History

History of the Fiesta Men’s Golf Club 

By Tom Reid

The Fiesta Men’s Club was started by Ron McAtee, owner of Fiesta Catering in Claremont, more than 30 years ago. Ron’s small fleet of food catering trucks displaying the Fiesta logo. Because of his interest in golf, he and his brother Joe loosely organized a group of Fiesta employees and friends to play together. Most of the members regarded the weekly Fiesta gatherings as a way to make small wagers on their golf skills while enjoying a day in the sunshine. 

Ron, who died in 2007, also owned racehorses as a hobby and had a private box at the Del Mar Racetrack. During racing season, club members would frequently play golf on Saturday morning and meet at the track that afternoon. 

In those early days, there was never a need for a board of directors – it was an unwritten rule was that the member who did the most grumbling or who was the most unpleasant was appointed as president by default and had to manage the club’s affairs. There were some attempts by some to organize the club over the years but we were always successful in their departure.

The club administration has improved greatly in the last few years because a couple of talented guys run it by computer. They handle all SCGA memberships and do all the posting from the software that tallies our score and winnings. It’s amazing that the unwritten rule still works!