| Winner | Runner-Up | |||
| Player of the Year | M. Cook | 140 | S. Cook | 122 |
| Points Champion | M. Cook | 30.0 | S. Cook | 26.5 |
| Scoring Champion | H. Nitzkowski | 69.00 | N. Williamson | 70.00 |
| Pyramid Tournament | R. Podwys | D. Pearce | ||
| Winners Tournament | R. Powers | 67 | H. Nitzkowski | 70 |
| Exxon Cup Tournament | R. Yarbrough | 71 | D. Pearce | 76 |
| Club Championship | tournament was not held | |||
| Most Improved Handicap | M. Cook | 13.4-10.0 | R. Podwys | 17.3-15.3 |
| Most Improved Player | S. Cook | H. Nitzkowski |
| Most Tournament Wins | S. Cook | 3 |
| Most Eagles | none | |
| Most Birdies | J. Justus | 7 |
| Most Long Drives | N. Williamson | 3 |
| Most Closest to the Pin | M. Cook | 4 |
| M. Hurst | 4 |
| Number of Tournaments | 10 |
| Avg. # of players per tournament | 22 |
| # of different players winning first place | 12 |
| # of different players winning second place | 15 |
| # of players eligible for the Winners Tournament | 19 |
| Exxon Golf Club Records set or tied | Previous Record or Runner-up |
| Low Gross Score, 18 Holes | |
| 2 under par, John Justus | 1 over par, John Justus |
| Cypress Lakes GC, 1996 | Rancho Solano, 1995, Paradise Valley, 1995 |
| Low Gross Score, 9 Holes | |
| 3 under par, John Justus, Cypress Lakes GC, 1996 | 2 under par, Mike Cook, Tilden GC, 1988 |
| 2 under par, John Justus, Rancho Solano, 1995 | |
| Most Pyramid Tournament Wins | |
| 2 – R. Podwys, 1976, 1996 | 2 – J. Ortiz, 1977, 1990, D. Storbeck, 1983, 1986 |
| 2 – P. Eubanks, 1988, 1989, M. Cook, 1991, 1992 |
Notes;
Other most improved handicaps; S. Cook, 27.5-22.2, M. Hurst, 17.5-16.8, K. Peck, 21.2-19.6, S. Menzel, 30.4-26.4, D. Tiburcio, 26.4-23.9, R. Yarbrough, 22.2-21.2, H. Nitzkowski, 29.5-26.1, R. Powers, 27.6-25.7
1996 Highlights
The year started out with the 11th annual “Tom Stead” memorial scramble at Green Tree G.C. during a rainy period in March but we ended up playing on a beautiful day. In the first flight we had a three way tie for first place with the Larry Campbell, Larry Odom, Gary Villeneuve, Nemon Williamson team, the Gary Beckman, Mike Osada, Mark Reinhart, Denzil Storbeck team and the Steve Blotzer, Floyd Duggins, Dan Riley, Don Scribner team. The team of Boyd Cook, Brian Cook, Mike Cook and Sandie Cook tied with the team of Phil Eubanks, Mike Goring, Howard and Richard Nitzkowski to win the second flight. Debbie Menzel won the long drive on the 7th hole. We raised $440.00 which brought our total to date to $2121.00 in donations to the American Heart Association in “Tom’s” name. Our thanks to all of you who played and contributed.
Our second tournament was held at Paradise Valley G.C. on April 13th. Kevin Peck won the first flight with Mike Cook second and Gary Villeneuve third. Ron Powers won the second flight with Rob Yarbrough second and Phil Eubanks third. Mike Cook and Sonny Menzel won the CP’s, with Nemon Williamson and Rick Carr taking the LD’s. In first round pyramid play it was Gary Villeneuve over Boyd Cook, Ron Powers over Darwin Richey, Rollin Podwys over Connie Custer, Kevin Peck over Don Scribner, Dan Riley over Jim Spurgeon, Bill Sharp over John Ortiz, Rob Yarbrough over Brian Cook and Larry Campbell over Larry Odom. Sonny Menzel found a new way to play the oak tree on the tenth hole, just go through it and onto the green.
Our third outing was our annual Best-Ball tournament played this year at Cypress Lakes G.C. on May 11th. The Larry Campbell, Mike Cook team won the first flight with the Eubanks, Justus team second and the Beckman, Osada team third. In the second flight the Sandie Cook, Don Scribner team won with the Boyd and Brian Cook team and the Debbie and Sonny Menzel in second. The Carr, Hurst team finished third. Gary Beckman and Boyd Cook won the CP’s, Rick Carr and Matt Hurst the LD’s. Mike Cook took the points lead, Larry Campbell the scoring average lead. John Justus set an Exxon Golf Club record with a two under par 70 on his own ball. Gary Beckman’s 76 and Larry Campbell’s 79 were also outstanding rounds. In first round pyramid play it was Sandie Cook over Sonny Menzel, in second round play it was Rollin Podwys over Kevin Peck.
On June 8th we played Mare Isl;and G.C. for the first time. In the first flight, Nemon Williamson took first place with Matt Hurst second and Denzil Storbeck third. Sandie Cook won the second flight with Howard Nitzkowski second and Rob Yarbrough third. Sandie Cook broke 90 for the first time with an excellent 89. Sonny Menzel and Mike Cook won the CP’s. Gary Beckman and Nemon Williamson won the LD’s. Sandie Cook took over the points lead, Larry Campbell kept his scoring lead. In first round pyramid play it was Mike Cook over John Justus, Matt Hurst over Rick Carr, Dave Pearce over Richard Nitzkowski and Howard Nitzkowski over Nemon Williamson. Rob Yarbrough birdied the same hole twice, the par 4 fourth and the par 3 thirteenth. Howard Nitzkowski learned how to play the 9 hole course the second time around with nines of 52 and 41.
On June 30th we played at Rancho Solano G.C. Dave Pearce repeated as the first flight winner with Mike Cook and Rob Yarbrough tied for second and Nemon Williamson third. Sandie Cook won the second flight with Jim Grant and Sonny Menzel tied for second and Boyd Cook third. John Justus and Matt Hurst won the CP’s with the LD’s going to Dave Pearce and John Justus. Sandie Cook kept her points lead but Howard Nitzkowski took over the scoring lead. In first round pyramid play it was Neal Stachowicz over Steve Blotzer and Phil Kruger over Ed Vegas by forfeit. In second round play it was Dave Pearce over Rob Yarbrough. Debbie Menzel got her first tournament birdie. Nemon Williamson had the shot of the day hitting across the lake and onto the green on the 11th hole from a severe downhill lie in the rough.
Our sixth tournament was played at Delta View G.C. on July 28th with the temperature over 100 degrees. Mike Cook and Ed Vegas were the hottest golfers winning their flights. Nemon Williamson and John Ortiz finished second and third in the first flight. Finishing second and third in the second flight was Howard Nitzkowski and Sal Salinas. Mike Cook won the CP. Ed Vegas and John Ortiz took the LD’s. No one in the field of 19 players hit the closest to the pin green on the par 3 sixth hole. Mike Cook took over the points lead, Ed Vegas took over the scoring lead. In first round pyramid play it was Dan Tiburcio over Sheldon Custer by forfeit. In second round play it was Matt Hurst over Dan Riley and Mike Cook over Sandie Cook.
Our seventh tournament was played at Boundary Oak G.C. on August 25th on an unusally cool and windy day. The conditions didn’t bother Richard Nitzkowski who shot a net 68 and won the one flight tournament. Mike and Sandie Cook tied for second place with Dan Riley in third. Matt Hurst won a CP and a LD. Mike Cook won the other CP, Dan Riley the other LD. Mike Cook increased his points lead, Sandie Cook took over the scoring lead. In second round pyramid play it was Dan Tiburcio over Ron Powers, Bill Sharp over Neal Stachowicz and Howard Nitzkowski over Larry Campbell. In third round play it was Dan Tiburcio over Phil Kruger, Rollin Podwys over Matt Hurst and Mike Cook over Howard Nitzkowski.
The eight tournament and last chance to qualify for the Winners Tournament took place at Chimney Rock G.C. on September 14th. Denzil Storbeck and 79 year old Boyd Cook won their flights with Dan Riley also qualifing by placing second. Rob Yarbrough was third in the first flight. Floyd Duggins and Sandie Cook took second and third place in the second flight. Matt Hurst won both Closest to the Pins with Dave Pearce and Steve Blotzer taking the Long Drives. Mike Cook maintained his points lead, Howard Nitzkowski took over the scoring lead.
The 26th annual Winners Tournament held at Franklin Canyon G.C. on September 28th was won by Ron Powers. Howard Nitzkowski finished second with Denzil Storbeck and Nemon Williamson tied for third place. Although not eligible Larry Odom took the third place points. Kevin Peck and Ron Powers won the CP’s with Nemon Williamson and Dan Riley taking the LD’s. Mike Cook won the Points Championship, Howard Nitzkowski took the Scoring Average Championship. In third round pyramid play it was Dave Pearce over Bill Sharp. In semifinal play it was Rollin Podwys over Dan Tiburcio and Dave Pearce over Mike Cook.
Our second “Revenge at Kennedy” scramble held on October 19th was another success and lots of fun. The team of Kevin Peck, Dan Riley, Ed Vegas and Gary Villeneuve won with a score of 61.
The 10th Exxon Cup Tournament was played at Green Valley C.C. on November 16th. It started raining on the 6th hole and continued throughout the round. We finished in the dark but Rob Yarbrough saw the light and won his first major blowing away the rest of the field. Dave Pearce took second with Sandie Cook and Nemon Williamson tied for third. Other players included Mike Cook, Matt Hurst, Howard Nitzkowski and Boyd Cook. ( Ron Powers didn’t play )
After 31 players had been eliminated Rollin Podwys ( $140.00 ) won the 20th Pyramid Tournament. His name was engraved on the “Tom Stead Perpetual Trophy” for the second time as he had won the first Pyramid Tournament in 1976. Dave Pearce finished second ( $68.00 ). Low net money went to; Nemon Williamson ( $10.00 ), Rob Yarbrough ( $12.00 ), Howard Nitzkowski ( $14.00 ), Dan Tiburcio ( $16.00 & $20.00 ), Mike Cook ( $18.00 ) and Rollin Podwys ( $22.00 )
After finishing first in Tournament Points, third in Tournament Scoring Average and fourth in the Pyramid Tournament Mike Cook was the 1996 “Player of the Year”.
As many of you know I’m retiring the 1st of January but Sandie and I plan on playing with the Exxon Golf Club in the future. I thought I’d take a minute and reflect on some of the many players I’ve played with in the past;
Best Golf Swings………………………………..Tommy Thompson, Gary Barrett, Terrance Woram, Cullen Stephenson, Bryant Washburne
Longest Accurate Driver………………………….Tom Palilonis
Longest Iron Drivers…………………………….Tom Stead, Gary Beckman, Bill Telepak, John Ortiz
Best Recovery Shot Maker…………………………Dave Pearce
Best Up and Down near the green…………………..Don Scribner
Best Putter Under Pressure……………………….John Ortiz
Best Iron Players……………………………….Don Dean, Dave Pearce, Tom Palilonis, Cullen Stephenson
Best Shot Maker Under Pressure……………………Gary Beckman
Best “Best-Ball” partner…………………………Larry Campbell
Toughest Player for me to beat in head to head competition…………………………Denzil Storbeck
Best Senior Golfers……………………………..Boyd Cook, Scotty Coffin, Tommy Thompson
Most Improved Game in one Year……………………Ray Turner, Drew Paterson
This list doesn’t include our newer players but I will say that John Justus is the best all around golfer I’ve ever played with in the Exxon Golf Club.
Well that’s it, it was a great year, hope to see all of you next year. Mike Cook