Golfing Group

Chairman: Michael J. Murphy (Mike)

    An active golf program is an integral part of Sons in Retirement. SIR's golfers enjoy weekly local golfing and annual statewide tournaments. The group plays on about 20 different golf courses throughout the year on a weekly rotation, and they play at least once a week. The golf courses are located in the Bay Area, south and east of San Francisco.  There are no dues, but the group collects $3.00 weekly to cover prizes for Low Net, Closest to the Pin, and Shooting Par or better. The group pays $250.00 for a Hole In One, and $100.00 for shooting one's age. The group also pays $100.00 for the most improved player of the year, and $50.00 for the second most improved player of the year. Golf Handicaps for the regular players range from less than 20 to more than 35. The SIR's Branch One Golf Club consists of 30 to 40 members who are, through the club, members of the Northern California Golf Association (N.C.G.A.). However, any SIR is welcome to join the group for a round of golf, even if he is not an NCGA member.

Golf Schedule for September 2010

History:

    The golf activity began in 1960 by Elmer Miller, who became the first chairman. The first tournament was held at the San Mateo Municipal Golf Course on September 22, 1960. Only 24 members of of Branch No. 1 of a total membership of 400 attended the tournament. Elmer Miller had accomplished an almost impossible task by overcoming overwhelming resistance from the SIR's organization in which a membership survey showed no interest whatsoever in participating in such an activity. Gradually, Elmer assembled a group of interested, half-interested, and skeptical members to at least be willing to dust off their old clubs and give the game another try.

    Everett Edmonds, former Chairman of the Golf Group in 1983, passed away on Friday, November 14, 2003. In 1985, Everett became Area One Golf Chairman and was responsible for the intramural tournaments. Mike Murphy became Golf Chairman on January 1, 2004.

Golf Schedule for 2010

WARNING: NDJ means No Denim Jeans allowed. You can be barred, so it's your responsibility to read the chart.

Legend for Extras

Schedule Chart Details

            A single price means that the green fee and mandatory cart fee are included in the price list. More than one price shows the green fee followed by the optional cart fee for two riders and then for one rider. E.g., the fee $29+11/18 means that the greens fee is $29.00 and the optional cart rental is $11.00 per man for two or $18.00 for a single rider. The Spring Valley fee seems to be in question, and the actually fee will be determined later.

Special Tournaments

            The following golf outings will be tournaments because there will be added prizes:

Blast Off—2008 (Poplar Creek, January 2 2008—or later if rained out)

Swinging in the Spring (Sunnyvale, March 19, 2008 -- 1 days before the first day of spring)

A Summer Day on The Ridge (Crystal Springs, June 18, 2008— 3 days before the first day of Summer)

Christopher Columbus Course Navigation Test (Santa Clara, October 16, 2008 -- 3 days after Columbus Day)

The Winter Shiver (Metropolitan, December 23, 2008—2 days before the first day of winter)

Special Instructions

           Call the Golf Chairman for all the special instructions that are necessary and required for playing golf on any or all of the courses. The Chairman turns out a special News Letter which is mandatory reading in order to enjoy all the benefits of this activity.

A Golfer’s Obligations

            Please be courteous to one another. Treat one another with respect, and please be considerate of the condition of the golf courses, the customs and rules of the game, and your fellow golfers, including the often-impatient non-SIR’s who get stuck playing behind us. Please be sure to repair all marks on the greens, especially when you are within sight of the pro shop!

A Little Slice of Golf History.

 Why Golf Courses Have Only 18 Holes

The following is not intended to offend fans of tennis, basketball, football , baseball or any other sport. It is, rather, an attempt to put everything in its proper perspective.

Ever wonder why golf is growing in popularity and why people who don't even play go to tournaments or watch it on TV? The following truisms may shed some light:

Golf is an honorable game, with the overwhelming majority of players being  honorable people who don't need referees.

Golfers don't have some of their players in jail every week.

Golfers don't kick dirt on, or throw bottles at, other people.

Professional golfers are paid in direct proportion to how well they play.

Golfers don't get per diem and two seats on a charter flight when they travel between tournaments.

Golfers don't hold out for more money, or demand new contracts, because of another player's deal.

Professional golfers don't demand that the taxpayers pay for the courses on which they play.

When golfers make a mistake, nobody is there to cover for them or back them.

The PGA raises more money for charity in 1 year than the NFL does in 2.

You can watch the best golfers in the world up close, at any tournament, including the majors, all day every day for $25 or $30. The cost for even a nosebleed seat at the Super Bowl costs around $300 or more unless you buy it from scalpers in which case it's $1,000+.

You can bring a picnic lunch to the tournament golf course, watch the best in the world and not spend a small fortune on food and drink. Try that at one of the taxpayer funded baseball or football stadiums. If you bring a soft drink into a ballpark, they'll give you two options -- get rid of it or leave.

In golf you cannot fail 70% of the time and make $9 million a season, like the best baseball hitters (.300 batting average) do.

Golf doesn't change its rules to attract fans.

Golfers have to adapt to an entirely new playing area each week.

Golfers keep their clothes on while they are being interviewed.

Golf doesn't have free agency.

In their prime, Palmer, Norman, and other stars, would shake your hand and say they were happy to meet you. In his prime Jose Canseco wore T-shirts that read "Leave Me Alone."

You can hear birds chirping on the golf course during a tournament.

At a golf tournament, (unlike at taxpayer-funded sports stadiums and arenas) you won't hear a steady stream of four letter words and nasty name calling  while you're hoping that no one spills beer on you.

Tiger hits a golf ball over twice as far as Barry Bonds hits a baseball.

Golf courses don't ruin the neighborhood.

And Finally :

Here's a little slice of golf history that you might enjoy.

Why do golf courses have 18 holes - not 20, or 10, or an even dozen?

During a discussion among the club's membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, a senior member pointed out that it takes exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth of Scotch. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scots figured a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out.

Now you know.