12/6/03 Mililani
What a great confirmation when God cleared the way for a beautiful day for golf sandwiched neatly in between the prevailing windy and rainy weather conditions. Fourteen tournaments and 14 great days of weather for golf in our first year, thank you Lord. Pastor Sim opened us in prayer. We had 20 players and another first time winner, congratulations to Jim Hickerson. Jim shot a net 70 winning first place over Tom Merrill who also shot net 70 but lost in a tie breaker on the first hole. Third place went to Ted Otaguro who also edged out Jay Jarman in a tie breaker decided on the 5th hole. Both netted 71.

Other Highlights:
CTP’s: John Pyles, #6; Jay Jarman, #12; Jim Hickerson, #16; nobody made the green on #3.
Birdies: Henry Naganuma, #2; Tom Merrill, #7; Bruce Patterson, #9; Jay Jarman, # 15.
Loss Gross: Ted Otaguro, 84.
Jackpot Winner: River Of Life, selected by Jim.

Golf Humor:
After a particularly poor game of golf, a popular club member skipped the clubhouse and started to go home. As he was walking to the parking lot to get his car, a policeman stopped him and asked, "Did you tee off on the sixteenth hole about twenty minutes ago?" "Yes," the golfer responded. "Did you happen to hook your ball so that it went over the trees and off the course?" "Yes, I did. How did you know?" he asked. "Well," said the policeman very seriously, "Your ball flew out onto the highway and crashed through a driver's windshield. The car went out of control, crashing into five other cars and a fire truck. The fire truck couldn't make it to the fire, and the building burned down. So, what are you going to do about it?"
The golfer thought it over carefully and responded... "I think I'll close my stance a little bit, tighten my grip and lower my right thumb."

Thanks everybody for making this first year a great success.

Our First Annual Banquet
Our first annual banquet is at 6:30 PM on Saturday January 17th in Hale Laulima at FPC. Currently I have 16 members and 7 guests signed up, plus a representative from the gift committee, River of Life and Waikiki Health Center. Please let me know this Sunday if you plan to attend. We need a headcount for the food arrangements. I will be stationed at a table in Hale Ohana before and after 2nd service. Or email me as soon as possible. Mahalo.

11/15/03 Hawaii Country Club
Our last tournament began with prayer by Lee Ulsh under a beautiful morning rainbow greeting from our Lord. We had 19 golfers including 3 first time guests. Despite the threat of wind and rain throughout the week it was a beautiful day for golf, cool, clear and calm. We had 4 players break the PAR barrier with net rounds of 68 and 69. Mr. Consistent, Ted Otaguro finally broke through to win his first tournament after many close finishes in earlier tournaments. Ted carded a 68 and edged out a feisty competitor in Ms. Lee Bassett who also netted a 68. Ted's par score on the first hole was the tie breaking decider.
Third place was also a tiebreaker where young firefighter Shawn Ball bested the other half of the Otaguro family, Gerri. Both netted scores of 69, with Shawn winning the first hole. Ted, Lee and Shawn all won closest to the pin par 3 contests also.

We finished in time for our deacon players to get to an afternoon meeting at Hale Ohana and the rest of us to sit around and fellowship for awhile, eat a few pupu's and watch UH lose to Nevada. Boo Hiss.

Other Highlights:

• CTP's: Shawn Ball, #4; Lee Bassett, #8; Ted Otaguro, #17; nobody made the green on #10.
• Birdies: Ted Otaguro & Shawn Ball, #9; Lee Ulsh, #15; Johnn Ball, # 18.
• Loss Gross: Ted Otaguro, 81.
• Guests: John Ellis from FPC; Leighton & Josephine Miyakawa attend New Hope (invited by Bruce P)
• Jackpot Winner: Waikiki Health Center, selected by Ted.

Golf humor
Golfer: "That can't be my ball, it's too old." Caddy: "It's been along time since we teed off, sir!"

Next tournament:
Saturday, December 6, 2004 at Mililani Golf Course: Check-in before 7 AM; Please advise me of your intent to play in our last tournament of the year. The 2004 PGA Tour is now scheduled. I will be in Hale Ohana before and after the second service on Sundays through December where you can pick up a schedule, renew memberships and direct potential new members.

Confirmed: Ted & Gerri Otaguro; DuWayne Worthington & guest; Bruce Patterson

10/18/03 Hawaii Kai
A small group of 12 showed up Saturday, which included 6 players from Fridays tournament. Linda Roberts opened our round with prayer. I was treated to a demonstration of a long Ball contest between father and son, John and Shawn Ball. These guys can hit it a long way and pretty darn straight as well. It doesn't pay to try and keep up with them as my score reflected. I was so happy to get a par on hole 12 only to remember later that I went out of bounds on my tee shot trying to hit it long with my gorilla friends. Oh well, my 4 changed to a 6 just like that. When it was all over, John Ball took first place honors with a net score of 71. Ken Roberts also shot a net 71 but lost out on the first hole tie breaker, so he got 2nd place and John Pyles netted 74 for 3rd place.

Some Other Highlights:

• CTP's: Ken Roberts, hole 5; Bobbie Merrill, hole 8; Bruce Patterson, hole 17; hole 10 was untouched.
• Birdies: Bob Curtis & John Pyles, hole 5; Shawn Ball, hole 13.
• Low Gross: Ken Roberts (96)
• Guest: Jeff Balmilero (guest of Bruce Patterson) Jeff's is a stevedore and his wife Joanne works with Patty Patterson .
• Mission Jackpot Winner: $120 to River of Life as selected by John Ball.
• Golf humor: Golfer - "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?" Caddy - "Eventually"
  

10/17/03 Royal Kunia
Despite the challenges of playing 2 days in a row and conflicting with the Elder's Retreat weekend we managed to get 15 players thanks to Marcia Titcomb inviting 3 guests and John ball inviting a guest. This was still one short of the the required 16 for the club rate. Brother Jim Becker offered to contribute the green fee for a phantom 16th player and the rest of us paid the reduced club rate. Please remember to thank Jim if you benefited from his kindness. Marcia and her 3 guests were the first group out and they all played well and fast. Marcia netted a 71 to take first place and is our first lady winner of the year. Congratulations Marcia. Marilyn Kosora, one of Marcia's guests also netted 71 and received the honor of selecting our mission jackpot winner by virtue of a tie breaking score on the first hole. Marilyn selected the Waikiki Health Center. Bobbie Merrill (net 75) and Shawn Ball (net 78) took 2nd and 3rd place respectively. It was a difficult day to say the least, as Royal Kunia swallowed up many golf balls in its water hazards. It is not a course for long ball contests either.

Some Other Highlights:

• CTP's: Bruce Patterson, hole 5; Tom Merrill, hole 8; Marilyn Kosora, hole 13; Jay Jarman, hole 17.
• Birdies: Marilyn Kosora, hole 10; Marcia Titcomb, hole 11; Alan Fentriss, hole 12 - Alan was John Ball's guest.
• Low Gross: shared by 4 at 91; Marcia Titcomb; Jay Jarman; Marilyn Kosora & Alan Fentriss
• Other guests: Dorothy Seki & Joy Doucette both friends of Marcia that play together with another club of ladies that play at Hawaii Country Club.
  

9/13/03 @ Waikele Golf Course
There was a nice turnout of 20 players, including a couple of new additions to our membership after playing as guests in previous tournaments. Welcome, Jay Jarman and Shawn Ball. Additionally, Mr. Steve Hughes joined us after seeing the announcement in the church bulletin. It was a tough day for scoring and we can blame it on the aerated greens, as putting was quite difficult, especially for muwaa (that's French). When the dust settled, we had our second 2 time winner for the year, Tom Merrill, net 70. Ted Otaguro was a close second (net 71) and Jim Becker (net 73) captured third with a tie breaking par on the first hole with four other players. Condolences to the other net 73's, Gerri Otaguro, Shawn Ball, Ken Roberts and John Frauens. Competition is heating up with handicaps falling into place. Henry Naganuma was in my group, and although Henry did not record his lowest round, he entertained us with 2 - not one - but 2 chip in's for par.

Pastor Jim Miller sent me the following update about Wirayut, the Compassion Child in Thailand; We recently released $300 from our Mission Jackpot to his account.

Bruce,
There's a new letter from Wirayut up on the wall (in the Light House). He says that the money we sent him would have taken years for their family to earn. They have fixed a big whole in their house and purchased their first fan to circulate air. He seemed excited. Thought you'd want to know.

Some other highlights
CTP's:5th hole-Bruce Patterson; 8th hole-Jay Jarman; 11thhole-nobody hit the green; 17th hole-John Frauens.
Birdies:10th hole-Jim Hickerson; 12th hole-Jay Jarman.
MissionJackpot Winner: $200 to River of Life designatedby our winner Tom Merrill

Next Tournaments
Due to a scheduling miracle we play 2 days in a row. This will tell me who the real addicts are. Please let me me know your plans early so I can survive this challenge. Right now I have 8 tee times reserved for both days.
Friday,October 17th at the new Royal Kunia; First tee time is 10:12 am, check-inbefore 9:40 AM.
Saturday,October 18th at Hawaii Kai; First tee time is also Noon, check-inbefore 11:30 AM.

Golf humor
Golfer: I'd move heaven and earth to break a 100 on this course. Caddy: Try heaven, you've already moved most of the earth.

8/16/03 Hawaii Country Club
Alarms went off at predawn in order to get players to the course on time for a scheduled 6:30 starting time. Nineteen dared to meet the challenge and many did it with great results. Brother Jim Becker offered up our club prayer. 13 out of 19 players netted par or better scores. Low net of 59 was recorded by a second time guest of John Frauens, Jay Jarman (my cart partner). "Frauenzie" came down with a horrible cold (first day of work missed in over 10 years) and unfortunately could not play. As a guest, Jay was not eligible for the first place award, but as a missions contributor he won the right to select our mission recipient identified below. Congratulations to Mr. Sizzle, John Pyles, who carded a great round and took the 1st place prize with a net 61. Yours truly, "Phil Mickelson" Patterson thought his "first" win was in the bag with a net 62, but settled joyfully with a 2nd place finish. Ken Roberts played in Group 1 and finished with net 65, his best round ever, good for 3rd place. Ken had to leave quickly after finishing his round to serve as "Master of Ceremonies" for a wedding. His optimism of winning first place lasted until Sunday morning where his dream was shattered when he heard the final results. Honorable mentions go to Ted Otaguro (66), Tom Merrill (66), Ron Mathieu (67) and Jim Hickerson (69). Check out the "birdie shoot" below, 11 all together.

Other highlights:

• CTP's: #4 none; #8 John Pyles; #10 Brad Bassett;#17 Ron Mathieu
• Birdies: Jay Jarman 1, 3, 5 & 15; John Ball 3 &16; Bruce Patterson 1; Ken Roberts 9; Ted Otaguro 16; Shawn Ball 7; Bobbie Merrill 15 (way to go Bobbie).
• Low Gross: Guest Jay Jarman 79; Ted Otaguro 81
  Mission Jackpot Winner: River of Life

A Lowlight
In writing this update, it occurred to me that my teeshot was on the green on the long #4 par three, maybe 12 feet to the right of the pin. I must have been in shock, I did not record it on the closest to the pin marker. In fact, I don't recall seeing the marker. This "seniorcitizen" status is working me over. You think I may have forgottento count some strokes too? Will the others in my foursome recall the teeshot? Probably not. Another point of this lowlight is to remind you to carefully edit these reports, who knows what great stories have been leftout.

An interesting golf fact provided by Jim Hickerson for Scotch Presbyterians; Golf settled on 18 holes per round when a member of Saint Andrews in 1858 determined he would consume one shot of Scotch per hole until his bottle was empty. It took exactly 18 shots to finish a fifth of Scotch. Bottle empty, game over, simple as that.

Next Tournament
Waikele Golf Course; Saturday September 13th, 2003. Check-in by 10:30 AM for 11 AM starting time.

Please contact me with your intent to play or not. I will send another email notice in a week or two. Green fees are $51.

5/30/03 Leilehua
Eleven die hard golfers showed up for Fridays outing. As always, it was great fellowship and a blessing to have the luxury to spend a Friday in such a beautiful setting. Tom Merrill took honors with a net 71, followed by steady Henry Naganuma and Ted Otaguro for 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

Some other highlights:

• CTP's: Bruce Patterson, hole 2; Bob Curtis, hole 5; Tom Palmer; hole
  12; and 17 was untouched.
• Birdies: Ted Otaguro, hole 8; Tom Merrill, chipped in on lucky 13
  and a mighty roar was heard at all the nearby holes.
• Low gross: Henry Naganuma, 88.
• Mission Jackpot Winner: to be determined

Next Tournament
Bayview Golf Course in Kaneohe on Saturday, June 21st; We have 10 tee times reserved. Bayview is a modified par 3 course. It has 6 par 4 holes and the rest are par 3's. The course is not in perfect condition due to some financial difficulties, but does offer some challenging holes and some beautiful scenery overlooking Kaneohe Bay on the back nine. It is also economically feasible with a cost of $20.00 per player plus our $10 mission donation. This is a great opportunity to bring a guest or two. I will be on the mainland. The Bayview tournament will be primarily handled by Ken Roberts. Please confirm your intent to play or not to Ken by June 16th. His email address is klrob@hawaii.rr.com or you may contact him by phone at 247-2899.

Check-in time at the course will be 7:45 AM with the first tee time scheduled for 8:30 AM. Thank you.

4/17/03 Hawaii Kai Golf Course
This was our 6th tournament of the year and the earliest start so far. We had 18 players which included a couple of special mainland guests, one being Sim's son Mark and the other a past FPC member, Tom Plant. In addition to that, Ron Mathieu had his son Chris as a personal caddie and cart driver. PGA player Murray Bawden carded his first round with the club and demonstrated his natural athletic ability on many occasions. Out of the 44 paid members in our club, all but 3 have now played at least one round. Hawaii Kai produced our first two time winner on the tour this year, Henry Naganuma. Henry also won the Mililani tournament and is establishing himself as one of our star players.

Some other highlights:

• CTP's: Lee Bassett, hole 5; Sim Fulcher, hole 8; Jim Becker, hole 10; Henry Naganuma, hole 17.
• Birdies: Henry Naganuma, hole 5; Ron Mathieu, hole 18.
• 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners: Henry Naganuma (net 69); Lee Ulsh (net 72); Ron Mathieu (net 72, lost tiebreaker)
• Low gross score: 87 by Henry Naganuma
• Mission Jackpot Winner: $180 to River of Life
• Next Tournament: Leilehua; Friday, May 30th; Check in by 11:30 AM. Please confirm your intent to play or not to play before next Monday, the 26th. The following players are already confirmed; Mel & Gladys Iwaki; Henry Naganuma.

4/25/03 @ Royal Kunia Golf Course
Proverbs 19:17 "Anyone who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and they will be rewarded for what they have done." Remember every time we play the Proverb above is enacted through our mission contributions. Thank you for your charitable kindness.

Pastor Sim got us started with prayer which really helped because we had 11 players that shot par or better with their handicaps even though the course challenges you with 160+ sand traps and a fair amount of water. Speaking of handicaps, you will find a listing below with your handicap noted. All players that have completed one round with the club have a handicap which becomes more and more accurate as you complete more rounds. It is only appropriate that Ed Hamada, sandbagger extraordinaire, posted the low net of 64 to take first place on Friday. Second place went to John Frauens with 66 and then Linda Roberts (way to go Linda) with a 67. All of these players will see their handicaps going down.

The course was a fun experience providing us many beautiful views of Pearl Harbor, Waikiki and Diamond Head. The experience is worth repeating so we will be playing Royal Kunia again on Friday, October 17th with our first tee time at 10:12 AM. Check out some pictures at the end of this email.

Some other highlights:

• CTP's: Sim Fulcher, hole 5; John Frauens, hole 8; Arlean Hamada, hole 13; John pyles, hole 17.
• Birdies: Jim Becker, hole 15; John Pyles, hole 17; Fred Kim, hole 18.
• Low gross score: 84 by Fred Kim and 85 by Ted Otaguro.
• Guests: Fred Kim and Tim Schoder, guests of Jim Becker and Connie Culbertson, guest of Betty Harrell.
• Mission Jackpot Winner: $260 to River of Life (Thank you Ed Hamada)
• Next tournament: Hawaii Kai on Saturday, May 17th. Please check in by 6:25 AM. Cost is $50 for cart and green fees. They have a nice clubhouse if you want to come early and have breakfast. Please confirm your intent to play or not to play before May 13th. Thank you. – B. Patterson.

3/15/03 @ Mililani Golf Course
A spunky group of eighteen showed up for a fun round of golf on Saturday. We started on the back nine with prayer. Although our round began in hot sun, God quickly blessed us with a cloud cover and some mild breezes. It was our first round using club handicaps and there were some great scores. Our tournament winner was Henry Naganuma with a net score of 62, followed closely by Skip Byron at 64 and Marcia Titcomb at 66. My good friend Henry removed me from a closest to the pin prize on hole 12 and I was pretty close. Henry is also one of a few that has played in all 4 tournaments, congratulations Henry. Skip recorded an amazing 4 birdies and almost landed an eagle on the last hole with a fabulous recovery shot from an adjacent fairway. Harlan Kimura's father-in-law, James Takushi played in his first
tournament and it was nice for many of us to meet him. When all was said and done people began grouping up and making dinner plans heading off into a Saturday sunset.

Some other highlights:

• CTP's: DuWayne Worthington, hole 3; Ed Hamada, hole 6; Henry Naganuma, hole 12; Harlan Kimura, hole 16.
• Birdies: Skip Byron, holes 9, 13, 14, & 18; Henry Naganuma, holes 2 & 7; John Ball, holes 2 & 9; James Takushi, hole 12; Harlan Kimura, hole 16.
• Low gross score: 75 by Skip Byron (my cart partner, who will be the lucky person next month?)
• Guests: Zero, although we had a couple signed up, they were unable to make it due to complications with their schedules.
• Mission Jackpot Winner: $180 to Compassion International/Wirayut Jantu per Henry Naganuma
• To date mission distributions: Compassion Intl $530; River of Life $130; Waikiki Health Center $230.
• Next tournament: Kunia (Hawaii Country Club) @ 6:30AM on Saturday, April 12th; please check-in before 5:45 AM. (8 tee times reserved; 34 players max)
• These players are confirmed for Kunia; John Ball; Brad Bassett; Barbara Bowyer & guest; Bruce Patterson; John & Lucinda Pyles; Ken & Linda Roberts; and Marcia Titcomb.

I am evaluating a response from the Royal Kunia Golf Course to my request for tee times. The plan is to replace one or two of our future tournaments. Out of the seven dates I submitted, they only responded with three choices. The cost to play is $45 on weekdays and $50 on weekends with a minimum of 16 golfers. The choices are to replace Friday, April 25 and/or Friday, Oct 17 at Leilehua with 10:20 times at Royal Kunia and also Saturday, July 19 at Olomana with a 12:20 time. We have until June 3rd to make our commitments. If you have any thoughts on this decision, please feel free to send them my way. Aloha.

2/28/03 @ Leilehua Golf Course
Our first Friday effort was the largest turnout so far with 26 players, with 6 guests. <click here to view pictures> A big mahalo to all who could make it. We teed off at noon and the 6th and last group finished close to 5:30 PM which is pretty good. As a new club we are still fine tuning our procedures and getting to know the different requirements at each course. Please know I appreciate your patience and support as I try to mix and match groupings and distribute early and later tee times. Following are some clarifications and reminders as we go forward;

• First, second and third place finishes are receiving $15, $10, and $5 prizes. The prize money comes from the annual dues members have paid. Guests are not eligible for these prizes.
• Closest to the pin on all par three holes are each awarded $5 prizes. The prize money also comes from the annual dues and will be awarded first to club members. In situations where no club member has hit the green, a guest may be awarded the prize. In situations where no member or guest hits the green, then no prize is awarded.
• The club member who posts the highest score for the day will receive a sleeve(3 each) of golf balls, to replace some of those most likely lost during the day.
• Official handicaps are now in place for all club members who have played at least one round. We will use official handicaps from here on. We will use the Callaway system to calculate net scores for guests and the few members that have not yet been able to make it out. Guests are paying into
  the Mission Jackpot and therefore may win the tournament with a low net score and have the right to designate the charity distribution(s).
• Players with maximum handicaps, (guys 28/gals 38) are permitted to use 1 mulligan on the front nine holes and 1 mulligan on the back nine holes.
• Scoring: If you are the official score card recorder please do not enter scores greater than double par.
• Gimme putts are allowed for putts that are within the grip of a designated traditional putter in each group. Don't forget that gimme putts do count as 1 stroke.
• Closest to the pin markers are given to the first group teeing off. If no one in the group hits the green, a marker is placed in the ground just off the green for the next group. The last group is responsible for picking the markers up and bringing them into the clubhouse.

• CTP's: Steve Yoshihara on holes 2 & 5; Gerri Otaguro on hole 12; Jay Jarman on hole 17.
• Birdies: John Ball, Shawn Ball, Harlan Kimura and William Sanderson on holes 3 and 11; Steve Yoshihara on hole 8; Ron Mathieu on hole 16.
• Low gross score: 88 by Ted Otaguro and Steve Yoshihara
• Guests: Shawn Ball, John's son recently returned to Hawaii to become a fireman; Steve Yoshihara, Florence Fujiwara's nephew who joined us after
  playing 18 holes earlier with his father; Jay Jarman, pastor at Kaimuki Christian Church and guest of Dr. John Frauens; Ray Cook from Washington
  state and guest of Bob Curtis; William Sanderson who comes to Hawaii for 2 months each year from California and worships at FPC while here; and last
  but certainly not least, our own Ron Ho invited by Ted Otaguro.
• Next tournament: Mililani Golf Course @ 11:14 AM; Check-in before 10:45 AM ( 7 tee times reserved; 32 players max) The following players are confirmed for Mililani; John Ball; Brad and Lee Bassett; Jim Becker; Barbara Bowyer; Bruce Cody; Ed and Arlean Hamada; Betty Harrell; Bruce Patterson; John and Lucinda Pyles; Ken and Linda Roberts; DuWayne Worthington. If you are not on this list and want to play please notify me by this Friday. Thanks. Bruce Patterson: bpatterson@hdcc.com 735-3370 (w) / 373-1286 (h)
  

02/08/03 @ Olamana Golf course
God blessed our second outing with another gorgeous day for golf. Twenty three golfers, including four guests, fought it out. When it was all over we had 4 people tied with a low net score of 74. Using the tie breaker system it ended up with our esteemed executive director Ron Mathieu coming out on top, second place went to Jim Becker and third place was one of our guests, Stan Ditus and fourth place went to John Ball. It was a fun day that saw a lot of beach action, in other words I saw lots of shots coming out of sand traps and headed into the water, several from yours truly. Check out the pictures. Ron selected the Waikiki Health Center to be the recipient of our Mission Jackpot of $230.

Some other highlights:

• Closest to the pin contests on the par 3's: John Pyles on hole 2; Ron Mathieu on hole 8; John Frauens on hole 11, and hole 17 went uncaptured.
• Birdies: two by John Ball on holes 4 & 7; Tom Merrill on hole 5; John French on hole 8; Ron Mathieu on hole 14.
• Low gross score: 85 by Skip Byron, his 2nd in a row.
• Guest(s): Stan Ditus from Nevada, Blake Johnson and Laeton Pang from FPC and Galen Choy, Laeton's friend.
  

01/11/03 @ Pearl Country Club
Our first golf outing was blessed by God who provided a beautiful, clear and cool day for 21 members of our club and 1 guest to enjoy. Five ladies and 17 men enjoyed the fellowship and passion of golf. The historic first official swing for our club was performed by pastor Sim. Our first tournament winner was Skip Byron, using the Callaway Handicapping System. Second place went to Harlan Kimura. As winner, Skip won the honor of selecting the charity for our Mission Jackpot. After discussion with his son Andrew, a sophomore at Punahou and an active young man in our high school youth group, the money ($220) has been set aside for the Compassion® child, Wirayut Jantu, in Thailand.

Some other highlights:

• Closest to the pin contests on the par 3's: Arlean Hamada on hole 3;
  two by Gerri Otaguro on holes 6 & 16; Harlan Kimura on hole 13.
• Birdies: two by Harlan Kimura on holes 5 & 13; two by Skip Byron on holes 9 & 17; Bob Eveleigh on hole 9; Barbara Bowyer on hole 16.
• Low gross score: 77 by Skip Byron, way to go Skip.
• Guest(s): Bruce Walker from Seattle area, friend of Bob Eveleigh.

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