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All The Best

When it comes to golf, it’s all good, but some things make the game even better

By Eric TracyPublished: September, 2005

I like hearing and reading people’s opinions, even when they’re wrong. As a former radio talk show host I made my living on opinions and the often heated discussions that followed.

That’s why this issue of Southland Golf is one of my favorites. While I don’t agree with colleagues who call Brookside and Griffith Park the best 36-hole facilities in Southern California, they have a right to their opinions. They also have a right to know that Robinson Ranch, Industry Hills and the PGA of Southern California courses easily blow those away. What were they thinking?

So I decided to create my own list of best things that somehow didn’t make the list on any of the previous pages:

• Toughest starting hole: Babe Zaharias course, Industry Hills, 396 yards, par-4. This monster makes me nervous the day before I play it. An OB ravine on the left and a dense forest on the right makes a tight fairway even tighter.

• Best 10th hole: Strawberry Farms, 337 yards, par-4. An elevated tee box reveals water down the left side of the fairway and makes the green look closer than it is. The smart shot is to drive the ball for position. The rest of us hit driver and try to reach the green. Not a smart move.

• Toughest finishing hole: Black Gold, 535 yards, par-5. Your tee shot must go through a narrow chute and the second shot is blind. Want more? The approach shot must carry a lake in front of the green.

• Scariest tee box: No. 18, Trump National, 498 yards from the tips, par-4. See the pictures on this page? It’s 240 yards to reach the fairway. No, I didn’t make it. Not enough wind.

• Easiest access to the first tee: Temecula Creek Inn and the Doubletree Resort in San Diego (tie): You can practically roll out of bed from any room at either resort and be on the box. Don’t forget your driver.

• Best approach in your car: Lost Canyons, Simi Valley. Turn left off Tapo Canyon and drive about a half-mile to the course on a road surrounded by golden, rolling hills. No homes, no billboards, no telephone wires. Pretty neat.

• Best breakfast item before a round: Art’s Big, Bad Breakfast Burrito at Mulligan’s Restaurant, Industry Hills. Named for head pro Art Guevara, this delicacy is a tortilla stuffed with eggs, sausage, pepperjack cheese and fried potatoes. Hold the salt.

• Best practice facility: Tom Barber Golf Center, Moorpark. The range features water hazards, sand bunkers and fairways to simulate a course and stimulate your game.

• Best golf company with a sense of humor: BogeyPro.com. Check out www.bogeypro.com and be prepared to chuckle. Things you’ll see include Underachievement Awards for your next tournament — Loudest Profanity, Longest Club Toss and Shortest Drive, for example — and a Covert Cooler that looks like a shoe bag for sneaking beverages (OK, beer) on a golf course.
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A MAJOR MOVE:  Last month’s PGA Championship, or “Glory’s Last Shot,” as CBS calls it, wrapped up the majors for 2005. But why stop there?

For the last decade, The Player’s Championship in March has been referred to as the “fifth major.” Why not just declare it a major? And while they’re at it, why not create a monthly major? It would be great for TV ratings.

With apologies to the October-December “silly season,” professional golf is now a nine-month grind. Wouldn’t it make sense to spice up the action with a major each month?

If NASCAR can begin its season with the biggest race of the year — the Daytona 500 — why can’t the PGA Tour open its season with a tournament for players who won events the previous year on all professional tours around the world? Think of the global impact.

In February, the tour could capitalize on the popularity of the AT&T at Pebble Beach by tinkering with the format and eliminating the celebrities on the last day.

We’ve taken care of March by declaring The Players Championship a major and April stands pat with the Masters.

May has been the calm before the three-month storm of June, July and August, which sports the U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship. But May has an event that could easily be made a major — the Memorial at Muirfield Village. It would be an enduring and everlasting tribute to Jack Nicklaus, much like the Masters is to Bobby Jones.

Now we’re to September, a month when golf fans begin suffering from major withdrawals. Why not make the final World Golf Championship event a major? The tournament could invite the top-10 finishers from the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship. They also could include the top 10 from the three previous WGC events.

How’s that for going out on a limb? But before you grab a saw to cut down the tree, remember that opinions lead to healthy discussion, and that’s a good thing.

Did I mention how much I like this edition?  N

Eric Tracy is aka The Mulligan Man. If you have questions or comments, contact him at Eric@TheMulliganMan.com.

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