Organization Name

VGC’s annual Board election culminates each October when the votes are tallied, and the three new Directors are announced. On behalf of the current Directors I want to welcome Mark Fitzpatrick, Jan Hauhe and David Klein to the Board. In

January they will join the six returning Directors to begin their three-year service to the club.

At its recent October meeting, the Board of Directors selected Sam Rotondi to serve as PVGC’s 2020 Board President. The remaining Officers, including Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary will be nominated and confirmed by the Board at its November meeting.

The Annual Fall Business Meeting will be held On November 13th, and all members are invited to attend. In addition to brief presen-tations from each Committee Chair, the meeting will focus on the results of the recent Membership Survey, and planned changes to the tipping policy will be announced.

And finally, PVGC’s new Director of Food & Beverage, Nicholas Spurgeon, is now aboard so be sure to introduce yourself when you have the opportunity. Nik is an important component of our initiative to improve the member dining experience at the club. The most frequent member complaint I hear pertains to service in the dining room and Nik’s primary focus will be to address this. The forthcoming change to the tipping policy is also intended to help the club retain qualified servers. The recruitment of Executive Chef Garrett Yokoyama earlier this year, and planned renovations to the dining room and bar area are two other components of our improvement initiative.

—Braden Turnbull

October arrived and then disappeared almost as quickly, but in between the House continued its run on entertaining events.

Quiz night 2 grew in size, and it looks like it’s becoming another popular feature in the Membership agenda. Mark Proctor, our quiz master, took the evening to a higher level with new questions, and humor. Of course, with the addi-tion of our incredibly inexpensive prizes, this can only add to the excitement.

Look out for Trivia night 3 coming soon. Come alone or bring friends – everyone is welcome. We’ll find a table for you to join. Chris Riegel’s group is the table to beat, so accept the challenge and enjoy our bar menu while impressing everyone with your knowledge. Or in my case, the lack thereof. Either way it’s great fun.

The successful Fireside Chats closed its run this year with our GM, David Conforti, selling out the Lunada Bay room and relating his experiences of being a CIA operative. With

promises of intrigue, suspense and skullduggery, David delivered with his own brand of humor and adventures in an excellent even-ing of great entertainment that was enjoyed by all.

Thank you, David, for taking the time out to entertain us all, and thank you everyone for supporting the Fireside Chat program. Special thanks go out to our hosts, Pam Secor and Jack Whalen, for a great season.

We hope you are enjoying the pumpkins and decorations around the Club House this season. The Christmas decorations are coming soon! Please make a point of thanking Monica McAllister and the members of the House Committee for all their efforts.

As part of the continuing effort to reduce costs, our GM, David Conforti, recommended bringing the holiday decorating process in-house rather than using outside suppliers. This will save consider-able money this year and in the coming years. Wishing you all a special Thanksgiving.

—Simon Gilbert, House Committee Chair

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I would like to be the first to welcome Nicholas Spurgeon aboard as our new Director of Food & Beverage. That is also me wiping my brow in relief that he has arrived, and this critical leadership position has been filled.

Looking back on a waning 2019, it has been an eventful year from an operations standpoint with significant personnel turnover. The resulting skeleton-crew of a staff held things together and even made modest improvements along the way.

Please understand that no one wants personnel turnover, starting with me. In a perfect PVGC world, we are full of long-tenured staff with whom professional relationships blossom amongst Members and fellow staff alike, and we all grow together as one team. I think we’re making strides toward that goal in light of this year’s changes and chal-lenges:

In the kitchen, the year began with Chef Garrett’s welcome arrival. Turnover with sous chefs this spring created a short-term challenge with staffing in the kitchen. Due to Garrett’s efforts, the effects were likely not felt by the Membership, and it also resulted in Garrett hiring his own key staff.

On the golf course, Pat had his share of staff who took leave for one reason or another, thus he provided a great product this year while doing more with less.

In golf operations, Jim had his own staffing turnover to endure, and it’s fascinating how Murphy’s Law tends to jump in when it is least convenient!

In Catering, Jordan did an amazing job during the renovation and immediately thereafter filling the void left by her counterpart.

In Human Resources, our controller Jackie stepped in during the few weeks we were without an HR Manager.

The entire Food & Beverage management team filled the four month void between F & B Directors, and while exhausting, every-one stepped up nicely while we were without that critical posi-tion.

Looking forward, I think we’re all ready to have more consistent staffing levels. To that end, the first focus I asked of our new HR Man-ager was to develop staff recognition programs that, to our knowledge, had not been done previously. Between that and a pend-ing change in the gratuity policy, hopefully the only significant turno-ver we’ll be referring to in the future will be of the apple or peach vari-ety! See you around the Club

—David Conforti, PGA

First ever Trunk or Treat Event

We are pleased to report that PVGC’s first Trunk or Treat event was a great success and a tradition we hope to con-tinue. If you were at the Club the evening of October 25th, you probably noticed that Halloween came early. That night at 5:30pm, we welcomed our members and the community to trick or treat in the PVGC parking lot. There were 20 cars lined up and passing out candy to the kids as they went from trunk to trunk. Each car was creatively dec-orated; there was our own staff car’s trunk decorated in the theme from The League of Their Own movie, a Lakers car fitted with a basketball hoop for the kids to shoot baskets, and even a Candyland car, just to name a few. All of the kids, parents and grandparents enjoyed the festive and safe atmosphere. Following the Trunk or Treating, the guests enjoyed a Halloween party complete with a DJ, bounce houses and delicious food from Chef Garrett. A big thank you to Monica McAllister and Maria Cisneros for their spooky and bootiful decorating, inside and out. They even managed to turn the lower lawn into a graveyard. Thanks to all who attended and contributed to the success of this event. We welcomed over 200 people to PVGC and cannot wait to do it again!

—Lindsay Johnson and the Family Committee

The 25th annual Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge is scheduled at PVGC from February 8th -11th, 2020. The College Am will occur on Saturday, February 8th followed by the three-round tournament. The upcoming tournament will feature the best field ever, with the top eight schools (listed in Golfweek’s latest ranking of collegiate women’s teams) competing - including #1 Stanford, #2 Arizona St, #3 USC, #4 Texas, #5 Wake Forest, #6 Kent St, #7 Florida and #8 Arizona. As usual, Ohio State and Coach Therese Hession will be the hosts. Others expected to compete are Auburn, Duke, Oregon, Pepperdine, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and Washington. Also, nine of the current top 10 individual players are expected compete (subject to leaving for the LPGA) including current #1 and defending champion Andrea Lee of Stanford (and Mira Costa HS).

For this year’s 25th Anniversary, a special guest is expected: Lorena Ochoa – the former top-ranked women’s player in the world. Ms. Ochoa won the tournament in 2002 as a member of the Arizona team and is renowned for her outstanding golf career. Lorena Ochoa still holds the tournament record score of 206 from her win in 2002. She was the first woman from Mexico to become #1 in the world, and she held that ranking for an incredible 158 straight weeks until her retirement from the LPGA in 2010. Since that time, she has devoted her time to charitable causes, such as schools for underprivileged children in her hometown of Guadalajara, and to raising her three children. She is expected to address the participants at a dinner at PVGC on Saturday, February 8th. We are very privileged to have her return to PVGC!

—Richard Gaugler, Team Captain

The Palos Verdes Men's Team Play annual meeting will be held in the Margate Room on Tuesday, November 26th at 5:30 pm. The meeting should last about 30 minutes. It will cover new rules, handicap changes, the 2020 schedule, new uniform updates and other miscellaneous information. This year’s schedule includes Sher-wood Country Club, El Caballero Country Club and Valencia Country Club. New players interested in Men's Team Play should also attend the meeting and get all their questions answered. There is a sign-up sheet in the Pro Shop for all players. Please fill it out. See everyone on the 26th.

—Bruce Berger, Team Captain

Greens can be a bit softer this time of year, resulting in an increase in ball marks. Please repair your ball mark plus one additional mark.

Divot mix is a must as divots repair slowly. Remember, use enough sand to cover the divot but don’t over-fill it.

The new bunkers on hole 11 are complete, and the sod is nearly fully recovered. Please obey the Visage system and keep golf cars out of the left rough and off the expanded fairway until further notice.

Finally, the new bunker sand has now been installed. It will take a few months for it to set up and become more firm. While the new sand it great, it does not rake itself. Please leave the bunkers raked as you would like them to be for your shot.

See you on the fairways… —Pat Gradoville, CGCS

Director of Course / Grounds

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2019 BUD OAKLEY RESULTS Overall Low Net: Jeff DeLarme and George Francisco $300 Each

Overall Low Gross: Rob Ruiz and Matt Cua $300 Each

Flight 1

1st Gross: 145c/o Babros - Shaffer 1

st Net: 128 Whittemore - Horner $200 ea

2nd

Gross: 145 DJ Lee - Rafferty 2nd

Net: 130 Pracht – Trivell $175 ea

3rd

Gross: 146 Balzano - Flannery 3rd

Net: 131 Kerster - Johnson $125 ea

4th Gross: 149 Spirito – Watts 4

th Net: 133 Gaugler – Strockis $75 ea

5th Gross: 151 Morgan - Fronauer 5

th Net: 134 Gilbert – Thomas $60 ea

Flight 2:

1st Gross: 160 J. Kim - Stocksdale 1

st Net: 130 P. Johnson–A. Prindle $200 ea

2nd

Gross: 163 Houston – M. Smith 2nd

Net: 130c/o Gaston-VanRemmen $175 ea

3rd

Gross: 166 Islava – Bark 3rd

Net: 131 Spiker – Neal $125 ea

4th Gross: 168 Croft - Solomon 4

th Net: 134 B. Berger - Kula $75 ea

5th Gross: 169 Honeycutt – DeFrees 5

th Net: 134c/o Finnegan - Tecimer $60 ea

Derby Results

Win: DJ Lee – Phil Rafferty $100 each

Place: Matt Cua – Rob Ruiz $75 each

Show: Rourke Trivell – Dave Pracht $50 each

2019 Bud Oakley Derby Winners

Phil Rafferty and DJ Lee

Palos Verdes Golf Club was Bud Oakley's life’s work, and more than anyone else, he is responsible for what PVGC is

today. We honor his legacy by holding this annual event.

In 1939, Bud obtained the lease on the golf course at Palos Verdes and held it until retiring in 1973. He simultane-

ously filled every role at the club, including head pro, teaching pro, superintendent, pro shop manager, personnel

manager, caddy master, greens committee, and almost anything else you can think of. No club has ever had a pro

who meant as much to it as Bud meant to PVGC.

When Bud was ready to retire, he could have sold the lease and made a substantial amount of money, but as

usual, Bud put the interest of PVGC ahead of his own. He signed the lease over to the members so that we could

continue to enjoy our beautiful golf club in perpetuity.

Bud Oakley was a great golfer. In the early 1930's, as a young assistant pro in Westchester County, he carpooled with "Dutch" Harrison and Ben

Hogan every Monday to play tournaments in the New York area. In the mid-30's he and Harrison went on tour together. In those depression-era

times the tour was nothing like it is today. They played for the love of the game.

Bud had a classic golf swing and hit the ball as well as anyone of that era. Major Champion and 4-time L.A. Open winner Lloyd Mangrum de-

scribed Bud as the best ball striker on tour.

In the 1940's and 50's, the LA Open was the first PGA event of the season. Professionals came from all over and played PVGC to prepare for the

January tournament. Bud would host a pro-am at PVGC and put up the purse himself. The winner got $500, 2nd place got $0. $500 was a lot of

money and guaranteed a very strong field of players.

Bud was committed to always giving back to the game – an attitude that still exists at PVGC. He was a great teacher to junior golfers and never

charged them for a lesson. Bud and Ralph Miller (a PVGC member) started Junior Golf in Southern California and even hosted the first Junior Invita-

tional right here at PVGC. Among his better-known students in the amateur and professional ranks are Russ Beville, Jo Ann Pacillo, Cathy Hanlon

Marino, and Mark Pfeil – for whom Bud traveled to Augusta to watch play in the Masters.

If there was ever anyone who presented the perfect image of a PGA professional, it was Bud Oakley. He was a handsome, trim, athletic man

who always dressed as if he were ready to tee it up in the U.S. Open. He was also known as a consummate gentleman.

Bud served as President of the Southern California PGA and was the first person elected into their Hall of Fame.

Bud Oakley left us on March 15, 1997 at the age of 88, but his legacy lives on forever.

The USGA and the R&A have announced plans for a new World Handicap System, scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2020. The result will be a unified global handicap system, providing for a consistent handicap calculation and score posting at golf courses around the world. A number of changes impact the way your handicap will be calculated, while others affect the way you are required to record your score for posting purposes. We will be providing information about all aspects of this new system over the coming months, but initially we want to highlight some of the more meaningful changes going into effect on January 1.

First, the process for calculating the maximum score you may post on a given hole will change. Under the new World Handicap System, golfers of any handicap may record no more than a “net double bogey” on any hole. A net double bogey is a double bogey plus the stroke(s) you are entitled to receive on each particular hole based on your course handicap. The number of strokes you are entitled to take per round of golf equals your course handicap, and the strokes are allocated starting with the most difficult hole. As a result, to properly record your score, you will need to know your current course handicap and the handicap ranking of each particular hole. To calculate the max score allowed per hole:

A golfer allowed 2 strokes on a particular hole would add 2 strokes to double bogey, thus:

Par 5 max score = 9 (double bogey 7 plus 2 strokes)

Par 4 max score = 8 (double bogey 6 plus 2 strokes)

Par 3 max score = 7 (double bogey 5 plus 2 strokes)

A golfer allowed 1 stroke on a particular hole would add 1 stroke to double bogey, thus:

Par 5 max score = 8 (double bogey 7 plus 1 stroke)

Par 4 max score = 7 (double bogey 6 plus 1 stroke)

Par 3 max score = 6 (double bogey 5 plus 1 stroke)

A golfer with no strokes on a hole would be limited to double bogey as a max score.

Second, while the current system calculates your handicap based on the best 10 of your most recent 20 rounds, the new system only uses the best 8 of your most recent 20 rounds. The intent is for a golfer’s handicap to more accurately reflect his or her potential, captured by focusing on a smaller subset of overall rounds. The result is that your handicap will tend to be more responsive to the impact of lower scores, and slightly less so to higher scores. It also means that your index will likely go down slightly on January 1, when recalculated to reflect your best 8 scores.

Third, while the current system updates your index on the 1st and 15th of each month, the new system will update each time you input a new score. For those accustomed to looking at their “trend” between bi-monthly adjustments, that trend will now become your index. This is one of several reasons why promptly posting your score upon completion of a round will become of even greater importance.

There are a number of other changes going into effect on January 1, and we will continue to provide additional information over the coming months. In addition, a FAQ from the USGA can be found at: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/world-handicap-system/WHS-resources/new-world-handicap-system-designed-to-welcome-more-golfers--.html

The Golf Committee, operating through the Handicap Subcommittee, is responsible for managing the integrity of PVGC’s handicap system. The core of the integrity of the golf handicap system continues to be a commitment by all members to honestly and regularly post all scores, adjusted in accordance with the handicap posting rules.

—Golf Committee

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Ladies Home & Home and Hellholeween Our Home and Home with Candlewood was held on October 10th at PVGC with 26 players participating. Players were treated to a delicious lunch of steak and lobster prepared by Chef Garrett. On October 22nd, 14 ladies traveled to Candlewood for the final day of competition. The weather was extremely hot that day, but the ladies from PVWGC were the winners and brought home the trophy for the second year in a row.

Our Hellholeween Tournament was held on October 31st and was hosted by our Creepy Cackling Chairpersons: Pam Foreman, Jan Weekley and Mary Ann Cronin. It was a Slicers and Slashers Scramble with 64 spooktacular golfers. Each hole had a sponsor such as: Morticia Addams, Elvira, Count Dracula, Jack O’Lantern, Phantom of the Opera and many more. The putting greens were very tricked, and some were not a treat to putt on. That is unless you like rats, spiders, bones, bugs, skeletons, witches, bats, skulls and creepy worms. After a terrifying round of golf, we were greeted with Dragon Blood Punch followed by a buffet lunch of Vampire Blood Soup, Spider Deviled Eggs, Creepy Maggot Caesar Salad, Par For The Corpse Ribs, Witches Hair Pasta, Jack O Peppers and Devilishly Delicious Desserts.

Winners Ghost Flight

1 Gross 70 Valle, Kim / DeSilva, Lotte / D’Angelo,Selmira / Secor, Pam 1 Net 48 Kim, Heidi / Lee, Helen / Sheen, Christina / Choo, Haelee 2 Gross 70 Houston, Ginny / Kupiec, Frances / Henkhaus,Lou / Young, Margo 2 Net 48 Fujihara,Lynn / Elias, Emilie / Tobias, Mardi / Liesy, Carolyn

Goblin Flight

1 Gross 71 Piken, Kelli / Nakano, Lauren / Young, Teri / Mayesh, Uni 1 Net 47 Higgins, Eve / Peabody, Liz / Pope, Cheryl / Romine, June 2 Gross 78 Connaghan, Joan / Krause, Sallie / Rotondi, Dee / Barrow, Tracy 2 Net 50 Moser, Joanne / Roebuck, Nancy / Blethen, Linda / Love, Nancy December 12th will be our Holiday Mixer and Meeting Day.

—Linda Blethen

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The Santa Ana winds and firm, fast greens heated up the play on the course, as we had several fine rounds and many great shots to report in October.

We’ll start with a couple of fine rounds. Eric Arosemena made eight straight pars on his way to a PVGC career best 77. Bob Keller broke his age once again, by carding a sweet 76. He was even on the back!!

We also had some great shots to report last month. Tom Love hit his drive to the left on #17 and then hit a perfectly executed trap draw, around the trees and over the bunkers, which went into the hole for a sweet Eagle. Eric Arosemena knocked an 8-iron into the hole on #10, for an awesome deuce. John Nendick also made an eagle by knocking his 2nd shot into the hole on #14. Jerry Cohen wisely laid up short of the water on #7 and then knocked in a 6-iron from 160 yards out, for a well-planned birdie. Bob Gottdener hit a perfect flop shot over the bunker on #17 that dropped into the hole for birdie. Mary Ellen Vuilleumier holed out a shot on #13 for a sweet birdie!! Fred Haney was on fire! He holed out from 20 yards out for birdie on #13 and then holed out from 80 yards out on #14.

The shot of the month goes to Kim Brothers. Kim hit a perfect shot on the shortened 11th hole during the recent construction project that found nothing but the bottom of the cup! It is probably the only ace in the history of the hole!! Great shot Kim!

The round of the month was actually two rounds carded by partners Jeff DeLarme and George Francis-co, in the Bud Oakley Tournament. They opened the event with an incredible score of 65, in the Pinehurst format in round one. They matched that score in round two playing better ball. Jeff had 68 on his own ball!! They won the event by 15 shots! Great playing boys!!!

—Scott Talbot

While we don’t get too much lightning in our area, we do occasionally experience electrical storms, and it’s important to understand what to do when dangerous weather intrudes on your golf game.

Lightning is one of the top three storm-related causes of death in the U.S, and if you are on the course during a thunderstorm, even a distant one, you are at risk.

The speakers at the range and pro shop can be heard over much of the course, and they will sound a warning when there is danger of lightning. The golf carts will also flash a message. Here are some precautions you can take if you are caught on the golf course in a light-ning storm:

Avoid open high ground and isolated large trees

Avoid water on the course (ponds on hole #7)

Seek shelter inside a building or within a nearby automobile, but NOT a convertible or golf cart

Stay away from doors, windows, and metal objects (such as pipes, faucets, or metal fencing)

Avoid contact with electrical devices or metal (including some golf clubs, umbrellas, golf carts, etc.)

Do not lean against concrete or stone walls

The safest play is to leave the course when you hear thunder, and seek shelter indoors. Earthquakes Our golf course is fairly open, but it does pose some risks during an earthquake. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at the exits, alongside exterior walls, near large trees and on the bridges.

If you are outdoors when the earthquake starts, do not seek shelter inside. Instead, move towards the most open space you can find in the moment. Move away from large trees, walls, outbuildings, utility lines and the bridges. Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops.

Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped, and do NOT cross the bridges. Take the long, safe way back. Stay safe!

—Chris Riegel, Communications Committee

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Spending Requirements: $300 per quarter

Billing dates for those with initials:

A through G: Jan, Apr, Jul & Oct

H through N: Feb, May, Aug & Nov

O through Z: Mar, Jun, Sep & Dec

mailto:dining@pvgc.com