Monterey Weekend
Black Horse & Bayonet
13th Event of 2005 Season
Saturday & Sunday, July 30-31, 2005
Most members pulled into Monterey on Saturday morning. Our tee times didn’t
begin until 11:00am. With no traffic it only takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes
to get to Monterey. There were a few traffic unknowns, the biggest one being
that the Gilroy Garlic Festival was happening this weekend. Also there was a
Grand Prix race in San Jose. Neither of these events seemed to
have any impact on
the traffic, however we played it safe and left three hours early. Ryan Tabibian had offered to drive
his very large and comfortable Expedition (leather upholstery). It comfortably
seated five golfers along with all their luggage and clubs.
A few members came early and played the day before. Dennis Smith was part of
that contingent. Dennis entered the event with a sizeable five point lead over
Ken Lloyd in the Golfer of the Year race. He’d defeated Tom Furtado in the Eddie
Reed two days prior and he was looking to wrap up the race early, if possible.
There were a few other members hoping to scratch out a few GOY points prior to the
season-ending Club Championship, but they were mostly long shots. We’ll address
the GOY situation below. Needless to say there was still some
life left in this race, but not much.
Saturday's Round: Black Horse
For most of us, Monterey was about getting away from it all for two days of
relaxing golf. Any thoughts about relaxing golf quickly faded by the 4th hole at
Black Horse. Both of the Fort Ord courses are difficult. There was no letting
up, and if you happened to stray from the fairway you were greeted by thick
stands of cypress trees. The greens on these courses did not let up and were
very tricky.
Generally speaking if you read a slight break, then the putt would be straight.
However if the putt was obviously going to
be fast or break, then it generally was more than expected. The green that comes
to mind most readily is #8 at Bayonet. The pin was placed near the middle of the
fastest downhill spot on the green. Any putts from above the hole would stop no
nearer than 5 feet from the hole. Figuring out the greens was the most difficult
part of this tournament.
Saturday’s round ended with three players tied atop the leader board: Mark
Holman, Tom Furtado and Ryan Tabibian. Of the three Mark had had the worst front
nine, however he made it up on the back nine with a 39. In fact his score over
the back was the best of anyone that day. It was Rick Guevara who provided some
encouragement at the turn, saying "Don't give up. You're capable of shooting a
40 on the back." Mark and the others shared a beer at
the clubhouse afterwards.
Dinner and more at Dishes Bistro
A highlight of the trip was the dinner many members shared Saturday night at
Dishes Bistro in the town of Marina.
Following the round ten of us headed to this excellent Italian restaurant. Prices are very reasonable and
the food is superb. Dishes was recommended to us last time by the
clerk at the Comfort Inn. Members ate and drank heartily. The grilled tuna was
amazing. The other dishes were also impressive and let's not forget the desserts! Perhaps
the most entertaining moment of the trip came when the waitress was running
through the dessert list. She commented that there was only one remaining slice
of dark chocolate mousse cake. Before anyone blinked Ryan quickly interjected, "I'll take the
dark chocolate mousse cake." Ryan is the least assuming and friendliest guy. He
later apologized for his aggressive move by mentioning that he'd spent several years in
boarding school where it was a survival of the most aggressive eater. We all
made a mental note not to stand between Ryan and his food. (BTW, no surprise;
He's also an excellent cook!).
One other interesting discovery made this evening was that Ryan and Andrew had
both attended Clayton Valley High School in Concord, CA. They were a few years apart, but they
enjoyed this bit of knowledge. Both had also attended Cal.
Sunday's Round: Bayonet
Sunday's round at Bayonet was brilliant. A few golfers preferred Black Horse, but most agreed that Bayonet was better established. Bayonet
played more difficult as well, with most players scoring higher the second day.
The day began with members struggling to the driving range. (Rumor had it that the
Club President had participated in a late evening poker tournament in the hotel
room. This is
not completely true.) Sunday's fog was similar to Saturday's, but with earlier
tee times we didn’t see the sun until mid-way thought the round. Speaking of
fog... While hitting balls at the range Mark Holman recalled what Rick Guevara
had said during last year's second round at the
Gold Country trip.
Having stayed up late last year, both men had a difficult time focusing on the
ball. Rick had said "aim for the middle ball". Mark remembered those
words... until it became for him an inner mantra, "Aim for the middle ball aim
for the middle ball aim for the middle ball aim..." and strangely enough over
the course of the afternoon his mantra seemed to keep his focus (or what
remained of it from the previous evening) directed on that center ball. Last
year Mark also had won the 2-day event. Some members excel each year at the same
event. Mark is the club's ringer in the 2-day tournaments and it might have
something to do with the mantra.
The best net score of any was Andrew Kang’s 70 at Bayonet on Sunday. It enabled
him to finish in third place after beginning the day in 10th place. Other good
Sunday rounds were turned in by Mark Holman and Dennis Smith. Coupled with his
Saturday round Mark Homan was able to win the Monterey event. Dennis Smith also
played extremely well on Sunday and would have won the event by a stroke,
however a scoring error was discovered and Dennis Smith suffered a dq. The
scoring error was unfortunate and serves as a reminder to double-check your
scorecards before handing them in. This is never a question of honor or
integrity…it is simply a resolution of any misunderstanding of what your fellow
competitor scored on a hole. All players have a responsibility to protect the
field whenever a question about the rules of golf, whatever they may be, arises.
It’s not the PGA out there, but we still play under the USGA Rules of Golf. Always a good sport, Dennis took it all in stride and he
still maintains a substantial Golfer of the Year lead into the final event.
Dennis also got a few points possible in the 3rd flight final of the Eddie Reed.
Following Sunday's round members mingled a bit before the drive home. We left
Monterey at 3pm. There was really no way to avoid the Garlic Festival traffic.
The worst of it occurred on Highway 152 when gawkers slowed to view an
accident on the other side of the highway. Once past that it was smooth sailing.
Golfer of the Year Race Taking Shape
Heading into the season closer at Alameda North, the
Golfer of the Year race has
become fairly simple. If Dennis Smith wins his Eddie Reed final then the only
person that can pass him in the Golfer of the Year race is Ken Lloyd. Dennis
would have to fail to place in the Club Championship while Ken would have to
place first in the net scoring of the Championship Flight. (Net scores determine
GOY points for the Championship flight). If Dennis looses his Eddie Reed match
then the only way he'd fail to win Golfer of the Year would again be that he'd
have to fail to place at Alameda while either Ken finished first, or Jim Peretti
finished first as well as winning his Eddie Reed Match against Dez (Ain't gonna
happen, Jim).[And now this Club President is eating crow because
it did happen. This confirms that
all order in the universe has been utterly destroyed]. There are two wild scenarios whereby Jimmy Ikeda and/or Aaron
Walburg can tie Dennis for Golfer of the year, but these are even less probable
than the wild scenarios we've already mentioned. The odds are at least 90% in
Dennis' favor to capture the prestigious title and most will be vying to finish
second.
|
|
MEMBER |
Pts |
Events |
|
1st |
Dennis Smith* |
36 |
12 |
|
2nd |
Ken Lloyd |
31 |
10 |
|
3rd |
David Moers |
27 |
12 |
|
|
Jim Peretti* |
27 |
10 |
|
5th |
Rick Guevara |
26 |
9 |
|
|
Mark Holman |
26 |
7 |
|
|
Jim Ikeda* |
26 |
5 |
|
|
Mike O'Neill |
26 |
10 |
|
|
Aaron Walburg* |
26 |
13 |
|
10th |
Andrew Kang |
24 |
10 |
|
|
Todd Podoll |
24 |
9 |
|
12th |
Greg Smith |
23 |
5 |
|
13th |
Tom Furtado |
22 |
9 |
|
14th |
Kelly Alvarez |
21 |
10 |
|
15th |
Steve Desimone* |
20 |
7 |
|
|
Dave Webb |
20 |
8 |
|
17th |
Mike Armstrong |
19 |
5 |
|
|
Ted Goode |
19 |
5 |
* = still alive in the Eddie Reed Tournament; 2 more points possible.
Golfer of the Year Race - Summary
Below is a quick summary and very rough odds (generated from thin air) of how
the season might end.
|
|
Member |
Rough Odds |
|
Possible to win GOY Exclusively |
Dennis Smith |
90% |
|
|
Ken Lloyd |
8% |
|
|
Jim Peretti |
2% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Possible to tie for GOY |
Dennis Smith |
10% |
|
|
Ken Lloyd |
2% |
|
|
Jim Peretti |
2% |
|
|
Jim Ikeda |
1% |
|
|
Aaron Walburg |
1% |
|
|
|
|
|
Possible to Place second |
Dennis Smith |
10% |
|
|
Ken Lloyd |
50% |
|
|
David Moers |
2% |
|
|
Jim Peretti |
2% |
|
|
Rick Guevara |
2% |
|
|
Mark Holman |
2% |
|
|
Jim Ikeda |
2% |
|
|
Mike O'Neill |
2% |
|
|
Aaron Walburg |
2% |
|
|
Andrew Kang |
1% |
|
|
Todd Podoll |
1% |
|
|
Greg Smith |
1% |
|
|
|
|
|
Possible to place third |
Ken Lloyd |
15% |
|
|
David Moers |
25% |
|
|
Jim Peretti |
25% |
|
|
Rick Guevara |
5% |
|
|
Mark Holman |
5% |
|
|
Jim Ikeda |
5% |
|
|
Mike O'Neill |
5% |
|
|
Aaron Walburg |
5% |
|
|
Andrew Kang |
1% |
|
|
Todd Podoll |
1% |
|
|
Greg Smith |
1% |
|
|
Tom Furtado |
1% |
|
|
Kelly Alvarez |
1% |
|
|
Steve Desimone |
1% |
|
|
Dave Webb |
1% |
|
|
Mike Armstrong |
1% |
|
|
Ted Goode |
1% |
|
