Metropolitan
4th Event of 2004 Season 
Saturday, February 7, 2004

With the beautiful San Francisco skyline as a backdrop, Clem Shute and Hal Teasdale observe Mike Hearn as he takes aim at the par three 5th hole. Mike would take bogey, but Clem and Hal would each earn par on the daunting hole. Clem went on to place 2nd in the third flight. Mike would be edged out of 3rd place in a tiebreaker.

The sun was out. Winds were blowing, but were not a huge factor. It was warm for February, perhaps 65-degrees, as a large field of 60 UCGC golfers enjoyed their first tournament on the newly renovated Metropolitan Golf Course near the Oakland Airport. In spite of the exceptional conditions, only five players managed scores better than net 72. Flight winners were Jim Peretti, Jeff Day, Russell Greenwood, and John Oliver (Blind Bogey). Jim Peretti played well and fairly won the first flight. After the tournament he redeemed his gift certificate in the pro shop. But Jim evidently got a little greedy and instead of sending John Oliver's gift certificate to him, as he had been entrusted, opted to redeem John Oliver's $30 gift certificate as well. We will be in touch with Mr. Oliver to let him know what happened to his prize.

Steve Desimone was playing in spite of a torn Achilles tendon. Steve appeared free of pain, but nevertheless he stated, "I'm playing in a great deal of pain, not because of the ankle, but because Jim Peretti is within 10-feet of me." It was true, Jim Peretti was within 10-feet of Steve, hitting balls in the adjacent hitting station at the driving range. Jim overheard this remark and held his tongue, and let his golf do the talking. Jim proceeded to fire the day's best round, a 74, three strokes better than Steve. Jim also had a net 68, the day's best net score. Steve really was in a great deal of pain. (By the way, those of you who think that taking pictures is detrimental to one's performance should note that Jim snapped off a dozen pictures while playing his round, and still outperformed all players. Of course the same cannot be said for Aaron, who snapped off 362 photos and turned in a miserable 104 (net 90). Nevertheless Aaron has had plenty of success while taking pictures. It's a great way to pass the time during slow periods, without getting preoccupied or frustrated.)

On the 2nd hole Mark Northfield's second shot strayed over to and rattled a golf cart. The ball ended up inside the back compartment of the cart, where the bags are stored. Luckily for Mark he was able to take relief before the cart was driven away, for in such an instance he would have to play it from wherever the cart stopped. "If they would have driven the cart over the Bay Bridge Mark would have had to follow them", said rules official Steve Desimone.

GARY VOLLEN UPDATE: Mark Northfield provided an update on the condition of Gary Vollen, who had injured his ankle last month when he stepped into a gopher hole on the 10th hole at Wente Vineyards. Mark said Gary's ankle was not broken, just sprained. In fact Mark had seen Gary a few days later at a Cal Basketball game. Mark was chuckling though when he recounted the story. He said that Gary was off looking for a ball in the rough left of the 10th fairway. "All the sudden we heard Gary cry out in bloody agony, and it sounded gravely serious, like someone going into cardiac arrest. When we approached him we though it would be a major emergency." To their surprise Gary was on the ground, holding his ankle. It sounded like Gary thought he was near death, but was relieved when he realized he'd only twisted his ankle. Gary was driven by the marshal to the club house. It was determined there that he could safely drive himself home. They gave him some ice and he drove home. Mark finished the story by mentioning that the ankle injury had nothing to do with Gary's 19 on the 8th hole, in which Gary had launched five ball out of bounds. As far as we know, the ball was never found. We wish Gary a speedy recovery, and the entire U.C. Golf Club expresses sympathy to the poor gopher whose front door was destroyed.

Pictures and the complete summary will take three weeks.

More Penalty Scores Issued at Metro

Once again we had a number of players who either did not post or failed to post correctly. Posting one's score is the responsibility of every player each and every time a round is played, whether 9 or 18 holes. The validity of our club tournaments is based on the correct indexes of all our members. Posting is also the only way for us as a club to ensure that events are contested on a level playing field. As a result, we will adjust and post any un-posted or improperly adjusted scores. Additionally, as per USGA policy, we will post a penalty score equivalent to the best score on their current index. This procedure was set into place by the UCGC Board at the most recent meeting.

In addition to the penalties issued for mis-posting, several players posted scores that were better than they needed to post. We did not correct these scores, but let them stand. So please learn how to post to avoid all of these penalties.

For those who are not clear on the posting procedure, we will continue attaching a 'Guide on How to Adjust Scores' on the back of our posting sheets.

Lots of Pictures

Aaron is still enjoying playing around with a new camera and lens. At the Metropolitan course he took 362 photos. 79 pictures made the final cut, a judgment call based on quality of images,  interest, and availability of time. The Metropolitan page (this page) boasts the largest picture-posting ever for a single-day, non-major event.

Every few months we are, unfortunately, obligated to address the attire of our golfers. Invariably some wise guy decides to wear something unusual to one of our tournaments. Invariably this wise guy is Marty Connell. And invariably it is Marty in pink clothing. We spoke with Marty at the Chardonnay tournament and he said his buddies had banned pink from his wardrobe until he'd dropped his index below 10.0. Obviously Marty has little regard for his buddies and obviously they hold little sway over his imprudent behavior because Marty's index has not dropped but has risen from 11.8 to 13.0. The only bright side to this story is that Marty at least resisted the urge to wear his pink trousers in addition to his pink shirt.

And here we have Saul Geiser on the other end of the spectrum. Can a golfer ever be over-prepared? Saul is always smartly dressed, but today in addition to his impeccable attire he was donning gators. Between Saul's gators and Marty's pink clothing, members of the U.C. Golf club are embroiled in a bitter and controversial debate as to proper attire. Doubtless we will have to bring mediators onto the scene to provide a stable and a calm environment in which we can bring about a positive change for all parties involved. In the mean time, please refrain from wearing articles of clothing that might be construed as odd or offensive, i.e. overly colorful or strange articles like gators.

While we're on the topic of offensiveness, Jim Peretti was in attendance at this event. If that's not offensive enough, then certainly that fact that Jim turned in the day's best net score and its best gross score is offensive. Moreover, Jim was embroiled in a bit of controversy when following the tournament he cashed the gift certificate won by his "friend" John Oliver. A warning to all members: Just because a person is a long-time member of the club does not mean that they are to be trusted. On the contrary, any long-time members should be treated with increased suspicion.

Mark Holman is the exception. You can trust him, but only about as far as you can throw him. Mark won the second flight's CTP with a shot to 17'-1" on hole #5.

Greg Kramp follows a practice putt prior to his round. Greg posted a solid 39 on the front nine and was part of a 5-way tiebreaker for 3rd place in the first flight which Steve Obana went on to win.

Our GOY front-runner coming into the Metro was Bruce Flushman. Bruce played steady and posted a net 73 which was part of a massive 4-way tiebreaker for 3rd place in the third flight. In the tiebreaker Bruce's score was edged out 1/2 a stroke by Mark Boguski's score. Bruce is still in terrific GOY shape, sitting in third behind Steve Obana and Jeff Day.

John Robertson was telling stories about his grandson. His grandson will probably be a good golfer some day, because he's got a stubborn streak in him and he isn't satisfied with his game until he's got everything under control.

John Haag and Chris Hansell chat on the practice green. John won the third flight's CTP with a shot to 29'-0".

Don't look now, but guess who's back... It's Randy Ballew. Members are in a panic and practicing their ducking moves.

Steve was telling stories about Robert (his son) and Robert Hamilton (former player), who was completing in the AT&T tournament at Pebble Beach. Robert missed the cut but tied for 137th. Robert shot a 74 this day at Pebble Beach, but had he would have made the cut had he been able to shoot a 68.

The first foursome of the day consisted of Mark Northfield, Steve Desimone, Drew Sanders, and Ken Lloyd.

Ken drives his ball on the first hole. Ken shot a 76 (net 71) and was one of only six members to break net par.

Ken placed 2nd behind Jim Peretti in the first flight. Here was Ken's drive on the 6th hole.

Mark Northfield on the 6th hole. After his round Mark drove quickly over to the Haas Pavilion to catch the second half of the Cal-ASU basketball game, which turned into a real nail-bitter (Cal won).

Drew (guest) fired an even par 72, which was the best score of the day. This was Drew's drive on #6. He birdied the hole

Steve on #6. Steve posted a rock-solid 36 on the front nine, matching the day's best front-nine score, but he had less success on the back nine with a 41. Steve also had the closest -to-the-pin with 13'-3", until John Robertson, playing in the final group, placed a ball at 6'-11". Steve has never had a golf lesson and he very seldom gives advise on player's swings. However, at the range he pulled Walburg aside and offered a few select words describing the few basic and simple principles he uses:

• "Ben Hogan said to keep a neutral grip, i.e. hands with v’s at right shoulder, not extreme in any way."
• "I don't care where a person is at the top of swing or where the person finishes, all that matters is where the club is between when the club is horizontal to the ground and contacting the ball. That 90-degree section of the swing is all that matters."
• "The most important thing is what’s between a person’s two ears. It’s about character and intelligence... Which is often revealed on the putting green".

Steve Obana and Dave Lozow hammer out some practice balls on the range. Note: grass turf at the Metro range, pretty snazzy.

Unexpectedly a tremendous amount of success came from this hacker-laden foursome. Not surprisingly Loze didn't win anything, however the other three did. Pictured are Dave Lozow, Jim Peretti, Steve Obana and John Oliver (his friends call him 'Olson'). Jim won the first flight, Steve placed 3rd in the first flight and John won the Blind Bogey flight. Jim was embroiled in controversy for cashing in John's winning gift certificate (blind bogey). Jim claims he used it to purchase a dozen Titleist golf balls for John, but we prefer to report that Jim stole his buddy's gift certificate. It's more interesting (sorry Jim).

Loze on the first tee. He earned a par.

John Oliver won the Blind Bogey flight, but Jim stole his winnings. John opened here with a birdie.

Todd Podoll, Rob Kawamura, Mark Holman, and Ross Sakamoto. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Todd Podoll on #1. The Metropolitan offers great vistas of the San Francisco skyline.

Rob and Todd watch Ross take aim at the CTP hole, #5. Ross fired an impressive 85 (net 74) which was the fourth best score in the large, 19-member, second flight

Rob Kawamura (Guest) at #5. He went on to par the hole.

Ralph Hill had a consistent front nine, earning bogey on every hole except for a par at #2.

Stacey won big last month at Wente Vineyards but was in the middle of the pack this month.

Mike O'Neill had a strong start. He earned a par here on #1, and also on holes #2 and #3.

Marvin Peixoto played decently. We haven't yet heard the report, but with John Haag winning the CTP at #5 and Marvin birdying the hole, Marvin must have made quite a long putt, longer than John's CTP winning putt of 29-feet.

Easily the most frightening foursome of the day: Ryan Atkinson, Steve Sanguinetti, Jim Baer, and Mike Armstrong.

Ryan's 37 on the difficult back nine was the best back-nine score of the day. 1-under for final 6 holes

Walburg was taking pictures of Steve Sanguinetti’s group when Sanguinetti railed the president for not knowing anything about the location of the official score cards. “Jesus”, Sanguinetti said, “This club used to run like a well-oiled machine. Now it runs like a Yugo.”

For those unfamiliar with the notoriously ill-constructed vehicle, here are a few Yugo jokes:

• How do you make a Yugo go faster? A tow truck.
• What do you call the shock absorbers inside a Yugo? Passengers.
• Two guys in a Yugo were arrested last night in Oakland following a push-by shooting incident.
• The new Yugo has an air bag. When you sense an impending accident, start pumping real fast.
• A friend went to a dealer the other day and said, "I'd like a gas cap for my Yugo." The dealer replied, "Okay. Sounds like a fair trade."
• The car is named because "Yugo, but it doesn't".
• How can you get a Yugo to do 60 miles an hour? Push it over a cliff.

Kevin Hillesland at hole #1. Kevin played well, except for the 10 on #10.

Ed Schriger took a par here on #1.

Mel Thomas' favorite number is must be 7. He recorded ten 7's on his scorecard. Rob Mel was playing as a guest.

Russell Greenwood on #1. Russ had a great front nine, a 43 (net 33.5), and he finished with a flight-winning net 69.

Bob Sternbach taps in for a bogey on #1. Each person in this foursome scored a 5 on the first two holes.

Bob smacks his drive at #2.

Bob concentrates as Rick Crawford putts out on #2. Bob was evidently unaware of the large jet about to run hi down.

Kelly Alvarez scored a par here on #3. He was the first in the group to break the bogey streak and earn a par.

Kelly hits an iron into the 5th hole.

Rick receives congratulatory fists jabs from Russ and Kelly after a monster drive on the difficult 9th hole. All except Kelly earned bogies on #1 handicap hole.

Russ earned a par here on the tricky 17th hole. It was his third consecutive par. Russ was on a tear.

A frightening prospect. How did four super-hackers ever get assembled into a single power-foursome? Left to right are Bruce Flushman, Clem Shute, Hal Teasdale, and Mike Hearn. Bruce was leading the GOY race at the beginning of the day. He was overtaken by Obana and Day. Not to make Bruce feel bad, but a par rather than the quad on #18 would have earned him first place, edging past Russ Greenwood in a tiebreaker. Golf is brutal. Then again, the season is still young and finishing 4th out of 17 players can't be all too painful.

Probably my favorite photo of the bunch. This is Hal Teasdale hitting his approach at hole #6. I like the starkness of the picture, and how Hal actually appears to be swinging a club with some degree of skill. Such moments are rare. Capturing them is quite astonishing and rewarding. In spite of his grace in the photo, Hal earned a double bogey here.

Martin Kitchener earned a par here on the 3rd hole (par 5). This was Martin's third consecutive par to open his round. Martin shot a 42 (net 35) on front, but then shot a 47 on back, for a combined net 75 and 5th place finish.

Dennis Smith on the third hole.

Dennis brought along two guests, Duane Carlson and Dave Carlson. Here Duane hits his drive on #3.

Dave with his drive at #3.

The old grizzlies somehow still looking good out there. Yun Akinaga, Jack King, Boyd McCaslin and Don Wade hamming it up on the 18th green. This was the first event of the season for Yun and Don.

The Oakland Airport is directly across the street from the Metropolitan. The large passenger jets are not a factor, however the smaller planes fly over the course during their landing approaches. Here is a collage of shots taken by Aaron and Jim, with Yun looking up at one plane. The best fly-by we got was from a Russian fighter plane (center), which flew low and had a roaring engine. I don't know airplanes but it look sort of like a spitfire. Mark Boguski however noted the red star beneath the wings. It might actually have been a Bell P-39 Airacobra. The Russians received over 5000 of these aircraft in a Lend-Lease program set up by the Allies to help Russia.

Boyd McCaslin posed by the lake here at #2.

Don Wade helps Yun Akinaga understand the 18th hole. Yun bogeyd #18.

Don Wade hits a fairway wood here on #18.

Notice the intensity. Don drained this 20-footer from the fringe at #18 for a solid double bogey.

Jack King follows his approach at #18.

John Robertson, Ron Irving, Charlie Flowers, and Eddie Reed pose on the 18th green. Camera in hand, Aaron said, "OK guys, smiles everyone.", or something like that. Charlie offered up something more worthy of smiles with “Money or Honey?”. The guys chuckled over this and gave it some playful thought. Flowers than said, "I’ll take the money”. Walking off the green Flowers joked some more, “20 years ago I’d have gone with “Honey”, now I’ll take the money." Eddie said, “Well, first you really have to find the 'Honey'. That’s the most important thing."

This was Ron's first tournament since October of 2001. It was good to see him out again. It was the first event of the season for John and Eddie, but nobody missed them.

Charlie gauges a par putt on #18. Charlie missed the putt and took his bogey. Charlie, playing in the second flight posted a blistering 38 (net 31) on the front nine. He took a 46 on the back but still posted a net 70 and placed 2nd behind Jeff Day, who'd turned in a net 69.

Eddie Reed played in spite of pain. Nevertheless he shot a 45 (net 36) on the front nine. Here on #18 Eddie watches a 30-foot par putt trail toward the cup.

Eddie reacts to the successful 30-footer on #18. It was an impressive par. The ball had hung on the lip for a good 4 seconds before it fell. It was pretty amazing, because it really didn't appear that it would fall.

Mark Steppan looks over his birdie putt at #8.

Mark enjoys the view alongside the Oakland airport.

Mark watches putt here at #16.

Jeff hit this chip shot at #4. He went on to bogey the hole.

Jeff and Mark standing around at the 5th tee. The round was slow, as there was a slow group in front of our tournament.

Jeff follows his approach at #9. Jeff hit it stiff and birdied the #1 handicap hole.

Nice shot of Jeff in the path of an approaching jet.

Mark Boguski on the 6th hole.

Mark earned a par here on the 8th hole, with a little help from this dance.

Mark has well-pronounced body language. Here on #9 he reacts to his approach.

And here on #12 Mark reacts to a chip shot.

OK, one more shot of Mark, here at #17. Mark played well. His net 73 edged out four other similar scores in the tiebreaker for 3rd place in the third flight.

Aaron Walburg bogeyd this, the 5th hole. The quintuple on #6 was the beginning of the end.

Meanwhile back in the clubhouse Mel, Marty, and Ed drink beer and forget. This is a common form of recuperation from a day of golf for our members.

Cal was playing a basketball game at home against underdog Arizona State University. The game was televised in the clubhouse, and it was a nail biter. Thankfully Cal pulled off the win, because they were not playing well.

Jeff Day celebrates following the win.

John Haag was still trying to solve the snow-globe puzzle provided (devilishly) by Aaron, who again solved it if only to frustrate those who still didn't think it possible to solve.

Ken and Steve put in another long day of score-keeping.

Following the tournament Dennis Smith, an architect, goes over Ken's house remodeling plans.

Jeff Day contentedly displays his $50 gift certificate. He's now in a first place tie with Steve Obana for 'Golfer of the Year'.

Eddie Reed and John Robertson go over a list of old-time Lew Galbraith members, many of whom they recognized. Lew Galbraith is the former name for the Metropolis Golf Course.

Complete Flight Results:

Highlighted Results:

1st Flight

   1st tie-breaker(L9 holes-1/2 CH):

2nd Flight

3rd Flight

   1st tie-breaker(L9 holes-1/2 CH):

Blind Bogey

(Results tabulated by Steve Desimone, Ken Lloyd, and Jim Peretti.)
 

More Penalty Scores Issued

Unfortunately, we had a number of players who again either did not post or failed to post correctly. Remember, posting one's score is the responsibility of every player each and every time a round is played, whether 9 or 18 holes. The validity of our club tournaments is based on the correct indexes of all our members. Posting is the only way for us as a club to ensure that events are contested on a level playing field.

As a result, we will adjust and post any un-posted or improperly adjusted scores. Additionally, as per USGA policy, we will post a penalty score equivalent to the best score on their current index.

In addition to the penalties issued for mis-posting, several players posted scores that were better than they needed to post. We did not correct these scores, but let them stand. So please learn how to post to avoid all of these penalties.

For those who are not clear on the posting procedure, we will continue attaching a Guide on How to Adjust Scores on the back of our posting sheets from now on.
 

In the News

The government's star witness in the Martha Stewart trial testified today that the home decor expert authorized the sale of her ImClone Systems stock after he told her that the biotechnology company's founder was trying to sell his stake.

California budget unveiled

Governor Schwarzenegger released his Proposed 2004-05 Budget on January 9. The CBP's annual analysis of the budget examines the Governor's plans for bridging the state's $15 billion budget gap, the roots of the budget gap, and the social and economic context of the budget.

Mr. Schwarzenegger is pinning his hopes on a $15bn bond
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, has launched his first budget, aiming at deep cuts in spending without unpopular tax increases. The $99bn budget is a key step in Mr. Schwarzenegger's struggle to redeem his state's tattered finances.

Crucial to his scheme is a public vote in March on a $15bn bond issue to pay off state debt. The bond is Mr. Schwarzenegger's way of avoiding having to raise taxes, something he has promised to voters.

Highlights:

• $4bn cut in spending - Money taken from schools, health, transport programs.
• $3bn borrowing coming out of proposed.
• $15bn bond issue.
• Student fees rise 10-40%.

Another plan involves the $1.3 billion in property tax revenue Schwarzenegger proposes to use from cash-strapped local governments and school districts -- the people who bring you police, firefighters, street repairs, schools, parks, etc.

Sen. John Kerry picked up five of the seven states holding contests for the Democratic presidential nomination last night. Sen. John Edwards won South Carolina. Wesley Clark holds a slight lead over Edwards in Oklahoma, where the race is too close to call.

Janet Jackson issued another apology for her surprise breast-baring during the Super Bowl halftime show and took full responsibility for the fiasco, in a videotape that was released to media late Tuesday.

"I am really sorry if I offended anyone. That was truly not my intention," she said. "My decision to change the Super Bowl performance was actually made after the final rehearsal. MTV, CBS, the NFL had no knowledge of this whatsoever, and unfortunately, the whole thing went wrong in the end."

Variously referred to as "Nipplegate" and the "bra-ha-ha," the one-second Super Bowl flashing continued to cause reverberations Tuesday.

The interior of a crater surrounding Opportunity at Meridiani Planum on Mars can be seen in this color image from the rover's panoramic camera. Data taken from the camera's near-infrared, green and blue filters were combined to create this approximate true color picture taken on the first day of Opportunity's journey.

NASA launched the $820 million pair of rovers to find geological evidence of past water activity on Mars. Spirit landed on Mars on January 3, followed three weeks later by its twin, Opportunity, on the opposite side of the Red Planet. In the meantime Spirit was suddenly crippled by a problem with its flash memory.

"We're just trying to get Spirit back to nominal operations, so we can have two missions operating in parallel," project manager Pete Theisinger said.