THE 'NET' RESULT? A NEW ON-LINE LOOK FOR USGA

Fore! Net surfers, watch out. The USGA has re-launched itself into cyberspace. Complete with a newly designed Web site, the USGA has changed the face of its existence on the Internet.

On Oct. 1, the USGA assumed direct control of its Internet operations; since the USGA joined cyberspace, its Web site was managed primarily by Unisys, the computer corporation that handles the electronic scoring system at the USGA's three Opens.

Managing the USGA's Web site is Corey Shelton, who joined the USGA in the spring as manager of Internet services. A graduate of Hampton University and the College of William and Mary, where he received his master's of business administration, with an emphasis on information systems, Shelton recently designed the Web site for the National Exploratory Committee to elect Colin Powell.

Shelton believes the move to directly control the site was well timed by the USGA. "Unisys originally helped us get off the ground with our Web site, and they did a good job for us in the past," he said. "But we need direct control of the site now. Previously, we have had to e-mail our information to Unisys so they could post it for us. Sometimes that would mean a two- or three-day lead time to update information."

By providing Web browsers faster access to information on golf, the USGA expects to increase the number of visits to its site. Currently it attracts some 6,000 visitors per day, but those numbers increase dramatically during the busy championship season. "During the week of the U.S. Open," notes Shelton, "we get around 200,000 hits a day.

"Direct access to the site is essential so we can immediately post press releases and results from championships. A two- to three-day lead time would make that type of information irrelevant by the time it was posted."

Additionally, when technology increases in the future, the USGA's ability to expand will also increase because of steps taken today. "We have tried to make the USGA accessible to as many people as possible," said Shelton. "By having extensive information on the Internet, the USGA will be able to extend its message to many people, often to people who would not have shown an interest in the USGA."

Of all the changes surrounding the site, the most obvious one is the appearance of the main menu page. The viewer will be greeted by a new image -- an avant-garde reproduction of the USGA logo buoyantly floating among on-screen clouds. By opening any of the 12 selections on the menu, the viewer will gain access to information on various aspects of the USGA.

By selecting the merchandise catalog, a new addition to the site, viewers will have the chance to order USGA merchandise without the conventional print catalog search. Currently, the viewer has to order through a posted phone number, but soon, when secure transactions over the Internet are possible, on-line ordering will be an option.

The 11 other selections lead to information on the USGA Handicap System, the Rules of the Game, Membership, the Green Section, Golf Journal, the media guide, hot topics, championships, general information on the USGA and Golf House, and a guest book to log comments. Those interested can even request entry applications for any of the 13 USGA championships to be mailed to them. Included in the information on Golf House is a virtual tour of the building. This 360-degree panoramic feature allows viewers to tour selected rooms in the Museum by simply pointing and clicking. Through photographs, historic exhibits and displays unroll before those not able to visit in person.

Most of the USGA's publications will be available for viewing on the site. Browsers can read A Call to Feet: Golf is a Walking Game, Uncle Snoopy Wants You to Know How to Use Your Handicap, The Rules of Golf, Decisions on the Rules of Golf and the USGA Handicap System Manual.

The addresses for the USGA Web site are http://www.usga.org and http://www.usopen.com.

-- Saul Keeton

AN OPEN WE DON'T HAVE THE HEART TO ENTER

The OHOHO tournament at Dearborn (Mich.) Country Club has an unusual qualifying requirement -- open heart surgery.

OHOHO stands for Oakwood Hospital Open Heart Open and the ninth annual event, held Sept. 9, drew 120 players who have had open heart surgery. And, being kind-hearted as it were, the open hearters now invite surgeons and anesthesiologists to share the day, which filled the scramble event with 179 players.

"Open heart surgery is great for the golf game. Everyone should have one," said Jack Shelton, who underwent bypass surgery on Oct. 4, 1995. "I've taken four strokes off my handicap.

"Of course, I've taken off 10 pounds, too. I exercise regularly and I play golf five times a week," said Shelton, a former Dearborn CC president. "I just feel good. I have a good mental attitude."

The OHO is the brainchild of Ed Bovich, who had a triple bypass in 1984.

"While I was recuperating, I saw a lot of people who were depressed and thought because they had open heart surgery, they were at the end of their lives," Bovich said.

Bovich loves golf and thought a tournament for open hearters, as they call themselves, would give them an opportunity to share their experiences and also act as a support group.

Bovich found backing from Bill Knoop, 67, who had open heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in 1974. Knoop said he had "a redo" in 1992 to replace worn-out grafts.

"They had a 'Zipper Open' in Cleveland and I played in it, but they dropped it for some reason and ours is the only one going that I know of," said Knoop, now chairman of the OHO. "We'd like to get some celebrity athlete who has had open heart surgery to get connected to the program. We had Bo Schembechler (the former University of Michigan football coach who has had two bypass operations) for a couple of years when he was president of the Detroit Tigers.

"We started the tournament with 38 players and it's grown every year; they do 800 open heart operations every year at Oakwood Hospital, so we have no shortage of candidates.

"We have two heart transplant players, a woman who had open heart surgery when she was 4 years old and we even had two husband-and-wife teams from Dearborn Country Club."

Joe and Madeline Vig and Bob and Elaine Lewis are the husband-and-wife teams. Joe had a triple bypass in 1986 and hasn't missed an Open Heart Open. Madeline had a double bypass in 1994 and this year was her OHO debut.

Blaine Lewis, who also has had cancer surgery, had her bypass in 1978 "and I'm on my fifth pacemaker." Bob Lewis "qualified" for the OHO with a five-way bypass -- and he had his cancerous right lung removed in October 1995. The Lewises believe in matching each other. One month after Bob aced Dearborn's fifth hole, Elaine said, "Bob aced this hole last month and it's about my turn." And she did.

Not all of the open hearters are bypass veterans. Linda Bedemis, an art director and graphic designer, was born with a congenital heart defect, "A hole in my heart," she explains. "They diagnosed it when I was six weeks old, but they waited until the technology advanced before operating."

Bedemis had her surgery at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital in 1966, when she was 4 years old. "It was a completely successful correction. I'm 35 now, I have two children and I'm in top-notch health. I was active in sports and played golf in high school. I'm very fortunate and I know it."

Feeling fortunate and feeling upbeat are OHO trademarks.

"Three years ago a friend's wife called me and said her husband was down in the dumps after heart surgery," Knoop said. "I told him to come out to the tournament. He did and he saw there's life after surgery. He snapped right out of it. That's what we want to tell people." -- Jack Berry

AND THERE ARENO BALL MARKS

Three of golf's biggest problems are pace of play, the lack of easily and widely accessible facilities and the environmental concerns over chemical usage. The father-and-son team of Pete and Mark Johnson of West Lebanon, N.H., believe they have found a way to address all three at Fore-U, their new par-3 course.

In a site hard by the Connecticut River, the team is building a nine-hole layout featuring synthetic greens. It is the first installation of its kind in a northern climate, and a big step for manufacturer Tour True.

"It's the first complete golf course that we've ever done, though there have been a couple of other companies that have made nine-hole installations," said Irving Bookspan, president of the 9-year-old San Francisco-based company. "There was one done many years ago at the Disney Resort in Florida. It only lasted a year or two and it failed miserably. The technology was never thought out."

Bookspan, together with a staff of scientists and architects, has advanced the science considerably and the Johnsons recognized it. "Gradually, over the past few years, I had become interested in mini golf and had been reading about par 3s," remarks Pete, who also owns a putting course and driving range at the same site. "I thought it was very intriguing, but I thought in our area it was going to require synthetic greens."

"Dad had already gotten me interested in the synthetics," notes Mark. "We called Tour True and got their information packet, which ultimately led to me flying out to Callaway's test facility in Carlsbad, Calif., to hit into one of their greens and putt on it last January." Tour True installed a green for Callaway's research and test facility, as well as putting greens for Paul Azinger, Steve Elkington, Larry Mize, John Huston, former U.S. Amateur champion Mitch Voges, Michael Jordan and others. But the Johnsons saw more in the surface than celebrity endorsements.

As Mark notes, "These greens really facilitated our permitting process, being by the Connecticut River. There are a lot of chemical issues with real greens. We like the river as much as anyone and don't want to do anything to hurt it." In a region concerned with contamination of natural resources, the plan gained quick approval.

While you can take that advantage to heart, the Johnsons also saw one you could take to the bank. "Compared to a typical par-3 course I would guess we have more construction expense putting in the artificial greens," Pete starts, "but we expect the returns on that to be much greater because of the savings in maintenance and chemicals. We're also gaining about six weeks in the spring, and some time in the fall."

Golf in northern New England is not likely in March, and often dubious in April, just when players are most rabid. "When other courses are waiting for the frost to go out of their greens, we'll be playable. These greens are as playable in the middle of March as they are in the middle of July," adds Mark.

While the assessment is hard to argue with, it also introduces another question: How will the carpets hold up to the elemental pounding they can receive in a region with six months of winter and nine months of usage? "I'm real excited about the fact that it's gone into such a severe climate because it's going to answer a bunch of questions once and for all," remarks Bookspan.

"We've done an installation at the Mission Bay Golf Center, which is probably the most high-traffic driving range in the Bay area. We have a 3,000-square-foot green that we installed there and it must receive anywhere between 200 and 500 golfers a day. It's weathered very nicely over the last four years."

Construction starts with a base preparation and grading similar to a natural green. Then, ground-up rubber from recycled tires is part of the subsurface that gives the green some bite when receiving a shot from over 190 yards out, as two will at the new course. A shock-absorbent underpad is the final layer before the open-tufted synthetic turf, ballasted by a combination of non-compactible natural and artificial aggregates. Sand topdressing gives the green its speed, and a daily brooming keeps it uniform.

"Many people thought that you just take this carpet and you put it down on a dirt base," comments Bookspan. "No one has taken the approach to synthetics in a very serious fashion. We've tried to address everything."

The Johnsons broke ground in July and the greens were completed by August. The tees and green surrounds were then sodded and the fairways seeded; landscaping and ponds were completed earlier. The course will open for limited play this fall, with a formal grand opening in the spring.

Bookspan, obviously, sees a future for the system. "I don't see this product finding its way to any private clubs per se, but anywhere in this country where there is an environmental issue, where there is a maintenance issue, or where there is a weather and sunlight issue, I see it as a viable alternative. I see it in some instances, even in a country club setting where they have the one devil green. Where there is one green on the course that because of its position, because of the lighting it gets, because of the drainage, is the devil green. It's always a mess, it's always torn up, it's not playable. Where finally the membership says to give this a try."

-- Bob Labbance

A SPRINKLER WITH LONG REACH

Golf course superintendents take great pride in their willingness to share information with their brethren. Thus, it is no surprise a course in Zimbabwe, in desperate need of assistance with its irrigation system, took a shot in the dark and hit the jackpot.

In July 1995, Warren Hills Golf Club, whose list of club champions includes none other than Nick Price and Denis Watson, decided to upgrade its irrigation system. But it was unable to find the appropriate sprinkler heads, so club officials wrote a letter to the USGA. Somehow it found its way to Keith Happ, an agronomist in the USGA Green Section's Mid-Atlantic Region.

He in turn faxed a copy of the letter to Susan Tanto, a USGA committeeperson whose husband works in the business of irrigation design and installation. Lo and behold, Al Fellers, an associate of his, found a course on Long Island that had just replaced its sprinkler heads -- the precise kind they needed in Zimbabwe -- and through another party an arrangement was made to ship 400-500 of them at no charge.

SPLISH SPLASH

As the mayor of Tallahassee, Fla., Ron Weaver is supposed to be setting a good example for his fellow citizens. He found out the hard way that rules are rules.

Weaver, an avid golfer, liked to practice at the city-owned Hilaman Park Golf Club, which is next to his home near the sixth hole. What was irritating to some was that the mayor, despite frequent warnings, would practice at hours when the course was closed.

One day last month, Weaver was out practicing before the 7 a.m. opening when maintenance worker Mike Osley asked the mayor to leave. When the mayor continued to practice, Osley turned on the sprinklers, giving Weaver an unexpected soaking.

Weaver complained to city manager Steve Burkett, who suspended Osley for one week without pay. That, in turn, had some fair-minded voters up in arms. City offices were besieged with phone calls, and nearly 20 wrote letters of protest to the Tallahassee Democrat, all but one criticizing the mayor. Local radio stations took to Osley's plight and raised money to help cover his lost wages.

Weaver and Osley eventually exchanged apologies, but the city manager refused to lift the suspension.

"It was not a good decision," Osley stated.

Said the mayor, "I'm embarrassed that I broke the rules. I won't ever do it again."

THE SPIRITOF GOLF

In researching his book, 100 Years of Golf at the Presidio, writer Art Rosenbaum uncovered a skit performed at a banquet held when the course was expanded to a full 18 holes in October 1921. The author was one John J. Barrett.

On stage, the character known as "The Spirit of Golf" remained in darkness while intoning his message to the accompaniment of soft music. Rosenbaum passed the text along to Golf Journal and said, "I think you will find it as valid today as it was 75 years ago, and it surely reflects the principles, even the voice, of the USGA."

The Spirit of Golf

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am that which makes this game the sport of men and the pastime of angels.

"Not in ball or club or fairway abides the fascination; but in me. I am not a thing of wood, or iron or of clay; and no bag can hold me and no club express me. They are the tools. I am the thing.

"In my being are united all the elements that make your game a sport for which the acres of heaven's playfields are too narrow and eternity too short.

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am the soul of fellowship. I am that companionship for which the heart aches. I am that comradeship without which the soul dies.

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am the open field and the boundless sky. I am the wild bush and the shady tree. I am the freedom of the out of doors. I am the breath of the grass, of the field, of the forest. I am the tranquility of the hills. I am the peace of nature. I am the lighthearted song of the carefree birds. I am the cleanliness of the soul and the strength of the body. The sky, the field, the forest have purified my being of the grosser things until I am their fit companion.

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am the joy of combat. I am the pulse of the soldier. I am the thrill of victory. I am the pang of defeat.

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am human life. I am ambition. I am endeavor. I am success. I am failure. I am hope. I am disappointment. I am boyhood. I am manhood. I am age. I am the sympathetic friend. I am the generous foe.

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am the touchstone of character. I am the searcher of souls. I uncover your frailties and test your strength and I make men know you as you really are.

"I am the Spirit of Golf. I am the soul of honor. I am my own judge and I condemn myself without fear or favor. I let my rival judge himself and I submit my fortunes to his decision and accept the triumph or defeat that he decrees. I am generous. I am magnanimous. I wish the best of luck to every combatant against me. I play the whole game square. I am the Spirit of Golf -- the finest spirit in the world of sport."

BRIGHTER IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

Evelyn heroy remembers some of the words from a song she was taught in grade school. "Brighten the corner where you are," she recalls before realizing the listener, too young to know the verse, has never heard them before.

"It's a little bit," she says later, "but if everyone did a little bit, it would make a big difference."

Heroy is a member of the women's golf association at Continental Country Club, a retirement community with an 18-hole facility in Wildwood, Fla., about 30 miles northwest of Orlando. Recognizing that few members of the fledgling high school girls' golf team there had proper instruction, the ability to obtain equipment or even play at a facility other than their home course, the women decided to "adopt" the team.

At first Emily Keeler, the team's head coach, merely asked members of the association for moral support, but the women wanted to do more than attend matches and offer vocal encouragement. So the association invited the team to Wildwood, where it played with club members. "Even if they only learn what it's like to play a new course they've never seen before," Heroy says, "it'll help them."

The association has encouraged those members who no longer play, because of advancing age or illness, to donate their bags and clubs, which in turn have been given to the team. It has also arranged for Wildwood's head professional to help the squad with instruction; nearby Miona Lake Golf Club, the team's home course, has no teaching professional.

"We're hopeful some girls will learn to love golf," Heroy says. "They're not in that world now. Maybe this will open up some new vistas for them. Our vision is that we may be supplying a fine athlete who, because of financial constraints, would not have had the opportunity, the chance to excel in a sport she might otherwise never have known."

There are both practical and sentimental reasons behind the association's actions. "When we were kids, we didn't play golf," Heroy says. "We're very middle class people, and not all these kids have opportunities. Come to think of it, maybe that's why I'm interested. I would have loved to have played as a kid.

"Many of our members are grandmothers," she adds, "and as grandmothers often will, we cherish the thought that we just might make a difference in some teenager's life."

You can bet they have.

NECROLOGY

Joanne Winter, 64, one of the original 14 master professionals in the LPGA teaching and professional division, died Sept. 22 in her home in Scottsdale, Ariz., three weeks after suffering a stroke. During a 30-year teaching career, she taught a wide variety of players, including Jerilyn Britz, the U.S. Women's Open winner in 1979.

PROVISIONALS

Anecrology item on Kathy Ahern (Through the Green, August) switched the locations of two of her professional victories. The 1970 Southgate Ladies Open was played in Prairie Village, Kan., and the '72 George Washington Classic was played in Horsham, Pa.

A story on the 25th anniversary of Gary Cowan's victory in the U.S. Amateur (Through the Green, August) incorrectly credited Bill Rogers with winning a PGA Championship. It should have stated that he won the 1981 British Open.

A caption accompanying a Through the Green item in September on the U.S. players named to the World Amateur Team Championships referred imprecisely to Brenda Corrie-Kuehn. She is making her debut on the U.S. team; she played in 1986 for the Dominican Republic when the event was held in Caracas, Venezuela.