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Around The Green

By: Darryl Loo, Frank Bonal and John McNulty

Oakmont Country Club
September 2003

The month of September is in my opinion the finest time of the year if you play golf in the greater Bay Area. This year was no different, perfect weather, a well conditioned golf course and Oakmont’s great staff at our service. We had a pretty good turn out of about fifty players who ventured to Santa Rosa and they were rewarded with a beautiful day.

Even with the great conditions there were not that many great scores in the A-flight. Arnie Lee continued his excellent play this year to take the top spot in the flight. His solid 87 net 69 narrowly edged out Tony Hampton’s 84 net 70. Tony has played well this season and is also in the hunt for the flight title. Arnie’s playing partner Chad Law was also tied for second with his 89 net 70. The Station Two group has been on the leader board all year. The low score of the day belonged to Bobby Jackson. His fine score of 77 net 71 was good for a tie for forth place with the Golf Club’s John McNulty.

In the B-flight Station Seventeen’s newest member Mark Johnson shot 94 net 66 to win the tournament’s low net. He said that it was a great score for him. I think so, as a net score of 66 is fantastic. Jose Zalba was right behind with a 97 net 67 and I’m sure he was pleased with his performance. Jose has become one of the regular players on our tournament schedule and it is good to see him on the leader board. Another player who has started to make his presence felt this year is Pat McLaughlin. Lately he has become a regular on the B-flight leader board. His 91 net 68 is another quality round played.

Oakmont was as always a fun tournament and I would like to thank everyone who attended. By the time you read this it will be time for our Hiddenbrook tournament. I hope that everyone considers playing this outstanding golf course. This course has hosted the LPGA’s season ending Tour Championship the last two years. I highly recommend this to everyone, as it is the best new course in the area.

Reno Golf Trip
September 2003

This was the second year that the Golf Club put together the Reno Golf Trip. And once again Frank Bonal and John McNulty did a great job. Everything ran smoothly and the golf courses were great. Once again that September weather co-operated by being perfect. The first day up there was a little blustery, but by the day of our first round it was beautiful. It was like the Golf Gods were watching over us. Wolf Run is a great layout in the hills on the edge of Reno. This course has just about everything you can want in a course, water, forced carries, long and short holes. I guess I just love this golf course. There are not many courses that I would want to play all the time but Wolf Run is one of them. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. On day two we had an early Shotgun start and there were some gentlemen who looked a little rough around the edges. Lakeridge has been a regular on the Reno trip. They always give us great service and maintain their course very well. This year was no different. Their course was in great shape and was tougher than most years because their greens were much firmer and faster. I know that I had a hard time putting that day. The weather was even better on this day. If you like 75 degrees with absolutely no wind then you would have loved this day. It was really nice having an early start as we were done early in the afternoon. Everyone had a chance to relax and socialize after the round at the hotel.

We had a nice time and I enjoyed seeing everyone have a good time. I would like to thank everyone who supported this long running Fire department event. It was good to see some new faces attending and hope to see you all next year. For some of the “Old Timers” thanks for supporting the new kids running this great event. I would be interested to hear how many years some of you have been coming to the Reno Golf Trip.

We hope to see everyone next year and we would love to see some of the people who were regulars in the past start to attend again. Maybe we will see even more young blood in Reno next year.

Thanks again to everyone and I will see you next year.

Silverado Country Club
South Course
October 2003

In all the years I have lived in the Bay Area this October had the best weather in my memory. The week leading up to Silverado was spectacular. On Monday I played in San Francisco and for the first time in years I wished that I had worn shorts instead of slacks. I think the normal temperatures in October are usually about 65 degrees. This last month it probably averaged 85 degrees with a few days in the 90’s. Unfortunately it cooled off on the day of our tournament it felt almost chilly at 75 degrees. With perfect weather on hand we prepared to play golf. Since I joined the Fire Department playing at Silverado is one of the highlights of my year. We are very lucky to have access to this facility. The staff at Silverado is first rate and makes sure everything runs smoothly. They treat us great every time we play there. Even with the great service the best part is we are allowed to play two fantastic world-class golf courses. I love to play on both of these wonderful layouts and while I am playing on the South Course I always think, “This course is the better of the two”, but I also think the same thing while playing on the North Course. Like always Silverado was in splendid condition, the fairways were plush and the greens were fast and true. When looking at the scorecard Silverado appears to be a relatively easy layout. While if you hit it straight and hit your share of greens that doesn’t guarantee a good score. More than a few players told me about their putting woes. Now if you don’t hit it straight there are some big scores waiting out on this course.

One of our members ventures down to play from Lake Tahoe several times a year. Tom Lovely has been playing at Silverado for many years and his “local knowledge” paid off this tournament. He shot a very nice 84 net 70 to take the top spot in the A-flight. His score was the only one under net par in the flight. Look out for George Garcia. His tie for second puts him in the position to win both the A-flight and the Club trophy. Right now he has a solid 6-point lead over Travis Rail in the flight and a two-point lead over Pat McLauglin for the over-all title. In a tie with George with a net 73 was Mike Duncan. His finish puts him in forth place in the flight and a good tournament at Hiddenbrooke could put him in the top three. In a tie for third were the trio of Al Lee, Chris Zaczek and Darryl Loo with the net scores of 74.

One of our retired members shot a very fine 84 net 63 to win the B-flight by a large margin. Jack Porter was a whopping nine strokes under his handicap. If this was an easy course it would be impressive, but only four other players were under their handicaps. I don’t recall Jack having a round like this since we took over the club. I am impressed and would have been very happy to shoot 84 myself. Great round Jack!!! Earlier this year Bill Kneis was sick and actually lost some weight. Those of you who know Bill understand that this is no small thing. As a result Bill missed several of our early events. Since returning he has played well in several tournaments. Bill’s round at Silverado of 95 net 70 took second place in the B-flight. Two names not often seen on the leader board were in a tie for third place. Bill Carle and George Vouchilas had fine net 71’s and I’m sure were happy with their rounds. Nice to see them play well.

This is the final article of 2003 and again I apologize for the missing articles. We are currently working on next years schedule. Hopefully we will have some new and interesting places to play. Once again we are planning to have a Monterey trip and those who attended last year can tell you how fun it was last year. We also have been inquiring about playing at Harding Park, but it doesn’t look too promising. We will keep trying to have a fun schedule for the Club to play. Let us know what you thought about the new places we played this year and about any places you are interested in playing. Our golf club dues are coming up. We will be sending out a letter and we hope to get new members to join the club. To all the new people in the department this is a good way to meet other members in a social setting. Get a foursome together and join the club.

Thanks to everyone who played this year and I will see you in 2004.

Around The Green
	By: Darryl Loo, Frank Bonal and John McNulty
Oakmont Country Club September 2003 The month of September is in my opinion the finest time of the year if you play golf in the greater Bay Area. This year was no different, perfect weather, a well conditioned golf course and Oakmont’s great staff at our service. We had a pretty good turn out of about fifty players who ventured to Santa Rosa and they were rewarded with a beautiful day. Even with the great conditions there were not that many great scores in the A-flight. Arnie Lee continued his excellent play this year to take the top spot in the flight. His solid 87 net 69 narrowly edged out Tony Hampton’s 84 net 70. Tony has played well this season and is also in the hunt for the flight title. Arnie’s playing partner Chad Law was also tied for second with his 89 net 70. The Station Two group has been on the leader board all year. The low score of the day belonged to Bobby Jackson. His fine score of 77 net 71 was good for a tie for forth place with the Golf Club’s John McNulty. In the B-flight Station Seventeen’s newest member Mark Johnson shot 94 net 66 to win the tournament’s low net. He said that it was a great score for him. I think so, as a net score of 66 is fantastic. Jose Zalba was right behind with a 97 net 67 and I’m sure he was pleased with his performance. Jose has become one of the regular players on our tournament schedule and it is good to see him on the leader board. Another player who has started to make his presence felt this year is Pat McLaughlin. Lately he has become a regular on the B-flight leader board. His 91 net 68 is another quality round played. Oakmont was as always a fun tournament and I would like to thank everyone who attended. By the time you read this it will be time for our Hiddenbrook tournament. I hope that everyone considers playing this outstanding golf course. This course has hosted the LPGA’s season ending Tour Championship the last two years. I highly recommend this to everyone, as it is the best new course in the area. Reno Golf Trip September 2003 This was the second year that the Golf Club put together the Reno Golf Trip. And once again Frank Bonal and John McNulty did a great job. Everything ran smoothly and the golf courses were great. Once again that September weather co-operated by being perfect. The first day up there was a little blustery, but by the day of our first round it was beautiful. It was like the Golf Gods were watching over us. Wolf Run is a great layout in the hills on the edge of Reno. This course has just about everything you can want in a course, water, forced carries, long and short holes. I guess I just love this golf course. There are not many courses that I would want to play all the time but Wolf Run is one of them. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. On day two we had an early Shotgun start and there were some gentlemen who looked a little rough around the edges. Lakeridge has been a regular on the Reno trip. They always give us great service and maintain their course very well. This year was no different. Their course was in great shape and was tougher than most years because their greens were much firmer and faster. I know that I had a hard time putting that day. The weather was even better on this day. If you like 75 degrees with absolutely no wind then you would have loved this day. It was really nice having an early start as we were done early in the afternoon. Everyone had a chance to relax and socialize after the round at the hotel. We had a nice time and I enjoyed seeing everyone have a good time. I would like to thank everyone who supported this long running Fire department event. It was good to see some new faces attending and hope to see you all next year. For some of the “Old Timers” thanks for supporting the new kids running this great event. I would be interested to hear how many years some of you have been coming to the Reno Golf Trip. We hope to see everyone next year and we would love to see some of the people who were regulars in the past start to attend again. Maybe we will see even more young blood in Reno next year. Thanks again to everyone and I will see you next year. Silverado Country Club South Course October 2003 In all the years I have lived in the Bay Area this October had the best weather in my memory. The week leading up to Silverado was spectacular. On Monday I played in San Francisco and for the first time in years I wished that I had worn shorts instead of slacks. I think the normal temperatures in October are usually about 65 degrees. This last month it probably averaged 85 degrees with a few days in the 90’s. Unfortunately it cooled off on the day of our tournament it felt almost chilly at 75 degrees. With perfect weather on hand we prepared to play golf. Since I joined the Fire Department playing at Silverado is one of the highlights of my year. We are very lucky to have access to this facility. The staff at Silverado is first rate and makes sure everything runs smoothly. They treat us great every time we play there. Even with the great service the best part is we are allowed to play two fantastic world-class golf courses. I love to play on both of these wonderful layouts and while I am playing on the South Course I always think, “This course is the better of the two”, but I also think the same thing while playing on the North Course. Like always Silverado was in splendid condition, the fairways were plush and the greens were fast and true. When looking at the scorecard Silverado appears to be a relatively easy layout. While if you hit it straight and hit your share of greens that doesn’t guarantee a good score. More than a few players told me about their putting woes. Now if you don’t hit it straight there are some big scores waiting out on this course. One of our members ventures down to play from Lake Tahoe several times a year. Tom Lovely has been playing at Silverado for many years and his “local knowledge” paid off this tournament. He shot a very nice 84 net 70 to take the top spot in the A-flight. His score was the only one under net par in the flight. Look out for George Garcia. His tie for second puts him in the position to win both the A-flight and the Club trophy. Right now he has a solid 6-point lead over Travis Rail in the flight and a two-point lead over Pat McLauglin for the over-all title. In a tie with George with a net 73 was Mike Duncan. His finish puts him in forth place in the flight and a good tournament at Hiddenbrooke could put him in the top three. In a tie for third were the trio of Al Lee, Chris Zaczek and Darryl Loo with the net scores of 74. One of our retired members shot a very fine 84 net 63 to win the B-flight by a large margin. Jack Porter was a whopping nine strokes under his handicap. If this was an easy course it would be impressive, but only four other players were under their handicaps. I don’t recall Jack having a round like this since we took over the club. I am impressed and would have been very happy to shoot 84 myself. Great round Jack!!! Earlier this year Bill Kneis was sick and actually lost some weight. Those of you who know Bill understand that this is no small thing. As a result Bill missed several of our early events. Since returning he has played well in several tournaments. Bill’s round at Silverado of 95 net 70 took second place in the B-flight. Two names not often seen on the leader board were in a tie for third place. Bill Carle and George Vouchilas had fine net 71’s and I’m sure were happy with their rounds. Nice to see them play well. This is the final article of 2003 and again I apologize for the missing articles. We are currently working on next years schedule. Hopefully we will have some new and interesting places to play. Once again we are planning to have a Monterey trip and those who attended last year can tell you how fun it was last year. We also have been inquiring about playing at Harding Park, but it doesn’t look too promising. We will keep trying to have a fun schedule for the Club to play. Let us know what you thought about the new places we played this year and about any places you are interested in playing. Our golf club dues are coming up. We will be sending out a letter and we hope to get new members to join the club. To all the new people in the department this is a good way to meet other members in a social setting. Get a foursome together and join the club. Thanks to everyone who played this year and I will see you in 2004.