At Mission Hills, They Call the Wind a Lot of Things : The 40-M.P.H. Gales Are Especially Difficult to Handle on the 14th Through 17th Holes

The wind blew and then blew some more in the second round of the Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational golf tournament Friday at Mission Hills Country Club.

It came in gusts to 40 m.p.h. and a warning was issued to be prepared to evacuate the press tent at a moment’s notice.

Probably the worst holes on a day in which par was an excellent round, were four on the back side that totaled fewer than 1,000 yards.

Three of them, Nos. 14 through 16 were played into the teeth of the wind. On the other, the 17th, there was a cross wind that made it extremely difficult to make the ball stay on the green.

Fourteen and 17 are par-3s, the other two short par-4s that are strong birdie possibilities when the wind isn’t blowing.

Some of the players thought it was a four-club wind, meaning that if regularly you hit a 9-iron, going into the wind it would be a 5-iron. Others called it a five-club gale.

Hollis Stacy, who negotiated the fearsome four in par figures--14 strokes--and shot a par-72 to remain in contention at one over, said: “You had to keep the wind from getting to you.

“The wind just kept blowing me over all day,” she added. “Shots you hit that were perfect would hit a wall of wind and suddenly, you’ve a 90-foot putt.

“I wear contacts and after those last five holes I must have a pile of sand in my eyes.”

The first trouble hole, 14, measures 140 yards. The tee is on a hill overlooking a green guarded by water along the front and the right side.

Amy Alcott, tied for the lead with Betsy King, missed a chance for the outright lead when she hit her drive into the water in front of the green. She saved a bogey by sinking a five-foot downhill putt.

“I hit a 5-iron and the minute I hit it I knew it was gone,” she said.

Nancy Lopez also lost ground on the water hole. Her shot appeared to be going right at the hole. But a gust of wind seemed to stop the ball in mid-flight and it plummeted into the water, several yards short of the green. She finished with a double bogey on the hole, soared to a 78 and trailed the leaders by six shots.

Jan Stephenson, who played early in the day, figured that those who played later had less wind to contend with. She was one under before bogeys on 14 and 15 set her back into the pack.

“Most of my problems caused by the wind were putting,” she said. “It’s difficult for me to putt anyway, especially on short ones on which I have no confidence. When the wind causes your putter to move before you even take it back, then I’m really in trouble.

“When you can’t reach reach a green 140 yards and downhill with a 3-iron that’s ridiculous. But, that’s what happened to me on 14. Jane Geddes, who is a long hitter, said she had to use a 5-iron for a 110-yard shot into the teeth of the wind.

“I don’t believe it is as windy as it was the last day when Amy won it (in 1983). Even though she doesn’t hit the ball long, she hits it low.”

Cathy Gerring was having a tremendous round and was three under when she came to 14. But, after completing 17, she was two over, having lost five shots to par. Her problems included a triple bogey on 15, which was only 330 yards long.

Val Skinner, who needed 16 shots to negotiate the four holes, also cited 18 as a problem because of the cross wind.

“On those holes, it got so bad that I felt the wind was affecting the roll of the putts, “ she said. “On a day like this you just try to make par. That’s a 74 or 75 today.”

The only player within two shots of the lead who negotiated 14-17 under par was Martha Nause, who had three pars, plus a birdie on 16. For everyone else there was trouble.