COACHES SCRAPBOOK TOURNAMENT WINS: 66
NOTABLE ALUMNI: Peter Tomasulo, Eric Mina, James Hahn, Charlie Wi, Mark Sanchez, Dan Arroyo, Robert Hamilton, Ben An, Max Homa, Michael Kim, Brandon Hagy, Michael Weaver, Joel Stalter
WHAT HE’LL MISS MOST ABOUT THE JOB: The kids and the competition. I’m going to miss everything about it. Maybe this summarizes it best: I can honestly say there hasn’t been one day, when I was home getting ready to go into the office, that I said, “I really don’t want to do this today.” I loved what I did.
ON HOW COLLEGE GOLF HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST 37 YEARS: In 1979, I would give players a sleeve of balls before a tournament, and a modest uniform. Now you look around tournaments and there are agents, manufacturers, Golf Channel, Golfweek,
golfstat.com. Who would have thought in the early ‘80s that live scoring could possibly exist?
ON THE SECRET TO BEING A SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE COACH: You have to have a passion for working with young men, and a passion for the greatest game on the planet. Overall, it’s understanding young people. Those are turbulent times in their lives, and they can use guidance. They usually found a way to move on and succeed.
FAVORITE MEMORY: The last hole of the final round with the ’04 team, standing on that tee with Jeff Hood knowing we had won the na- tional championship. I hadn’t breathed in two hours. That moment will live with me forever. I have goose bumps right now talking about it.
BEST PLAYER HE COACHED AT CAL: It’s hard not to pick Michael Kim—he was our only national player of the year. Peter (Tomasulo) and others were close.
BEST PLAYER HE EVER FACED: Phil Mickelson, because he played longer (at Arizona State) than Tiger Woods did (at Stanford). Phil’s college career was better.
qualified for the NCAA championships, only to fade in the final round and fall short of advancing to match play. As the Bears completed their
round, Desimone’s family and friends gathered around the green. So did reporters and Golf Channel cameras, to document the moment. Those family and friends gave Desimone a rousing ovation.
He had kept his emotions in check, until that moment. “Then it hit, like a truck coming
my way,” he says. “I don’t want to say I was overwhelmed with the emotions, but in some respects it really was overwhelming. Short of winning the championship, I can’t think of a better way to call it a career.”
RON KROICHICK covers golf for the San Francisco Chronicle. SUMMER 2016 /
NCGA.ORG / 37
PROUDEST MOMENT: There’s nothing like holding that trophy and putting on that ring (in 2004).
ONE DECISION IN COMPETITION HE’D LIKE TO HAVE BACK: In the early years, we had a young man named Chris Bott. I was in position to select him for a tournament at Turlock Country Club, and for whatever reason I didn’t take him. I was an inexperienced coach. That might have changed the trajectory of the program; Chris was a great player, and he fought to get back into the lineup. When he did, there was friction towards me. He took it as if I didn’t like him and he didn’t have a future in the program. He decided golf wasn’t going to be his career, so he went into business. That still bothers me.
FAVORITE COURSES: Merion, Ballybunion, Cypress Point
PARTING WORDS FROM FORMER CAL GOLFER MAX HOMA ON HIS COLLEGE COACH: That man never wore a shirt without ‘Cal’ on it. Never. He lives that school. He’s the most UC Berkeley person there could possibly be. He lived it himself and then he put himself back into the mix. –R.K.
BOB DOERR
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