This article is part of our Nightery Gaming series.
There is a certain joy in being able to take a few bucks off your friends and co-workers and hold bragging rights over them.
In an effort to achieve that satisfaction, I've done a number of different golf pools on a number of platforms over the years. While it can be rewarding, a number of websites force you to deal with the hassle of email chains and reminding people about entry fees. Luckily I was able to find an app called Nightery that made it much easier to create and play in a legit golf pool.
Nightery Gaming caters specifically to community gaming for real money. Nightery developed a mobile app that provides an interactive experience and all the tools needed for hosts to host and players to play without the typical headaches. I decided to spin up a game for the RotoWire office and some friends last week. It literally took me 60 seconds to customize the game settings and send out invites. I was addicted to watching the Nightery leaderboard throughout the weekend, which updates in real time … and of course, I won.
Since it was so easy to host a game, I thought it would be fun to compete with all of you. RotoWire will be hosting a contest for every PGA tournament over the next couple months, and I've detailed both how to register and how to play at the end of this article.
Get in this week for the AT&T Byron Nelson and let's see what you've got!
THE BREAKDOWN
The AT&T Byron Nelson dates back to 1944. A variety of different courses have hosted the event, but for the second straight year it will be held at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. Last year K.H. Lee broke through for his first PGA Tour win at a tournament record score of 25-under-par. Mother Nature was very unfriendly in 2021, dumping a ton of water and turning the course into basically a hit-and-plug track. In 2022 it will be a much different challenge as temperatures will be in the 90s with consistent winds nearing 15 miles per hour and no threat of precipitation.
TPC Craig Ranch is visually intimidating off the tee. There are a number of forced carries over different hazards and bunkers. The rough will not really be an issue at all, but big numbers can be made with some errant drives. The firmer conditions should be an advantage for players who are strong with their approach play. The greens are large here, so SG: Approach and proximity numbers should be a lot more telling than greens in regulation percentage. The larger greens should also allow players who struggle with scrambling to contend. All in all, TPC Craig Ranch is just not that difficult of a design for PGA Tour players. There are a number of very gettable holes and you're going to have to make a lot of putts to be the low man this week.
This is one of the strongest fields we have seen at the Byron Nelson in some time, as a lot of players want one final tune-up to get ready for next week's PGA Championship at Southern Hills. One sleeper to keep your eye on is Kurt Kitayama. The 29-year-old has finished T2 and T15 each of the last two weeks. At TPC Potomac, Kitayama ranked second in both SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. Ball striking led the way a year ago at TPC Craig Ranch, where the top two players on the leaderboard also were the two best in terms of SG: Tee-to-Green.
THE DETAILS
The construct for the RotoWire game on Nightery is simple: Select 10 golfers from the field, which is grouped into different tiers. The best five golfers in your lineup add up to create your total score, with the remaining five counting as tiebreakers.
To enter, take the following steps.
- Download the Nightery mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store by tapping this link - https://nightery.app.link/rotowire
- Open the app and create an account
- Under Invitations enter the host name: RotoWire
- Deposit funds and purchase a $20 entry
- Make your picks prior to the first tee time Thursday
- Invite your friends to play too!
Lineups are available to be selected once the full field is announced, which is typically Tuesdays around lunchtime.
Anyone can host a game. To purchase an entry, you must be 18 years or older and physically located in one of the following states: AK, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, KS, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, ND, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TX, UT, WI, WV, WY.
