A YEAR IN REVIEW
I began 2009 with two goals in mind: improve my golf game and lose some weight. Well, those of you who regularly see me know which of the two I achieved.
For the first time in six years, I’m packing a driver -- a 9.5° TaylorMade Burner -- in my bag, and I’m hitting it OK. The happy result is that I’m selecting a wedge for my second shot more often and landing my golf ball closer to the pin. And I’m making more putts. My handicap has dropped a few notches and is now low enough to qualify me for the honorific title of "scum of A Flight," a status formerly held by such club stalwarts as Ken Miller, Scott Stukel and Ben Henley. It's definitely a challenge competing for money against the likes of Chris Bohler, Joe McCord, Adam Doty and Maurice Mischook -- but now that I've got a taste of the long ball, I'm not going home to B Flight again.
But enough of me. For our club, it's been a year of repeats, precedents and a fluke or two. (For the year's lowlights, ask Jennifer.)
McCord, Harmon Schwartz and Lonnie Holcomb began 2009 with wins. The February tournament wasn't real golf, as Dan Acuff would say, so onward.
In March, Mischook, Schwartz and the man who can't stop chattering, Henry Chavez, walked away with first-place cash in their respective flights. For "Doc," it was his second consecutive full-flight triumph in the gross category, though the temptress 70s eluded him. Not so Chavez, who shot a stunning 77. Chavez's feat even surprised him: For a nanosecond, he was without words. His reward: an instant handicap reduction, courtesy of Stukel.
In April's match-play qualifier, Mike Elias carded a nifty 70, but no one was paying attention. All eyes were instead on Chavez, who again shot in the 70s -- 78 to be exact. The studs in A Flight were apprehensively eying the "Latin Houdini" as he was begrudgingly congratulated by a drooling, envious gaggle of club members at the scorer's table. Chavez had been wondering what the “R” meant on his index card. I told him it meant that he was “Really” good.
Chavez's secret? Few can use a putter from 40 yards out like this guy! Put another way, Chavez can reduce any course to miniature golf. Eaton is especially vulnerable to his talent. Other members have taken notice. Bruce Reichenfeld, for one, has been watching and studying Chavez's form. He's getting good at replicating it. If more club members adopt the Chavez option, Eaton's only defense will be huge clown heads, with opening and shutting mouths, stationed in front of the greens.
In April, Doty led Eaton's willing to the refurbished DeBell Golf Course for the first Away Tournament. Bohler, Rob Dawe and Vic Derderian all proved that their games travel, with Bohler putting together the best round of the day, a 75. Chavez returned to old form, shooting 102, a cold shower of a round. He might have played loosey-goosey with his self-discipline, though, thinking a triple-digit score would boost his newly downsized handicap. Not!!! The score was thrown out because we all know he’s much better than that!
The first two-man best-ball tournament of the year unfolded in May, with Doty/Bohler, Jim Kosmicki/Peter Kodani and Marv Good/Justin Giovinco winning their respective flights.
The most important tournament of the year arrived in June, a grueling three-day affair that disgorges the club champion. And again it was McCord, his second consecutive title. The President’s Cup danced in Archie Craig's lap after he shot an amazing net minus 20 over three days. Craig's new name is "The Sand Man" – you figure it out.
In July, the annual DC Ryder Cup event was held. This traditional rivalry pits Eaton Canyon Golf Club against its Altadena counterpart. For the past four years, Eaton Canyon has dominated the event, and the coveted DC Ryder Cup Trophy has called the "10th Hole" home.
As captain, yours truly knew that all streaks must end -- but why, oh why, did it have to end this way?
As the final foursome headed toward the 18th hole at Altadena, the cup was up for grabs. Then, longtime Altadena member Lou Falco holed a long putt from off the green -- the ball bumping along like a car without coil springs -- to claim the two needed points to snatch the cup from Eaton. He received a hero's welcome from his teammates, with two of them hoisting the frail Falco on their shoulders for a victory strut. Keep in mind that Falco is 82 years old and probably shouldn’t be lifted more than six inches off the ground. Congrats to Captain Bill Fennessy and his band of merry golfers.
In the August full-flight tournament, two good friends went mano-a-mano in A Flight. Doty and Bohler tied with impressive 1-over-par rounds, but Doty won the card-off. When is Bohler going to have some luck? Chuck Collins, Fraser Gunn and Juan Alvarado won their respective flights in the dead heat of summer.
September’s Senior Club Championship was one for the record books. Don Croll Sr. became the first club member to win the codger trophy back-to-back. Now for the excitement.
David Donahue, our beloved tournament director, and new member Barbara West, a biggie in the catering business, tied with net 62's in the race for the Senior President’s Cup. Because the cup is too important to decide by a card-off, the two returned the following weekend to settle the score with some real golf.
For those club members with a memory stretching beyond last night, you'll recall that Donahue was the most vocal opponent of allowing women to join our club. Wiser heads on the board overruled the bespectacled blatherskite.
So you knew that Donahue had more on his mind than giving West a good spanking. A playoff victory would also be his way of saying to the board, "I told you so! Women don't measure up to men on the golf course. Ergo. They don't belong in our club."
I'll put it as genteelly as I can: Marx kicked Donahue in a -- maybe his only -- skeevy zone. She is the first woman since our club's founding in 1962 to win a major Eaton title. Congratulations, Barbara.
This year's 4-Club Tournament was moved to October. I really like this tournament, for several reasons, but the main one is that it’s a no-brainer tournament because you don't have to think about club selection. And to many people’s surprise, many players usually play much better with four clubs than they do with a bag full of them. Mischook shot an amazing 69! His closest competitors, Fennessy and Elias, were seven strokes behind the former Canadian hockey stud. Wes Guarino and Abraham Prioleau III also made their presences known by winning their respective flights.
In November’s full-fight tournament, Kevin Gilbert, Dan Gallup and Mike Emm all won their flights. This was the Flag Tournament, in honor of Veterans Day. All carts were decorated with American flags, and as they departed tee boxes and moved around the course, the fluttering Stars and Stripes created a colorful and moving sight. Bystanders might have thought we were celebrating the 4th of July. But there was an object to all the flag waving -- to score lower than what your handicap predicted. If you did, you turned in your flag at the “10th Hole” for a drink on the club. Otherwise, your flag marked the spot on the course where you took your final stroke to match your handicap.
With full bellies and tryptophan coursing through their bloodstreams, 31 Eaton souls traveled to the 909 area code to play a classic William Bell design course for the second Away Tournament. Jurupa Hills Country Club isn’t so much a country club as a course in the country. Regardless, it features some of the most interesting and difficult greens in the Southland. Some Eatoners might still be putting on those greens today if the pins had been set in some of the greens’ nooks and crannies.
Miller won the A Flight low-gross prize, even scoring an eagle on a Par 5 (it was a short course). Gilbert captured the low-net purse. In B Flight, Gallup was the low grosser, and Holcomb the low-net champion.
Next time you are in the “10th Hole,” look up at the TV and take notice of the “2009 Away Player of the Year” trophy, on which you’ll find inscribed the name Lonnie Holcomb. Congratulations, Lonnie!
Rain drenched December’s Member-Guest Tournament. Some 72 players signed up but only 57 braved gray skies and teed off. With rain pelting players’ pates, just 48 stuck around to play 18 holes. One of the dropouts was Donahue, whose aversion to wetness is legendary. When I asked him to explain his absence, he muttered that he had run out of tryptophan and needed some serious napage to recoup.
Among the more stouthearted were my wife, Terri, my 13-year-old son Matthew and Germaine Warner. They ran the 50/50 game on No. 3, even managing to raise a few dollars. Most players declined to participate because of wet grips.
Special thanks to Teri Elias, Tracy Barclay-Ward, Terri and Germaine for volunteering on the spot to sell mulligan and raffle tickets.
More special thanks to Miller and Holcomb for donating a keg of Coors Light and a keg of Sam Adams. There's simply nothing like cold beer on a damp, dank day of golf. Actually, after my fourth beer, the day started warming up.
Despite the challenge of inclement weather, the BBQ came off without a hitch, thanks to the cooks and restaurant staff. After the eating, a bunch of cool gifts donated by club members was raffled off, as well as $500 worth of golf items chipped in by the club.
At the end of the raffle, the sun showed its face for about 20 minutes, then retreated behind dark clouds. And it was pouring again. It was time to find shelter and finish off the kegs.
Despite the recession, it's been a good year for our club. Membership exceeded 200 again, and tournament participation remained high. Prize money was bountiful. And quite a few women joined the fun. Warner no longer is the only club member holding the banner for women golfers.
I feel blessed to be able to go to a place where I can unwind and get away from the weekly grind by enjoying the company of great members and good friends.
Please feel free to approach any board director with your suggestions, opinions or thoughts on how to make the best little club in the Southland even better.
I’m looking forward to my second and final year as your club president. It has been an honor to serve you, and I look forward to the 2010 season and sharing more good times with all of you.
Respectfully Yours,
Rick Morales
