Rooster Run
5th Event of 2004 Season 
Saturday, March 6, 2004

Is that an airplane resting atop the cart of Andrew Kang and Tom Furtado? No, it's just a well-timed photo of a plane coming in for a landing in the runway which runs alongside the fairway. The common theme this season has so far been airports. Three of our past four tournaments have been hosted by courses situated next to airports: Las Positas - Livermore Municipal Airport, Metropolitan - Oakland Airport, and Rooster Run - Petaluma Municipal Airport. However, we won't see any more airports this season.

A wide range of aircraft took off and landed in the runway next to the course. There were ultra lights, test planes, WWII kit planes and Cessna-type craft.

We've had great luck with weather this Winter. Rooster Run was no exception. Rain storms have battered us over the past three weeks, however the rain ceased about a week prior to our tournament. Most players assumed the fairways would be muddy, but conditions were perfect. Initially a thick fog hung over the region however it dissipated by 10am revealing a warm, sunny day. Winds were very mild, until about 2:30 when wind became a slight factor. Winners were Mike Armstrong, Mark Northfield, Dave Wherritt (first-ever UCGC win!), and Tim Rau in the Blind Bogey flight. Second place finishers were Jeff Hazel, Rick Guevara, and Tom Furtado. Third place finishers were Jim Peretti, Ted Goode, and Mei-Mei Hong. The low net of the day was from Mark Northfield, who shot a blistering 78 (net 63)! Jim Peretti had a big day too. With Steve and Ken absent he was charged with handling the scoring duties, laying out the CTP, and communicating with the pro shop. All of these he handled gloriously. Moreover, he played well enough to finish 3rd in the first flight and grabbed a one point lead in the coveted 'Golfer of the Year' contest.

Gary Vollen was back on the course after his ankle sprain. He said it actually wasn't as bad as was described on the web site. Still, it made for interesting reading. Former member Ken Alton also made an appearance as did Bill Reid. It was like a reunion out on the driving range, except no wives or children (except Glenda Goode & Mei-Mei Hong).

Speaking of children, Rory McDonough was noticeably absent. As it happens his wife Jo gave birth to their second child. Zoe Nicole McDonough was born last Wednesday, March 3, 2003. Zoe, her brother Riley, Mom, and Dad are all doing fine.

Everyone was having a difficult time on the greens at Rooster Run. They were plenty receptive, but speedy. Moreover the hole locations were very tough. Most groups coming into the final holes mentioned the difficult greens, however Jeff Hazel and Mark Northfield drained long putts at #18, which had a very tough hole location. Both players played well and placed. Mark in particular capped an amazing round.

Martin Kitchener was nervous and edgy prior to the round. He asked if there was any way he could move into an earlier foursome. It seemed important to him and since there was space he eventually did get in several groups ahead. His wife had just dropped him off and while he was golfing she was going shopping. Worried about his wife out there in the shopping world, Martin wanted the earlier tee time to reduce her shopping spree and hopefully minimize the potential damage to their credit card.. "It's uncanny, but wherever we are my wife always finds the most expensive stores in which to shop." Martin eventually found an earlier group. 

Many wondered where Van Hall was. It turns out that Van was playing Harding Park on this day. Van, it seems, has been dominating the 4th Flight of the Men's Open at the 2004 San Francisco City Championships (Match Play). As the only UCGC representative participating at the 2004 San Francisco City Championship, Van won Saturday and advanced to do us proud. On Sunday March 7, Van defeated K. Chen in the final match of the 4th flight to win the country's oldest municipal championship. The flight results are available via tabs at the bottom of this page. Here is a recap of Van's march through the 4th flight:

• Van Hall over B.Hurley on 2/22/2004 at Lincoln Park
• Van Hall 1up over T.McCarthy on 2/28/2004 at Lincoln Park
• Van Hall 3&2 over I.Novak on 2/29/2004 at Lincoln Park
• Van Hall 2up over J.Miller on 3/6/2004 at Harding Park
• Van Hall 2 & 1 over K.Chen on 3/7/2004 at Harding Park

For the third consecutive UC tournament our Club President failed to break 100. With scores of 103 at Wente Vineyards, 104 at the Metro, and 102 at Rooster Run, this is the worst performance by a club president in 17 years. It's the worst Walburg has played since March of 1999 when he failed to break 105 for four consecutive rounds. So how do we know it's been 17 years since we've had such atrocious golf from a president? We know for certain that Ken Lloyd never had such a streak. He's too skilled and he began his presidency in 1987. Eva Ewen was President prior to Ken and she regularly played in the fourth flight where a score of 100 is often a winning score. Indeed the last documented case of a president failing to break 100 in three consecutive tournaments was with Eva Ewen, who between November of 1986 and May of 1987 had a string of 7 consecutive +100 rounds. This begs the question: How do our past Club Presidents rate as players over the years?

A new section in the Board Members page answers this and other questions. Tim Jackson was probably our best-golfing President. Red Passman (~25.8 index) was perhaps our least skilled with the sticks. Surprisingly Walburg (~13.6) likely ranks as our third best skilled golfing President behind Tim Jackson ~(4.8) and Ken Lloyd (~5.6). Our best golfing Treasurer was probably Larry Baker. (~10.3) and our best-golfing Secretary is current Secretary Mike Birnbach (~12.8).

2003 Golfer of the Year Kelly Alvarez, as usual, was in high spirits prior to his round. After the round he was less so, but still amicable (as always). Kelly's scorecard was frenetic. A quad on the opening hole was followed by a par, then a birdie on the difficult 3rd hole. We won't go over his entire scorecard, however let's just say he had several more pars and several more quads.

Mike Armstrong after hitting his second shot on the par 5 opening hole. He had a strong opening, earning par on the first three holes, then a birdie on the fourth hole. Mike also finished strong, birdieing #18 on his way to a remarkable 77 (net 68) and a 1st place finish in the first flight.

Mike Armstrong on the 13th hole. Mike was playing exceptionally. After 12 holes he was only 1-over par. He bogeyd this hole and the next four holes, but recovered on #18 with the birdie.

Jim Peretti missed this 10-foot birdie put at #2. Through the opening six holes Jim's scorecard was identical to playing partner Mike Armstrong's. Both men played the opening six holes at even par. In fact the main difference between Jim finishing third, as he did, or finishing first (instead of Mike) was the snowman Jim took on #9. A par there and Jim would have edged Mike for first place. Jim nevertheless placed third and has taken a 1-point lead in the 'Golfer of the Year' contest.

Gary Vollen was back on the scene for the first time after spraining his ankle in January at Wente Vineyards. While looking for his ball in the rough on the 10th hole, Gary had stepped into a gopher hole and sprained his ankle. Here on the 4th hole he tempting fate once more while eagerly searching for another ball in the rough. A popular slogan comes to mind here: 'Friends don't let friends drive drunk'. In this case there is no alcohol involved, simply common sense. Perhaps we can alter the phase a bit to "Friends don't let friends without common sense swing clubs."

Bill Reid, once a regular guest, hasn't played since Mare Island in September of 2002 when he won the blind bogey flight. Bill didn't win any prizes in the blind bogey flight on this day, however he turned in an impressive 78, which included a 37 on the back nine  (the day's best back-nine score). With Bill on the range is Jeff Hazel, who also turned in a blistering 78, which included a 38 on the front nine. Jeff earned a par on eight front nine holes. Jeff placed 2nd in the first flight.

Jeff's approach at #1. Jeff saved par here with this shot and the putt which followed.

Jeff was delighted with his play. Here on the 5th hole Jeff was twirling around in circles with his hands above his head like a ballerina while Mark Northfield was trying to concentrate on his approach shot.  Jeff was in the midst of a string of six consecutive pars, but twirling and spinning around ecstatically does little to improve the reputation of our club. Moreover, Mark was having the round of a lifetime, and at the time was 1-under par. The distracting spectacle might have been a contributing factor to Mark's taking bogey on this hole. Mark nevertheless went on to par out the front nine for a 36 (net 28.5) and survived the back nine with a 42 for a combined 78 (net 63).

(This explanation came a few weeks later: "Remember the lake by the 5th and 6th hole had these big swans in it, so I started doing "Swan Lake" complete with music. My group didn't even notice, but the camera lens did." -Jeff)

Back on the first hole Mark Northfield confidently walked up the fairway, but had no idea what lay in store for him. His approach at #1 was a glimpse of things to come however, as he stiffed his wedge shot and drained the short birdie putt.

How many golfers does it take to measure a CTP? Four, if you're talking UCGC golfers. Here on the 6th hole it took all four players to measure Gary Vollen's non-winning shot. Left to right were Jeff Hazel, Bill Reid, Mark Northfield, and Gary Vollen.

Here is a photo of Mark walking blissfully down the 13th fairway. Mark was in seventh heaven at this moment, for he was only 1-over par through 12 holes. At this point he was on pace to shoot a 74 (net 59). Mark's streak ended here however as he bogeyd #13 as well as the next two, followed by a double bogey and another bogey at #17.

Mark drained this long putt at #18 to finish with a birdie and a remarkable 78 (net 63).

Club Secretary/Treasurer Mike Birnbach at the first tee. Mike is the best golfing Secretary the club has ever had. Mike placed 5th in the First flight. Mike also birdied the difficult 8th hole.

Tim Rau (Guest) hits his opening drive. Tim posted an 82 and won the blind bogey flight over returning member Randy Ballew.

Ralph Hill always plays with a certain flare. The flare is important because his game has mechanical problems and he's often stranded dangerously on the side of the road.

On the 6th hole Ralph was a star. Not only did he win the First flight's CTP with a shot to 16'-5", but he drained the putt for birdie. Here Ralph gloriously plucks his ball from the hole. For Ralph, it was long overdue glory hole.

John Haag grimacing as he boldly stared down the 3rd fairway. John had a rough day, for it was not until the 17th hole that John tasted a par. It begs the question, is one small flavorful strawberry more flavorful than a large basket of strawberries? With the state of his game this is a discourse John should disregard.

Andrew Kang on the third tee. Andrew would par the tricky hole, narrowly missing a birdie putt.

Andrew also earned par here on the 8th hole after this fierce drive. In spite of finishing with a net 75 in a flight which was won with a net 63, Andrew was only one stroke shy of placing 3rd in the second flight. Had he managed a net 74, he'd have edged Ted Goode in the second tiebreaker, shooting a net 23.0 over the final six holes to Ted's net 25.7. Nobody likes to hear about these things in retrospect, yet some people have nothing better to do.

Adjacent to a massive field of flowering mustard, Tom Furtado follows his approach at the 7th hole. Tom earned a bogey on this difficult hole, then birdied #8. Tom was playing in the 'wild-western shootout' flight, known as the third flight. In this flight net 75 placed 1st and 2nd, and net 76 placed 3rd. Tom turned in a net 75 and placed 2nd.

Tom played steady golf on the back nine. Here on #16 Tom was in the midst of five consecutive 5's. The 16th hole is without question the most difficult hole on the course. The drive must carry a lake yet not so far as to end up in the creek which crosses the fairway. The approach is tricky due to the left rough which is overgrown and impenetrable. And the green is undulating and difficult to read. Of our 49 participants, only five managed a par on #16: Guevara, Hazel, Lozow, Reid, and Walburg.

Aaron's approach at #3. He began the second hole by dunking his first two balls into the lake. Walking off the tee he said, "It looks like I'm going to pull a Gary Vollen." This was in reference to Gary's 19 on the 8th hole at Wente Vineyards, where Gary hit 5 balls OB on way to the astounding blowup. Mark Northfield overhearing the comment and recognizing it's reference added, "Gary's name has become synonymous with a brutal hole." Of course Mark was in a different zone from Gary and Aaron. He'd just birdied the opening hole and was about to post an even par 36 on the front nine on the way to shooting an incredible 78 (net 63).

Although all hope for glory had ended for him on the 2nd hole, Aaron had a shinning moment on the 9th hole when following a booming drive he opted (out of apathy as much as anything) to attempt the long carry over the creek in going for the green in two. A well struck 3-wood carried the creek, but he still required a curving 5-foot putt to save par.

On the 10th hole Aaron was nearly struck by a screaming drive. While standing on the edge of the green, an errant drive from the 18th tee went whizzing past his ear, missing a direct hit by only 3 inches. "Someone's trying to assassinate the President," quipped Andrew Kang.

With his signature way past-horizontal swing, Edgar Johnson earned a par here on #3. Edgar played the front nine exceptionally well, but lost his mojo on the back nine.

In spite of his absent mojo, Edgar would have placed third had he earned par here at #18.

Rick Guevara follows his second shot at the par five 18th hole. Rick never lost his mojo.

Indeed Rick replenished his mojo each time the beverage cart appeared. Rick fired an 82 (net 68), the second-best net score of the day. Unfortunately for Rick the best net score of the day came from his own flight. Mark Northfield's momentous net 63 edged Rick's score by 5 strokes. Rick nevertheless finished 2nd. What's unusual is that Rick's played in three events this season and each each time he has finished in 2nd place. The odds are quite staggering...

Speaking of odds, following his round Rick was trying to explain to the club president the incredibly complicated betting game he and his buddies play. It's so complicated that the scorecards have to be tallied in the clubhouse over a few rounds of beer before any results may be obtained.

Dave Wherritt was also tapped into the same mojo Rick was tapped into. Here on the 11th hole Dave had just NAILED his approach to 3-feet, unfortunately he missed the birdie putt. The tall beer helped settle his nerves and he made a birdie on the very next hole. Dave proceeded to cruise in and remarkably his net 75 was good enough to capture 1st place in the third flight. This was Dave's first-ever UCGC win. (Dave had won the blind bogey flight in the 2002 Club Championship at Alameda North, however this was his first win with an index.) Dave wasn't playing the Rooster alone. He had his tall 'caddy' to give him courage and strength.

Marty Connell was playing the wrong fairway here at #11. He hit a terrific shot however and salvaged a par. Through 11 holes Marty was only 6 over par, but the final seven holes were not kind. Marty fared better last month when he placed third while wearing that dreadful pink shirt. Don't be surprised if the pink shirt reappears next month at Windsor.

Thugs at #18: Martin Kitchener, Scott Meredith, Randy Ballew, and Jerry Powell. Are they really that bad? For the most part, yes. Martin and Scott played poorly, but Randy and Jerry were at least involved in (losing) tiebreakers.

Martin shot an impressive 42 (net 35) on the front, but with his wife out there shopping in all those expensive stores Martin lost his nerve on the back nine and plummeted off the leader board. We'll have to inquire about the damaged plastic next month.

Jerry Powell immersed in cat tails. Jerry was part of the 3-way tiebreaker for 3rd place in the third flight, but he came up on the short end. At least he looked stylish out there.

Speaking of stylish, Dave Lozow looked pretty cool as he blasted free of this bunker on #18. The large version of this image (click to image enlarge) is very cool.

Peter Werner had a phenomenal round. He never once failed to earn par on any hole which was a par-3. The other holes weren't so impressive.

Steve Hong also played the par-3's at even par. His birdie on #15 made up for the bogey at #17.

Charles Upshaw checks out the shot of new member Jeff Thomas. Charles wasn't very impressed. Similarly Jeff wasn't overly impressed with Charles' game. Neither man broke 100. Sometimes it's difficult to make the distinction between hacker and non-hacker. Other times it's not.

Speaking of hackers, Clem Shute was like a regular wheel house out there. Nobody was safe. In fact rumor has it that there was a Small Craft Advisor at the Petaluma Municipal Airport, based entirely on Clem's wild drives.

Hal Teasdale also nearly took down a few small planes. They say if you want to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs. What does a guy have to do to break 100 around here? (author included).

Guest Brian Chancellor has a smooth swing, which is nice, because Rob Simonds and Marty Connell got to see a lot of it. We mean a lot! One thing we can't disrespect about Brian is his mastery over the CTP on this day. His shot to 8-inches was the closest all day at #6 (Yes, remarkably, he made the putt).

Bringing up the rear was a pair of couples: Ted & Glenda Goode, and Mei-Mei & Dexter Hong. Shockingly there was quite a bit of success from this foursome. Ted won a 3-way tiebreaker to earn 3rd place in the second flight, while Mei-Mei placed for the first time in a UCGC event, finishing 3rd in the third flight.

Ted was pure concentration here on the 17th hole. In the Second flight there was an astonishing gap (11 strokes) between 1st place and 3rd place: Mark Northfield turned in a net 63 for 1st, while Ted produced a net 74 for 3rd.

Mei-Mei and Dexter were laughing all the way into the clubhouse. When will they join the ranks and realize that there's nothing happy about golf.

Perhaps Mei-Mei had something to laugh about. After all one isn't supposed to place third when shooting a net 76.

Dexter takes aim at #18. Both Mei-Mei and Dexter finished the difficult hole with double-bogies and smiling faces. Enough of that, you two.

Ken Alton, Jim Peretti, and Mike Birnbach appear spent at the commencement of a long day of beer and score-keeping.

Did we say "Ken Alton?" Yes, that's right. Ken hasn't been seen at a UCGC event for 18 months. It was at Windsor in October of 2003 when we last saw his goofy swing. For those who may have forgotten, Ken is a former Cal baseball player and he was known for a stance identical to a slugger standing over home plate: Example #1  |  Example #2

Rick Guevara was delighted with his score and delighted to have placed. Rick only wished that he'd been in any flight other than the flight which Mark Northfield so masterfully dominated. Here Rick, Jim, and Todd chuckle while looking over the CTP sheet. Someone decided to begin using the folder's cover sheet rather than opening the folder and using the proper CTP sheet.

Jim was sort of a hero on this day. He'd performed the score-keeping admirably in the absence of Steve and Ken. He'd even played well enough to place 3rd and take a 1-point lead in the Golfer of the Year contest. The only thing keeping him from a being a true hero was his inability to account for $65 cash which was found inside the scorer's box, presumably a member's entry fee. Thanks to Jim, perhaps we'll never know which member has been shafted.

Complete Flight Results: