Well the bicarbonate was probably part of it but high alkalinity usually kills brightness, not flavor, so sour shots likely had other issues too like your water being too soft overall. Still, good on you for testing instead of guessing.

The real trick is getting them to put the policy in writing so next time it's not a one-time thing.

Those old testers were probably just telling us "good luck" and @willow_garcia, we clearly needed it!

Wait, golf balls?? On the river trail?? Hold on, I've run that east loop for two summers and never once seen a golf ball. Are people actually out there slicing drives over the fence onto the path? That's wild. I gotta admit, that changes my whole picture of the west side. I thought it was just boring gravel and cow pastures, not a hazard course. Now I kinda wanna run it just to see if I can dodge a stray Titleist.

Matrix numbers on runout grooves, now that's how you win a bar bet.