Another rare occurrence took place. Dave Lozow actually played in a tournament he'd entered rather than having to find a replacement so he could instead coach his son's soccer team. We suspect that either his son's team didn't have game, or if they did, that they were finally able to win a game.

Van Hall prepares for the upcoming competition.

Bob Diaz watches Van's putt during a warm-up putting contest. Participating in this cut-throat contest were also Ralph Hill and Mike Birnbach. Mike appeared to be the winner of this pre-round showdown.

Russ Greenwood and Kelly Alvarez also warming up with their own contest. Their contest has been ongoing for several tournaments. At 25-cents per hole, these two only pay each other off when the debt reaches at least $1, which it hasn't in several months. This indicates that they are either equally expert or equally poor putters. We suspect the latter.

Dan Copenhagen and Steve Obana admire the drive by Chris Brown on Hole #1.

Dan Copenhagen hits his opening drive.

Ross Sakamoto wearing very stylish black rain gear.

Rick Crawford dominated the third flight, blowing out the competition by 5 strokes with a 79 (net 66). It was the day's second best net score, behind Jeff Day's net 65.

2003 Golfer of the Year, Kelly Alvarez pops one down the center on #1.

Clem Shute follows his opening drive.

Bruce Flushman on #1. While not on the course Bruce serves as the father to Steve Desimone's assistant, Josh. Bruce won the fifth flight with a 97 (net 67). It was the day's third-best net score.

This was the first tournament for our newly elected officers. President Aaron Walburg and Secretary/Treasurer Mike Birnbach. This was also a very highly-anticipated day for Aaron, who was playing his first UCGC tournament using his new clubs.

Mike hits his opening drive. His first stroke as a club officer was stripped solidly down the center. Mike had a consistent net 72.

Jerry Powell & Scott Meredith served as a frightful welcoming party to new members Mei-Mei Hong and her husband Dexter Hong.

Jerry earned par on the difficult opening hole. This impressed newcomers, however Jerry's impressive display was short-lived.

Dexter Hong takes his first swipe at the ball as a new member. It was an ignoble beginning, for he badly topped the ball.

Mei-Mei also badly topped her first ball. This husband and wife duo will blend into the club nicely. They play our brand of golf.

Paul Higaki played an amazing round of golf, with a 39 on the front and a 39 on the back for a 78 (net 69). Paul placed third, one stroke behind Steve Hong and Jeff Bordalampe in the second flight. Paul also achieved and incredibly rare feat of winning two CTPs. This was only the 8th time in club history that this feat has been achieved. Paul won the hole#3 CTP with a shot to 15'-2" and later on the 11th hole captured his second CTP with a shot to 8'-4"

Boyd McCaslin prepares to hit his persimmon 3-wood on the first hole. Boyd is one of the few members who still carries persimmon in his bag.

Peter Werner hits his opening drive. Peter conveyed the news that Eddie Kleinhans had to miss yet another tournament due to the responsibilities associated with the birth of his newborn.

John Bordalampe, guest and son of Jeff Bordalampe hits his opening drive.

Jeff Bordalampe plays conservatively here on #5. The strategy paid off with a solid par on the risk/reward hole. Jeff fired a blazing 37 on the front nine, the best front nine score in the second flight and equal with Jim Peretti's 37 from the first flight. Jeff shot a 42 on the back, but nevertheless placed second in the second flight, losing in a tiebreaker to Steve Hong.

Steve Hong fired an impressive 77 (net 68) to win the second flight. Steve's 37 on the back nine was the best in the second flight, and only bettered by Steve Desimone's 36. Steve won a tiebreaker with that terrific back nine score. What's even more impressive is that Steve's round included this failed attempt to drive the lake at #5. He nevertheless cleared it with his second shot and went on to bogey the hole.

Marvin Peixoto hits an approach shot at #6, a hole he went on to birdie. Marvin nevertheless suffered a 49 on the front. However he pulled it together with a 43 on the back.

Ed Blom with a delicate chip shot on #6.

Ed follows a long attempt on #8. Ed hasn't played with us for a while, but his 82 (net 71) was a solid round.

Don Davis went long with his approach at #6. Here he had to chip it back over some tall trees.

Ryan Tabibian prepares for his approach at #8. Ryan would par the hole.

Martin Kitchener would have earned the scorn of Ken Lloyd for his red shirt. Martin was part of the 5-way tiebreaker for 3rd place in the third flight. Here Martin hit his approach into #9. Martin took nothing higher than a 5 on the front nine.

Here Steve Desimone gives Rollie Otto a lesson in obtaining relief from a staked tree.

Steve shows Rolie the basics.

Relief from a staked tree:

1. Mark your ball.

2. Find a spot no closer to the hole, where you may make a swing. Mark that spot.

3. Drop the ball within one club length of that marked position.

Rollie hit a nice shot over the small tree and over the lake. Although Rollie didn't tear it up out there, he nevertheless won the CTP at #11.

Tom Furtado hits from the sand on #7. Tom had a good front nine going, but dropped off the pace on the back nine.

Andrew Kang with a short putt on #13. Andrew was part of the 5-way tiebreaker for 3rd place in the third flight. Andrew earned praise for his honesty at calling himself for an indiscernible and inadvertent contact with his putter on #15.

Jeff and Andrew on #7.

Jeff sunk this 3-footer on #9 for a bogey and a 39 (net 30) on the front nine. His 44 on the back was controlled and his 83 (net 65) was the best net score of the day.

Here on #13 Jeff hit out of some trouble.

Stacey Mackey hit his approach at #10 from a tricky side-hill lie. Stacey's 96 (net 72) earned a 3rd place finish in the fifth flight.

Dave Wherritt poses for this shot at #10. No he didn't hit from there, rather wisely he took relief. Nevertheless it was stunning how the ball wound up there. He'd hit a ball wide and into the 11th hole greenside bunker, and from there hit his ball out and onto the bridge, where it landed near the center, then proceeded to strike the rails on either side of the bridge, back and forth until it miraculously came to rest on this near side. Had it gone through the rails rather than striking them, his ball would have landed in the creek. It was phenomenally lucky.

Mike Hearn observes as Steve does the scoring.

Stacey Mackey and Mark Boguski post their scores. It's a good thing too, because those who failed to post (and there were seven) received penalty scores for not posting. SO be careful and make sure you properly adjust post!

Mark Boguski chums it up with Jack King, one of our Grizzly Bears.

Aaron and Stacey each placed third.

Steven Hong and Jim Peretti each placed first. Steven won the second flight and Jim won the first. Each of them won tiebreakers, Steve over Jeff Bordalampe and Jim over Steve Obana.

Jim Peretti and Jeff Day check out some merchandise in the pro shop. With increased prize amounts members were looking for more expensive items.

Steve Desimone had $140 worth of gift certificates to spend. He'd collected many gift certificates over years and then redeemed them all at once. He bought shirts for wife Linda and kids Robert and Kimberly.

231 pictures taken at Las Positas
(2 by Kelly, 229 by Aaron)

52 were selected for this web page

of Aaron's:

• Schwarzenegger Sworn In - First Act to Repeal Vehicle Registration Tax - Which Earmarked $4 Billion to Local Governments. After the 45-minute inaugural ceremony, Schwarzenegger retired to his Capitol office and in his first act as governor signed an executive order to repeal the vehicle registration increase that Davis imposed in June. He then called three concurrent special sessions of the Legislature to address the state budget crisis, overhauling the workers' compensation system and the repeal of Senate Bill 60, a law signed by Davis in September that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses.
  The state budget deficit is expected to be nearly $29 billion in 2004-05. For the first time, Schwarzenegger said Monday he would ask the Legislature to put a general obligation bond on the March ballot. He did not specify the size of the bond, but lawmakers expect it will range from $15 billion to $20 billion. Schwarzenegger will also present a plan to the Legislature today to provide $4 billion in funding to local governments, which receive the proceeds of the car tax and stand to lose that much at the lower tax rate. It may be funded partially by bond money and spending cuts.

• Dave Letterman has Baby. Letterman's girlfriend, Regina Lasko, delivered a baby boy. He weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces and is 21 inches long. Letterman, 56, said the baby - his first child - is named after his father, Harry Joseph Letterman, who died at 57.

• U.S. helicopter shot down in Iraq, 16 killed, 20 wounded.

• Senate approves Bush’s $87 billion for Iraq.

George Bush beat Hillary Rodham Clinton to Bagdad. Hillary is likely his undeclared Democratic opponent and was already on her way to Baghdad from Afghanistan when Air Force 1 flew into Bagdad under cover of darkness during the top secret, unannounced visit. More than 430 US soldiers had been killed in Iraq, 184 of them since official end to the war was declared on May 1.
 

Home prices post record gains

Report shows gains of at least 10 percent in 41 markets, the most ever, real estate group says.

Despite Weather Forecasts, Don't Count on a Cancellation

As a courtesy to golfers we will likely be providing news here Saturday morning around 7:30a.m. about the status of our tournament. The weather forecasts are not good, however as always it is each member's responsibility to phone the course on the morning of the tournament for news on whether or not we will be playing. The tournament Chair (Steve, in this case) will call the course to inquire about conditions and then make the determination about whether or not we'll be playing. If the course is sending out players, then by the nature of our contract we are obligated to play. Last year, many people assumed the weather was too poor, but we successfully held the tournament. Green fees are not refunded if the tournament is held and you are a no-show, so remember to phone the course. News should be available at the pro shop (925-455-7820) around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. It should also be available here. Of course there is also always the chance that we will begin a tournament, and then get dumped on and cancel it, but that's not a safe bet, especially at Las Positas where we've had really good luck with our events even when forecasts are dire.

History is on the side of successful play. Here's a list of every rainout we've ever had. With over 400 tournaments, only 14 events have ever been rained out. Las Positas ranks as the club's third most-played course, with the UCGC having held 18 events there over the years. Note that only two rainouts have ever occurred in December. Note also that of our 14 rainouts, only one has ever occurred at Las Positas, with its mythical and protective "weather bubble". Moreover we always play Las Positas during the winter months.

UCGC Tournament Rain-outs:

	Date	Location	Maj.
1	2/7/81	Royal Vista	KB
2	4/10/82	Kennedy Park
3	3/5/83	Indian Valley
4	12/3/83	Willow Park
5	1/3/87	Franklin Canyon
6	12/5/87	Las Positas
7	1/13/90	Boundary Oak	KB
8	3/2/91	Windsor
9	10/26/91	Windsor
10	11/5/94	Sonoma
11	1/14/95	Adobe Creek	KB
12	2/7/98	Rancho Solano
13	11/7/98	Windsor
14	3/4/00	Adobe Creek