Wente Vineyards
3rd Event of 2004 Season 
Saturday, January 17, 2004

The first few hours of the day looked promising. The sun was out and we seemed destined for a warm-ish day, as we've been having for the past few weeks. By 10 a.m. a fog set in which never let up. Without the sun members were all battling the cold. It wasn't extremely cold, nothing at all like the storms they're having back East, and the wind chill wasn't a big factor except at the driving range, but unprotected hands were still cold and quasi-numb. Steve Obana, who won the first flight by a single stroke, lost grip on his club at #18 during his swing. He still managed a bogey and an amazing even par 36 on the back nine.

We had lots of stories, but one very traumatic incident happened to Gary Vollen. On the 8th hole Gary took a quattuordecuple bogey (14 strokes over par). Later it didn't help things when he nearly broke his ankle on the 10th hole while stepping into a gopher hole. Mark Northfield, playing in the same foursome just happened to be an orthopedic surgeon and gave him a hopeful diagnosis. Nevertheless Gary had to be carted off the course by the marshal. We wish Gary a speedy and pain-free recovery. We'll post more news here as we receive it.

On the range Gary Vollen admired Mark Northfield for his
marginal skill with a golf club. On the course Gary admired
Mark for his renown skill as an orthopedic surgeon.

Speaking of injuries. Steve Desimone shot a 74 (net 73) and placed 3rd in spite of a mysterious injury to his left ankle. Steve says it makes a clicking noise and he's concerned. Others in the club aren't so concerned about the 2003 Golfer of the Year and 2003 Most Improved Golfer winner. In fact, members have been enjoying the clicking noises. "It's kind of nice and peaceful, like crickets." said one member who asked not to be named.

Results will take a while, perhaps by Sunday Night. Quick list of winners are Steve Obana, John Carlson, Vaughn Kezirian, Todd Podoll, Stacey Mackey, and Hank Vanderhulst Jr. in the Blind Bogey Flight. Our three first time winner were Vaughn Kezirian, Todd Podoll, and Stacey Mackey. Todd recently joined, but has been playing for years as a non member in the blind bogey flight. This was Todd's first win in a regular flight. Stacey has been a member for two years. Vaughn Kezirian has been a member since before 1992. Regardless of the precise year he joined, This was a very long dry spell. Incidentally, Vaughn is on the NCGA Board of Directors.

Ken Lloyd, Rollie Otto, Steve Desimone and Vaughn Kezirian
on the fourth tee. Vaughn finally won a UCGC tournament!

At approximately noon, half of the playing field was treated to some wicked-loud bantering from the very boisterous foursome of Alvarez, Greenwood, Sternbach and Lai. They were on the 6th tee which overlooks the entire valley where holes 1-6 are located. We'd just finished the 3rd hole when we heard Russ Greenwood yell "You da man!", followed by an even more pronounced "No, you da man!", from Kelly Alvarez. There was no doubt in anyone's mind about Kelly's distinctive voice. We all looked at each other. It was as if this foursome was right next to us, but they were about 600 yards and several fairways away. High above in the distance, we could see Russ Greenwood walking along the fairway with his trademark beach towel dangling from his back pocket. For the record, all of you gentlemen are "da men!", Moreover, you're "da very loud men".

Upon completing their grueling rounds, Walburg predicted that a net 78 would place in a flight. Jeff Day balked. The prediction, to Jeff's horror, proved correct. Jeff's net 79 was edged out by Ryan Tabibian's net 79 in a close tiebreaker for third place. As usual, Jeff was kicking himself for a few shots he missed. Here's a list of All-Time Highest Net Scores which still Placed in a Flight. The net 79 shot by Ryan Tabibian probably ranks in the top 30 all-time in terms of high net scores which placed.

(Aaron took 352 photos at the Wente tournament. 63 of them were selected for display on this page. It was the most extensive tournament shoot to date, motivated by the scenic aspects of the course, but moreover because it was the first occasion to really try out the new camera and telephoto lens!)

No one is immune from taking a large number on the opening hole at Wente Vineyards. Last year even Ken Lloyd had problems off this daunting tee, but this year Ken was extremely steady, earning a par on this hole.

With Steve tending, Ken tapped in this par putt on #3.

Ken hit a nice shot here at #7. It's another very scenic picture, and the ball is viewable in flight in this photo.

NCGA Board member and longtime UCGC member Vaughn Kezirian had a little trouble on the opening hole, but persevered and finished strong. In fact his strong finish is what earned him his first-ever flight win, in dramatic tiebreaker fashion.

Vaughn hitting out of a bunker on #3.

Hole #7 gives one a feeling of being on top of the world. Here Vaughn takes aim at the #7 green. Vaughn's 39 (net 32) on the back nine was epic, to say the least. The back nine at Wente is merciless.

Steve Desimone hits his approach shot at #1. This is a really nice photo. Click on it for the enlarged version. Wente Vineyards is a very scenic course. So, back to Steve... Steve took par on this difficult opening hole. He then birdied the second hole.

Here on #6 Steve hit from a difficult and fairly extreme side-hill lie. Steve earned a par and was 2-under par at that point.

On #7 Steve took a bogey, but he hung tough and finished with the day's best gross score an impressive 74. Steve was this year's Most Improved Golfer, having improved his index at a higher ratio than anyone in the club.

Rollie Otto put a real charge into this shot at #7, and flew the green.

At the end of his round Rollie found he needed a different kind of charge.

Jeff Hazel warms up on the practice green. The course was in marvelous condition. The greens were speedy, but receptive.

Jeff Hazel appeared to have some OB trouble off the tee, but his ball luckily had worked itself out from those penalizing vineyards. On the third hole Jeff's club clipped the ball twice in one swing. Of course he had to take the second stoke, penalty for the double hit. In the 1985 US Open, Andy North played 279 strokes over the four rounds to give him a one-stroke victory over Taiwan’s TC Chen. Chen played fewer actual shots than North, but was subject to a rather unusual penalty. At the 5th hole on the final day, Chen was faced with what seemed to be a simple chip from rough a yard or so from the green. As he chopped down, the ball popped up almost hanging in mid-air only to be struck again on Chen's follow-through. By hitting the ball twice on the same stroke, Chen incurred a one-stroke penalty and finished with an eight. He was thus nicknamed "Two-Chip", (for T.C.). Jeff Hazel didn't get any nicknames after his shot.

Jeff illustrating good form with this shot at #7.

Rory McDonough hitting his opening drive.

Rory measures his shot at #3. The distance of 17'-3" was good, but ultimately it was edged out by Van Hall's shot to 7'-0". Rory nevertheless earned an easy par on the hole.

The roller-coaster story of the day was Gary Vollen's. Unfortunately his story was not really filled with ups and downs, just downs. Things went from moderate, to bad, to really bad. He began the day with a fairly impressive bogey on the difficult opening hole. The was the only highlight. Here on #2 Gary earned a double bogey.

On #3 Gary struggled for another double bogey.

People should know that Gary is a wisecracking, lighthearted soul, who doesn't take his game too seriously. He's just out there to have fun. Here on #4 Gary took another double bogey. Hey, the day wasn't all that bad, yet...

A quad here on #7 was followed by a 19 (yes, a 14-over par, quattuordecuple bogey) on #8, and then a triple-bogey on hole #9. Things really could get worse. The wheel had fallen off, so to speak, so there really wasn't anything worse that could happen, right? Wrong. The wheel had fallen off figuratively, but unfortunately for Gary his luck (all bad) wasn't going to be content until the wheel fell off, literally, and that's exactly what happened to Gary on the 10th hole. On hole #10, Gary stepped into a gopher hole and badly twisted his ankle. The one bit of good luck was that playing in his foursome was our own Mark Northfield an Orthopedic Surgeon! Mark was worried that Gary might have broken the ankle, but hew seemed to think that it was simply a very bad sprain. Nevertheless Gary had to be carted immediately off the course. Don Quixote has nothing on Gary in terms of epic (mis)adventure.

Ryan Atkinson teeing off from the elevated 1st tee, as Dave Moers and Dan Copenhagen observe. Ryan earned a par on the tough opening hole.

Dave Moers executes a delicate chip shot on #3.

Dan Copenhagen measures his shot at #3. Dan's shot measured 10'-1" and earned him the $20 CTP in the Second Flight. Oh yea, and Dan sank the putt for birdie.

Dan was having a good round. Here on #6 Dan gave a 'Tiger scowl' while tracking his ball.

Steve Hong atop the elevated tee on #1.Watching him are playing partners Bill Marchant, Peter Werner, and Dave Wherritt

Steve watches his shot at #3.

Dave Wherritt nailed the Closest to the Pin with this shot to 9'-9" at #3.

Saul Geiser missed this long par putt at #2, but nevertheless had a good start opening at 1-over par through the first five holes.

The first group of the day teed off at 8:30am under a bright, warm sun. By the time Ed Blom's group took the tee there was a strange fog which kept things chilly for the rest of the day. The fog didn't dampen Ed's spirits on #1, as he opened with a par.

Tony Carrera on the driving range. Tony was a guest of Ed Blom.

Ryan Tabibian on the range. Ryan took his worst score at the first hole when he suffered a 9. Ryan still managed to overcome that enormous initial obstacle with solid play over most of the rest of the round. His 97 (net 79) placed him 3rd in the fourth flight. It was one of the all-time highest net scores which still placed in a flight.

The opening hole at Wente is perhaps the most difficult opening drive in the Bay Area. Andrew Kang wisely opted to go with an iron off the tee. It really was the smart play. Unfortunately Andrew still hit one OB.

Tom Furtado boldly selected a 3-wood, split the fairway, and went o to par the hole.

Jeff Bordalampe taps in this par putt on #11. Jeff placed 2nd in the second flight with an 82 (net 71).

Chris Maters observes playing partner Ed Biglin thread the vineyards on hole #5.

Here's a really cool photo featuring new members, and husband/wife duo, Dexter and Mei-Mei Hong on the 6th green. It's an extremely elevated green, and on this day, amidst the fog, had a mystic feel to it.

Jerry Powell tends the flag for Scott Meredith's long par attempt at #6. Scott missed the putt, while Jerry missed the warmth of the sun.

Trying to stay warm are Jerry Powell, Scott Meredith, Mei0MeiHong and Dexter Hong. Scott was wearing something scary on his head. Sure, it was probably warm, but it was frightfully so.

Dave Lozow with a long birdie attempt at #17. Dave settled for a par. He also earned par on the difficult 18th hole. His 39 on the back was very solid. Dave will be defending his Faculty/Staff title in four months.

Steve Obana left shy this birdie putt at #15. Steve did however birdie the tough 17th hole. On #18 Steve lost grip (due to the cold) on his club, but still managed a bogey. Steve's 36 (net 32) on the back nine was the best gross score all day. It was two strokes better than the next best score. Steve won the first flight and his net 69 tied for the best net score of the day.

Paul Higaki follows his approach shot at #4.

Paul had a solid drive on #12, and went on to par the hole.

Stacey Mackey was having a great round. He turned in a 95 (net 69) to win the 5th flight, his first-ever UCGC win! Here on #3 Stacey's ball went astray. Stacey was worrying his playing partners with a new pre-shot routine, which concludes with him saluting the ball an addressing it verbally with a very strongly pronounced, "Hello, Ball!". Thankfully this was only part of his drives, and not (yet?) part of his routine for every shot.

Stacey demonstrates lots of body language on the links. Here he reacts to a shot on #4.

Another reaction, this time the leg in the air helped the ball roll into the hole for a par at #11.

Jeff Day eyes his long putt, as it creeps toward and eventually drains into the cup for an impressive birdie on #4.

Jeff's drive at #5.

Jeff reacts to this lip-out for birdie on #5. It would have been two consecutive birdies.

Jeff blasting out of the bunker at #7.

Lots of Jeff shots today. Sorry Jeff, that's what happens when you share a cart with the webmaster. Jeff took a bogey here on #12.

Jeff's drive at #13.

Jeff earned an impressive par here on the difficult finishing hole. Jeff had a rough time on the 17th hole though. He's also recently had rough luck when it comes to placing. On this day he shot a net 79, which still put him in a tiebreaker with Ryan Tabibian for 3rd place in the fourth flight, but Jeff was edged by one stroke in that tiebreaker. It's been a difficult year for Jeff, with several such narrow misses, and, of course, the Cubs losing in the playoffs...

Aaron had a tough day. All over the place. Hadn't touched his clubs in 5 weeks though, so not much to be expected. Here on #12 he suffered a triple-bogey. The 'quint' on #15 hurt the most. Aaron had his only redeeming moment at #18, thanks entirely to the beer-induced, shabby etiquette displayed by fellow members.

These drunken hecklers tried hard to distract their President as he stood over a meaningless putt at #18, but Walburg showed true grit, and nailed the suddenly-critical 6-footer. In your face, Boys. The hecklers were: Steve Obana, Dave Lozow, Chad Carey, Todd Podoll, Ed Louie, and Rick Guevara. There was a lot of success from this group, which was a real shocker. Obana won the first flight, Podoll won the fourth flight (His first-ever UCGC win), Louie placed 3rd in the third flight, and Guevara placed 2nd in the third flight.

Rick Guevara, Mark Holman, Dave Lozow, and Steve Obana yuck it up in the clubhouse bar.

Vince Garcia, Rob Gall, Mark Holman, and Rick Guevara can embarrass the staff-people, but never themselves.

Aaron received this frustrating puzzle for Christmas. As a gag he offered $10 to the first person who could solve it. It's a snow-globe with nothing but a golf ball to mount upon a tee, but it takes quite a knack.

John Haag demonstrated one unsuccessful technique. Aaron eventually solved it himself, if only to prove that it was possible (and to keep the $10 prize in his pocket).

Stacey Mackey proudly displays his first 1st-place check. His 45 ( net 32) on back was very solid. Stacey was also very consistent, with string of three 5's to start round, and string of five 5's to complete round.

For his work on this web site Aaron won Honorable Mention in the NCGA's Annual Newsletter Contest. Steve Desimone presented him with the award at Wente.

There might have been a slight mix-up, because the plaque was for "Third Place" and not "Honorable Mention", however in this life you have to take what you can get.

Complete Flight Results: