The Aramco Retiree Golf Group held its tenth event at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa (Marriott property) in Indian Wells, California April 15-19, 2024. Golf activities included three rounds of golf at both Celebrity and Players courses at Indian Wells Golf Resort (IWGR) and the Classic Club in Palm Desert, CA. The first two days were Stableford golf format and the last day was a Scramble that is an easy format for everyone, especially after all the late nights visiting with our ARAMCO friends. There were 51 golfers and 39 non-golfers attending the event, by far the largest gathering to date for this group. Palm Springs is definitely a golfer’s paradise.
The top five winners in order for this event were Wayne Giles, Will Kochinski aka “Honest Will”, Rosie Daud, Don Marshall, and both Brad Coy and Derrick Smith, tied for 5th place. These are all mostly new faces in the winners' circle other than Rosie. We had a number of new people attending this event and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, blue skies, cool temperatures and dry humidity. We normally never go back to the same place, but may have to reconsider for Palm Springs area. The 2025 Biennial ARAMCO Brats Reunion is scheduled in the Palm Springs area and they will enjoy this location.
Special thanks to Laurie Michalewicz, Marriott Sales Manager Southwest, Clara Flores, Group Housing/Billing Coordinator, and Nona Duarte, Senior Event Manager, who worked closely with us on the Renaissance Esmeralda hotel reservations. Laurie remembered our group from our prior trip to Sheraton Wildhorse Pass in Chandler, AZ which made it easy for us to work together to arrange and manage our group reservations for this trip.
Ben Rodny, Director of Sales and Marketing, Beth Widdowson, Group Golf Sales, Marissa Patterson-Egner, Tournament Coordinator, and Bonnie Budd, Concierge at Indian Wells Golf Resort were very accommodating for our group in terms of the number of tee times, shotgun starts, and using Golf Genius to determine winners for the first two rounds. Michael Reese, Assistant Golf Professional–Tournament Coordinator at the Classic Club handled our group’s arrangements for the Scramble on the third day with a shotgun start and provided both food and merchandise vouchers for each of the golfers. We really appreciate everyone’s assistance.
The traditional Monday night Icebreaker was held onsite at The Place located in the Renaissance Esmeralda. It was a great opportunity to visit with old friends and to meet new friends. As we always say, half the fun of these golf trips is visiting with other ARAMCO Expats that you have a lot in common with even though you may have never met them while working in Saudi Arabia. It was also a good opportunity to plan your activities for the week including daily excursions for the non-golfers and making dinner plans for the week.
We were able to squeeze most of those attending the Icebreaker on the grand staircase in the Renaissance Esmeralda. Considering the large number of people in this photo, the individual names are not included. The list of those attending is shown at the end.
It was a beautiful setting for the Icebreaker. This photo above includes from L to R, Margaret Phillips, Jesse Phillips, Helen Rowlands, Paul Titley, and Julie and Ben Eveland. All of these were first-timers on the tour except Paul. Great time to visit about our time in KSA.
Everybody in this group seems happy to see each other at the Icebreaker. The photo above includes from L to R, Gordon aka “Gordie” Rentz, Derrick Smith aka “Desert Des”, Greg Branch, Myron Cook and Gary Lorentz. Always need to include a photo of Gary who lives in Northern Alberta, and think that he is the person that has attended most of these events and is usually the first one to sign up. It sounds like he needs a trip or two out of Northern Alberta.
The first day of play was at the IWGR Celebrity golf course with 47 players. The group photo above was taken before the 12:30 pm shotgun start with snow still on the mountain range in the background. We could not have asked for a better day to play golf.
Prizes were awarded for the top four 4-ball groups based on the best net 2-ball Stableford scores per hole totaled for the 18 holes, the top twelve individual player Stableford scores and Nearest the Pin on all par 3’s. For the team competition, there was a two-way tie for first place with 79 points each that included Captain Derrick Smith, Gregg Skinner, Rosie Daud and Don Marshall, and the other team captained by Myron Cook, included Gary Lorentz, Tahir Bukhari and Al Griffith. The top 7 teams were within 3 points of each other so looks like everyone’s handicaps were legitimate with no evident “sandbaggers”. I am sure teams were wringing their hands over the missed shots that could have put them in the top four prize category.
For the individual competition, Will Kochinski won first place with 36 Stableford points, followed by Wayne Giles with 34 points, Monty Gilleland and Ike Bellaci tied at 33 points, and Adrian Vandenbroek with 32 points.
I need to put in a plug for Captain Myron Cook who has actually become a YouTube celebrity. Please visit Myron Cook Geology - Read the Rocks on YouTube. I think you will enjoy what he has to say about the world of geology. It is also very heartening, to read all the comments from his readers about how much they have learned from Myron. Just look online for the guy on the right in the photo. Tahir Bukhari pictured on the left captured Myron in this photo.
The course was in excellent shape with lots of trees, lush vegetation, water, elevation changes and slick greens, well protected by deep sand bunkers. The grass in both the fairways and on the greens was well maintained for enjoyable play along with stunning mountain views. The course actually has a touch of Augusta National Golf Course incorporated in the layout design that was mentioned by some of the golfers.
Katharine Russell and Phil Gagnard, pictured above, graciously hosted the Tuesday night social at their lovely nearby home in Indian Wells. They provided wonderful food and drink for all the guests. Everyone had a great time and we all appreciated their hospitality.
The photo above includes mostly “old timers” who usually attend the events and were also good friends during their Dhahran days. The photo includes from L to R, Dan Thost, Gregg Skinner, Missy Thost, Shayne Skinner, and Mel and Marti Knotts.
It was a hungry crowd and both Katharine and Phil did a superb job of keeping the food going. This Tuesday night photo above includes from L to R, Margaret Branch, Susan Ross, Robert Ross, Ike Bellaci, Gordon Rentz, Monty Gilleland and Jim Wahl.
The photo above was taken at Katharine and Phil’s Tuesday night and includes from L to R, Dawn Walle, Holly Marshall, Robert Kerr, Manuela Kerr, Laura Renaud and Jennifer Sloma. Even though they do not play golf, Robert and Manuela who live in California, drove over to stay and visit with the ARAMCO crowd. It so happens that both Will Kochinski and Robert Kerr were both Brats in Dhahran at the same time. Small world, especially considering ARAMCO.
The non-golfing Ladies had a wonderful time in Palm Springs with plenty of activities that included a Palm Springs bicycle tour of the mid-century architectural celebrity homes, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Joshua Tree National Park and other activities. The photo above taken Tuesday night includes Margaret Branch, Jerry Thompson, Mickie Haas, Cindy Grosch, Val Bellaci, Jana Gilleland and Nabilla Bukhari.
The second day of play was at the IWGR Players golf course with 44 players. The group photo above was taken before the 12:30 pm shotgun start in the IWGR restaurant and pro shop area.
Prizes were awarded for the top four 4-ball groups based on the best net 2-ball Stableford scores per hole totaled for the 18 holes, the top nine individual player Stableford scores and Nearest the Pin on all par 3’s. For the team competition, first place was won with 83 points that included Captain Derrick Smith, again, Dennis Latendresse, Rosie Daud and Paddy Rogan. The second-place team was captained by Mel Knotts and included Monty Gilleland, Mike Haas and Dawn Mack with 82 points. The top 7 teams were within 4 points of each other so again it looks like everyone’s handicaps were fairly accurate.
For the individual competition, Paddy Rogan won first place with 39 Stableford points, 3 under par, and was the only individual winner during the first two days to shoot under par. Paddy was followed by Dan Cook and Adrian Vandenbroek tied at 36 points, Roger Thompson with 34 points, and both Mel Knotts and Don Marshall tied for fifth with 33 points.
There were lots of great restaurants to dine at including the Vue Grill & Bar in the IWGR, and the Nest Piano Bar & Restaurant where any minute you expected the “Rat Pack” of Frank Sinatra and his friends to walk in the front door.
The photo above includes - Row Left, L to R, Ray Woods, Paddy Rogan, Rosie Daud, Holly Marshall, Miranda Elasmar, Helen Titley and Jesse Phillips; Row Right, R to L, Don Marshall, Will Kochinski, Robert Foote, Jennifer Sloma, Adrian and Ilene Vandenbroek, Margaret Phillips and Paul Titley.
Another group photo, shown above, of those out for dinner, included L to R, Ike and Val Bellaci, Monty and Jana Gilleland, Gregg and Shayne Skinner, Dawn and Craig Walle and Marti and Mel Knotts. They dined outside at the Arnold Palmer restaurant which included live music, lush vegetation, beautiful lighting and wonderful weather. The restaurant has a special room showing many of Arnie’s golf trophies and photos including a green jacket from the Master’s Golf Tournament, one of the four majors played during the year.
The third day of play was at the Classic golf course in Palm Desert with 47 players. The group photo was taken before the 1:00 pm shotgun start outside in front of the practice range.
The photo above includes - Front Row L to R, Rosie Daud, Derrick Smith, Randy McClarren, Roger Thompson, Margaret Phillips, Geraldine Gossard, Ben Eveland, Tim McGhee, Ray Woods and Tom Owen. Second Row, L to R, Mike Haas, Phil Gagnard, Al Griffith, Will Kochinski, Mel Knotts, John Bova, Monty Gilleland, Greg Branch and Dan Thost. Third Row, L to R, Gregg Skinner, Adrian Vandenbroek, Dennis Latendresse, Chuck Baldwin, Robert Foote, Don Marshall, John Mack, Carl Gossard, Dan Cook, Craig Walle and Myron Cook. Fourth Row, L to R, Jim Wahl, Jim Schultz, Jon Grosch, Robert Ross, Paddy Rogan, Ike Bellaci, Paul Titley, Jon Cavanaugh, Eric Kocian, Jan Williams, Wayne Giles, Gary Lorentz and Brad Coy.
Prizes were awarded for the top six Scramble teams and the nearest the pins on all par 3 holes. First place at 6 under was captained by Brad Coy along with Don Marshall, Randy McClarren and Geraldine Gossard. There were three teams tied at 3 under for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places at 4 under and there were three teams tied at 3 under to share 5th place so 7 of the 12 teams shared the prizes.
Marc Elasmar and Derrick Smith, shown above, are considered two of the long ball hitters who attended this event. They both were expected to perform well in the Scramble at the Classic Club on Thursday because of being able to put their team in good position off the tee box. It turned out that both their teams tied for second at 4 under. However, by the look on both their faces, it looks like Derrick got the better of the two in their side competition.
The following attendees are included in alphabetical order.
Chuck and Gayle Baldwin, Ike and Val Bellaci, John and Susan Bova, Greg and Margaret Branch, Tahir and Nabila Bukhari, Jon and Cindy Cavanaugh, Dan and Ampron Cook, Myron Cook, Brad Coy, Mark and Miranda Elasmar, Ben and Julie Eveland, Robert Foote, and Jennifer Sloma, Phil Gagnard and Katharine Russell, Wayne Giles and Jan Williams, Monty and Jana Gilleland, Carl and Geraldine Gossard, Al and Margaret Griffith, Jon and Cindy Grosch, Mike and Mickie Haas, Lucy Haas Heflin, Janice Haas, Edna Haas Pakkala, JoLynn Haas Montamat, Robert and Manuela Kerr, Mel and Marti Knotts, Will Kochinski, Eric and Annette Kocian, Dennis and Jeannie Latendresse, Gary Lorentz, Dawn and John Mack, Don and Holly Marshall, Randy McClarren, Tim McGhee, Tom and Kathy Owen, Joshua Paxton, Margaret and Jesse Phillips, Lauren Pollock, Jerry and Laura Renaud, Gordon and Sandy Rentz, Paddy Rogan and Rosie Daud, Robert and Susan Ross, Jim Schultz, Gregg and Shayne Skinner, Derrick and Liz Smith, Roger and Jerry Thompson, Dan and Missy Thost, Paul and Helen Titley, Adrian and Ilene Vandenbroek, Jim and Darcy Wahl, Craig and Dawn Walle, Ray Woods, and Costa and Kathy Yiannakakis.
If you are interested in being included in the ARAMCO Retiree Golfer database, please contact Mike Haas at mdhaas@attglobal.net, mdhaas51@yahoo.com or cell 361-257-5933. If you are interested in getting in contact with any of the players or non-golfers, please send me your contact details and I will pass it along to them.
The next golfing trip is planned in conjunction with the ARAMCO Annuitant Reunion scheduled August 30 – September 2 at the Omni Hotel in Las Colinas, Texas near Dallas. There will be 2 rounds of golf. It will be a great opportunity to see many more non-golfers at this event with activities planned every day and night. The ARAMCO Expat website and Highlights & Notices Newsletter have details about the event.