CLUB NEWS
THANK YOU for attending the 1st Annual Awards Banquet!
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 4, 2009 - On behalf of the Board, thank you so much for attending the 1st Annual Dragons GC Awards Banquet. It's been a great inaugural season and we celebrated it in grand style last Sunday at The Olympic Club.
 Captain Wes Chong wins the inaugural Dragon Cup race. |
To recap for those who weren't able to attend, Dragons members and guests gathered at Olympic's Lakeside Clubhouse at sunset on Sunday, first for a round of drinks on the balcony overlooking the 18th green on the fabled Lake Course, and then a prime rib buffet dinner in the Vista room. Many photos from the evening are now available for viewing at our Facebook Group Page; more will be made available for viewing shortly.
As the dining got underway, OC member Martin Chang, the MC for the evening, kicked off our raffle. Yours truly then reported to the Club on our progress this past year and gave a brief preview of the 2010 season. I took a little time to thank the 2009 Board members individually -- Things are never easy in any endeavor's first year, and it's been an honor and privilege in working with Wes Chong, Alex Chong, Jonathan Wong, Fuzzy Pourahmadi, Mari Kobara, and King Lip. And in 2010, we welcome Martin to the Board, who will serve on the Golf & Tournaments committee.
 A token of the founding membership's appreciation for Lawrence Ma's leadership and guidance to get the Dragons to where it is today, a first class Federation club. |
Wes, our Club Captain, then addressed the club on the remarkable competitiveness and camaraderie that we have fostered this season. In recapping our highlights from the year, Wes acknowledged the club's NCGA team that he led to the NCGA Associate Club Championship finals at Spyglass -- Carol Lee, Bobby Chang, George Hsu and Chris Chong. Bobby and Carol were also lauded, along with Jonathan, A.T. and yours truly, for our winning efforts at the Federation Team Matches in Portland and the Shaw Pang Challenge in Carmel.
The surprise of the evening was bestowed upon me, by you, the founding membership. I am very touched by the commemorative plaque that you have presented me in recognition of what I felt was simply doing my job. My thanks to you all again for making the Dragons a great club in its very first year, and I pledge to do my very best in 2010 in serving you.
 Bobby Chang walks away with second-place Dragon Cup honors. |
Indeed, both Wes and myself did our best to express our gratitude for you, the founding membership, for believing in our concept and supporting us this entire season. Many of you have gone above and beyond just showing up for tournaments -- you gave us constructive input, brought in new members, and even contributed your unique talents. I believe that only in serving each other, may we become much greater than the sum of our parts. Take for example the Dragon Cup trophy, which was literally built from scratch by Alex Chong and Bobby Chang, the latter contributing his design skills in creating our new club insignia. We acknowledged master club-fitter Joe Kwok, for providing the complimentary launch monitor sessions at the first and last tournaments of the year, as well as procuring the custom head covers from Rocket Tour that were given to the members in attendance as tokens of our appreciation. We also acknowledged past Good Guys President Ken Lum, who is returning to the club in 2010 and bringing more Good Guys alumni home with him, as well as Peninsula Golf's Paul Tan, who provided many of our raffle prizes with a gracious discount.
 3rd place in the Dragon Cup goes to Jonathan Wong. |
But I think we were most pleased to see so many new members in attendance, the great majority of whom were ladies. Thanks to members Carol Lee, Xiao Ming Chen, Angie Wong and Cathy Cheung, we welcomed Karen Fong, Amy Lu, Maiko Masuda, and Tammy Lee on Sunday night to the club. We are well on our way to building a ladies division for the 2010 season and reaching our goal of having among us 20 women members by the end of 2010.
 King Lip wins the Men's Most Improved. |
After another round of raffle prizes, we then honored the Most Improved Players for the 2009 season. Cathy Cheung was named the MIP for the ladies, while King Lip, with a 6-point drop in his index this past year, won on the men's side. Each were awarded with a keepsake trophy for their efforts to improve their golf games. We also recognized two more members, but for the rather dubious distinction of having the highest average gross scores of the year. Apparently Cathy Cheung has barely scratched the potential of her golf game, as she won the ladies' high gross award (a Dragons GC ltd edition cap and a LOT of golf balls), and Ray Lau was named the goofy golfer of the year for the men.
 Cathy Cheung with the Ladie's Most Improved. |
In the finale of the evening, we presented the Dragon Cup honors to the top 3 finishers. Jonathan Wong came from behind to catch Chris Chong for third place in the Club Championship, despite having to play at his nemesis layout (and home course), Lake Merced. Second place went to Bobby Chang, who racked up steady points all season long by playing every tournament, making every Club team, and traveling to two Federation Invitationals. Alas, he was caught at Lake Merced by Wes Chong, the veteran who played an exquisite round in difficult conditions on a difficult course to win the inaugural Dragon Cup race.
 Ray Lau is awarded dubious distinction of having the highest ave gross score of the year. |
Again, we thank you all, the founding members, for a great 2009. We are pleased to see that so many of you have already renewed for the 2010 season, and what a great second act we have in store for you. Please stay tuned for newsletters through the winter, work on your golf mind, body and game, and see you at the Season Opener and Reception at Cinnabar Hills in April 2010!
Sincerely,
Lawrence S. Ma
President
The Dragons Golf Club
www.dragonsgolfclub.com
