Contact  Us:   info@sfcgc.org 

                

                                                                   Fairways Lies Revisited    By Adrienne Lieu         

 

April 2, 2007 Volume 9 Issue 1 

The first tournament in 2007 was held at Shoreline on St. Patrick’s Day. Daniel Lo told us it was to be a mixer. We were to play a green ball. It was to be rotated among the four players in each team. Thank goodness, the ball was not green as we originally had imagined; it was a dull yellow crystal ball with a number marked on it. Since each team had low to high handicappers, the team captain had to strategize how to assign the holes to each player, the low handicapper hit long and could land in the rough or the water, the high handicapper hated to cross over water. No one wanted to lose the yellow ball on his turn. It was hilarious how we would spend hours hunting for a ball in the rough only to find it in the fairway; we could play superb golf with our own ball and to fall apart with the yellow ball. At the end the veterans came out like champs; Tom Gee, Torres Leong, Mabel Wong, Nancy Yuke all were winners. Jonathan Wong is our new Tournament Chair; he was undaunted by his new duty, because he managed to score two birdies. Nice game and good tournament. We move on to the next at Dublin Ranch on April 14. Since the last Fairway Lies we have these achievements to record. Roy Fasudhani plays frequently at Lincoln Golf Course in San Francisco and he is good. On July 21, 2006, he used his faithful 5 wood and scored a Hole in One on the 8th hole, 170 yards. Ben Yuke, returning to golf last year, was only playing 9 holes every week. However, the 9 holes were not opened to him on October 18, 2006. He went to Sharp Park and brilliantly scored a Hole in One on the 8th hole, 91 yards, with his 7 iron. It’s a joy to see Ben and Eddie Way playing with the youngsters, Chester Lee and Lois Lym, at Fleming on Wednesdays. Ben still has his classic fluid swing…….We are sorry to hear Chris and Greg Fong will be moving back to Vancouver. While they’ve been here, they served on the Board and participated in many tournaments. We will miss them…….Our Website not only showcases the Club to prospective members but also serves as a link to relatives around the world. Our cousin who lives in Melbourne, Australia visited us recently and told us he frequently would look up the Club’s website and check up on what we had been doing; he especially enjoyed seeing the pictures taken at the dinners. They gave him an idea on how we still look…… Before Roy Fasudhani left for Thailand he had arranged the Chinese New Year Dinner. Since he could not be at the dinner, he sent his daughter, Angela to represent him. She was a beautiful substitute. At the Chinese New Year Dinner it was nice to see Chiu Wan; we hope she will join us in some tournaments this year…… It was also good to see Cindy and Francis Wong returning to play. Francis took a year off to rest his injury…..When Molly brought in Peggy Nahinu as a new member, we reassured her she was not the token white person. She got to join her counterpart, Fred Morris, at the first tournament. A good year is beginning so let’s go out and play!

 All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu

 May 20, 2006      Volume 8  Issue 1 

Tournaments began in March. Although uncertain weather was a factor, nevertheless we had managed to finish three as planned. Today is the second time I participated in our Club’s tournament. In April as we were driving to San Jose from San Francisco, heavy rain started to hit us. I quickly called Los Lagos Golf Course and the man at the Pro Shop reassured me that there wasn’t any rain there. When we got to the golf course, black clouds loomed overhead. While we were still debating over the weather, the ladies were told to tee off. Some of us reluctantly put on our rain gear. Heavy downpour hit us the first two holes and then the sun came out. The men’s flights never had to deal with the rain. The rest of the day was bathed in sunshine. Los Lagos was in wonderful condition and we all had a great time. Today is May’s tournament; again we were faced with possible showers for the weekend. Our Tournament Chair, Dan Lo, saw how heavy Friday’s rain was and tried to change the date for our Saturday tournament. Foxtail Golf Course could not accommodate his request. He Emailed us that we were to play come rain or shine. But would you know it, we again had perfect weather. This reminds me, during our very wet weather in March, Kirby and his foursome always managed to play Thursdays at Harding, some right before the storm, some right after the storm. Was there a halo on his head? .  .  .  .  .  .   When the San Francisco Symphony presented this year’s Chinese New Year Celebration, at the urging of Janie Kaung who was serving on the Chinese New Year Committee, Kirby gathered a bunch of us golfers to go hear the symphony presentation. We sat at the Side Terrace and stared down at the symphony pit. We enjoyed the presentation and stayed awake I believe. .  .  .  .  . Nicholas Wong ought to feel good about the SFCGC Website. Another new member came on board because he found us on the Internet and became interested. The next step was fortuitous. Carol Lee usually plays at Harding every Friday, teeing off from the white tee. One Friday she met Louis Lo who recognized her from a picture on our Web. He told Carol he would like to join our Club except he didn’t know how to find two sponsors. Carol smiled and said “no problem”. Come to think of it, Carol found us on the Web also. How perfect it was for her to introduce our Club to a new member. Let’s welcome Louis Lo. Watch out Daniel! Are you ready for some serious competition? ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Walton Chang brought in his son Kameron last year as a junior member. This year he not only brought in his daughter he also brought in his friend’s children, twins Alexandra and Andrea Wong. They were a joy to watch. We hope to get more junior members in the future so that they can play among their peers. Meanwhile we must do our best to keep up with them. .  .  .  .  .  . Congratulations to Sarah Fong for coming in first net in her flight at the Tucson Invitational. Earlier this year when Sarah was trying to qualify for entry into Poplar Creek Women’s Golf Club, a strayed ball hit her at her right wrist. She was out of play for couple of months. She must have put her rest to good use, because she came back and played so well at Tucson. Lippman Choy wore out his back from hitting the golf balls so hard and had to go through surgery to alleviate his pain. He had Dr. Steven Hsu performed the state of the art back surgery by inserting two titanium spacers into his lower back. He only needed to stay overnight at the hospital. If you are interested in the procedure you need to ask him for details. It sure beats the old back fusion surgery. .  .  .  .  .  Our dear life member Fred Wong passed away in January. He was a valuable member in the history of our Club. We are happy to see Mabel’s continuing presence at our tournaments. .  .  .  .  .  .  Those of you who have not yet played, make time to come out at least once and see the spirit growing in the Club. Support the youth and encourage the seniors.

 

 

All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu

 

*******************************************************************************

November 23, 2005      Volume 7 Issue 2

I started the year by appealing to our members to help the victims of the Tsunami. Then throughout 2005 we have seen other countries facing natural and man-provoked disasters; not until Hurricane Katrina were we aware of our own vulnerability. San Francisco wanted to open its door to people who were displaced. However, after some serious deliberation, SF received minimal response. The City is just too far and too expensive for anyone to relocate. We are living in unreality, comfort in our million dollar home, enjoying mild weather, worry about not getting a tee time at Harding, not giving a thought to another strong earthquake. How blessed are we? 

Molly Pong, our hard working President, pulled her Cabinet together and gave us a very enjoyable year. I am sure Molly has never had to use her Email as much as this year. She not only had her Cabinet well informed but also the members by sending out Club news from time to time in addition to the information being posted on the Web site by our Webmaster, Nick Wong. Jokingly, we hope, Nick has always stated his job is opened to anyone who is interested. Seeing how wonderfully he has managed it, we will have a hard time finding a replacement. Ron Fong, drafted early as our Social Chairperson, introduced us to two new restaurants for our Chinese New Year and our Annual Dinner. They both had the ambience and the good food. About ninety persons attended the Annual Dinner; one table was filled with prospective junior members for our Club. With the help of our new member Paul Tan, who owns Peninsula Golf in San Mateo, we were able to purchase some desirable prizes as door prizes for the Club members. I won two ½ hour lessons with Paul! I am wishful for an improved game but can Paul deal with the limitations of a female senior. I cannot say enough about our Tournament Team, namely Dan Lo, Sandra Lo and Leo Lee. I saw them at all the tournaments I attended. With relatively small turnouts they had to struggle with pairings, golf course irregularities and complaints from the members. They tried hard to please everyone and were opened to advice and suggestion. Those of us who have run tournaments know it is a thankless job. Dan has the spirit to take the worst with the good and will try for improvement next year. Let’s cooperate. 

In February after the Invitational Committee had met with Nick Lombardo at Rancho Cañada and Chairpersons Russell and Kirby Kwok signed all the contracts, Nick died suddenly in May. We felt lost and could not get over his death. How could we do without him speaking at the Awards Dinner? About a dozen of the members attended the Mass of the Resurrection for Nick. Ironically, this is to be the last year San Francisco could host an Invitational at Carmel. Nick was working to bring affordable housing to the Monterey Peninsula using a portion of the West course at Rancho Cañada. With the help of the Rancho staff Russell and Kirby pulled off a very successful Invitational. They negotiated for a hybrid club as the tee prize for every player. PoeLing helped sign up more than 36 hole sponsors. The Invitational Chair then decided to donate all we collected from the raffles to Katrina Relief through Habitat for Humanity. The San Francisco Invitational will be remembered not only for its generous raffle prizes but also for its generous charitable donation. Kameron Chang joined us as a junior member this year. He is Walton Chang’s son. At first Kameron played with the Ladies Flight. Soon we realized he was too good for the ladies. At the Annual, he competed with the Men’s B Flight and came in second net. In the coming year Kameron will find other junior members to challenge him. From the very young to the more mature member of our Club,  we celebrated Eddie Way’s 89th   birthday this year. It was highlighted by three parties expressing the three facets of his life, his interest as a scientist, a dancer and a golfer. At last sighting, Eddie is still partying. Two ladies had hole-in-one. Molly Pong did it during the tournament at Metropolitan GC. Joyce Hong had it at Blackhawk CC Falls Course. Terrific achievement! During 2005 several members or past members passed away. Patricia Alvergue died after an eight year battle with cancer. She and her husband John were former club members. Cho Yiu Chung, survived by his wife Helen, was a member, left the Bay Area, came back, and was ready to rejoin us. Bill Chinn, one of our life members, passed away peacefully at home. We celebrated his 90th birthday last year. Bill loved to play at Sharp Park. He especially enjoyed company at the 19th Hole. There aren’t many good drinkers left.

All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

             January 2, 2005                                                               Volume 7 Issue 1         

Lo and behold it’s 2005. I can’t believe that I actually stayed up to welcome the new year. Gladis Moy invited us to her place to have dinner and play cards. Little did I know how engrossed I got. Close to eight hours of card playing set my mind churning that at two o’clock in the morning I still lay awake strategizing. Here we are safe and sound, maybe complaining slightly about the wet weather preventing us from playing golf; while on the other side of the globe, thousands of people suffered from the devastating earthquake and the ensuing Tsunami. Many golfers have played in those areas and now the land has disappeared. How can we help these countries? Money, money and more money, please send your money to the Red Cross. Nothing is more important than showing your compassion to the people in distress. 

At the last meeting of 2004, the members have elected a new slate of officers for the next two years. Molly Pong, our President, with a crew of youthful assistants will surely come up with new ideas for the Club. In the Fall of 2005 San Francisco again hosts a Biennial Invitational for the Federation. For the past thirty years our Club has used the Rancho Canada Golf Courses in Carmel. The owner of Rancho Canada has decided to convert one of the golf courses into housing; we will no longer have the luxury of playing at Rancho after this year. We hope more members will support the Invitational this year if only for nostalgia sake. Our Social Chairperson, Ron Fong, has sent the most innovative E-vite to members for the upcoming Chinese New Year Dinner. Originally the Club planned to subsidize the members and a few guests, but so many members have decided to bring guests that the Club has to add $10 for each additional guest. In the responses to the E-vite we can see who’s going to the dinner. Not only will we look forward to seeing our Club members again at the dinner, we also look forward to the tournaments being planned for 2005 under the management of our enthusiastic Tournament Chairperson, Daniel Lo and most likely with Sandra, his wife. All of our activities in 2005 can be found on our Web site. 

Having been in the Golf Club since the early 1980’s, I begin to see my contemporaries  pulling out of their membership, younger players finding more challenging opponents in other clubs. Those of us who remain still think we are up to a little competition, we keep in touch with old friends in the Federation, enjoy whatever activities in the Club and welcome whoever is new. We still look forward to playing at the different golf courses. In the past year we’ve learned of the passing of four of our former members. Helen Fong, Harry Louie, Franklin Sing and Charles Ho. Helen served as Handicap and Social Chairperson, was very serious about everyone learning the rules of Golf. She made sure everyone kept correct scores and followed the rules. Harry and Franklin were past presidents of the Club. Harry never let his health problem interfere with his golf; in fact, he passed away after enjoying a round of golf. Franklin took golf seriously; he had instructions from many teaching pros and he shared what he learned with us. Charles Ho picked up golf at the tender age of 80. Irrespective of what other people thought, he always believed he was a golfer. Such are the fond memories.  

All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu.

 

                               Fairway Lies Revisited             By  Adrienne Lieu

                      December 8, 2003                             Volume 6 Issue 2         

                                        The Past Year

2003 officially ended with the Turkey Shoot at Blue Rock in Vallejo. The results are posted on our Club’s Website. We are very fortunate to have Nick Wong maintaining the website. He makes it so inviting and informative. Two new members found us through the internet; they were looking for a Chinese golf club in the San Francisco area. Our Website looks great. Nick has put a lot of love into the site. Thank you Nick! Since 2001 we have seen a steady decline in the number of members participating in our Club tournaments. Most tournaments have slightly over 30 players. How can we attract more players? Super senior players play only if they could find rides to the golf courses. The young players who belong to several golf groups may not choose to play all of our tournaments. The costly green fees are deterrents. Then we have the churchgoers and the frequent travelers. There is no easy solution to the question. At least those who participate are in good company and there seems to be more opportunity for social with the members. Be it as it may with small numbers we were still able to win the Battle of the Bay under Phoebe’s leadership. The hospitality was so good at Rancho Canãda the challenge for 2004 will be there again. Labor Day Weekend Tom Gee put on a successful San Francisco Invitational in Carmel. Working with PoeLing, Johnny Lau, a former SF member who has since moved to Sacramento, got us a large number of sponsors for the 36 holes we played. The tee prize, the golf package and the raffle prizes were first class. A big decision will have to be made whether San Francisco hosts the Invitational in 2005. Clubs who put on the invitational in the past are feeling burn out and are dropping their sponsorship. The Federation is considering taking over the organization of future invitational into one a year, alternating between the southern part of the State and the northern part of the State. In September 2004 there will be a Federation Senior Tournament in Reno. Get the details from Tom Gee. A good turnout is expected. This year’s Awards Luncheon at Blackhawk Country Club was a special outing for many of us. Since the advent of TV we rarely go driving on weekends as we used to do. So on the First of November while the weather was especially beautiful, sunny and warm, we took a trip to Danville to attend the Awards Luncheon. The Blackhawk Golf Course was a perfect setting for the Luncheon. Receiving favorable comments from the members, our Social Chairperson is already planning a similar venue for next year, possibly at a different private golf club. Pictures from the Luncheon and the Annual Tournament results are found on Our Website.

 New Members

Here are the members who have joined since 2003:

Scott Chan from San Francisco, sponsored by Torres Leong and Tom Gee.

Kenford Dong from Millbrae, returning former member.

Chiu Wan Ngai from San Francisco, sponsored by PoeLing and Molly Pong.

Terrance Ho from San Francisco, sponsored by PoeLing and Suthee.

Daniel Lo from Fremont, sponsored by Molly and Tony Ching.

Sandra Lo from Fremont, sponsored by Molly and Tony.

Fuzzy Pourahmadi from Fremont, sponsored by Phil Gee and Terry Shimono.

Terry Shimono from Redwood City, sponsored by Phil and Kirby.

Ben Szeto from San Francisco, sponsored by Torres and Tom.

Matilda Young from San Francisco, sponsored by Jeanette and Thomas Hsieh.

Dong Hao Zhang from Sunnyvale, sponsored by Daniel Lo and Sandra Lo. 

Member News

Lincoln, a senior community northeast of Sacramento, has attracted many of our members. Soon to move there in January are Linda and Bill Chang. They will join Bonnie and Stan Hing and Lillian and Tom Nolan. Most of us hardly notice it; PoeLing has gone through two major surgeries this year. Her recoveries were phenomenal; she did not miss any of the Club’s functions. Phoebe and Lippman have more reason to golf in Florida now that their granddaughter is living in Orlando. All because of children and grandchildren moving far away, Linda and Russell probably will golf more in Shanghai and Adrienne and Van in North Carolina. Eight Club members took a golfing vacation in Prince Edward Island early September. Although there were days with strong wind and threatening clouds they were able to get in 8 rounds of golf. Anyone interested in doing a similar trip should consult with Linda Kwok. She did an excellent job. We have learned our former member Howard Wong passed away in the Fall. Howard was living in San Francisco until his retirement a few years ago and moved to Rio Vista. We will always remember him with his unorthodox but long swing. The reason Eddie Way did not go to the Awards Luncheon was he had to prepare for a dance competition that evening. On a recent cruise he was a dancing partner for the ladies on board. Even for Eddie 11 hours of dancing was a bit much. Daniel Won is smiling more broadly lately. Not only is he happy that he has been blessed with 80 years of good life but also the stock market is going back up. Because of a recent fire to his company in the Bay Area, Tony, our Tournament Chairperson, has to set up shop in Utah temporarily. While he is away, Norman Lin will fill in. Do you know that male reindeer shed their antlers in November and the female reindeer shed theirs in April while they have their young? Therefore when Santa goes delivering on Christmas he only has female reindeer to guide his sled and that is why he never gets lost.  

Happy holidays to everyone and may you all be blessed with good health.  

All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu.    

                       March 3, 2003                                                           Volume 6 Issue 1

The Board expresses a warm welcome to YOU who have joined this year. You have helped to maintain our membership number at around 90. With many excellent courses reserved for this year, we hope every member will participate in a couple of them. Last Sunday about 40 of us started our Club’s first tournament at Santa Teresa in San Jose. The weather was cool-ish but sunny. The golf carts, all cleaned before given to us, were allowed to enter the fairways. The practice facilities were complete; there were even areas for pitching and chipping. As Tony Ching our Tournament Chair had reassured us that the course would be in good condition. In the past, we had Santa Teresa on our schedule every year; however, we haven’t had it for sometime. If someone were to ask me to pick my favorites for this year, I’d include this one, even though the par 3’s were all over 140 yards and the 10th and 11th holes remained tough for me. 

Those of you who can access the Club’s Website should look at it regularly for Club meeting minutes, upcoming events of our Club and the Federation, and pictures from our Chinese New Year dinner. 50 members and friends had a rousing time at Lichee Garden in San Francisco Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year. The date must have been auspicious, because the restaurant was packed with other celebrants. Trust our Social Chair, Linda Kwok, to find the good restaurant; we all enjoyed the menu, especially the winter melon soup. No one seemed to have trouble finding a parking space. For table favors Linda placed red firecrackers and miniature golden royal miters filled with candies in additions to the lucky money and tangerine. The tables were very colorful. Everyone had a good time. Suddenly loud noise and red faces broke out from one table. We were told it wasn’t due to the wine; some lucky fellow was just showing off the Valentine boxer shorts he received from his beloved. 

The Tournament Chair has already sent out sign-ups to the April Tournament at Poppy Ridge. For $47 you cannot beat the price on a weekend on an excellent course. The Tucson Invitational is full; however, people on the waiting list have gotten in. If you wish to go, there is still hope. The Battle of the Bay is on at the end of June. Phoebe Choy is in charge of the format. For the past two years, San Francisco has ended consistently in the third place. Tom Gee is chairing our Club’s Invitational this year over the Labor Day Weekend. He has new ideas and new venue. We were last told by Julie, who manages the Mariposa in Monterey (our favorite place to stay), the rooms are rapidly taken up for that weekend. Our Club Annual Awards will take place at a luncheon this year. November 1 is the date and the luncheon will be held at Blackhawk Country Club in Danville. We have all invested $40 towards this event; attend; don’t throw your money away. 

By enumerating the activities I have reached the end of this year. For clarification on any event please call the officers on the Board.  

All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu

April 2, 2002                                   Volume                  5 Issue 1     

We did not have a February tournament this year. Considering all the rain we got this winter, we probably could not have played in February. The Club had its Chinese New Year Dinner at Kirin Restaurant in early March. Our Social Chairman Nicholas and his wife outdid themselves by providing colorful decoration, good wine and a wonderful menu. No one regretted what he paid for the meal. When March 25 came players were rearing to play Crystal Springs. The day was beautiful; the lunch provided was satisfying; however, the course was just aerated and was not up to par for playing. Nevertheless, we had a good time catching up with each other. Bill Chinn looked forward to his favorite hole 19. We were glad to see several new members. After the tournament, players went to Panda Restaurant in San Francisco for a scrumptious meal. 

GENERAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 27, 2002 

The meeting was held at the Chinese SDA Church social hall in San Francisco. The meeting was called to order by President Kirby Kwok at 6:50pm. He announced that this year’s Battle of the Bay would be held on June 30 at Rancho Solano. Phoebe Choy is our Club’s team captain. She needs 24 players to compete in the tournament. There are more than enough men players, but we need a few more women players.

The Treasurer’s Report: 2002 proposed budget of $$$$$ was accepted.

Tournament Committee: President Kirby will be appointing Tony Ching to fill in the position of Tournament Secretary.

Membership Committee: Since the roster was made, 6 new members have joined and 4 pending. The 6 new members are Lynn Goldstein, Dali Jones, Walter Lim, Justin Wang, Ralan Wong and Lydia Chyr (associate membership).

Club Website: Nick Wong suggested that the Club consider establishing a web-site to disseminate news, monthly tournament announcements and applications, promote the club and serve as a link to other golf sites. Tom Gee moved that the Club obtain a registered domain name and proceed to establish a website. Motion seconded and passed.

Constitution and By-Laws: Thanks to Dr. Ben Yuke and Molly Pong, the Club’s Constitution and By-Laws have been updated. Members who have not received the new document can ask Russell Kwok for one.

Social Committee: Nick announced 56 had made reservations to the New Year’s Dinner.

Coming Event: Tom Gee reminded members the Stockton Columbus Day Invitational will be held at Brookside Country Club. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45pm, followed by refreshment. 

NEWS 

While we are glad to see Tom Nolan back on the circuit, Torres Leong is still plagued by his back and cannot play 18 holes. Walter Lee, one of our life members, passed away January 20 of this year, a few months short of his 92 birthday. Nick Wong wasted no time in getting the Club’s website going. Our Club has entered into the twenty-first century. Let’s all think young and participate. Pick up a used computer from your children and get online. The opening page is beautiful with our Club’s logo. Soon more information will be filled in. Our name is www.sfcgc.org. A few golfers from Vancouver are sponsoring a two-day tournament in Vancouver from September 2 through 4. Anyone interested in going should get in touch with Tom Gee. The field is limited to the first 60 golfers. The accommodation and the activities are usually wonderful. Does anyone want to sell her blue 2001 Invitational Windshirt, size S? Jeanette Hsieh wants to replace the one she lost. Mark November 9, 2002 on your calendar. You have already invested $40 for the Annual Dinner set for that date. You are being forewarned, there will be no substitution if you could not attend. The season has begun; hope to see more players on April 20 at Santa Clara.                              

All writings are the responsibilities of Adrienne Lieu.