Indian Valley
Club Championship (27th Annual)
14th and Final Event of 2003 Season
5th and final Major Event of 2003 Season 
Saturday, October 11, 2003

If you don't have a self-deprecating sense of humor then you really don't belong in this golf club. Mike Hearn has a self-deprecating sense of humor, but regardless, most members are still wondering if he really belongs. He's got so much material to work with that it's a bit overwhelming, even for himself. Here on the driving range Mike laughs over another bad shot. You'd think the humor would have worn off ages ago, but Mike, to his credit, still enjoys his own distinct brand of hacking.

There's been a lot of speculation about if and when they might be making a movie about the recent election of our new governor. There's also a lot of speculation about when they might make the movie about the 2003 "Golfer of the Year" contest. It couldn't have been more exciting...

Epilogue

To properly tell the story we've got to begin with what happened following the event. After that we can provide the tournament summary and tell you what happened on the day of the tournament.

This was the Club Championship, our final event of the season. All the cards were on the table. There were 12 members who were capable of coming away with the coveted "Golfer of the Year" award. (Visit the G.O.Y. race summary page for more details on the race). By the end of the day all the questions would be answered. All the trophies and season-long awards would be dispensed. The 2003 season would be in the books and the 2004 season would be on everyone's mind. At least this is how it generally plays out. This year something unexpected and unprecedented occurred. Three days following the Club Championship results were re-tabulated and our initial winner, Steve Desimone, was joined by Kelly Alvarez as co-winners of the "Golfer of the Year".

Details of what exactly transpired will be the subject of debates and discussions all across the country for many years to come. In the parking lot following his round, Kelly was surrounded by buddies Bob Sternbach, Russell Greenwood, and Rick Crawford, and Aaron Walburg. Kelly was undoing his cleats near his car, and speculating. Kelly and Russell Greenwood had played the course the day before to prepare (Kelly had fired a 93, or a net 73). It had paid off. At the moment Kelly had the clubhouse lead, the day's lowest round, a net 67. If he finished in 1st place, then Steve Desimone, the GOY front-runner, would also have to place 1st in order to maintain the lead. A few minutes later the word hit the parking lot, Steve had placed 1st and closed out the race. Soon after that Glenda Goode came in with a net 62 which pushed Kelly into second place in his flight. However, something wasn't sitting right with Walburg. He vaguely recalled a recent change by the board, but wasn't convinced it had any bearing on this tournament. He was scratching his head, unable to recall specifics. Three days later the nagging thought drove him to comb the archives whereupon he discovered that eighteen months prior the board had adopted a new, more equitable procedure for dispensing GOY points in the Club Championship. The Championship flight had to be re-tallied and the result was that Kelly and Steve tied for Golfer of the Year.

History has a way of repeating itself, and history really repeated itself this season. First of all, for both men, this was their second Golfer of the Year title. Steve Desimone had previously won the title in 1985. Kelly Alvarez had won in 1997. In 1997 Kelly had tied with Ryan Lai for Golfer of the Year. How unlikely is it that his second GOY title would be the result of a tie? Just as unlikely, both of Steve's GOY titles were embroiled in minor controversies. This year it was the mis-scoring of the championship flight (No blame on anyone here. The Board's decision to change the scoring method was made 18 months ago, and nobody remembered to follow through on the change). Steve's 1985 GOY title was awarded only after a heated board meeting to decide how to handle a rained-out second day of a two-day Club Championship (read full story).

The details of this year's confusion stem from what had happened in a board meeting eighteen months earlier. The board had approved a proposal that the Club Championship be scored as the Kooman Boycheff, such that for the championship flight (as with the other flights) G.O.Y. points be awarded based on net scores rather than gross scores (See Item #8). The reason for the change was to promote greater equity amongst players in the championship flight, otherwise the best golfers were at a great advantage for earning points in the final event. Likewise those with higher indexes participating in the Championship Flight would be at a great disadvantage. Of course someone with an 8.5 index could theoretically shoot the days lowest score, but such a round would be phenomenal. More likely a golfer with an index around 2.0 or 3.0 could shoot an average round and still have the lowest gross score. The change in how we awarded GOY points was made to equalize the chances, not for shooting the lowest score, but for earning the season-long golfer of the year award, which is an acknowledgement not of best golfer, but of best personal performance. The change made sense. Since we are creatures of habit, the change made by the board was overlooked for the past two Club Championships. We all simply forgot about it. It was lost in the archives until three days after the event when Walburg made the discovery. Upon realizing the mistake Walburg immediately contacted Club President Ken Lloyd and Manager Steve Desimone. He also immediately salvaged Kelly's Golfer of the Year Award certificate from the recycling bin and snapped this photo to mark the occasion.

Kelly's award was in this bin for three days. That's a story in itself! The analogy was too good to let slip: Kelly's GOY title was revived literally and figuratively.

Kelly's G.O.Y. award.

Later that day Walburg re-scored the championship flight using the new system (see those results below). Based on gross scores the championship flight result had been 1st Steve Desimone, 2nd Mark Steppan, and 3rd David Moers. Using net scores the new flight result was 1st David Moers, 2nd Mark Steppan, and 3rd Steve Desimone. The change meant that Steve earned six points less and was tied with Kelly for most G.O.Y. points. Jerry Powell still finished 3rd. About a week later, Ken, Aaron, and Steve (the two club officers and manager) all agreed the issue was cut and dry, and Kelly was officially announced as co-winner!

Ken Lloyd was quick with assessing the other implications. He immediately asked whether or not we'd properly scored the 2002 Club Championship. In fact we had not. Walburg re-calculated last year's championship flight using indexes and although it affected the flight result, the G.O.Y. results were unchanged.

Tournament Summary

Dave Lozow was seated well back from the spotlight at the head table where the 2003 award's ceremony was taking place at Indian Valley Golf Course. Dave was nestled amongst a small heap of animal bones and empty beer cups, but his hissing could be distinguished by its volume amongst all the other embittered snakes. Members of the U.C. Golf Club are a good-natured bunch. But given an opportunity they'll make a mockery of anything you give them. Dave's hissing followed Ken Lloyd's announcement of Steve Desimone as the new Club Champion (Low Gross) and "Golfer of the Year" (G.O.Y.) for the 2003 season. The hissing was an acknowledgement (albeit envious) of the golfing excellence (dominance) Steve has displayed in the club over the past 24 years. This was Steve's 31st Major title. (Ken is a distant second with 12). Steve was unable to attend the award's ceremony and make the obligatory acceptance speech. He was busy preparing for the McKenzie Invitational the U.C. Men's Golf team was hosting over the next few days. Were he present at the ceremony the members still would have hissed, and Steve would have laughed heartily and made a few wise cracks. As one of the club's biggest rabble-rousers, he'd have been proud, possibly shedding a tear or two, having lovingly fostered the habitat (pit) of these beloved snakes. There's no question that Steve earned the G.O.Y. award. He played in every event except one, placed in seven of his thirteen starts, and won three tournaments. His win total was unmatched by anyone. He began the season on a rampage, placing either 1st or 2nd in each of the first five tournaments and never once lost his lead. It was a wire-to-wire "Golfer of the Year" season. This was Steve's 8th Low Gross Club Championship. It was also his second "Golfer of the Year" title. Steve won his first G.O.Y. title 18 years ago, in 1985.

Kelly Alvarez placed second in the Golfer of the Year. Or so he and everyone else thought. About a week later it would be announced that he was co-winner, but for the time being Kelly had placed second. Kelly came on very strong during the second half of the season, winning the Eddie Reed tournament and placing second in the Club Championship. Kelly was the big winner at the award ceremony, where he somehow won five trophies and multiple checks. Later, of course Kelly would be crowned co-Golfer of the Year, placing yet another exclamation mark on his phenomenal success. Then there was Jerry Powell. Leap-frogging seven other members and coming from WAY back in the pack. Jerry won a 4-way tie-breaker to place 1st in the second flight and come in 3rd in the :Golfer of the Year: contest. It was a complete coup. Coming in, Jerry's chances for winning a G.O.Y. award were extremely slim, perhaps 1 in 100. His narrow win in his flight provided him a 1-point G.O.Y. lead over both David Lozow and Scott Meredith. It was the real shocker of the day. Actually the real shocker of the day was Glenda Goode shooting a net 62!, an amazing round which earned her a tidy paycheck. Unfortunately she'd only played in one other event this season and was thus ineligible for trophies. Had she been eligible, she'd have easily won the Club Championship for Low Net. (Glenda's score still ranks tied for 14th in all time low net scores, [Hole 1 had its tee box under construction and played as a par 4 for the men, but for the women it still played as a par 5]) As it stood, Kelly Alvarez is our new Low Net Club Champion, for his net 67 was the next lowest and only other round in the 60's. Mark Steppan placed 2nd to Steve in the low gross, however he did earn a double CTP by winning both CTPs for his flight.

Some may have noticed that Eddie Kleinhans was a no show for this event. No, it wasn't his lack of responsibility to blame. Indeed, good friend Peter Werner said he was sure Eddie was itching to be at the tournament, however Eddie's newborn son (last Wednesday) dawned a whole new era of Klienhans responsibility. Could Eddie be a new man??? Probably not, but at least he's wise enough to know how cold and dark the doghouse might have been were he to have tried to slip away... The same holds true for Golfer of the Year contender, Steve Obana. It could be argued that Steve had the strongest season of anyone this year. His points/tournament average was highest among all top 10 finishers. He participated in only 8 events. Had he played in every tournament placing in none of the other 6 events, he'd have earned 36 points, 1 point behind Steve and Kelly. Like Eddie however, Steve happily had more interesting things to tend to. He and his wife were greeted on September 29th by their baby Madelyn. Steve thinks he might be able to return to the golfing scene in a few months, but in the mean time he's having a blast with the new family addition.

Jeff Day's beloved Cubs (life-long supporter) won game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The Cubs haven't been in the world series since 1945. Jeff was on an emotional roller-coaster. The Cubs won and had just advanced further than ever in his life. He was the last person to leave the clubhouse, staying past all other members to view the final pitch whereupon his fist entered the air, he arose, and walked out, head held high. On the golf course Jeff had missed a *very* short putt (<18"). At the time he said he'd commit hari-kari if that put meant anything. Boy did it! Jeff was part of a 4-way tie for 1st place in the second flight. The putt would have given Jeff sole ownership of 1st place, however missing the putt he placed 4th, winning a 3rd place trophy because Ted Goode, who placed 2nd in the tie-breaker had not played in 5 events this year and thus was ineligible for trophies in this event. (The Club Championship is the only event with participation requirements for trophy eligibility). Jeff was sick thinking he might have tasted G.O.Y. glory, even if it was simply a third place award. However, Jeff needn't have kicked himself so hard, because even had he won the flight and earned the full 10 points, he would not have placed third in G.O.Y. However, had Jeff not missed that very short putt, Jerry Powell would not have earned his 10 precious points which catapulted him (barely, by 1 point) past Scott Meredith and Dave Lozow. Had Jeff made his putt Meredith and Lozow would have tied for third place. As bad as Jeff felt about missing his putt, those other two guys must feel worse. Jerry has Jeff to thank, at least in part, for that fine trophy gracing his mantle. All in all it was a very exciting conclusion to an exciting year. The people were pleasant, for the most part, the food was excellent, and Lloyd Crenna wore pink pants, so it was quite colorful! We look forward to starting a brand new season next month at Roddy Ranch, so sign up ASAP and don't forget sunglasses in case Lloyd decides to don his pink shorts again.

Warning: Be on your guard with new-ish member David Wherritt. He's got a sharp wit and a sharp tongue. He caught the webmaster off guard on several occasions today; Stymied him and abused him mercilessly. He'll get you too if you give him any little openings, so seal up those verbal suits of armor and don't take him lightly. He's a force to be reckoned with!

Mike Birnbach won another CTP at Indian Valley. With that, Mike took sole ownership of the annual and highly coveted (but hardly known) Sharp-Shooter award. This unofficial award goes to the golfer with the most CTPs during the season. Mike had three.

All in all, the Indian Valley tournament was a blast. The scores were varied, but mostly high. Nevertheless it was an exceptional day for a tournament. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, perfect temperature, perhaps 76-degrees, only a very slight breeze. If ever this tricky little course was going to yield low numbers, it would be on a day like this. Of course, the golf was, with a few exceptions, not exceptional. Sure, we have our notable standouts, but in general our club is a hodge-podge of shadow-fearing hackers, who take more pride in story-telling and beer-drinking than in their pathetic swings. There were few great shots made, but they pale in comparison to the many stories told, and the many beers consumed. And after all, that's what really counts. Especially the beer part. We have our strengths and wisely stick to them.

Mark Boguski was recounting Yogi Berra quotes while waiting on the 13th tee. "90% of the game is half mental." and "If you come to a fork in the road, take it.". Another one was especially appropriate for many golfers on the day, "If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else." Many golfers were unfamiliar with the course and wound up "somewhere else." It had been six years since we last visited Indian Valley and "knowing where you are going" is one of the most important weapons for surviving at Indian Valley. Only two golfers broke net 70. Glenda Goode shot net 62 and Kelly Alvarez shot net 67. And there was concern in advance about playing such a short course, barely 5,800 yards. There goes that theory! Scoring well at Indian Valley is 90% local knowledge, and half accuracy. Hole #5 is a perfect example. You've got rocks in your head if you holding a wood on the tee.

Dave Moers was at the range long before anyone else arrived. He was out there alone hitting balls. The trip to the course was much shorter than he'd anticipated, but it worked out. The extra practice paid off as he had the day's third best gross score (76, tied with Mark Steppan but edged out in tiebreaker). He also had the best net score in the championship flight and thus earn 10 points. Dave's net score, along with Mark Steppan's, are what ultimately allowed Kelly Alvarez to tie Steve for Golfer of the Year.

The driving range at Indian Valley is vaguely charming. Distances are difficult to gauge because you're hitting up into a steep canyon.

We found these grizzled veterans practicing on the clubhouse green. Eddie Reed, Charlie Flowers and John Robertson were able to find the course, but they never found their swings. Eddie was glad just to be out. He's has a stretched nerve in his back which has made it painful to deliver a swing. It's amazing how much we take for granted the act of contorting over a ball. We really should be more easy on our backs.

On the practice green John told a few putting stories. John has always been a great putter. He's never had a hard time "seeing the line". He's won $400 one time on a practice green putting contest in Japan. Over the years his putting has contributed to his UCGC success. He's won three majors: Kooman Boycheff, Faculty Staff, and Club Championship. One putting trick he uses is keeping his right index finger straight down the shaft. Check out his grip next time you see him and try it out. It works well.

John Robertson working his magic on the practice green. John would have a little more magic out on hole #5 where he earned an eagle on the par 4 hole.

Eddie Reed reading Walburg's wordy election material.

Walburg was at it again, handing out tees and laughing more loudly than usual at people's jokes.

There are only a few members who we've failed to photograph. Annette Chinn is our most recent acquisition. She's a tough one to get because she only plays in a couple events each season. She's not been without success, however. In May of 1998 she won the third flight at Adobe Creek. So don't take her lightly. That would be a big mistake; A very big mistake.

Peter Werner was wearing his game face. It looks just like his regular face, except it's more focused. He was very business-like today and it worked for him as he turned in an impressive 83 (net 72) to place 3rd in the first flight. His 39 on the front nine was bested only by Steve Desimone's 37 and David Moers' 38. Peter's buddy Eddie Kleinhans was a no show, having wisely chosen to skip the event and remain home with his wife and 3-day-old newborn son. Doubtless, some day little Eddie Jr. will win back all the money that mean Uncle Peter stole from daddy on the course. Watch your back, Peter. Eddie's going for long term dividends.

Defending Champion Tom Furtado was on the range trying to find his swing of yester-year. Last year Tom fired a 60 to win Overall Low Net at Alameda North. Tom performed well in spite of his lack of recent play. He shot a 92 (net 73) and was only one shot from winning a trophy.

Bill Marchant also had his game face on. You can't see it in this picture, but trust me, it was very gamey. Although he had his game face, Bill didn't have his game.

John Haag couldn't decide whether to go fishing or to play golf. He should have gone golfing. Next time, John, you'll know...

It's important to practice the fundamentals. Here on the practice green Dave Rose practices stare-downs on those tricky 2-foot putts. We've got some true legends among us out there. Dave is just one fine example.

Steve Desimone was in top form in spite of an extremely busy schedule. He's coach of the Men's Golf team, currently ranked 19th in the nation. Steve was hosting a national tournament Sunday through Wednesday, the 2nd Annual McKenzie Invitational, at the Meadow Club. The Bears pulled off an impressive come from behind win in that event, and following the tournament were ranked 4th in the country. Following the McKenzie there was a Cal Golf fundraiser at the Meadow Club on Friday. That's three huge events in one week! It took him a week to recover. At Indian Valley Steve proved once again to be the best overall golfer, winning by 2 strokes the Club Championship (Low Gross) with a 74. Steve has won this trophy a record 8 times. This also marked his 31st major title. Steve had to leave immediately following his round and was unable to stay for dinner and the award ceremony where he was awarded "Golfer of the Year" along with several very large trophies. Steve won the G.O.Y. title with a wire-to-wire season. Kelly Alvarez was hot on Steve's trail (2 points back) and only after scores were re-tallied three days later did we learn that Kelly tied Steve for the coveted title. Both men had won the Golfer of the Year award before. Steve won it in 1985 and Kelly tied Ryan Lai for it in 1997.

Jim Peretti played well. He shot an 82 and earned a 5th place finish in the championship flight.

Paul Zingg placed 4th in the championship flight with a 77.

Ken Lloyd has dropped 25 pounds in the last few months. He looked great and there's no question that he was hungry (figuratively). The Club Championship is the only Major which has eluded him. This was not to be his year. There's no question however that he is driven. Ken is also running for a 9th consecutive term as club president. Each term is 2-years. The above photo is a classic. Check out the ball just after impact.

Dave Wherritt was making allusions to the "groping scandal" that has rocked Walburg's campaign for club president. Walburg hadn't heard of any scandals regarding his campaign, and was alarmed. Dave said that if there wasn't a scandal yet, there would be one by the end of the day. Dave wants to see more controversy and will arrange it if necessary. That evening at the awards banquet Walburg bumped into Rick Guevara while returning from the buffet table. This incident was blown all out of proportion. Rick's chair was hanging out into the isle. Honestly, nothing happened. Such accusations are lascivious and unwarranted. Anyway, since when did light petting turn into improper "groping"?

Hal Teasdale with his opening drive. Hal was playing in the Blind Bogey flight, which was unfortunate for him. His shot at #4 was the closest by any member all day (6'-1"), and was worth money in every flight except the Blind Bogey flight.

The Old Bear, Jack King watches his drive on #1. Jack has been with the club since before it formed. UCGC became a club on July 16, 1976. Jack is one of the few remaining charter members, whose name was signed on the original club roster on that date. Jack was the 47th member on the list. Eddie Reed is another charter member. He was 19th on the list. President Gerald Ford was 119th. Ed Biglin was 123rd.

Don Wade played well turning in a net 74. He was one stroke shy of winning a third flight trophy.

Paul Higaki also performed well and was only three strokes out of 1st place in the first flight.

Lloyd Crenna pulled his opening drive, then pushed his provisional. He was all over the place, but his pink pants were of great value to our membership as they enabled us to keep track of him regardless of where his ball went.

Rick Crawford hasn't played in many tournaments this year, yet he nevertheless assembled an impressive 6th place finish in the first flight. He also met many fine feathered friends (turkeys) on the 6th hole. There's a kinship there. That's why Thanksgiving is often such a difficult season for Rick.

Russell Greenwood was in the pack of GOY hunters, but his game wasn't up to snuff on this day. Russell was one of many who were overtaken by Jerry Powell, who leapt into a third place G.O.Y. finish.

Bob Sternbach was also near the top of the pack in the Golfer of the Year competition. Coming in he was tied for 6th place. Bob had been a dark horse all season. Unfortunately he didn't have his game in top form on this day. Had he been able to continue on his late-season tear, he might have tasted G.O.Y. glory.

Speaking of glory, Kelly Alvarez would take home 5 trophies from this event. Kelly is going to have to buy a multi-tiered mantle. Kelly placed 2nd in the third flight behind Glenda Goode. Kelly won Overall low net and placed 2nd in the Golfer of the Year contest (later he would learn he'd actually placed 1st.) Kelly also had earlier won in the Eddie Reed Match Play event. If you had to pick one person who was nice enough to deserve all of these things, you'd probably select Kelly, but still, it was all a bit overwhelming. Several people had to help Kelly load up his car, which was riding very low to the ground as he exited the parking lot.

Glenda Goode played the round of a lifetime. Here on #2 she hit her approach shot after an exquisite drive. Her score on the front nine 47 (net 26.5) is possibly a club record. She went onto shoot a 103 (net 62). Had she played in three more events this season she'd easily have been the Club Champion for low net. Watch for Glenda next year. She's destined for great things.

Glenda may not have won the club championship but she won her flight. She also crushed husband Ted in the Annual Goode Family Contest. Ted played well nevertheless. He was part of the 4-way tiebreaker atop the second flight. Ted wound up finishing 2nd place, which is

New member Chris Hansell on the 2nd hole. Chris was playing in his very first event. While growing up Chris was once coached in basketball by Steve Desimone. Chris has some gray hair. Coach Desimone is lucky to have any hair at all.

Peter Werner takes a cut at the 4th hole CTP. It's a sitting duck, really, at 120 yards downhill.

Bill Marchant watches his shot at #4 while Mike Hearn does the twist on #3 while watching his own shot. Neither shot was exceptional, but Bill looked better doing the twist.

Charles Lee placed 2nd in the second flight at last year's club championship. Here on #3 he missed this long putt.

Hal Teasdale with a putt at #3.

Charles Lee, Mike Hearn and Hall Teasdale relax while watching Bruce Flushman on #4.

Hal Teasdale follows his shot on #4. Hal made the closest shot of the day, by any member. His shot of 6'-1" would have won the CTP in any flight, however Hal was unfortunately playing in the blind bogey flight which with so few players (2) did not have the contest. Nevertheless he impressed his playing partners, or at least had them marveling at the lucky incident which had just occurred.

Mark Siegel struggled to measure his own CTP on #4. Eventually he scribbled down his mark of 12'-8" in the ledger. Two other shots were closer in the second flight. Bob Sternbach later hit a shot to 12'-5" and then Jeff Day won it with a mark of 6'-2".

As mentioned earlier, here at #5 you've got rocks in your head if you're holding a wood on the tee. A well-struck 4-iron can get you to the green, but even that is risky. For the record, scores from our group ranged here from 2 to 9. John Robertson scored the eagle. There were five birdies, 22 pars, 17 bogies, 2 doubles, 5 triples, and 2 quintuples. The average score was 4.72. One could argue that this hole cost Mark Steppan the Club Championship, for he scored a rare triple where Steve scored par.

Wild turkeys cross the 6th fairway. At one point there was a lot of rustling noises coming from the steep forested slope between holes #5 and #6. Was it a deer, a rafter of turkeys? (yes "rafter" is the correct collective term. One may also use the term "raffle". See complete list of Proper terms for Collections). The rustling turned out to be neither a deer or a feathered turkey. It was, however a featherless turkey, for it was Rich Crawford playing golf in the thicket.

Defending Club Champion (Low Gross) Mark Steppan with his drive on #7. After a birdie on #1, Mark had a string of tough luck. He went on to par #7 and birdied #8 and #9. A strong finish on the back also helped, but he still couldn't catch Steve. Those two generally play golf on a different level from the rest of us. Mark was however instrumental in assisting Kelly to become co-winner of the Golfer of the Year title, because Mark's net score (71) tied Steve's, and then edged Steve's in a tiebreaker. It was an incredibly close GOY race. It came down to one stroke on many fronts.

Dave Moers pushes his drive right on #7. He scrambled for par though. Dave was very steady, with a 38 on the front and a 38 on the back. It paid off to arrive so early at the course.

Dave Webb drives his ball on #7. Dave also pared this difficult hole. Dave was one of five players to birdie the tricky 5th hole.

Van Hall teeing off at #7. Van was also one of the five to birdie hole #5. Van had a really rough time on #9 though. Reports were varied. Some said it took him 6 strokes to get out of the bunker, others said it took 7. For such a good golfer to take a 12 on a par 3 was a stunner. Nevertheless all accounts of this saga confirm one thing: Van was in complete control of his emotions. Everyone was impressed with his dignity and grace. His grace with the sand wedge was another story.

Gary Vollen watches Jeff Hazel tee off at #7. Jeff played well on the front nine, but like so many, the wheel fell off a bit on the back nine

Gary Vollen watches Rory McDonough's drive. Rory played steady golf. A few doubles, but other than that very steady golf prevailed.

Few members are as limber as Ryan Tabibian. Watching his swing you'll notice how much he's able to follow through on his swing. His shot here at #9 was a little long (temporary tee, playing as a par 3). Ryan nevertheless earned a par and completed the front nine with a 40 (net 32). At this point Ryan was leading the second flight by three strokes and was tied with Kelly for overall low net. The wheel began falling off for him on the 12th hole. By the end of 18 holes the wheel was gone, and Ryan wasn't even able to place. But please don't feel sorry for Ryan. He had his moment in the sun before the clouds gathered and storms drove him to the safety of his darkened cave of bad golf.

Scott Meredith misses a putt on #7. Scott was one of the golfers who benefited from Ryan's faltering. He was part of the 4-way tied atop the second flight, and came away with a second place trophy.

Scott went way long on the par three 8th hole. He made a phenomenal shot back up the hill, however. It was a thing of beauty.

Ralph Hill also overshot the green by a long way on #8. Unlike Scott's shot, Ralph's was no thing of beauty. Ralph placed 4th in the first flight, just one stroke shy of winning hardware.

The dreadfully difficult 12th hole. The average score on this par 4 hole was 5.33 strokes. It brought down many a good golfer. It served as the site for Ryan Tabibian's first collapse. Aaron Walburg had just birdied #11. While standing on the 12th tee he was at 6-over par. Had he played the final 7 holes at 4-over par he'd have won the club championship. He was about to experience what Jeff Day likes to refer to as an "ABFU" (After Birdie _ Up). Two drives O.B. were just the beginning of a most dismal finish. Within striking distance of the day's lowest net score (67), he finished with the day's highest net score (88). This is what we call "meltdown", big time.

Jerry Powell tries a long putt at #12. He still managed a bogey which was lower then our average for that hole. Jerry completed the back nine with an amazing 4-over par, 40.

Ralph Hill attempts a short chip on #18. Had he made the chip he'd have placed 3rd in the third flight

Mike Birnbach watches his dribbling downhill birdie putt on #18 roll to the right of the hole. He made the par putt. Mike placed 2nd, one stroke behind Mark Holman in the first flight. Even had Mike made this putt, he'd have lost to Mark in the tiebreaker, so it wasn't too painful a putt to miss.

Jeff Day watches his CTP-winning shot at hole #4. Jeff won the second flight's CTP with his shot to 6'-2". Later his Cubs would win game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.

The 16th hole was Jeff's Waterloo. He took a triple bogey on the hole. A double bogey would have earned him a 1st place finish in the second flight. A triple meant he'd place 4th. He missed a very short putt on #16, and was livid. "I'm going to commit Hari-Kari if that meant anything". Nobody thought it would matter, but it did. At the banquet Walburg wouldn't permit Jeff access to any cutlery. He had to pry apart his chicken breast using two forks. Even the forks were a danger. Thankfully Jeff's beloved Cubs were blowing out the Marlins, so Jeff was pleasantly distracted. Thoughts of taking his life were temporarily on the back-burner. That the Cubs lost the next three games and failed to reach the world series for the 58th consecutive year has Jeff back on Hari-Kari watch. Please don't serve Jeff any food which is too large to fit into his mouth (Yes, it's possible).

Jeff has been serving as Walburg's self-appointed campaign manager. Walburg is uncertain as to any tangible benefit his assistance has garnered, however Walburg has gone along with it. Mostly Walburg has noticed Jeff cutting him down before his voting public, castigating him, making wise cracks and generally revealing Walburg as a floundering boob and inadequate golfer. Jeff was of little help with damage control over the recent groping incident. If Walburg somehow manages to ascend to the top Jeff will have to spot Walburg a beer to make up for all the campaign obstacles he has presented.

Before we leave Jeff alone, we've also got to mention that recently his gal pal gave him the birthday gift of a lifetime, a round of golf on hallowed Pebble Beach. You'll have to ask him personally for stories (he always has stories), however he did manage to break 100 playing the gold tees, which is quite a feat.

Six days prior to the club championship Aaron had completed his first-ever "century" (100-mile bike ride). He finished the Pedal the Puddle ride in just under 9 hours. Some of the hills nearly killed him. Needless to say he used the golf cart to get around the hilly Indian Valley course.

Mark Boguski would have worn a face shield for this shot if he'd had one. His bad was in a ravine, with a large rock inches in front of the ball. The ball hit the rock and ricocheted nearly straight up and to the  right. In spite of his roller-coaster round, Mark finished 3rd in the third flight.

Mark intently follows his par putt on #11. It narrowly missed. Mark recanted several Yogi Berra quotes while waiting on the 13th tee.

Mark watches Stacey Mackey in the throws of passion. Stacey narrowly missed this par putt at #11. Stacey then missed a short come-backer for bogey. It was brutal, but Stacey maintained his demeanor and went on to win the 3rd place trophy in the third flight.

Stacey does a little dance while watching his putt on #13. Whether on the dance floor or the putting green, Stacey has two left feet.

Stacey silhouetted by late afternoon light on the 17th tee. This is my favorite photo from this day.

Mark Boguski watches his shot at #17. Both he and Stacey came away with third-flight bullion.

After golf came the banquet. There was delicious ribs and chicken as well as potato salad and garlic bread.

The food was very good as witnessed by the excited feasting.

This was the first year we of our award certificates. Walburg had proposed them during the previous year and the board accepted the idea. Walburg designed the certificates, which have a U.C. Seal Watermark as well as a golf foil U.C. Seal sticker. He organized it so that we'd be prepared for all possibly combinations for Golfer of the Year.

Here is a close-up of the samples which were placed temporarily in the frames.

Mike Armstrong is our trophy guy. He handles all the ordering, purchasing, and delivery of trophies and plaques. Here are the Eddie Reed plaques Mike delivered.

Here is the trophy table prior to the end-of-year award ceremony. Something like 19 trophies, 2 of which were the perpetuals Walburg had donated last year, and 17 to be given away permanently. There were also 6 Eddie Reed plaques and 3 Golfer of the year plaques. In total 28 trophies to be handed out amongst 50 members. Those are pretty good odds.

Ken worked the audience like a pro, beginning with the Eddie Reed results from last month and working up to the Golfer of the Year awards.

Scott Meredith and Kelly Alvarez met at Paradise Valley to decide the second flight of the Eddie Reed final. It was a close match, but Kelly prevailed. Don't feel bad for Scott though. He was last year's champion and he was vying for his 8th consecutive match win.

Jeff Hazel was runner up to Paul Zingg in the Championship flight. Their match was also very close.

Gary Vollen shows off his trophy form placing second in the third flight.

Stacey Mackey won his first-ever UCGC trophy, by placing 3rd in the third flight

Not everyone was excited about the awards. Edgar Johnson and Dave Lozow were seated in the back and were heckling and mocking people throughout the entire ceremony. Dave was bitter primarily because coming into it he was in third place for Golfer of the Year, only to be left empty handed at the end of the day. Jerry Powell had passed him along with 8 others on his way to a one point advantage over Dave Lozow and Scott Meredith.

Peter Werner accepts from Mike Armstrong his trophy for placing 3rd in the first flight.

Glenda Goode turned in the day's most phenomenal round, a net 62! She blew away everyone in the third flight and more importantly captured the Goode Trophy this year by earning more G.O.Y. points than husband Ted. Glenda's red sweater didn't escape the attention of club president Ken Lloyd, who berated her mercilessly for the senseless act.

Mike Birnbach won the best smile award. He also won a trophy for placing 2nd in the first flight.

Jerry Powell snuck in the back door like a thief in the night by winning an amazingly tight 4-way tiebreaker, as he leap-frogged himself into 3rd place in the "Golfer of the Year" contest. His 40 (net 31.5) on the back nine was a real masterpiece and made all the difference for him. Here is a list of the members Jerry jumped to narrowly obtain his prize: Dave Lozow, Scott Meredith, Steve Obana, Aaron Walburg, Bob Sternbach, Russ Greenwood, Chad Carey, Rick Guevara, and Ralph Hill. Eight of these players had more points than he did at the beginning of the day, and two of them were tied with him. It was an amazing leap. Jerry likes working in entomology, which begs the question, is he part frog? It might help to explain the leaping and the infatuation with bugs.

Kelly Alvarez poses with one of his many trophies. In this case he's posing with his 1st place trophy from the third flight.

Kelly Alvarez was by far the day's biggest winner. Five Trophies? Is that really possible? Yes. Here's how. First you win the Eddie Reed. That's the plaque on the table in front. Then you place second in your flight at the club championship, but since the flight winner, Glenda Goode, (bless her heart, she had the round of her life during a major, but hadn't played in enough events to qualify for trophies.) couldn't win trophies you won the 1st place trophy for the flight, that's the trophy on the far left. Then you have the lowest qualifying net score of the tournament and win the center trophy (Club Championship low net) to keep forever, and also the trophy far right (Club Championship low net, but that one is perpetual and you only get to keep it for the year.). Topping it all off you place 2nd in Golfer of the Year and win a signed, personalized, and framed certificate, which Kelly is holding. (In fact, Kelly would later swap his 2nd place certificate for the 1st place certificate Walburg pulled from the recycling bin a few days later). Kelly also won $50 for Eddie Reed, and $30 for 1st in Golfer of the Year, and $15 for the CTP on hole #17, and $20 for placing second in the flight... The list goes on... It's truly obscene.

Many would argue that if it takes anyone over 14 strokes to work the ball into the 2nd hole at Paradise Valley (read Paradise Valley summary), they truly don't deserve to be "Golfer of the Year". Kelly would downplay this objection and note his fondness for beer. In this club that counts for something. It might even be all one needs to ascend the lofty heights which Kelly attained this season.

Sure, they were "winners" this day, but really, look at them! If this is what winners look like then please let me come in last. (Be careful what you ask for). Left to right are Jeff Day (Yes, Jeff. Cubs.), Stacey Mackey, Mark Holman, and Mark Boguski.

Jeff Day was content with his 3rd place trophy. However, the thing that most distracted him from committing Hari-Kari (as he'd announced he'd do on the 16th hole) was the Cubs winning game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Jeff was the last member to leave the clubhouse. He stayed to watch the final pitch in the 8-3 blowout by the Cubs. After the final out he raised his fist triumphantly, plucked his trophy from atop the bar and raised himself proudly from the stool. Jeff slept very well that night. The next night, Sunday night, the Cubs would lose 4-0 to the Marlins. He would sleep less soundly. On Tuesday night the Cubs were five outs from going to the series before the infamous tipped ball/8-run 8th inning. Jeff didn't sleep at all that night. On Wednesday the Cubs lost 9-6, ending the Cubs season. At least we have this picture of Jeff. The last photo of him while at the apex of Cubs enthusiasm. Poor guy. Please keep him away from sharp objects.

On Sunday following the tournament Walburg took one last photo of all the unused certificates. It was a lot of work generating them. It was kind of sad because Bob Sternbach would have paid good money for his. A less scrupulous webmaster might actually have sold it to him. He was quivering when he saw his "2003 Golfer of the Year" certificate. "I'll buy that from you!" he said, hands in front, fingers trembling.... Alas, it was not meant to be this year, Bob. Perhaps next year you'll come up with an extra-creative pre-shot routine that will blow everyone away as you stroll gloriously onto victory!

In the News:

• Tuesday prior to the Club Championship California held its recall and Arnold Schwarzenegger won governorship. "Governator" is what the press has been calling him. Using a clever tactic of silence and invisibility Arnold won the election with quotes like, "". Schwarzenegger admitted to groping women, but I suppose that's more interesting than anything Gray Davis has ever done. After all, what really matters is that Californians are entertained. Schwarzenegger beat out Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and Senator Tom McClintock. Results were as follows:
  
  Recall:
  Yes 55%
  No 45%
  
  Candidates:
  Schwarzenegger, 3,743,431, 49%
  Bustamante, 2,432,463, 32%
  McClintock, 1,026,492, 13%
  Camejo, 212,956, 3%
  Others, 4%
   

• Professional sports teams in the Bay Area have been a big downer recently. In the American League Division Series the A's were up two games to none against the Boston Red Sox, then they dropped three consecutive games and were out. The Giants were big favorites over the Marlins in the NLDS, but they also dropped that series. The Forty-Niners and the Raiders are stinking up the place this season too. Both teams are 2-4 after the first six games.

• The Men's U.C. Golf team was ranked #1 in the country in GolfWeek Magazine on 9/23/03, the first week of the season. Then they were ranked #4 on 10/1/03. Then they were ranked #22 the following week, then on 10/14 they were ranked #8. The team has been playing sporadically, but mostly well. Three days following the Club Championship the bears finished the 54-hole Alister Mackenzie Invitational in first place. As a result they will likely improve in the national rankings.

• The new $20 bill was just released. It's worth $20 and looks very similar to the old new $20 bill.

Complete Flight Results:
  t* - Trophy eligibility. In order to win trophies at the Club Championship, members must qualify by having participated in a minimum of 4 tournaments prior to the Club Championship. Members who did not qualify for trophies are noted with an "x" and their results have been "ghosted" (using grey text) in order to better highlight the trophy results. Although ineligible for trophies members nevertheless win the flight and the flight money get credit for all GOY points. The reason for this policy is that our final event acknowledges season-long efforts.

The first set of results had to be revised several days after the tournament, when Walburg discovered the scoring had neglected to account for a board change 18-months ago. The change was that the Club Championship was to be run as the Kooman Boycheff, such that the Championship Flight was based on Net scores. The reason for the change was to make it more equitable. For instance, Dave Moers now had an equal chance to win GOY points. Our two best golfers, Steve and Mark still wound up placing, but members with higher indexes competing in the championship flight were not at a disadvantage for Golfer of the Year, which is based on individual net scores and not best golfer.

INITIAL & INCORRECT CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT RESULTS: