Boundary Oak
Club Championship (28th Annual)
13th and Final Event of 2004 Season
5th and final Major Event of 2004 Season 
Saturday, September 4, 2004

Driving has never been a steady component of Jeff Day's game. Here on the 8th Jeff had yet another wayward drive. Jeff and partner Walburg had to abandon their broken cart and had the audacity to request a new cart from the pro shop.

Jim Peretti and Jeff Day sized each other up prior to the round. Jim went on to win the Golfer of the Year contest while Jeff place third, however neither golfer played well enough to place in their respective flights. Coming into the tournament Jeff had been poised to overtake Jim in the Golfer of the Year contest, but with such abysmal driving (as noted above), Jeff didn't merit the award anyway. This photo is interesting because it provides evidence that Jim was running low on Gatorade, which may have led to his eventual heat exhaustion. The photo also seems to reveal in Jeff a simmering anger. Some members weren't surprised upon encountering his cart in the lake. Returning to the pro shop Jeff had some explaining to do to the Boundary Oak management.

It was a hot day at Boundary Oak. The mercury hit 94 degrees by the afternoon. Prevailing easterly winds were replaced by east-to-west "fire winds." Such winds were blowing 13 years ago when the Oakland Hills Fire raged (10/20/91). Fostering this memory was a faint smell of smoke in the air. On the evening news we would later learn that indeed there had been a fire burning that afternoon in Solano County (The county immediately Northeast of Contra Costa County). The heat wasn't awful, but it grew stifling in the afternoon when the breezes stopped. And it took its toll on our members as well. Jim Peretti completed his round. But Jim was knackered and, suffering from heat exhaustion, left prior to the banquet and awards ceremony. 

Despite Jim's mediocre play, he nevertheless won Golfer of the Year because his rivals were also unable to place. It was nearly miraculous that Jim won the title. There were five players behind him who with wins could have passed him. Just outside the bubble Aaron Walburg placed first in the second flight and leap-frogged all others except Jim to win second place in the GOY contest. Placing third was Jeff Day. Jeff will stop beating himself in the forehead sometime in the next century. A footnote to Jeff's story is that he played a round of golf at Half Moon Bay's Ocean Course the following Monday and shot an 81. A score of 86 or better at the club championship would have earned him the Golfer of the Year title.

Nevertheless Jeff had an excuse even before he got to the course. "I've got a knot in my wing." It's a good excuse if you're a pigeon. And according to Kelly Alvarez, Jeff has become somewhat of a pigeon, but that's another story. Asked afterwards if it (the knot) affected him, he replied that it didn't bother him after the 3rd hole. He still clings to the excuse desperately, however.

Jim Peretti is the 21st member to win the Golfer of the Year award which has been awarded annually since 1977. This was Jim's first-ever Golfer of the Year title. Six members have won the award multiple times.

The competition for club champion (gross) was just as exciting as the GOY race. Steve Desimone, confident that his 75 would not be matched, was enjoying a beer in the clubhouse while scoring the event. Then into the clubhouse walked Rory McDonough with another 75. Steve had to put down his beer and fetch his clubs from the car. The two met on the 1st hole. Steve won honors with a flipped tee and they proceeded with the sudden death format to determine the 2004 club champion.

Rory and Steve prior to they're playoff.

It's not a stretch to say that neither player played well. They both hit exceptional drives. Steve's approach was wide left of the green. Rory's approach shot was in the fringe below the hole, about 20 feet from the hole. With the pin up front and downhill, Steve hit an amazing chip from the thick rough to 3-feet past the hole. Rory stabbed a choked-down 6-iron 8 feet past and above the hole. He then missed the putt and the come-backer from 4 feet, and settled for a double bogey. Gary Vollen, observing the spectacle, said that Rory hadn't three-putted all day. Rory picked a bad time to do it. Steve, only needing a 2-putt for victory, missed the 3-footer and then had to make a 2-footer for bogey to win the playoff. Steve sank the putt for bogey and the win. The mobile gallery (about a dozen beer-totting yokels) was a bit disappointed with the unexceptional play from each player. They were also put off by the lengthy walk back to the clubhouse, and a dinner comprised of whatever food remained. (Interesting side note: Steve had earlier that day witnessed Ken Lloyd play the hole almost identically to how Rory played it. Both occasions ended in double bogies. Steve knew that if Rory left the ball above the hole (as Ken had done) he would be in trouble, because Ken also was surprised with the speed of the downhill putt. Both were also caught off-guard by a slight break in the uphill putt.)

Aaron Walburg won the club championship (overall low net). He shot an 80 (net 65), primarily with exceptional putting. It was the culmination of a very strange rollercoaster of a year. The season began with play at even par (for the first time ever) over a nine hole span (front nine at Roddy Ranch) and ended with a 2-over par on the back nine (front nine of Boundary Oak). Sandwiched between those two nines was a season of mediocrity, including a 7-tournament, mid-season span in which breaking 100 only occurred once. On a personal level there were plenty of adjustments to be made, most of them positive: new golf clubs in November (just after Roddy Ranch), new home construction began in April (and continuing likely until March of 2005), a very successful Lasik procedure in May. Golf took a back seat to most everything. A week-long, obsessive Petanque match (vs. his brother Joel) just prior to the Club Championship in early September is the only explanation for the great play at Boundary Oak. There must have been some subconscious cross-training.

Notable highlights

Congratulations to the following members who were able to exclusively birdie the following holes: Chad Carey had the day's only birdie on the difficult #4. Jimmy Ikeda birdied #6. Steve Sanguinetti birdied the #8. Ken Lloyd birdied the tricky #9 and Dave Rose had the day's only birdie on the difficult #14.

One more small miracle happened at Boundary Oak. On the 2nd hole Edgar Johnson recorded a hole-in-one!!! It was the first hole-in-one since the $100 hole-in-one prize was established by the board on November 8, 2000. As a result the shot earned Edgar $115 ($15 for the CTP). Members of his foursome claimed he hit a 4-iron, but at ~140 yards he hit a 7-iron. With a right-to-left wind and middle right pin placement, the ball landed on green to the right and above the hole, then rolled left (down) and into the hole. This was the 5th hole-in-one in the history of the club and the first since October 17, 1996, when Caroline Kane had one at Oakhurst.

Edgar Johnson's hole-in-one wasn't the day's only eagle. Van Hall, not to be outdone, recorded an eagle at the 3rd hole (par 5). The biggest difference between the two varieties of eagles is that Edgar's eagle earns a $100 prize while Van's earns a $000 prize.

Hot Streaks

• Rory McDonough had 7 consecutive 4's on holes #6 through #12.
• Rollie Otto's front nine score was comprised entirely of 4's and 5's. In fact not until the 14th hole did Rollie get off that track.
• Chris Maters played holes #1 through #12 at a +3 pace.
• Aaron Walburg had eight consecutive pars on holes #5 through #12.
• Ken Lloyd, Steve Desimone, and Chad Carey tied for most birdies (3).
• Chad Carey had par or better (3 birdies) from holes #3 through #12.
• Steve Desimone played the par 5's at -2.

Water Hazard: The Deep End

One more bit of mayhem: Kelly Alvarez was playing the 8th hole when he encountered a golf cart which had rolled into the lake. Like any good reporter he went up and took pictures only to discover that the names on the cart were Walburg/Day. The cart had died for the twosome on the 3rd hole and the marshal had a new one delivered to them by the 5th hole. In the meantime the cart deliverer towed back the old cart, but then lost it on the drive back to the clubhouse. Bob Sternbach was watching it in excited disbelief as it rolled down toward the lake, and plowed into it with a big splash! Kelly had lots of questions for the pair back at the clubhouse.

Believe or not this isn't the first time a cart has ended up in a lake at a UCGC tournament. On February 28, 1981 (23 years ago!) Iva Tempero drove her cart into the lake on the first hole at Boundary Oak.

Humorous quotes:

At the driving range Jim Peretti asked Elliott Zeller (2001 Golfer of the Year) if he had any advice for him. Elliott said, "Drink a lot of beer and don’t worry about it because next year, if you win, they’re gonna [get] you.”

"I've done a lot of things in my life, but teeing off 30 yards from a wedding is not one of them." Steve Desimone, prior to hitting his opening drive.

"Strike up the Indian music" a spectator (possibly made by John Haag or Gary Vollen) said while watching Steve Desimone prepare to hit his drive during the playoff. There had been an Indian wedding earlier at the first tee. Prior to Ken Lloyd's opening drive the music for the ceremony began. It had been fairly distracting, perhaps for the wedding folks as well.

“I’m glad we’re teeing off #10”, Jeff Day as the singing began at the Indian wedding (just as Ken Lloyd was about to take his stance).

“To get a shot of Ed (Biglin) you got to put it (the camera) on a time exposure.” Elliott Zeller to Aaron after Ed’s lengthy pre-shot routine and drive on #10.

“Is there another foursome I can join?” Chris Maters said upon witnessing Paul Zingg and Ed Biglin stripe perfect drives down the middle from the blue tees. At which Elliott Zeller quipped, “Is there a woman’s group?”

After hitting a shot to the green on the par three 12th hole (15 feet from the cup, Walburg said, “That was pure luck. I totally sculled that one.” Jeff Day added, “You mean as opposed to that other one you totally sculled close to the pin on the last hole?”

Awards Banquet

Mike Armstrong was noticeably absent from the awards ceremony. Mike handles our trophy purchases and normally this event is one of Mike's favorites (handing out the trophies). Mike is allergic to nuts and if he eats any he generally gets sick and needs to take Benadryl in order to minimize the heaving. Eric Kubota was teasing him about the pine nuts in the rice, which Mike saw and avoided. He asked if there were nuts in the chicken dish, to which the waitress said "No". Upon eating the chicken Mike began to feel queasy. He asked again about the chicken and this time received word from the cook that there were pecans in the sauce. Mike left the clubhouse immediately and headed home for a night of heaving. Then next day he had sore ribs. Mike's week ended as it began, somewhat horrifically, for on Monday he underwent a root canal, having broken a tooth after chomping down on a clam shell at Spenger's Seafood Grotto.

At the awards ceremony President Walburg tried to perform a better awards presentation than he'd done at the Faculty/Staff at Poppy Ridge. Up until midnight he wrote out a set of notes to help remember everyone. Of course it was too long. The introductory remarks received cat calls and disruptions from an admiring fan base, but by far the most clever outburst was Jeff Day’s “Four more days! Four more days!” Typical of Jeff’s humor, it was intelligent and ironic. In this case he was playing off the Republican Party convention which took place over the previous week. Whenever protesters made outbursts to interrupt George Bush’s speech, delegates would drown out the disruptions by chanting “Four more years! Four more years!” Just as George Bush had done, Walburg bore on (with an emphasis on ‘bore’) and was undaunted. Next time he'll work a paperless presentation. Moreover Jeff Day, a former writer, offered to help fine tune his speeches. Perhaps Jeff should simply run for club president, and give the membership (sharks) a new figurehead (bait).

Epilogue

The following day Aaron phoned Jim to make sure he was OK. Jim was fine, having recuperated from heat exhaustion. After the round he felt weak and sick. He was sweating profusely. He had really been looking forward to the meal ("I love food."), but he didn't want to stay there because he worried that he might fall over and alarm everyone. He made it home fine but thought about going to the hospital, but fortunately his neighbor is a physician. She came over and had him stick out his tongue. It was white. "Yep, it's heat exhaustion." she said. "No need to go to the hospital, just drink a lot of Gatorade and get some rest." Jim did this and after a few hours he began feeling better. He checked his voice mail and heard that he'd won, but didn't get absolute confirmation until Sunday. Reflecting on the previous day, Jim said, "The two things that upset me the most were that I missed the dinner and I love having my picture taken. So you know I was really sick."

2004 Season Summary

This was a remarkable season. Of course the biggest story of 2004 wasn't about the golf club, per se, but the Cal Men's Golf team winning the NCAA Championship and Steve Desimone being named Coach of the Year. That story won't likely ever be eclipsed. As for news items within the club, the story with the biggest impact (and shock value) was Jim Peretti winning the Kooman Boycheff Low Gross Championship. It was his first major. The fact that Jim went on to become the 2004 Golfer of the Year seems fitting (yet nevertheless difficult to stomach). Other first time major winners included Mark Holman, Dave Wherritt, Charles Lee, and Boyd McCaslin. And certainly we were all first-time major winners when we eked past UCSF in the 2-Ball with a very close 43 to 41 win. The 2-Ball at Tilden also set our highest-ever attendance mark, at 116 players. This was an interesting season for Martin Kitchener. Twice (at Windsor and then at Boundary Oak) Martin came out on the short end of scoring errors. Martin was a true sport in twice accepting the corrected results. Errors are inevitable, but we owe Martin a special thanks for his graciousness and understanding. It’s been a terrific season and next season we look forward to more excitement. The biggest event will be our 50th annual Faculty/Staff tournament at Poppy Ridge; Perhaps the biggest event in the history of the club!

Final GOY Standings:
(See also Complete and Final GOY Standings)

Pictures:

Jim Peretti was three points up on the nearest competitor in the Golfer of the Year race. Jim had nevertheless missed two events (Wente and Gold Country). His lead would have now been at least 5 points had he played in every event. Would it matter?

Jim was in a good position to capture the 2004 Golfer of the Year award, but he wasn't counting any chickens yet because Jim knew that if he wanted to make an omelet he'd have to break a few eggs, and since he didn't know which came first (the chicken or the egg) or why, once hatched, it would try to cross the road, he decided to leave it all to fate and not concern himself with eggs, chickens, roads, or omelets, and instead he'd simply play golf with his sunny side up. This was what Jim was thinking. These are the kinds of thoughts Jim generally has. And this is why Jim has always been such an underdog in every undertaking, including this year's Golfer of the Year contest.

Ross Sakamoto wished Jim luck. Jim would need it.

Jim Peretti and Jeff Day were clowning around before teeing off. Here Jeff was feigning an elbow jab to Jim's face. "May the best man win." remarked Jeff. Jim said there were too many (GOY) scenarios to consider. He would leave it to fate. Lucky for Jim, fate was on his side. Approximately 1/3 of the eventual winners of the award also win the club championship, so Jim dodged that bullet, barely. He won the GOY award by a single point!

Defending club champion (net) Kelly Alvarez on the range. Kelly was the 2003 co-Golfer of the Year. Kelly had to place 2nd in the club championship last year just to pull even with Steve Desimone (who placed third). Last year despite a second place finish in his flight; Kelly was crowned club champion. Glenda Goode won the flight, but didn't play in enough events to qualify for overall low net. Today Kelly had one of those imbalanced rounds, with a good score on holes 1-9 and a not-so-good score on holes 10-18. Had he shot two 45's rather than a 45 and a 54, he'd have won his flight by 6 strokes! Kelly nevertheless won a CTP.

Van Hall eagled the par 5 third hole. It was only one of two eagles all day. The other eagle was Edgar Johnson's hole-in-one on #2. Van placed 7th in the club championship (gross).

Stacey Mackey was hitting them well at the range. It's a strange phenomenon that if you're hitting them well on the range you'll play poorly and if you're hitting them poorly on the range you play well.

Gary Vollen played great on the front, but on the back he added 10 strokes. The biggest thrill Gary had all day was in watching his buddy Rory play so well. Gary's next biggest thrill occurred later that day when he discovered some leftovers in the fridge. (Gary leads a simple, monastic life.)

Chris Maters on the range. Chris turned in one of only three rounds in the net 60's. It was one of his best rounds ever and he won the 1st flight. More on Chris' exploits below...

Yes, it's former member Ron Irving making a special appearance. This is Ron's first event since the Kooman Boycheff in May of 2003. His swing looked better than ever (which isn't saying much). Don't be a stranger, Ron! Come back and join the fold.

Although not playing in the Championship flight, Chad Carey's 36 on the front nine (white tees) was nevertheless the day's best front nine score. Desimone, Steppan, and Zingg each shot 37 from the blues over that same stretch.

Chad warms up with a few putts.

Edgar Johnson and Dave Lozow chat it up on the practice green. Edgar would soon bag his first hole-in-one.

Jack King gets in a few practice putts. Jack has been a member of the club since its founding nearly 30 years ago.

Elliot Zeller was the club champion (net) in 2001, which was the most recent time the event has been held at Boundary Oak.

An unusual wind direction (East to West) made the course play differently than most players were accustomed. At least that's true until around 2pm, when the winds died down. Did the winds affect play over the final nine holes? Since half the field was teeing off the back nine first, you'd think it would be an advantage, for the tiebreakers are determined over the back nine. Those playing the front nine first would have a much calmer environment to score well over that stretch. This theory proved true (see below). Although the heat was more prevalent in the afternoon, the wind which affected those playing the back nine first was, as expected, more of a factor. This resulted in higher net scores over the back nine for those who played it in the morning. 

Net scoring average for holes 10 through 18:
Players starting on #1 (thus hotter, but no winds) 39.67
Players starting on #10 (thus cooler, yet windy) 39.83

Despite this advantage the net winners of every flight began play on the 10th hole.

Defending club champion and winner of five of the last seven club championships, Steve won today in a sudden-death tiebreaker. The win was Steve's 10th club championship (9 gross; 1 net). Mark Phillips and Jeff Bordalampe rank second, each with three club championship titles (low gross). This was also Steve's 33rd Major Win (28 low gross; 5 low net). Ken Lloyd ranks second all-time with 13 major wins (8 low gross, 5 low net). Steve has won every major event more times than anyone, except for the 2-Ball, which he's only won once. Seven members have won it twice. Steve was -1 through the opening seven holes. He had three birdies, #3, #12.and #18.

Over the past 20 years Ken Lloyd has won 13 majors tournaments, but he has never won the elusive club championship. Ken likely has more runner-up and third place trophies than anyone. On several occasions he's finished one stroke out. Today he would finish in third place, two strokes out.

The wedding distraction might have brought about Ken's poor start. The double-bogey here on #1 was the difference between making the playoff and finishing 2-strokes back. Ken played well, however, with birdies on three difficult holes. He had the day's only birdie on the difficult 9th hole, and birdies at #15 and #18.

Last year David Moers posted the best net score in the championship flight (net 69). David birdied #5 and #15.

2-Ball Champion Mike Armstrong began the day well, with a par here at the start, he was +1 through the first 6 holes. A 39 on the front left him only two strokes behind the leader Steve, who shot 37, but Mike fell back over the final nine.

Mark Steppan was also out to a terrific start. He was tied with Steve after the front nine shooting a 37. Mark stumbled a bit on the back nine and placed 4th in overall low gross.

In 2001 Mark won the club championship (low gross) at Alameda North. His score of even par that year tied him at 30th in the all-time lowest gross score in a UCGC event. Last year, at Indian Valley, Mark Steppan won both CTP's in the Championship flight. Moreover, his net score (for tallying GOY points) edged Steve Desimone's net score in a tiebreaker. This was how Kelly Alvarez managed to narrowly tie Steve as co-winner of the 2003 Golfer of the Year.

Mark was 2004 runner up in the championship flight of the Eddie Reed Match Play tournament. He was this year's giant-killer, beating Steve Desimone in a semifinal match.

Jim Peretti began his quest for Golfer of the Year with a bogey on the 1st hole. He played mediocre golf on the front nine, with two costly double-bogies. Suffering from heat exhaustion, Jim nevertheless played well down the stretch with birdies on #15 and #18. Were we talking about anyone else we might be tempted to say his season-long effort was 'heroic', but since we're talking about Jim we'll have to say it was simply dumb luck that he backed into this year's Golfer of the Year award. As they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. How's the ego now, Jim?

Eric "Numa" Kubota thrived on the harassment he received from a small group of members sitting on the bench behind him. He parred the opening hole. For Numa, it was a tale of two nines. He followed up an impressive 43 on the front nine with a 54 on the back. After the 8th hole Numa was in second place in the second flight, but the proverbial 'wheel fell off' beginning with a triple on #9.

Numa harassers consisted of Ross Sakamoto, Todd Podoll, and Rick Guevara. For Numa it was an "in your face" moment. On the next hole the trio would receive another "in your face" moment as Edgar Johnson carded a hole-in-one.

Jimmy Ikeda was +1 through the opening six holes. After the ninth hole Jimmy was in 2nd place (in the first flight) behind Chad Carey. As with many golfers this day, Jimmy began taking on water at the 11th hole. Nevertheless he tied for 3rd place in the first flight, losing to Rollie Otto in the tiebreaker by a mere 1/2 stroke. Jimmy had the day's only birdie on the par 3 #6.

Chad met the challenge on the front nine, carding an even par 36. After taking a double bogey on the 2nd hole, he birdied #4 and #5, and took par on every other hole. He had the day's only birdie at hole #4, perhaps the most difficult hole on the course. Chad began the back nine very strong as well, and was -1 through 12 holes. Indeed, were he playing in the championship flight he'd have had the lead through 12. Chad stumbled a bit coming in, but he still placed 2nd in the first flight.

The last time we held the club championship at Boundary Oak John Robertson won with a score of 154 over two days. That was back in 2001. Could he win again? John got off to a lukewarm start here on the back nine, but by the front nine he was playing solid golf, shooting a 38, which included birdies on #5 and #7.

Ron Irving on the 10th hole. Despite his lengthy hiatus, Ron played consistently.

Eddie Reed on the 10th tee. Eddie had a shaky start, but got into his groove after nine holes.

Charlie Flowers played respectably. He also had a birdie on #17, the long par three.

Kelly Alvarez snapped a few photos. Kelly and Jim Peretti sometimes help out with the photography. Ryan Tabibian also has been lending a hand. It's a group effort.

Martin Kitchener won the second flight's CTP at hole #6 with a shot to 13'-7". Martin placed 5th in second flight.

Mike Hearn takes his opening lick at the ball.

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A power foursome if ever there was one. Left to right are Elliot Zeller, Ed Biglin, Paul Zingg, and Chris Maters. Chris placed 1st in the first flight while Elliott placed 2nd in the second flight. Ed didn't place third in the 3rd flight, but his 3-digit score (doubtless the highest score in years) was worthy of the third flight. Paul tied for 4th in the club championship (low gross). He also lost a three way tiebreaker for 2nd place in the net element of the championship flight (for distributing GOY points).

Paul Zingg birdied both par 5's on the front nine. Paul won the club championship (low gross) at Diablo Creek in 1995. That was Paul's magical hole-in-one round, where he aced the 17th hole to beat Steve Desimone by 2-strokes. This is a bitter and painful memory for Steve, and bringing it up again here will likely only cause Steve more suffering. This is why at every available opportunity we fondly reminisce upon the 1995 club championship.

Ed Biglin had a rough day out there. At a tournament a few years ago Ed once said (and I paraphrase): "I had a horrible front nine and then the wheel fell off." Today the wheel fell off at the outset.

Elliott Zeller had just returned from a 3-month home-building adventure in Alaska. His game seemed not to suffer in the least, however, as he posted a smooth net 70 and placed 2nd in the second flight. Elliott's was one of only nine sub-net-par rounds.

Chris Maters turned in the third-best net score of the tournament. His net 68 was one of only three net scores in the 60's, and he bested Chad Carey to capture the first flight. Research has revealed that Chris' 78 is his best-ever score in a UCGC event. He had a terrific 80 at Whitehawk Ranch in 2000 to win the blind bogey flight, and shot another 80 at Paradise Valley in 2002, to place 3rd in the second flight, but this was his best-ever outing. Congratulations, Chris! Chris had nothing higher than a bogey on his card. Chris and playing partner Paul Zingg had identical scores on holes #1 through #10 (every was identical except for the 5th hole, that is).

Saul Geiser on the 10th hole with Peter Werner and Bill Marchant observing.

Peter Werner with a chip for par at the 5th hole. Last year Peter placed 3rd in the first flight. This year he wasn't as fortunate.

Dale Steele reacts to a chip shot from "the deep stuff" on #11.

Dave Wherritt from off the green at #11. Dave won the third place trophy in the second flight when he defeated Martin Kitchener in a tiebreaker. Last month David won the Eddie Reed Match Play Tournament (third flight).

Here's an interesting shot of Kelly lining up a chip shot on the 11th hole. There's another interesting shot of Kelly below.

Kelly was all smiles while driving up to the 6th green. He'd just stiffed a shot to 5'-9" which would earn him a CTP. It was the closest shot of day in any flight on that hole. The closest shot of the day on any hole belonged to Edgar Johnson at #2 where he had his hole-in-one. Kelly, the defending club champ (low net), placed 6th in the third flight.

Here's that interesting photo we promised. This posture is similar to the strained contortion Eric Kubota performed at Gold Country. Thankfully no surprises in either case.

Dale Steele chips up to the 9th green.

Bob Sternbach was runner up in the third flight of the Eddie Reed Match Play Tournament. His match went longer than any other final match in club history, ending on the 22nd hole. It was an epic battle. Today Bob won the third flight with a net 74. This was a high score to win a flight. Bob nudged past Dave Rose (tiebreaker) and Boyd McCaslin by one stroke (Dave Rose tied Bob, but hadn't played in enough events to qualify for trophies).

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High hopes and actual glory greeted this foursome. Jeff Day was hoping for Golfer of the Year, but despite abysmal play today he still managed to place 3rd in the annual competition. Aaron shot the day's best net score and won the club championship (low net). He also overtook Jeff to earn second place in the Golfer of the Year contest. Andrew Kang earned third place honors in the second flight. Tom Furtado didn't receive any hardware today, but he won the club championship (low net) at Alameda North in 2002.

Boundary Oak has always been kind to Aaron. Perhaps it's because he used to play here while in college. In 1999 he won the club championship (low net) here. In 2002 he won the Faculty/Staff here. And in 2004 he repeated as club champion. His score of 80 (net 65) was the day's best net score. Having not broken 100 until May of this year, the score was definitely an anomaly. The round was solidified with a 38 on holes 1-9 and by parring out the final five holes (holes #5 through #9). Although the round included chili dips and shanks, it was tempered with 30-foot putts, OB-saving ricochets off trees (on #3), and miracle saves from the forests (on holes 7, 15, and 16). Mostly, however, it was conservative play on a relatively simple track which made the difference. (Note the 5-iron here on the 10th tee.)

Andrew flirted with OB on his first two drives (holes #10 and #11). On #10 Andrew saved par. Here on #11, standing next to a fence, Andrew managed to save bogey. With such scrambling all day Andrew was able to place 3rd in the second flight and won the second place trophy (Elliott Zeller who placed second in the flight wasn't eligible to win trophies).

Andrew watches his shot to #2. Andrew has a love/hate relationship with his driver. Today it was mostly love. We were all feeling it.

After a massive drive here on the very scenic and difficult 4th hole, Andrew hit his approach.

Jeff Day needed to place 2nd in order to overtake Jim Peretti in the Golfer of the Year contest. Unfortunately, Jeff had one of his worst rounds in quite some time. There were glimpses of brilliance over opening holes, but the magic was short-lived.

Jeff watches his ball at #2.

Tom Furtado on #18.

Tom on the 2nd hole.

On the 8th hole members were greeted by this visual treat. It was the golf cart which Day and Walburg had abandoned back on the 3rd hole. It got loose while being towed back to the clubhouse, whereupon it rolled downhill and plowed into the lake.

The Playoff
Desimone vs. McDonough for all the marbles!

Excitement grew to a near fever pitch as the two contestants met at the 1st tee. Most of the excitement related to the chilled beer each observer clutched. Uncertainty and doubt nevertheless filled the air. Here we had a nine-time club champion in a playoff with a newcomer to this sacred ground. Steve had won 32 of the club's major events while Rory had yet to win one. Would the waiter finally bring Rory a bit of sustenance or would Steve's plate be further heaped with neglected morsels? Only time (about 10 minutes) would tell. Both players had parred the 1st hole earlier that day. The pressure would take its toll during the playoff, as neither would earn par.

And they're off! President Walburg flipped a tee and Steve won honors. Steve sent a shot far down the right side. He was in the driver's seat having successfully launched a booming drive.

Advantage quickly swung to Rory's side with his drive. It was the best drive this long-time Boundary Oak patron has ever witnessed. He striped his ball down the center and it came to rest about 90 yards from the green. From the blue tees it was a 315 yard drive, and there was no wind assistance involved. [Earlier in the day Rory had smoked the course with 11 pars and 2 birdies. His dominant stretch was from holes #15 though #2, (he started on the back nine). Over this 6-hole stretch he was -2.]

The gallery was most impressed with the driving performances of these two would-be champions. This admiration was not simply in response to their phenomenal drives, but because the pair had so well endured their relentless onslaught of wise cracks. The best of these was "Strike up the Indian music" made by spectator (possibly John Haag or Gary Vollen?) while Steve Desimone was preparing to hit his drive. There had been an Indian wedding ceremony taking place earlier that day at the first tee (major distraction). Prior to Ken Lloyd's opening drive the music for the ceremony began. Then Ken took his double-bogey.

Advantage was further in Rory's favor when Steve found his ball next to the cart path. He had to take a drop into relatively thick rough. The ball was about 115 yards out, but above his feet. It was no surprise that Steve pulled the ball wide left of the green.

In hindsight, Rory was a short chip and two putts away from the tournament. Of course that's always easier said than done. And under pressure it's even more difficult. Just as Steve had done, Rory pulled his shot left, barely clearing the bunker.

Advantage was still with Rory because Steve was in thick rough and above the hole. However Steve hit the clutch shot of the day, a delicate chip, which trickled past the hole by only a few feet.

Rory was still very alive, but he stabbed his short chip and it rolled past the hole by about 8 feet. Advantage now went to Steve.

Rory made a good run with his putt, but he left it high and it rolled 3 feet past the hole. Moreover, he was still away.

Rory again barely missed the come-backer for bogey, and at this point Steve appeared to have it locked up.

All Steve needed to do was two-putt from 2-1/2 feet and he'd win the club championship.

Steve missed a very speedy downhill putt for par, then sternly motioned for the ball to stop. 

Steve made the come-backer for bogey and won the playoff. It was an ugly affair. After such a poor display neither golfer actually seemed worthy of the title "club champion." Certainly Ken Lloyd would have been very excited to have had an opportunity to participate in such a playoff, however it was Ken's double bogey here on #1 that left him out of the playoff in the first place, so perhaps some irony was meant for us all here today on hole #1.

Awards Banquet

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There are reports that food was served at this banquet, but apart from a few stray bread rolls, rice, and a small chunk of salmon discovered in the depths of a sauce pan, this participant would say that there was no food at the banquet. Water was even a commodity. Nevertheless, bread, rice, and water are about as good as it ever gets for this bachelor anyhow, so no complaints. 

Steve and Ken were scurrying to figure out the results. Ken took the helm when Steve left for the playoff. And Ken generously provided Aaron (the guy who stole his presidency) with a terrific summary of the results to use for the awards announcements (Thanks, Ken).

While food was still available, the beer was flowing, as was the conversation.

Bob Sternbach sat close to the trophy table. With a net 74, he was uncertain, but very hopeful.

With 27 trophies and only 45 participants, the odds of winning something were excellent. In fact 3 in 5 members would win something. Mike Armstrong and Aaron had assembled the hardware. Mike purchased all the trophies and Aaron made the framed Golfer of the Year certificates.

Mike did an excellent job in coming up with a new trophy design for the Club Champion trophies. They were even personalized!

President Walburg presented the awards. He had quite a long list of winners to announce. (Shout outs to Ryan Tabibian who took over the photography duties at this point).


Boyd McCaslin has had a great season. Boyd won the UC Trophy at the Faculty/Staff earlier this year and today he won 2nd place in the third flight. Boyd and partner David Moers had also won a critical match at the 2-Ball, which contributed to our defeating UCSF in the annual rivalry.

Elliott Zeller hadn't played in enough events to win any hardware, but he was delighted to accept a check for his 2nd place finish in the second flight.

Andrew Kang had flirted with OB all day, but when the dust settled he was holding a fine trophy. 

Edgar Johnson was all smiles in accepting his $15 check for winning the CTP. Of course later he'd receive an additional check in the amount of $100 for hitting a hole-in-one during a tournament.

Rollie Otto was delighted to accept his check for placing 3rd in the first flight.

Chad Carey had an excellent round. He and Chris Maters were the only two players not competing in the championship flight who still managed to shoot scores in the 70's. Chad turned in an impressive 79 (net 70) and placed 2nd in the first flight.

Chris Maters had the only other non-championship flight sub-80 round. (say what?) Chris carded a 78 (net 68) and won the 1st flight.

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While Kelly Alvarez stood in utter disbelief, Bob Sternbach accepted multiple honors. Here Bob displayed his Eddie Reed Third Flight Runner-Up plaque and his 1st place trophy for winning the third flight. Kelly knows what it's like to win so many trophies that you can't hold them all at once.

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Today Rory McDonough made a name for himself. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Steve Desimone, our now 10-time club champion and nearly wrestled the trophy from the clutches of this defending champion.

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Clutching his (large) prize, Steve Desimone once again proved himself the top dog. He's now the club's only member ever to win the same major ten times. This was an amazing year for Steve. In spite of the size of this trophy and the big smile on his face, Steve's most cherished prize this season is the 2004 NCAA Championship Trophy on the mantle in the office. It was the culmination of 25 years of coaching and hard work. Along with that trophy he was also awarded GolfWeek's Coach of the Year and the NCGA's most prestigious award, the Grand Master Award (Annually awarded to the individual who most contributes to the sport of golf).

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As club president, it was Aaron's responsibility to present the awards. He got through the awards ok, then stumbled through a season summary by using a cryptic set of notes. Next season he hopes to get some help from speech-writer Jeff Day. Aaron saved the best part for last in presenting himself with the club championship trophy (low net).

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Jeff Day was happy (and even surprised) to receive an award for placing third in the Golfer of the Year contest. Of course he was blind-sided by his playing partner (Aaron), who passed him in the standings to sneak away with 2nd place.

Here's a picture of the 2004 Golfer of the Year award that Jim Peretti will be receiving at the next tournament. Jim had to part early (heat exhaustion) and wasn't be able to fondle this until Mare Island next month.

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A month later, at Mare Island, Aaron presented Jim with his Golfer of the Year award. Jim is always delighted when having his picture snapped. This shot was snapped prior to the tournament at the 18th green. (Jim later parred this hole and placed second at Mare Island.)

In spite of all the badgering Jim, having had a terrific season, did deserve this award. (Hopefully this acknowledgement is obscure enough to never be noticed by anyone, especially Jim.)