12/11/04 Kapolei Golf Tournament

Praise God for ano ther beautiful day for golf, the winds were calmed, the skies were clear, the humidity was low and the temperature was perfect. And remember Friday evening the winds were still high and gusty. Well the gals made a real statement on this outing. Gerri Otaguro captured 3rd place with a bogie on the 1st hole to break a tie with Jo Miyakawa as they both posted net 67’s. Barbara Bowyer won 1st place also by scoring a bogie on the first hole and beating Jim Hickerson as they both turned in net 66’s. Way to go ladies, 3 out of the first four places. Barbara is in the Navy and will be leaving Hawaii in April for another duty station, but has been a loyal supporter of our PGA since its inception.   

Thankfully, we had a later starting time and a bit of a delay from the starter, Brothers Ron Mathieu and Sim Fulcher were definitely arrival impaired. Ron’s story goes like this; got up early so he could have some time to warm up on the driving range and putting green, went directly to Waikele golf course, WRONG. Seeing no one from FPC he calls Brother Jim Becker who informed Ron that the tournament was at Kapolei. Ron jumps into his car and proceeds makai on Fort Weaver Road, WRONG!  It dawns on him that he is heading towards Hawaii Prince, not Kapolei. He recalibrates and makes it to Kapolei just as FPC was being asked to check in by the starter. Ron’s opens his trunk and WRONG, no golf bag. Ron drives back to Waikele where he left his bag and back to Kapolei arriving in time to keep his spot with group three as they were teeing off. After the match Ron commented that his morning drives between Waikele and Kapolei were his best drives of the day. It did not turn out to be one of Ron’s best rounds of golf. On the other hand, Pastor Sim’s story goes like this; arrives just in time to load his bag and open us in a group prayer. Sim asked me if I got his distress call and I told him no. However, I did find a message on my voicemail at my office, WRONG!! on Monday morning telling me he was going around in circles and hoping he would get there eventually, admitting that he thought he was on Farrington Highway when he really was on Fort Weaver Road. Despite Sim’s disorientation, he recovered to post his best round ever with the PGA, breaking 100 for the first time with a 98. He also birdied his closest to the pin on hole 5 and he holed a beautiful 45 yard chip shot on hole 11 for a par after his second shot went into the water.

O ther Highlights:
CTP’s: Sim Fulcher, 5; Bruce Patterson, 8; DuWayne Worthington, 12; Leighton Miyakawa, 16.
Birdies: Ted Otaguro, 3 & 9; Sim Fulcher, 5; DuWayne Worthington, 14; Ty Aldinger, 11.
Low Gross: Bill Sheehan, 79;
Net Par or better: Barbara Bowyer, Jim Hickerson, Gerri Otaguro, Jo Miyakawa, Shawn Ball, Ted Otaguro, Tom Howes, Sim Fulcher, Bruce Patterson, Bill Sheehan.
Charity Winner: Hawaii Family Forum $90; River of life $75 & Children’s Alliance $75
YTD Charity Contributions = $2,565 
New PGA Members: Bill Sheehan
Guests: Ty Aldinger from FPC, Retired Navy Captain; Brian Sutton, guest of Shawn Ball. Brian and Shawn have been friends from the ir “hanabata” days.
Completed their 10th Round: Jo Miyakawa & Marilyn Gottesman
Humor: I don’t say my golf game is bad, but if I grew tomatoes they would come up sliced.

Next Tournament:
Saturday 1/8/05 at Royal Kunia Golf Course; Check-in with me before 7:30 AM. Currently I have 7 tee times which allows us a maximum of 28 players. Please confirm early.

Confirmed for January:
Brad & Lee Bassett; Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Bruce Patterson.

Thanks to everyone for ano ther great year of golf and charitable contributions. If for some reason I do not see you before the holidays, Have a Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. May all your football teams do well in their bowl games. 2005 looks like it will be off to a great start with 10 new players joining our fellowship. If all our current members renew their memberships we will have 50 members all together. Praise God.

11/13/04 Pearl Country Club Golf Tournament
 
Despite the threat of rain we had ano the r nice turnout, 25 players. Everybody checked in promptly and our first group was off the tee 10 minutes early. They were an elite five-some that wasted no time getting us underway and setting a good pace of play. Bob Curtis led our opening prayer. We sliced, hooked and worm burned our way through some thick humidity with great perseverance and hope. We knew there would be refreshments and food at the end of the journey. Group 1 captured 2nd and 3rd place awards with Jay Jarman netting 74 for 3rd and Ted Otaguro posting a net 73 for 2nd. I also noted Jay’s “Bambooocha” nick name on 3 of the Par 3 “Closest to the Pin” contests, all of which got crossed out by those noted below. Sorry about that Brother Jay, but way to go with your chip in from the sand trap for a birdie on 13. And breaking out of his slump to post the only net score under par was Tom Merrill with a net 70. Way to go Tom.

Other Highlights:
CTP’s: Marcia Titcomb, 3; Leighton Miyakawa, 6; Brad Bassett, 13; Anne Frauens, 16.
Birdies: Leighton Miyakawa, 1 & 17; Jay Jarman, 13; Dave Ellis, 17.
Low Gross: Ted Otaguro & Leighton Miyakawa, 86;
Net Par or better: Tom Merrill
Charity Winner: TBA
YTD Charities = $2,325 
New PGA Members: None
Guests: Jack Bohman & Michael Carr both attend FPC and ventured out with us for the first time. I know Jack is going to play again in December and we hope Michael enjoyed the fellowship and will return again soon also.
Completed their 10th Round: Leighton Miyakawa
Humor: “Give me golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the golf clubs and fresh air.” Jack Benny
 
PGA members, please note our annual banquet date is confirmed for January 8th tentatively starting at 6:30 PM in Hale Ohana. Ted Otaguro is finalizing a tasty menu for us all.

Next Tournament:
Saturday 12/11/04 at Kapolei Golf Course; Check-in with me before 7:20 AM. Currently I have 6 tee times which allows us a maximum of 28 players. I have a request in for another time if it should open up. Please confirm early.

Confirmed for December:
John & Shawn Ball; Brad & Lee Bassett; Jack Bohman; Bob Curtis; John & Anne Frauens; Sim Fulcher; Marilyn Gottesman; Jim Hickerson; Jay Jarman; Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Jo & Leighton Miyakawa; Henry Naganuma; Marcia Titcomb; Ty Young; Bruce Patterson.

10/16/04 Hawaii Kai Golf Tournament
 
A beautiful day for golf greeted 26 of us. Everybody was checked in and ready to go with 20 minutes to spare. Thank you all for your kind consideration. Pastor Jay led us in prayer and got an unsuspecting bystander to snap a group photo with his new camera on the practice putting green. I hope to get a copy soon and get it on our website. Group 6 supplied 2 of our top 3 finishers; Shawn Ball for the 4th time in only 4 outings this year placed in the top three. Shawn’s net 71 earned him 3rd place, losing a tiebreaker to one of his playing partners Dave Ellis who also shot a net 71. Dave posted a birdie on the first hole to break the tie and give him 2nd place. Our tournament winner did not shoot a 70 but he is 70 years young, born on Valentines Day way back in 1933 if my math is correct. Our tournament winner was in Group 1 and his net score of 63 was never challenged. He tells me he had 40 putts which indicates a much lower score could have been achieved. Our tournament winner has also only played in 4 of the 9 tournaments this year and he has a first, 2 seconds and a fourth place finish. He is none other than golf extraordinaire Mr. Jim Hickerson. This is the kind of round we all hope to have. Congrats, Jim.
 
 
Other Highlights:
CTP’s: Jo Miyakawa, 5 & 8; John Frauens, 10; Tom Howes, 17.
Birdies: Dave Ellis, 1 & 9; Leighton Miyakawa, 3.
Low Gross: Dave Ellis, 82;
Other Net Par or better: none
Charity Missions Winner: Children’s Alliance of Hawaii ($260)
YTD Missions = $2,075

• Hawaii Family Forum ($100)
• River of Life ($860)
• Children’s Alliance ($1,115)

New PGA Members: Colonel and Dr. Dave Ellis, Commander of Schofield Troop Medical Clinic, friend of John Ball. Dave was previously stationed at Tripler Hospital, then assigned to duty in Texas and now recently returned to Hawaii; Tom Howes, FPC choir member and retired Air Force Officer – Tom would have had 2 closest to the pins if it weren’t for John Frauens; Mike Zavada, Mike and his wife just moved here from Miami; Mike is employed as a teacher at Punahou. We will be helping Mike establish his 1st official handicap in golf, and coincidentally he had 7 pars on his card. Watch out for Mike.
Completed their 10th Round: Marcia Titcomb; Jay Jarman; Jim Hickerson; Shawn Ball
Humor: Paul Harvey says, “Golf is a game in which you yell “fore”, shoot six and write down five.”
 
The PGA schedule is set for 2005 as follows:
Dues for next year will be $30.

Ted Otaguro and Ron Mathieu are helping locate a time and place for our banquet. We hope to schedule a date during the first couple of weeks in January. Please try to keep your calendars cleared for a fun event where we will present our charities with the monies you have so kindly contributed throughout the year and enjoy a meal and fellowship time with each other.  The banquet is for members, single members are welcome to bring a guest. More details will be forthcoming.
 
Next Tournament: Saturday 11/13/04 at Pearl Country Club; Check-in with me before 7:20 AM. Currently I have 6 tee times which allows us a maximum of 27 players. I have a request in for another time if it should open up. Please confirm early.
 
Confirmed for November:
John & Shawn Ball; Ron Mathieu; Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Ted & Gerri Otaguro; Tom Palmer; Ty Young; Bruce Patterson.
 
Did you know the PGA has 4 Tom’s now? Can you name them? The Tom’s have now taken the lead over the 3 John’s.

8/14/04 Hawaii Prince Golf Tournament

Another large turnout for this early morning adventure on the C & A course of Hawaii Prince. We were blessed with 6 guests which boosted our count. The course with its abundant sand and water features proved to be a difficult challenge allowing only 2 players to shoot net par or better. Guest Jerry Wilson won the low net honor of selecting the charity recipient with a net 71 calculated with the Callaway Handicapping system; Jerry had to leave as soon as he finished his round so he could get to his tee time at Oahu Country Club. Ted Otaguro was surprised to hear he took top club honors with his net 72. Equally surprised when they were awarded 2nd and 3rd place prizes were Jim Hickerson (75) and John Frauens (77). Some days it just pays to persevere and finish the race. John won by virtue of a tie breaker with Marilyn Gottesman who also shot a net 77. Marilyn played her first round with us at Hawaii Prince in January; she improved her score with a birdie and 20 strokes less than her January round. Way to go Marilyn.

Other Highlights:
CTP’s: Leighton Miyakawa, A3 & A5; Bob Curtis, C7; Shawn Ball, 17. (nobody on the green at C3, shame on us)
Birdies: Leighton Miyakawa, A2 & A3; Marilyn Gottesman, A5; Ted Otaguro, A8.
Low Gross: Jerry Wilson, 80; guest of Tom Stirling.
Other Net Par or better: Ted Otaguro, 72
Charity Winner: River of Life ($120) & Children’s Alliance of Hawaii ($120)
New PGA Members: None
Guests: Jerry Wilson, Al Bardi & Earl Takaoka, all guests of Brother Tom Stirling; Dave Ellis, a future member , guest of Brother John Ball; Rick Kwock, guest of Brother Leighton Miyakawa; and finally Brother Murray Bawden was able to find time in his busy schedule to join us and is talking about renewing his PGA membership.
Completed their 10th Round: Sister Lee Bassett
Humor: “The difference between golf and government is that in golf sometimes you can improve your lie.”
 
Next Scheduled Tournament: Saturday 9/18/04 at Mililani has been cancelled;
Next Tournament: Saturday 10/16/04 at Hawaii Kai; Check-in with me before 7:30 AM.

Confirmed for October:
Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Tom Stirling; John & Anne Frauens; Bruce Patterson.

7/25/04 Waikele Golf Tournament

We had 30 players, our largest group to date. Thank you for such great support. We were led in prayer by Tom Stirling and then off to battle the course. 3,093 strokes later we were finished and ready for some well deserved refreshments. If your score was under 103 then you beat the average. The club chairman, that would be yours truly, found some serious errors in the handicapping that has made a slight change in the top 3 finishers. The names are the same but the order is changed. Error number one was entering Shawn Ball with a 24 handicap when it was actually 20, changing Shawn’s net from 67 to 71. Error number 2 was entering Leighton Miyakawa with a 17 handicap when it was actually 11, changing Leighton’s net from 63 to 69. Leighton remains in first place by virtue of a tiebreaker with Jim Hickerson who also shot a 69. Shawn’s 67 second place finish changed to 3rd place with the 71. I apologize for the cause of these errors on my spreadsheet which have been corrected and should not occur again. My hope is in Colossians 3:13 which you will now have to look up if you do not have it already memorized.

Other Highlights:

• CTP’s: Andy Oishi, 8; Ted Otaguro, 11; Shawn Ball, 17. ( nobody on the green at Hole #5, shame on us)
• Birdies: Jim Hickerson, 3; Ken Roberts, 4; Ted Otaguro, 7 & 11; John Pyles, 16.
• Low Gross: Leighton Miyakawa, 80.
• Other Net Par or better: Leighton Miyakawa & Jim Hickerson, 69; Shawn Ball, 71; Jay Jarman, Jim Becker and John Pyles, 72.
• Charity Winner: River of Life ($305)
• New PGA Members: None
• Guests: None
• Completed their 10th Round: Linda Roberts and John Frauens
• Humor: “If you think it hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.” Jack Lemmon

Next Tournament:
Saturday 8/14/04 at Hawaii Prince Golf Course; Check in before 6:30 AM
Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Confirmed: Marilyn Gottesman; Jim Hickerson; Jo & Leighton Miyakawa; Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Tom Stirling; Bruce Patterson.

6/26/04 Mililani Golf Tournament
First and foremost I must give huge thanks to Ken Roberts and Jim Becker for so kindly and effectively organizing and running this tournament. Job well done good and faithful servants of the Lord. My day was blessed because of your good works. We had 25 players one of our largest groups ever and another beautiful day for golf. Another blessing was playing on Mililani greens that were not being aerated. And similar to this years first major win on the PGA for Phil Mickelson, I (Bruce Patterson) finally put together a first winning round after 18 attempts with our PGA, netting a 63. Our group actually placed 1, 2, 3 & 4 in the tournament and some have indicated skepticism with such a result. I do not understand how that could be with such a high level of integrity and humility in our group; a contractor; a surgeon; a lawyer; a pastor and an airline pilot. Second place went to John Frauens who crafted a nice round of 68, followed by Tom Stirling’s net 70 which included his 4th & 5th closest to the pin winners in only 4 outings with the PGA. Note the other 2 CTP’s were captured by our ladies, Bobbie Merrill and Linda Roberts. Linda was determined as the winner even though Conroy Chow had a closer shot. We forgot to announce that only club members are entered into the Closest to the Pin contests which are paid out from our club dues and contributes points towards our player of the year award. If you are curious, fourth place went to Jay Jarman winning a tiebreaker with Jim Becker at net 71.

Other Highlights:

• CTP’s: Tom Stirling, 3 & 12; Bobbie Merrill, 6; Linda Roberts, 16.
• Birdies: John Frauens, 7; Ty Matheny, 9; Leighton Miyakawa, 17.
• Low Gross: Jay Jarman & Bruce Patterson, 85.
• Other Net Par or better: Jay Jarman & Jim Becker, 71; Tom Merrill, 72.
• Charity Winner: Children’s Alliance of Hawaii ($250)
• New PGA Members: None
• Guests: Dick & Judy Kappenberg, friends and colleagues of the Merrills; Jim West guest of Ron Mathieu; Conroy Choy, guest of the Miyakawa’s; Ty Matheny from our own beloved FPC. Ty broke out the sticks after not playing for over a year but notice he did get a birdie already.
• Completed 10 Rounds: Lucinda Pyles
• Humor: Hank Aaron is quoted as saying, “It took me 17 years to get 3000 hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.”
• Bible Verse: Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Next Tournament:
Saturday 7/24/04 at Waikele Golf Course; Check in before 6:15 AM. Please contact me at your earliest convenience. Confirmed: John & Shawn Ball & guest Dave Ellis; Brad & Lee Bassett; Jim Hickerson; Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Andy Oishi; Ken & Linda Roberts and Bruce Patterson.

5/15/04 Olomana Golf Course
God Rains and God Reigns!!!! Halleluiah, What a great day for a bunch of hopeful, perservering, characters.
An early morning call to the starter indicated that the course was open and play was being allowed but not required. Our committed count had dropped from 23 to 17 by Friday due to many causes including the weather. Fourteen willing players braved the elements and showed up at the clubhouse Saturday morning. A great sigh of relief was heard for miles when told they would not have to pay and play. However, there were those who came to play, the warriors of the PGA and they must be recognized: Tom “Terrific” Plant; “Steady” Ted Otaguro; “Battling” Bob Curtis; “Tenacious” Ty Young; “Long Ball” John Frauens; Jay “Big Bamboocha” Jarman and yours truly, Bruce “Doesn’t Know Better” Patterson. Ladies, where were you? After loving and complimentary remarks were shared between those considered “out of their minds” and those considered “less than adventuresome” the two groups separated and the tournament began. Our Mr. “Bamboocha” opened with prayer. Mr. “Steady” Ted launched the first drive of the day long and straight down the middle of the 10th fairway. On a dry day it would have gone at least another 40 yards, instead we would see drive after drive create explosions of water when they landed.

This was truly a WOW experience; “Walking On Water” “Will Over Wisdom” “Wages Of War” “Weather Or Whether” etc., etc., etc… Friday’s rains had absolutely saturated the course and Saturday continued to add to the saturation. There literally was not one square in of dry surface on the course. From the clubhouse it looked like Minnesota, the land of a thousand lakes. Every depression on the course was filled with water. Sand traps were water hazards; some traps were completely full of water. Low areas on the cart paths could cause your cart to stall unless you revved up and blasted thru at mach speed. Men being boys, trying to splash the cart in front of you, it just doesn’t get any better. Everybody experienced, at least, one lost ball to the water somewhere on the course. The weather was clear when we paid our green fees but started to come down shortly after our prayer. After a couple of holes it cleared up and was beautiful until we got to the half way point when the rain returned but only for a short while. It cleared again and remained clear until we finished. And despite these conditions we had 2 players card scores under par. John and Ted both netted 71’s. Unlucky Ted lost the tie breaker to John who captured his first tournament victory. Unlucky Ted also missed getting his second closest to the pin on the 8th hole by a mere 3 inches. I came in third with a net 74. If a prize would have been given to the muddiest finisher, Tom Plant would have won hands down.

Romans 5:3 thru 5 – We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perserverance, character; character, hope; and hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Other Highlights:
CTP’s: John Frauens, 2; Bruce Patterson, 8; John Frauens, 11; Ted Otaguro, 17;
Birdies: Jay Jarman, 14.
Low Gross: Ted Otaguro 84
Charity Winner: TBA
New 10 Rounders with the PGA: none
New PGA Member: Ty Young who played his first round with us last month has now joined. Ty has been in the islands for about 7 years and has his own business in the accounting and financial fields.
Guest: Tom Plant, former FPC member now living in Palm Springs, CA joined us for a 2nd time in 2 years;
Humor: May thy ball lie in green pastures, not in still waters.

Next Tournament:
Mililani; Saturday June 26th, 2004;
Confirmed: Jay Jarman; Tom Palmer; Ty Young

4/24/04 Pearl Country Club
WOW!!! Our tournament at Pearl Country Club was special in many ways. It was our 18th tournament since starting in January of 2003. It was our largest turnout with 29 players. We had 6 guests, all affiliated with FPC. We had 3 father/son groupings and 1 father/mother/son grouping. We had two 14 year olds, our youngest players yet and one of them was playing on his birthday. We had 2 new PGA members playing their first round with the group. We had an eagle recorded on the Par 5 seventeenth hole. We had a 308 yard drive reported also on the same hole, same player, duh. We had 3 more players record their 10th round with the club bringing our total to 16 with fully established club handicaps. We had God bless us with a beautiful day, holding back the wind and rain which would make this challenging course much, much harder. Pearl is also a premier course that the Sony Open uses to qualify players for their PGA tournament.

Now, they say if you want to make God laugh tell Him your plans. I provided Him with all He needed. I was really excited about our largest number of signups and all the new people. I could see us all circled up on the first tee with welcoming introductions, a birthday wish for Chris Lau, and a grand prayer to send us off into 18 holes of golf heaven. I brought my camera to take a group photo and to get pictures of our new members for the website. And beyond that I was going to shoot a round in the 80’s and challenge the leaders for a first place finish. Well, my strategies backfired from the “gitgo”. By changing the location of where I set up to check people in, thinking it was more visible than the last time we played Pearl, I fooled a few players which delayed my getting everybody checked in. Then the cashier got confused adding to the delay. Then the starter sent our first 3 groups out, including our birthday boy, before I even got the cart receipts down for cart assignments, so no group pictures. Then the Marshall started pushing us to play faster practically before we even teed off. Then he finally found me to restate his encouragement to catch up. By the time I arrived at the first tee two groups were gone, our prayer circle was getting organized by Ron Mathieu and then Pastor Sim led us in prayer while some of our groups were still getting their carts assigned. God was sending me a message to include Him in my plans next time. Eighteen holes later found me with a couple of triple bogies and enough other strokes not to challenge shooting in the 80’s. Somewhat frustrated and grumpy with the days events I decided to forego double checking the scorecards and just go with the recorded totals. After recording the scores and announcing the winners, I found some errors from my haste that affect the final outcome. I apologize for the mistakes and any grumpy behavior you may have been exposed to. Bear with me in the tournaments to come, God continues to work with me in several areas of “Christlikeness”. Ouch!!!! Any way you look at it, it was a good day for our charity fund. Thanks to all.

My biggest error was putting a handicap of 24 down for Shawn Ball when he actually has a 20 handicap. There was an addition error in Shawn’s total also, so I have amended Shawn’s score, sorry Shawn. Another error of consequence was identified when I recalculated Andy Oishi’s brilliant gross score of 78 and discovered it to be a more brilliant 77. Andy is one of our new PGA members and he quickly demonstrated his skills with 2 birdies, an eagle and a 308 yard drive. His playing partners, Ron M., Sim and John Frauens were quick to applaud his game. Other 300 yard hitters in our membership include at least John and Shawn Ball and Jay Jarman. I personally have witnessed their huge drives. Please let me know if anyone in your group powers a 300+ yard drive for our future highlights. After some clarifications, adjustments and tie breaker reviews, here is our final first, second and third place finishers; Leighton Miyakawa; Andy Oishi; Shawn Ball; Congratulations for your good rounds on a difficult course.

Other Highlights:
CTP’s: Linda Roberts, 3; Shawn Ball, 6; Andy Oishi, 13; Leighton Miyakawa, 16.
Birdies: Andy Oishi 5 & 12; Ken Roberts, 16.
Eagles: Andy Oishi, 17.
Low Gross: Andy Oishi, 77.
Charity Winner: TBA
New PGA Members: Anne Frauens, wife of PGA player John; Andy Oishi, a general surgeon married with a young daughter and son;
Guests: Ken & son Braxton Vinson; Randy & son Chris Lau; Ty Young, Ty has been attending FPC for about 9 months; Taylor Roberts, a skilled carpenter, remodeler and son of Ken & Linda Roberts.
Other father/son combo: John & son Shawn Ball.
Completed 10 Rounds: Gerri Otaguro; Ken Roberts; Pastor Sim

Prayer Request:
Sim got word that Bobbie Merrill fell and hurt her knee/leg pretty bad, possibly broken bone(s); I trust Bobbie and Tom would appreciate our prayers for comfort and a complete and speedy recovery.
Humor: Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up praying a lot.

3/20/04 Mililani Golf Course
My special thanks to all that braved the elements this past Saturday. At 7:15 AM there was a steady drizzle causing some to wonder if we would get to play. Before teeing off at 8 AM God cleared the way for 20 of us to go forth in fellowship and faith, occasionally blessed with a light and quickly passing rain. We were also challenged with greens that were aerated and sand covered, so we adopted a maximum 3 putt rule for the day. Ron Mathieu lead us in prayer then proceeded on a journey to one of his best scores ever, which netted him a 1st place 64. Another personal best was turned in by Bobbie Merrill netting a 68 for 2nd place. Ed Hamada, winner of last month’s tournament at Kapolei, challenged again with a net 69 for 3rd place. The good news is Ed and Arlean will be in Australia for our next tournament giving the rest of us a better chance to win. Marilyn Gottesman was my cart partner. Marilyn had a great round finishing in 4th place. Her steady straight drives off the tee were impressive and rewarded her with a great score. So despite the “drizzle”, there were some rounds with “sizzle”. My round can be described as front nine sizzle, back nine fizzle, overall sfizzle.

If you haven’t already, be sure to congratulate our brother Jim Hickerson & his wife Carole on the recent wedding of their daughter Jennifer.

Other Highlights:
CTP’s: Leighton Miyakawa, 3; Bobbie Merrill, 6; Tom Stirling, 12; Henry Naganuma, 16;
Birdies: Tom Stirling, 2; Henry Naganuma, 5; John Frauens, 6; Tom Merrill, 7;
Low Gross: Leighton Miyakawa 89
Charity Winner: Children’s Alliance of Hawaii (See our 2004 Choices below)
Guest: John Ellis joined us for a 2nd time;
Humor: There are 3 things an aging golfer loses; nerve, memory, and I can’t remember the 3rd thing.

Next Tournament:
Saturday, April 24th at Pearl Country Club; First tee time is 7 AM; Check-in by 6:30 AM
The following players are confirmed; Brad Bassett; Bob Curtis; John Frauens; Marilyn Gottesman; Jay Jarman; Ron Mathieu; Tom & Bobbie Merrill; Henry Naganuma; Andy Oishi; Ken & Linda Roberts; Tom Stirling; Marcia Titcomb; Bruce Patterson;

2/21/04 Kapolei
This was the first time we played at Kapolei Golf Course and I heard many good comments. The first fairway was beautifully green from all the recent rains. We are scheduled to play there again in December. We maxxed out our 5 tee times with 22 players. Ted Otaguro got us started with prayer and we gathered to watch the first group (Brad & Lee and John & Lucinda) all hit perfect tee shots. When it was over, one of my playing partners, Ed Hamada took 1st place honors with a net 66. He was hitting his drives long and straight all day and putting lights out from 10 feet or so. And that was in spite of Arlene’s numerous reminders of water and other hazards right before Ed would address his ball. Second place went to Shawn Ball, netting a 68 and third went to John Pyles netting a 69.

Other highlights:
CTP’s: Ron Mathieu,5; Tom Stirling, 8 & 12; Leighton Miyakawa, 16.
Birdies: Ed Hamada, 2; Leighton Miyakawa, 16; John Ball, 17; Bruce Patterson, 18.
Low Gross: Leighton Miyakawa, 84.
Jackpot Winner: To be determined by Ed after 2004 charities are selected.
Humor: Golf balls are like eggs. They’re white. They are sold by the dozen, and a week later you have to buy more.

Schedule Changes:
Due to the turnout and a conflict with the Men’s retreat this year, I have contacted the courses and made some adjustments to the schedule. Please make the following changes on your schedules.
· April: Changed from the 17th to the 24th; First tee time is 7:00 AM; I added 2 more tee times.
· August: Stating time is changed to 7:08 AM; I added 2 more tee times.

1/10/04 Hawaii Prince
First of all, thanks to all for making 2003 a great first year for the PGA. What a great success. New friendships, joys of victory and agonies of defeat in 14 great golf adventures on many of Oahu’s wonderful golf courses and we collected and awarded $2,680 to worthy charities all in the name of Jesus Christ. Halleluiah!!! 2004 is upon us, may it be even better for each and every one of us.

23 of us gathered on a cool and brisk morning for our first tee off at 7:24 AM. Heavy dew on the grass but smiles and excitement on the hearts as we kicked off the new year. Pastor Sim once again opened us up in prayer at the first tee area. The course was in great condition and challenged many of us with its magnetic water and sand obstacles throughout the C & A courses. New member, Leighton Miyakawa who had played with us once before, shot a net 64 to capture first place, followed by Long Ball John Ball who netted a 66 which I think he told me was his best round ever, and third place went to Barbara Bowyer (net 73) after not being able to play for several months. Welcome back Barbara. A gathering at the snack area to have some lunch and rehash the day’s events was enjoyed by most.

Other highlights:
CTP’s: Bruce Patterson, 3A; Jim Hickerson, 3B; Barbara Bowyer, 5A; Leighton Miyakawa, 7C.
Birdies: Bruce Patterson, 3A.
Low Gross: Leighton Miyakawa, 81.
Jackpot Winner: To be determined by Leighton after 2004 charities are selected.
Guests: Ron Mathieu’s sister Diane and her husband David visiting from the frigid east coast but thinking about retiring in Hawaii in a couple of years, both are avid golfers; Steve Tucker, guest of Barbara Bowyer.
New Members: Tom Stirling, FPC member; Jo & Leighton Miyakawa (Jo has been a long time friend from the business world of Bruce P. and also members at New Hope, and Marilyn Gottesman a friend & real estate agent for Jim Hickerson.

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