Some Early Memories of LMGC
by Bill Johnson
I believe I joined Lakewood Men's Golf Club in 1960, one year after I left the U.S. Army where, yes, I learned how to play golf while protecting anything officers could find to protect in the Mojave Desert. I hadn't played more than a dozen rounds of golf before entering the service in 1957, but thanks to Captain Martin Chambers and a couple of semi-pros from Utah, the first golf team ever was organized at Fort Irwin, California, and for the next two years I watched, practiced, and played the game I would come to love.
After joining LMGC, I became active in helping with tournaments, but as early as 1965, I became handicap chairman, a position I held for at least three or maybe four years. At that time though, it was the responsibility of each player to write his score on a card in the pro shop, enter the differential, and then write the adjusted score. Mind you, this was the only way to determine a player's handicap. There were no computers, no electronic systems to do the job. So each month, my assistants and I would go over the cards, double-check everything, and assign the handicaps. If any player didn't post, or if we heard that someone was "adjusting" his score or someone else's (that did happen on occasion), we had the right to adjust the player's handicap or even disqualify him from tournament play. That also happened on a few occasions. Anyway, we had the final say, and if anyone wanted to defend himself after being caught doing something we thought was unfair, he would have to appear before the board and present his case. There were some interesting situations during that time and some heated arguments, but we all, for the most part, had a great time.
During those first years as a member in the club, I can't forget those who helped me: Andy Holmes, Bob Baker, Rawlin Abrahamson, Hugh Linnell, Gene Brock, my father-in-law Allen Kirkpatrick, Mace Dondis, Ralph Jorgensen, and a number of others whose names elude me now. Over time, I worked in the club for a number of boards before becoming president in 1978. At about that time, Len Kennett was in the process of becoming head professional at Lakewood. If I recall correctly, Vic Baker was the head pro in the early fifties, followed by Jim Ireland. Then Monte Blodgett followed Jim before Len took over in the late seventies. We owe a great deal to these pros who held and still hold Lakewood in high esteem.
The late seventies were lean and precarious years for all of us. The clubhouse was in terrible condition and would be closed in 1979. We held our meetings in a room that, ironically, is now our new clubroom. I think Len Kennett can attest to the fact that in 1979, when we held the Lakewood Invitational, we did all the cooking outside near the pro shop. Our wives set up the barbecues, cooked for us, and we had a good tournament on a course that L.A. County wanted to sell. Yeah, the county wanted to sell the 56 acres south of Carson to Douglas Aircraft, tear down the clubhouse, and build condos on the north side while it turned what holes were left into an executive course. This angered everyone, especially those who lived next to the course, and so in 1980, with the help of Lakewood Mayor Iacaboni, Supervisor Braithwaite-Burke and a number of us who adamantly wanted to save the course, the original advisory committee was formed. That committee, composed of over forty people, raised the money to save the clubhouse, convinced the county to retain the golf course, and in 1981, Lakewood re-opened the clubhouse and Lakewood Golf Course. I am proud to have been a member of that original group. Had we not joined forces then, I am certain there would be no Lakewood Country Club and Golf Course today. It was a pleasure to have worked with Sam Pievac and Joe Snyder, the first two presidents of the Lakewood advisory council, and a number of other people in the community who gave time and money to achieve our goals.
During the same period (the late seventies), yours truly thought it would be a good idea to get away for a weekend and celebrate with our spouses and kids. So thanks to Marcella Krantz and the Singing Hills Resort, I was pleased to begin what has now become a yearly extravaganza for members and their families. If I remember correctly, Bill Epperson took over the chore of running the Singing Hills retreat in the eighties when I became vice-president of the advisory council.
My years as president of LMGC (1978–1981) and the advisory council (1991–2002) provided experiences I shall never forget. But more importantly, those people on the Council — Pievac, Snyder, Cryder, Iacaboni, Sparks, Wagner, Roudebush, Epperson, Crisante, Johnson — worked very hard to make Lakewood Country Club and Golf Course what it is today. I believe that since those difficult times, our club officers and members have been committed to the legacy of making Lakewood Golf Course one of the finest courses in California. They have certainly made LMGC an exceptional organization.
LMGC in the Eighties
(Confessions of a Tournament Chairman)
by Bill Epperson
The 80s were an exciting time, full of innovation and experimentation, and for me, it was a time when LMGC grew by leaps and bounds.
In 1980, Bill Johnson was president and Ralph Jorgensen was tournament chairman. LMGC had about 300 members, but only about 60 to 70 of them played in our monthly tournaments. When Ralph moved out of town, Harry Bainbridge became tournament chairman, and I was asked to help Harry. Little did I know that what would happen in the coming months and years would be a series of experiences I'll never forget.
In a short time, about two months, we had somehow increased the tournament field to 100 players and we were excited. We knew we had done something right and both Harry and I felt we were on our way to something bigger and better. It was unfortunate at that time that Harry had to resign because of health problems, and so I became tournament chairman, a position I cherish to this day.
In 1982, Chuck Greer, who later became president of LMGC, offered to help me with the growing tasks of running tournaments. Before his untimely passing, Chuck and I established flights and optional side-pots in our tournaments, and at the same time, we emphasized fair and equitable play in our events. We both believed in this earnestly. A little later, we introduced the idea of using different tees according to handicap, and we also increased the payoffs in our tournaments. I am still amazed that by 1983, we grew to 400 members and averaged 160 players for our tournaments.
It was at this time that I asked Ken Mathes to help me. Of course he did, and Ken also later became our president. With Ken's help and fair tournaments in mind, we suddenly grew to 425 LMGC members and fielded 220 players in our tournaments. During the summer months, over half of the club participated in our events. I like to think that during this time, every member was given fair and equal consideration in our tournaments and special events.
Team play was also great in the 80s, as it is now, and LMGC and its 425 members fielded 12 to 14 teams for several years. I believe that still might be a record, and I was proud and happy to help and be part of the team play experience. During this time of growth, I was asked to help with our special event at Singing Hills. As tournament chairman, I couldn't have been more pleased. Besides getting the opportunity to organize the event, I also got the chance to use tournament formats from our monthly events. What was amazing then was that we went from bringing our own food to the resort for a Friday barbeque to 140 people sitting down for a prime rib dinner on Saturday night. We also averaged 60 to 70 players for the weekend tournaments and all were from LMGC. It was a fun time!
In addition, during the fabulous eighties, our Member-Guest event grew to 160 players. It got to the point where we had to import extra carts for that event because the pro shop ran out of transportation! At that time we also changed from tee times to a shotgun format. It was exciting, the tournament was great to run, and new friendships made the event even better.
I like to think that during this time, the club had an exceptional group of guys — an outstanding brain trust if you will. Each member contributed and gave his all. It really reinforced my belief that when you give your time, you're doing it for "all," not for the few. My thanks to Bill Johnson, Ralph Cryder, Chuck Greer, Hugh Linnell, Ken Mathes, Joe Washle, George Leier, Bob Taylor, Carl Racavich, Ken Manes, Mike Crisante, Jorge Badel, Tom Peterson, and all those other members whose names I've missed who helped me along the way.
For me, the 80s were truly the best years, and I’d like to believe that the work we did then with tournaments and special events has helped our club become even better today. Sometimes it's good to look back before you go ahead. It's been my pleasure.