A Boon from Troon? Seve Ballesteros says he doesn't want to
captain the European Ryder Cup team next year, and some players
think he meddled too much at Valderrama anyway. So who will
captain the team at the Country Club? Peter Oosterhuis is a U.S.
TV commentator these days. Mark James, Bernhard Langer and Sam
Torrance want to make the team as players. Torrance, who
recently quit drinking to shape up for Brookline, knows his
capacity: "I have one more match in me as a player, and if I am
on the plane to America in 1999, I want it to be in that
capacity." Nick Faldo's out, since coaches must speak.
Player-coach Colin Montgomerie, anyone?
Webb and her coach use E-mail to have virtual lessons.
(Jacqueline Duvoisin)
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Remote Control: Karrie Webb and coach Kevin Haller are
often 10,000 miles apart, but they meet regularly on the
cyberrange. Using Swinger, Australian software designed in part
by Stuart Appleby and his coach, Steve Bann, Webb can film her
swing, then E-mail the video to Haller for analysis. "Programs
like this could change the way golfers practice," says Webb. She
and Haller are working on a program that will allow them to hold
a fully visual, real-time lesson with a computer and a cell
phone. "Then the only problem will be the time difference," says
Webb.
Pacing Himself: Greg Norman will pilot the pace car, a 1998
Corvette convertible, at this year's Indy 500. No word on his
plans should the race be rained out, but Shark fans needn't
worry about his skipping a rain day at the Masters. The
scheduling snafu that saw Norman bail on the final round of the
South African PGA wasn't his fault, and he tells SI his schedule
is clear on the Mondays after all the majors this year.
Five's a Crowd: A plague creeps east from California, where many
muni courses now send out fivesomes to clog their already
crowded fairways. "We have 40 courses in Southern California,
and most use fivesomes," says Mike Heacock of American Golf,
which operates more than 250 courses nationwide. "Contrary to
popular belief, they don't take longer than foursomes." Players
gnashing their teeth while 25% more hackers plumb-bob
double-bogey putts may disagree, but the economics are
compelling: 25% more revenue for the course. "If your course is
full and you want to make more money, why not?" asks Ken Devine
of the PGA's Michigan section.
Emmy Alert: A pilot for CBS, The Secret Lives of Men,
stars Peter Gallagher and takes place largely on a golf course
where guys discuss women, beer, friendship, death and the
metallic, pesticidal characteristics of golf-course grass.
Sample line: "Barry's getting married? That son of a bitch.
That's why he stopped playing golf."
Issue date: March 30, 1998
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