, more poker and few moments of unforgettable hilarity. We gave birth to the rain delay-rain shelter party that is now a Rumple tradition, we found out that Orlando PD are our friends (we couldn't find the houses and they gave us an escort). Momentum had shifted strong in the Rumple's direction. We would not look back. Also, If you've never been to Orlando (sorry Orlando) and don't have kids who will pee themselves at seeing Disney (not sorry Disney), then there's no reason to go. Unless, of course, you're rumpling. |
The Golf: Did I mention it was hot? Well, it was. We teed off on Friday and Saturday morning at 8:30 AM and it was already 85. All muggy, all sweat, all the time. And then, the devilish courses of Orange County National and ChampionsGate to greet us. It was a true test of endurance. 16 men made for match-up challenges and we almost lost CoCo and Van Wesep due to heat stroke and ball loss, respectively. Nate boldly recorded the first true Rumple Double (142) and proved that we weren't as interested in the golf as we were in the good times we had. In the end, newcomer Kahl took the Raw tile and Dutch became the first Rumpler to find his way to the trophy twice, nabbing the Grand. ChampiponsGate had the archetypal national / international split, AKA tournament / links. The courses weren't particularly punishing, but weren't particularly easy to score on either. Orange County National hosts some of the areas hardest courses, tight turns and swampy punishment added to the pain. We finished up on a condo course, Pine Lakes, on our way to the airport. A dramatic change of pace and some golf of the blander variety. 
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The Story: Take vacation homes with heated indoor pools, pools, poker, kegs and add 16 half-broken golfers looking for a chance to unwind. What do you get? Well, Rumple 2005: Orlando Magic. The close quarters led to some interesting conversations and even more interesting events. Folks getting lost, on foot, in the neighborhood we were staying in, the sleeping (perhaps unintentional) in closets to duck the mayhem, the awesome rain shelter party, and hours floating in a pool, cold beers in hand. We gave a rusty BBQ a hot crumbling demise and made a pizza drivers's day. Oh, and did I mention that the whole time Hurricane Wilma was sitting to our west, looming the whole time. Apparently it shut down everything the day after we left. Did we think about canceling? There was about 5 minutes of doubt the week of, but seriously man, the Rumple must be played. Even the forces of nature can't begin to alter the force of the Rumple. |
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