Thursday, April 03, 2008 Chiongbian: UBS tournament hits CCC By Edgar R. Chiongbian Teetime
THE annual UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) golf tournament at Cebu Country Club (CCC) tees off tomorrow and Saturday. Not sure about the giveaways this year but with a UBS tag on it, it will surely be a nice souvenir because this is one of the few UBS tournaments in the world. The format is 18 holes of golf, individual stroke play in Class A, B, C, D Seniors and guest divisions.
CCC will have a new GM soon as Sammy Darza has left for non-greener pastures. So instead of green, green grass of home, he will go to the—it is mine, all mines business, away from home in Surigao. Assuming there are no hitches, we are expecting Clifford Celdran to take over this position and return to Cebu from Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan.
I would like to bring about a point regarding general managers that could solicit discussions between the members. We can all agree on the functions of the GM but I believe we differ in views on how the GM should function. Some believe that the GM is an extension of the board, while others believe the GM should function as an extension of the members.
By definition, the word general manager would seem more fitting when coursed through the “general membership” because of its name. If they were supposed to be an extension of the board, then they would be called FM’s or “few managers.” Of which opinion are you? Or does it really matter?
The successes of private clubs are sometimes due to the effectiveness of the GM but generally speaking and in Cebu, this success comes from the members. The members who patronize the club facilities, are active and who participate in club events.
Many people are drawn to join private clubs because of who the members are and in most cases, like us, it’s because of the common denominator—golf. There are other reasons that attract members to stay active in club activities; such an example is the ethnic and very successful Casino Español. Members are drawn there because of the world-class facility, great food, high-end personalities, good service, ambience, and the management and staff is overly courteous to its members and guests.
Still on Casino Español, the Copa de Casino Español tournament was launched last Monday at the garden/pool area of the clubhouse. I was very surprised by the huge turnout but considering the Angus meal prepared by the club, I should have expected it. Also it was the members’ birthday celebrants’ night.
The tournament has been scheduled for the last week of April to the first week of May with the awarding on May 2 at the Salon de Espana ballroom. The golf tournament will be at Alta Vista on May 2.
Our congratulations to the winners of the CCC March monthly medal tournament last Saturday. Lowest gross to Jovi Neri with 73 strokes. Efren Sarmiento was Class A champion with a gross 76, net 66. Runnerup went to Jay Yuvallos with gross 78 net 67. Andrew Parrott (net 65) won Class B via countback over runnerup Eikichi Mizutani (net 65).
Class C champion was Johnny Siao (net 63) with runnerup Peter Dy (net 65). Class D champion was Ramon Escario (net 65) with runnerup Hideke Anai (net 67). Seniors champion was Ed Chiongbian (net 65) with Ang Chiong (net 66) at runnerup. Guest winners were Victor Gocela (net 73) and Joy Siguan (net 74).
GOLF TIP. There are many ways to control your short pitches or chips to the green. If you are still hitting it thin or fat, you may be using too much wrist action on the shot and the tendency is to unhinge the wrist too early thus hitting the ball on the upswing or too late and hitting it fat.
Many golfers also gauge their distance to the ball on the downswing for a solid hit at impact by using both arms as way to control the depth of field. Instead of doing that, you should concentrate on just returning your right elbow to the same angle that you set during your address and you will likely hit the ball on the spot and be more consistent with your shots.
