November2015 Page1of4

As usual if you have any stories or pictures you’d like to share please send them to the editor at wells@mac.com. In the meantime… RecentWinners–ClubChampionshipNineofourbestgolfersstartedthisyear’sClubChampionshiponSeptember12th.Weplayitasafourdayaffairovertwoweekendsfromtheblueteeswithoutbenefitofhandicap.It’sasterntestdesignedtofindthebestgolferintheclub.Onlyfiveoftheentrantssawitthroughtotheend,whichisalittledisappointing.MattCrichtoncamefrombehindtosecureafivestrokevictoryoverJimGrandcolasandGregBuhagiar.Matthasonlystartedplayingtournamentswithourclubthisyear,andIassumehe’senjoyingitashisrecordtodateisarathergaudyplayedfour,wonfour,includingthis,thebiggesttournamentwehave.Therunnersup,i.e.everyonenotnamedCrichton,foundthemselvesinaconsolationnetevent,wherewefactorineveryone’shandicapanddeclareawinnerbasedonnetscore.Itdoesn’thavethecachetofbeingclubchampion,butit’snotabadconsolation.Selfconfessedchoker,TomO’Connor,wonthenet.

JoeLubach84+DQ GregBuhagiar76+86+74+77=313MattCrichton82+80+72+74=308Notagreatopeninground,thenMIA. Astrongshowingbutthatsecond OUR2015CLUBCHAMPIONIhopeitwasnothingserious,Joe. daydidhimin.Aroundof80orless Showedhistrueformonthe wouldhaveseenGreginthewinner’scircle. secondweekend. Consolationthirdinthenet. CONGRATULATIONS!

TimHiggins DonHopkins JimGrandcolas TomO’Connor ShahinNazarian SteveLorack82+87+88+86=34384+87+79+DQ 75+76+82+80=313 81+77+86+86=33089+86+WD 89+89+88+DQAstruggleforlastNotsurewhy,butDonBigleaderaftertwo Showedsomepace Decidedhavinga ConsistentbutpoorYear’schamp,butdidn’tanswerthebellroundsbutfinally butlackedstamina. medicalprocedure numbersdidn’tTimkeptonbattling. forthefinalround. caughtondayfour. Fadedattheend. waspreferableto warrantareturnfor Secondinthenet. Winnerofthenet.playingweekend#2.Day4.Apparently.RecentWinners–FlightChampionshipThelessermortalsinourclubplaytheirownClubChampionshipoverjusttwodaysfromwhitetees.WecallittheFlightChampionshipandplayitonthesecondweekendoftheClubChampionship.40memberssignedupandplayedinfourflights.Sothetotalturnoutforourtwoformsofchampionshipwas49-moreorlessaverageforusovertheyearssinceI’vebeenkeepingrecords.ThefieldenjoyssnacksandliquidrefreshmentsinthepubafterthefinalSundayround,whenmanystoriesofwhatmighthavebeengettold.Oh,thosemissedputts!Weplayedwith100%ofcoursehandicapandallourusualgoldenguyswereplacedintheirownGoldflight.Ifyoulookatthescoresbelow,youcanexpecttheGoldFlighttobeabout6strokeslowerthananyotherflight(3strokeseasieronbothdays),anditis.IfournewlyformedHandicapCommitteeislistening,theymightwanttocheckoutErnieTordsen’sfirstround(net64)andJingBella’ssecond(net62).Verywellplayed,gentlemen.

TheCrystalBawl(With special thanks to Larry Jordan who started all this)

November2015 Page2of4

Wedecidednottobreaktieswithaplayoff(recommended)orevenwithascorecardcountback(normalinasingleroundevent),butinsteadsharedthewinner’scircleandtheprizemoneyandGOTYpointsinvolved.Winnerswithnetscores: ARNIEFLIGHT1 JACKFLIGHT2 GARYFLIGHT3 GOLDFLIGHT 1stChuckBaird69+70=139 1stDavidFong73+72=145 1stErnieTordsen64+79=143 1stJingBella72+62=134 2ndRossBonanno71+71=142 1stRenMarquette71+74=145 2ndPeterHsu74+70=144 1stHerbLindberg68+66=134 3rdGeorgeMusante68+75=143 1stSterlingWalker74+71=145 3rdPhilRosenberg72+76=148 3rdRonKoch66+69=135 3rdLenSanoff79+69=148

JoeCioniRonGallardoRossBonannoMattFrisbie FrankCesarzDavidFong ChuckBaird FredChiappe GoodinfirstSecondinflight1 WentMIAFlight2 Flight1winner roundthen… inround2winner#1(alone)

DaveSciandriRonClark WaltHocuttGeorgeMusante RenMarquetteBobSimi YoahnYunFrankBrown Couldn’t Strongstart Flight2Couldn’t Noshowfinish thenaweakfinish.winner#2finish day2 round1 Thirdinflight1 round1

SterlingWalkerDanVoreyerRodneyRoslandSteveWolles ErnieTordsenHaigChakalian LenSanoffRaffiKeuftedjianFlight2MIAdaytwoMIAdaytwo Round1net64 Thirdin

winner#3withRodney?goodenough flight3 Suspicious! withround2net 79towinflight3.

PeterHsuPhilRosenbergJojiMercadoRobHarrell BobTheisenRonKoch FredGlosserHerbLindberg SecondinThirdin 15strokesworseOnedaywas Goldenthird Didn’tplay Goldwinner#1 flight3flight3 ondaytwo.enough thesecondday Oops!forRob.

JackConnollyAlSteenvoordeBertGalangJingBella BillFrisbieTomElliott RobWellsTomChanCouldn’tfinish Goldwinner#2 MypalBill Improvedby17round1 Strongsecond wasalmost fromday1to2. roundnet62. asbadasme. Finishedonly31 strokesoutoffirst.

November2015 Page3of4

RecentWinners–FallMeeting,SaturdayOctober11thAdecentcrowdof54members,asimilarnumbertolastyear,playedinthetournamentbeforeourannualFallBusinessMeeting.Weplayedatwomanteamstablefordwithbothplayers’pointscombinedtoarriveattheteamscore.Notethatinthisformatthehighnumberwins.Stablefordisthepreferredformatforclubtournamentsaroundtheworldasintheoryitresultsinfasterrounds.Inastablefordyoupickupyourballnomatterwhereitisonthecourseassoonasyoucannotscoreapointfortheteam,inourcasethiswasassoonasyoucan’tachieveanetbogie.Ithinkwe’regettingbetteratthis.AtleastIhopeso.WealsoplaythispointsbasedformatinourClassictournaments.We’llcontinuetoplaystablefordinagameortwothroughouttheyearsowegetmoreusedtoit,especiallywherepaceofplayisaconcern.Combiningtheteam-matescoresisalittledifferenttothemoreusualbestballplayedbyatwomanteam.Itisn’tsomuchabouthamandegg,butmoreabouthamandham.MostofthesuccessfulteamshadBOTHmembersashotortwobelowtheirhandicap.Therewereacoupleofexampleswhereanindividualexceptionalperformancewasgoodenoughtopropeltheteamtoagoodfinish,suchasRonClark’s74(net62–bestoftheday)forfirstplaceintheRedflightandLenTownsend’s79(net64–secondbest)goodenoughforsecondinthewhite.ButgoodroundsfromJohnMino(76,net67)andO.T.Meier(80,net68)didn’tregisterontheleaderboard.Theirpartnerswillremainun-named.Thelittle$5sidebetwehaveforfourclosesttotheholeprizesisprovingextremelypopular,especiallyonthisdaywithTomO’Connor(9’on#3),DanVoreyer(1’9”on#8),TimHiggins(7’5”on#11)andEdGarcia(4’8”on#13).Results: REDFLIGHT WHITEFLIGHT BLUEFLIGHT 1stScottRobertson&GerryTench79 1stRonClark&JoeGoodwine76 1stPhilRosenberg&RobWells79 2ndSandeepMilar&PeterMueller76 2ndChuckBaird&LenTownsend75 2ndBrianMcGinn&HarveyBoyarsky70

3rdTomO’Connor&TonySciandri75 3rdFrankBrown&RenMarquette75 3rdDonHopkins&GerryMontoya70RecentWinners–SeniorChampionship,WednesdayOctober21stThirtynineofourover50’sturnedoutforthisyear’smid-weekSeniorChampionship–aniceincreaseoverlastyear’spaltry26.Theweatherwasgorgeousandthegolfcoursetough.Unfortunatelytherewerepaceofplayissuestowardsthebackofthefield,andforthisweapologizetothosewhohadtoplayalongorbehindtheoffenders.Let’smoveitalong,people.TheTournamentCommitteeiswatchingandmaybeforcedtotakeactionifweseemuchmoreofthis.BretBartonrepeatedhis73fromlastyearandisdulyour2015SeniorChampion.Ishouldsayco-Championsincehis73wasequaledbyTomO’Connor.Tomisourotherco-Championforthisyear.Everyoneelsewasjudgedbyhisnetscoreswithinflights,andyoucanseetheresultsofthatbelow: BENFLIGHT BYRONFLIGHT SAMFLIGHT GARYFLIGHT

1stAndySoss69 1stRikRoberts69 1stJerryTench69 1stNelsonBeato71 2ndFredChiappe71 2ndJoeCioni71 2ndDanVoreyer74 2ndNeilAnthony72 3rdTimHiggins74 3rdFrankBrown74 3rdBrunoUgur76 3rdRobWells74

CrystalKeepstheCupvs.MetropolitanOnOctober10thCaptainHigginsledhistwentysixmanteamtovictoryoverateamfromtheMetropolitanGolfClubofOakland.ItwasthetenthyearofthisexcellentcontestwithabunchofniceguysfromtheEastBay.Weplayindividualmatchplaywithapointforawinandahalfpointforatie.ThisyearweplayedatCrystalandhadourbiggestmarginofvictory–a19to7drubbing.ItwastheseventhsuccessiveyearwehaveheldtheCupanditwillretainitsusualplaceinournewtrophycasefor12moremonths.I’mstartingtolikethattrophycase,justinsidethedoortotherestaurantarea.CourseCotreatedeveryonetolunchinthepubaftertheirround,andjudgingbythenoiseagoodtimewashadbyall,includingthelessthanvictorious.OurrunawaywinnerswereTonyRusso8&7,BillFrisbie8&7,EdGarcia8&7andHerbLindberg7&6.BigvictorieswerealsorecordedbySteveLorack6&4,AlSteenvoorde5&4,BobTheisen4&3,BobO’Balle4&3,SathoshSoudamini4&3,SterlingWalker4&3,HaigChakalian4&3andRossBonanno4&2.ItwasstillcomfortableforAndySoss3&2,JoeCioni3&2andDonGraham3&2.AlittlecloserforTimHiggins2&1andatoughgrindforDougGiannini1up,MikeTracy1upandRonClark1up.Notethatwefieldedfourofourusuallygoldteeplayers,andtheyhadtoplaywhitesinthisformat–andtheyallwon!Oddlyenoughtherewerenohalvedmatches.Idon’tthinkthat’severhappenedbefore.Asusualwedon’tshamethelosersbymentioningthembyname,butindescendingorderofdegreeofasskickingwehaveJerryFreshwaterFish,ourrestaurateurwithfourlettersinhissurname,themanwhomadeanalbatross,ourNorwegian,ourplumber,ourVicePresidentandtheleaderofthisyear’sClubChampionshipafterthreerounds.UpNext(ByJackConnolly,TournamentChairman)Our2015tournamentseasoniswindingdownandwehavejustthreemoreeventstogo.Saturday14thNovemberisthedateforourTurkeyShoot.Theformatisatwomanscramblewithonly4clubs(puttercountsasone)playedfrommixedtees.Everyoneplayspar3’sfrombluetees,par4’sfromredteesandpar5’sfromgoldtees.Nospecialallowanceforourusualgoldteeplayers.Formostpeopleitwillbeachancetoseethegolfcoursefromadifferentteebox.Andmaybewithadifferentclubtoo.Signupyourteamorasasingleandwe’llpairyouupwithanothersingleofsimilarability.We’llhaveourusuallunchaftertheroundandIbetsomeofyoucanguesswhatwillbeonthemenu.TheWinterClassicisonSaturdayDecember5th.ThisindividualeventcomplementstheSpringClassicfromAprilandtheSummerClassicfromJune.Justlikethoseitwillbeanofee,nolunch,noprizeevent.Payforacartifyoutakeone.Justshowupforyourteetime(itisnotashotgun),playyourbestgolfwith100%ofhandicap,andmaythebestmanwin.We’llplayitasastableford,sothebestmanwillhavethemostpoints.OneoftheideasistohaveaneventattheendoftheyearthatmightbethedeciderforourGOTY,dependingonhowallthepointslieatthattime.Winningyourflightwillgetyou100points,soifyou’rethatclosetotheGOTYleaderorthetopfivespotsyou’dbefoolishnottoenter.Itwillbeheldinallweathers,sowillfavorthemuddersoutthere.Bringyourraingearandhandwarmers.Theonlyreasonforcancellationwillbeifthecourseisclosed.Ifyou’rebraveenoughandgooutwheneveryoneelseischickenitwillbeaprettysimplewaytogain100points(aswellasadoseofflu,perhaps).ThisyearwewillcombineyourpointsfromanytwooftheClassics,includingtheoneabove,andcrownaClassicChampion.UsingtwooutofthethreeClassicsallowsyoutomissone,orignoreoneifyouhadapoorround.TheClassicChampionwillgetanadditional50GOTYpointstoaddtohistotal,andhavehisnameengravedontheperpetualtrophyasourthirdeverClassicChampion.Weclosethe2015seasonwithourtraditionalHolidayEventonSaturdayDecember19th(weatherwilling).We’llplaya4mandropoutscramblewithan8:00shotgunstart,followedbytheusuallunchandourTournamentRewardsblinddraw.Foreveryeventyouenteredduring2015youwillgetoneticket,multi-dayeventswhereyouplayeverydaywillgetyoutwotickets.Youthenputoneormoreticketsintoahatforanyoftheprizesonoffer.Eachprizehasadifferenthat.Theprizescanbevaluableandworthseveralhundreddollars,such

November2015 Page4of4

asroundsofgolffortwoorfouratothercourses,e.g.HalfMoonBay.Attheendwewillpickaticket(ortickets)outofeachhatanddeclarethewinner(s)ofeachprize.Withthisdrawingyoumustbepresentintheroomtogetyourticketsandreceiveyourprizeifyouareluckyenoughtowin.Butyoudon’tneedtohaveplayedinthedropoutscrambletournament.Feelfreetocomealongandjoinusjustforthelunchandthedraw.Incaseyoudon’tremembera“dropout”scramblemeansifyourshotwasselectedyouDON’Tattemptthenextshot.Sofourplayersteeoffoneveryhole,butonlythreeattemptallsubsequentshotsuntiltheballisholedout.WeusuallygetabigcrowdforthisfinalHolidayEvent,sosignupearlytoavoiddisappointment–threes,pairsandsinglescanallsignupandwe’llperformtheusualmagictomakefourmanteams.I’mexpectingittobeaveryfun,sociableday,andagoodendingtoourtournamentyear.SummaryoftheFallBusinessMeeting(ByRobWells,PresidingOfficer)AtthebusinessmeetinginOctoberPresidentWellsstartedbyintroducingournewClubChampion,MattCrichton.OurSecretary/Treasurer,GeorgeMcNutt,readtheminutesfromtheSpringMeetingandthecurrentfinancialstatement.Bothwereacceptedunopposed.PresidentWellsannouncedonlytheincumbentswerestandingfortheupcomingelection(thatbythetimeyoureadthisisprobablyover).JeffGaronthrewhishatintotheringwithenoughsupportfromthefloorthatwewillhavehadfivenamesontheballotforthefouropendirectorspots–messersConnolly,Garon,McNutt,RobertsandSteenvoorde.ThePresidentalsoaskedforvolunteersfromthefloortohelpusreviewourby-lawsthathaven’tbeenupdatedfor20years.JeffGaronandJoeCionivolunteered.Wewillbeformingacommitteetodothisinthenearfuture.NextCourseCoGeneralManager,DougGiannini,toldusabouttheworkCourseCoisdoingaroundthecourse,someofitveryvisiblesuchasthenewdrivingrangepolesandnet.DanVoreyer,thechairmanofournewlyformedHandicapCommittee,gaveareportastothenewschemeweexpecttointroducein2016,whichidentifiesrepeatedexceptionalperformanceinourtournaments,andappliesalocallycalculatedindexinsuchcases.Youhavebeenwarned–nopenaltiesassuch,butthecalculationofanindexthatreflectsyourprovenabilitytoscorewhenplayingatCrystalinourtournaments.VicePresidentRikRobertsexplainedthenewschemeforselectionofourNCGARegionalZoneteamnextyear–nolongerappointedbasedonindividualachievement(ClubChampionetc.)butanopencompetitionforafourmanteamtoplayandqualifyviaatournament.TimHigginstalkedaboutupcominginter-clubmatches–againstMetropolitanandpotentiallyalsoagainstateamfromtheNapaGolfCourseatKennedyPark.ContactTimifit’snottoolateandyouareinterestedinplayingatNapa.PresidentWellsgotupagaintomentiontheDecemberXmasdrawingwhereyoumustbepresenttowin(butyoudonotneedtoplayintheprecedingtournament-havelunchwithusanyway)andremindedeveryonethattheCrystalBawlnewsletterwillnolongerbemailed.Thisresultedinfivemembersemailingmeonthespottosendthemapdfversioneachtime,andnon-computer-usingBobTheisenrequestingtheusualpapercopy(therewillbeafewkeptintheProShopforLudditessuchasBob).Themeetingendedquietly,justthewaywelikeit. 2015GolferOfTheYearLeadersOnlyafewmoreopportunitiestoscorewithamaximumremainingpointsgrabof330.Somathematicallythetopsevenguysinthestandingscanwin.ButtoberealisticonlySterlingWalker,withoutsidersTomO’ConnorandJingBella,standachanceofcatchingthefront-runner,ChuckBaird.However,thetopFIVEwillallearnafreetournamententryin2016,sowithgoodperformancesattheendoftheyearanyoftheguysbelowcanachievethat.Goodluck,gentlemen.1stChuckBaird733 2ndSterlingWalker646 3rdTomO’Connor560 4thJingBella5505thMattCrichton510 6thRenMarquette503 7thRossBonanno410 8thErnieTordsen3958thBillFrisbie395 10thRikRoberts390 11thShahinNazarian375 12thRobWells36713thRodneyRosland362 14thTomChan340 15thTonyRusso330 16thHaigChakalian32717thBobTheisen320 18thLenTownsend312 19thJoeCioni310 20thBretBarton307

2016TOCQualifiersThefollowinghavebookedanearlyberthinnextsummer’sTournamentOfChampions,whichIexpectwe’llplayatHalfMoonBayasusual.Thislistwillgrowasourtournamentsclickby,everywinnerofeveryflightwillbeadded,andeventuallywe’llendupwithclosetofiftynames.Yes,wehavethatmanywinnersinourclub.Sofarwehavetwenty-nine: ChuckBaird BretBarton NelsonBeato JingBella BudCalkins RonClark MattCrichton(2) TomElliott DavidFong JoeGoodwine PingHsu HerbLindberg SteveLorack PhilMaresca RenMarquette JohnMino TomO’Connor(4) FrankPiro RikRoberts ScottRobertson PhilRosenberg TonyRusso JohnSchulte AndySoss JerryTench(2) ErnieTordsen DanVoreyer SterlingWalker RobWells(2) (2)Theseguyshavequalifiedmorethanonce(4)Thisguyisabittoogood,orabittoosomethingelsemaybe…FromAroundtheCourse(Byvariousmembers–allcontributionswelcome,sendtowells@mac.comforyour15minutesoffame)CongratulationstoNeilAnthonywhoaced#11waybackonApril28thplayingwithEdwindeJesusandReyIbay.IguessittookthislongforNeiltoworkouttheclubwillgivemembers$100forahole-in-onemadeatCrystal.Theintentistooffsetthebartab…ScottRobertsonmadeadoubleeagle(albatross)on#4.Yes,a2onapar5.ForScottitwasdriver,twohybridfromthewhitetees,thenlookforyourballwhenyougettothegreen.Iwonderif....oh,it’sinthehole!Scotttellsmeit’shisfirst3underparhole,andsurprisingtomehehasnevermadeaholeinone.UnlikeaholeinoneadoubleeagleissounlikelythatourclubhasnorewardforScott,except…WellDone,lad.AtthestartofOctobertheStanfordUniversitygolfteamplayedourcoursetogetsomepracticewithuphill,downhillandsidehillliesthattheirhomecoursedoesn’tprovide.MaverickMcNealy,currentlytheworld’snumberonerankedamateur,shotahohum(forhim)62fromthetips,whichequalsthecourserecord.His“stinger”teeshotwithathreewoodon#1moreorlessmadethegreen.MaverickhashadplentyofpracticeatCrystal,includingwinningourJuniorChampionshipasa15yearoldbackin2011witha69alsofromthebluetees.MybrushwithfamewasafewyearsearlierinourJuniorChampionship,whenMaverickwas11.Boysofthatageplay9holeswithascorerwhowalkswiththemandkeepsscoreforthegroup.IwasluckyenoughtohaveyoungMaverickinmygroup.Hisswingwassilkysmooth,muchmoresothantheotherboys.Iremembertellinghismotherhemightgettobequitegoodatthisgame.IguessIgotthatright.SayGoodbyeto…Herearesomememberswhoarenomore(membersthatis): PaulGallant MarkRosenthal