OUT OF BOUNDS
For months it has been a parochial skirmish between the city of San Diego and some of its golfing citizens. But the battle being waged over the five-year golf plan for Torrey Pines and the other city-operated courses is starting to get national attention.
Golf World magazine put the story on its cover last week, with a bold headline, “Troubles at Torrey Pines.” The piece by Golf World staffer and Fallbrook resident John Strege was a middle-of-the-road recounting of the past five months of squabbles. It didn't tread new ground, but there were a couple of intriguing quotes.
From USGA Executive Director David Fay, whose organization will stage the 2008 U.S. Open on Torrey Pines South: “I won't say it's a Hatfield and McCoy situation. It hasn't gotten that bad. But it's definitely a family feud. I think there's a compromise position. What that is, I don't know.”
Mike Riley, the father of PGA Tour player Chris Riley and a longtime patron of the city courses, seemed to put into words the conflicted feelings so many have about Torrey's progression from beloved muni track to world-famous major venue.
“It's like a Wal-Mart moving into town,” Riley said. “You're used to certain things, certain privileges. Torrey has gotten big. Unfortunately, that's the nature of the game. People cater to money.”
Next up for Torrey: A lengthy piece by Sports Illustrated writer Alan Shipnuck for the magazine's U.S. Open preview edition.
With each taking a long hiatus from competitive play, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are nowhere to be found on the PGA Tour right now. But they were on the same course Saturday, practicing at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., for the upcoming U.S. Open.
According to the Journal-News in Westchester, Woods and Mickelson exchanged light small talk on the driving range before heading off for practice rounds, one starting on the back and the other on the front. While Woods walked with coach Hank Haney, Mickelson, accompanied by coaches Rick Smith and Dave Pelz, and caddie Jim Mackay, asked to join a member with whom he caught up.
“He was a nice guy, very chatty, like I had known him for a while,” said the lucky member, Michael Doetsch.
Neither player offered an assessment of the course, which figures to be an absolute brute at 7,264 yards.
“I just want to fly under the radar,” said Mickelson, who will be going for his third straight major victory.
Thanks to Michelle Wie, the U.S. Open sectional qualifiers Monday are going to get unprecedented coverage from The Golf Channel. Wie, attempting to become the first woman to qualify for the U.S. Open, will compete in the 36-hole sectional at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J. It is believed Wie is the first female ever to make it to the sectional stage. The Golf Channel will have periodic live reports all day from Canoe Brook and will follow with a three-hour sectional wrapup show on Golf Central beginning at 4 p.m. (PDT). The coverage strategically segues into TGC's coverage next week of Wie and Co. in the second women's major of the year, the McDonald's LPGA Championship.
– TOD LEONARD
PROFESSIONAL GOLF TIPS
Hover the club a bit to reduce tension
By Tina Mickelson
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
While everyone knows the driving range is the place to work on mechanics and the golf course is where it is important to let rhythm and tempo take over, that can be easier said than done.
Good rhythm and tempo are easier to achieve when there is less tension throughout the body, especially in the hands and arms. To ensure there is minimal tension throughout the swing, you must have minimal tension at address and as you start your backswing.
To encourage minimal tension, hover the club just above the ground at address. As you initiate your backswing, the minimal tension required in your hands and arms remains consistent.
If the club head rests on the ground at address, you will find that although your arms might be tension-free, that tension must increase in order to initiate movement into your takeaway.
By hovering the club at address, you already have your ideal tension locked in, it remains constant throughout your swing, and you will see an improvement in your rhythm, tempo and consistency.
IN THE BAG | GOLF BOOKS
Every May, I need to retrieve a big box from the mail department to haul all of the golf books home, as publishers anticipate summer golf fever and Father's Day. In many cases, jacket covers are about as far as I get. So without any guarantees, here is a list of the latest golf books with decent potential, and a slight guess as to how they might play.
“I Golfed Across Mongolia,” by André Tomé (Thunder's Mouth Press, $25)
In this “Survivor” meets the “Wonderful World of Golf” tale, Tomé, a civil engineer from New Hampshire, sets off on a journey to Mongolia with a 3-iron and a backpack filled with golf balls. Claiming the open steppe grasslands of Mongolia to be “one giant golf course,” Tomé will walk and swing, walk and swing, for 90 days, taking 12,170 shots over 1,200 miles. Quick take: Beautifully written – as much about the instinctual desire to explore another world as it is about golf.
“Who's Better, Who's Best in Golf?” by Elliott Kalb (McGraw-Hill, $16.95)
Kalb has already written “Best” books for the NBA and baseball, and now “Mr. Stats” tackles golf with the same mix of statistical analysis and opinion. He endeavors to determine the best players in history while poring through their major records, their victories, the quality of their competition and their longevity. In the process, Kalb comes up with some fascinating material on his top 50 of all time.Quick take: Great insight, best appreciated by the hard-core fan.
“The Art of Putting” by Stan Utley with Matthew Rudy (Gotham Books, $25)
Utley, though he's never had any great success as a PGA Tour player, has become the latest and greatest guru on the short game. He's worked with Jay Haas and Craig Stadler, both of whom have been enjoying fabulous resurgences on the Champions Tour. Utley offers tips on putter design, sensory clues and reading greens. Quick take: Utley's simplistic, “feel” approach to putting is easy to read and understand.
“The King of Swings: Johnny Goodman, The Last Amateur to Beat the Pros at Their Own Game” by Michael Blaine (Houghton Mifflin, $26)
At Pebble Beach in 1929, Johnny Goodman – an Omaha orphan turned caddie turned amateur player – beats the legendary Bobby Jones in the U.S. Amateur, and it changes his life. Incredibly, it will not be his greatest victory. Goodman goes on win the 1933 U.S. Open, the last amateur to do so.Quick take: If you savored Mark Frost's “The Greatest Game,” you'll love this one, too. It has much of the same historical perspective mixed with great storytelling.
“Match Made in Heaven” by Bob Mitchell (Kensington, $20)
The author knows something about facing mortality – at 41 he suffered a massive heart attack, and he continues to battle heart disease, owning only one functioning coronary artery. That will make you think about the nature of God, and since he's a golf fanatic, too, Mitchell turned to the game to explore his musings on life and death. His fictional counterpart, Elliott Goodman, essentially plays on God's Ryder Cup team – Leonardo da Vinci, Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth, among others.Quick take: So gimmicky it will take a great review from a trusted friend before diving into this one.
“Shanks for Nothing” by Rick Reilly (Doubleday, $24.95)
Ten years after his first fictional venture into Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Course – “the worst golf course in America” – and its bizarre cast of characters, the Sports Illustrated columnist goes back for more madcap adventures. The beloved “Ponky” course might be sold to the blue-blood country club next door, and protagonist Ray “Stick” Hart is determined to save it, even if he has to qualify for the British Open to do it.Quick take: Reilly is one of the funniest guys in sports writing today and has a true appreciation for golf, but the witticisms and jokes come in such rapid fashion, his novels are to be digested in small portions. “Who's Your Caddie?” was a much easier read.
– TOD LEONARD
