Nicholson’s home on the range

Who needs a driving range? Not Jack Nicholson. He just hits yellow range balls -- lots and lots of them -- off a mat into the canyon in back of his hillside Beverly Hills home. He buys them in bulk from Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake, where he is a member.

“If you’ve ever hit range balls at Lakeside, you might have hit one that ended up on my porch,” Nicholson told Golf Digest.

He says he has hit thousands off his porch.

“Initially I planned to retrieve them,” he said, “but there got to be so many. A friend of mine, [actor] James Spader, made his way down there through the woods and weeds, and James took a picture. It looks like outer space down there, golf balls everywhere, like a planet peppered with golf balls.”

Trivia time

In the 2003 Western Conference semifinals between the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, who was the NBA official who threatened to throw Nicholson out of Staples Center for coming out of his court-side seat to complain about calls?

Look out below

Asked by Golf Digest if any of his practice shots might have conked a snake or scorpion, Nicholson said: “I hope not. Live and let live, you know. One time I lashed a ball, and some homeless guy came running out of the weeds, yelling.”

Look out above

Nicholson, who is also a member at Riviera, told the magazine he was playing at the 12th hole and hooked one over the fence. He then hit a five-iron about 20 yards and was so furious he reached up and grabbed some vines hanging from a tree and yanked them as hard as he could.

“They pulled me back,” Nicholson said. “Lifted me straight up in the air. I was flying around for a few seconds before I came down. Now I can’t play the 12th at Riviera without somebody calling it ‘the Tarzan hole.’ ”

This was one ‘Shining’ moment

Nicholson said the last PGA Tour event he attended was the 1997 Masters, won by Tiger Woods.

“My friend Jim Gray got us a golf cart, and Jim and I followed Tiger all the way around,” Nicholson said. “On the front nine Saturday, he blocks a drive, and the only shot he’s got is around a tree. I’ll never forget it. I’m up by the green, watching the ball curve to the flag. He must have drawn that ball 25 or 30 yards.

“Jim asked what I thought of that shot, and I said, ‘He might win ‘em all from here on out.’ ”

By the way, Gray said Nicholson attracted a bigger gallery at that Masters that year than any of the golfers.

Big shoes to fill

Woods’ 5-month old daughter, Sam Alexis, has been accompanying him to the driving range in recent days, reported Bloomberg News.

“She kind of shakes every time I hit a shot,” Woods said. “Like, she gets excited. This could be good.”

Trivia answer

Mark Wunderlich. If Nicholson had been yelling at crew chief Steve Javie that night, he might have been tossed. Javie had earlier bounced Hoops, the Washington Wizards’ mascot, and Boomer, the Indiana Pacers’ mascot.

And finally

Woods’ daughter could become a big television attraction at future Masters. The Par-3 Contest held every Wednesday before the Masters since 1960 has always been a family affair. For example, the last two years Phil Mickelson has had his young daughters, Amanda and Sophia, caddie for him.

The event has never been televised, but that is going to change. ESPN announced Thursday it will begin televising the Masters’ Par-3 Contest next year.

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larry.stewart@latimes.com