Phillips on Course With a New Script : Former Pierce Golfer Left the Studio to Set the Stage for a Brighter Career

Two years ago, Mark Phillips just stopped it altogether. He went from once or twice a day to nothing. None at all.

For two years.

He was tired and burned out, weary of the game. Golf, which had long been a passion with Phillips, had become a pain.

“I was tired of it and didn’t enjoy it anymore,” he said. “In the long run, that was one of the best things I could have done.”

So, the 24-year-old from Studio City packed away the irons, drivers and woods and did what came naturally: He went to work for the studios.

For two years, Phillips toted scripts instead of golf clubs and moved klieg lights instead of golf balls. Thanks to some family ties, Phillips found work as a production assistant with producer Alan Landsbury and worked on such shows as “No Soap Radio,” and “That’s Incredible!”

Phillips would see some of his friends from the Southland amateur golfing ranks now and then, however, and the urge would come back. They’d talk about golf and tell Phillips how well they were doing.

Before he knew it, he had traded the 6 a.m. studio call for the tee-off.

“I always had an interest in golf and could play well,” Phillips said. “I saw some friends who were playing well and I began to think about playing again.”

The fairway back was a rough one.

“It was especially tough on your mind,” he said. “It’s a mental struggle to keep working on it. You remember that you used to be able to do this or that, and all of a sudden, you can’t. It was a day-by-day process. Golf’s an every day thing.”

And every day, for the last two years, golf has been Phillip’s thing. In fact, Phillips plans on turning professional next month--with a little help from his friends.

“It’s very expensive and I have some friends who have agreed to be my sponsors,” he said.

Phillips is playing for keeps in the Pacific Coast Amateur Golf Championships this week because it will be one of his last amateur tournaments.

In the first round Tuesday at the Los Angeles Country Club, he shot a 4-over-par 75. In the second round, he improved with a 1-over. On Thursday he carded another 75 for a three-round total of 222.

This summer, Phillips has competed in 10 tournaments from New York to Texas--including the Trans-Mississippi, North-South Amateur, the State Amateur, the Southwest Amateur and the Broadmoor Invitational.

“It’s been a tough three weeks,” Phillips said, referring to the Broadmoor and Pacific Coast tournaments. “I’ve been playing tournament golf almost every day and there are a few things I’ll have to work on like my swing and a good mental attitude. The mental is 80% of the game. You have to always be positive and keep your mind open to only the positive thoughts.”

Phillips, a former Pierce College golfer, said he has loved golf since he was 10, when he began swinging his parents’ clubs at Lakeside Golf Course. At North Hollywood High, Phillips reached the state finals all three years and was ranked No. 2 in the City Section. He also was named player of the year as a senior.

At Pierce, it was more of the same. He was named the Metropolitan League’s Golfer of the Year in 1980 and 1981. He placed in the state finals both years and was third in the Southern California finals in 1981.

“I’ve always liked golf, even though I didn’t play it for a while,” Phillips said. “But, I think I’m ready to turn pro. It’s not easy. If you don’t play well, you don’t get paid. That’s a lot of pressure to play well.”