Golf / Rich Tosches : Birthday Eagle a Blast From the Past

When Lew Gallo ripped a 5-wood at the green on the 11th hole at Calabasas Park Golf Course on Sunday--his 60th birthday--and watched the ball run toward the flag and then disappear into the cup, he was overcome by that strange feeling of deja vu . He felt as though he already had seen this remarkable feat.

That, of course, was because he had whistled one into the cup on the same hole and from the same distance nine years ago.

There was one difference, however. When he eagled the par-4 hole in 1979 he did it with a 7-iron. On Sunday he used a 5-wood to hole out the estimated 185-yard shot.

“That tells you something about getting old,” said Gallo, a television producer from Beverly Hills who was responsible for such shows as “Love American Style,” “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,” the “Mike Hammer” series and last year’s TV movie, “A Mafia Princess.”

“The 5-wood became a very important club as I got older,” Gallo said. “It replaced my 2-iron. It also replaced my 3-iron and my 4-iron.”

In addition to being unusual and spectacular, the shot was also important. The eagle came during qualifying for the club championship and helped Gallo to a score of 85. He qualified for this weekend’s championship round by one stroke.

“The ball hit in front of the green and rolled uphill,” Gallo said. “One of the guys I was playing with said, ‘I think it went in.’ And I told him, ‘I think it did, too.’ But we didn’t really believe it until we got there. On the ride up to the green, I was thinking about a lot of things. But mostly I was hoping like hell it did go in.

“I picked the ball out of the cup and then told the guys to hurry up and finish the hole. They were holding me up.”

Such shots make golf very enjoyable. Even the brooding Craig Stadler is alleged to have smiled after making an eagle on a par-4 hole during a PGA tournament two years ago. But Gallo said golf has been nothing but fun for him since he came to the startling realization that he would never win The Masters.

“The day it occurred to me that I was never going to be a great golfer, it became the greatest sport in the world,” he said. “Plus, I’ve figured out that golf saves me about $2,000 a year in psychiatric fees.”

Gallo has been a member at Calabasas Park for 18 years. He said that when he first started making the 22-mile drive from Beverly Hills he felt like he was going on safari.

“The course was totally surrounded by wilderness then,” he said. “Now, it’s totally surrounded by homes. It was like taking a long trip back then. We’d see deer and snakes and mountain lions and geese and quail all over the course. It’s not like that anymore.”

The geese and quail may be gone, but Gallo knows that other birds still roam the area.

“If this pattern continues, I’m due for another eagle on that hole in 1997,” he said.

Ruggerio remembered: The second Angelo Ruggerio Memorial golf tournament will be held June 27 at Los Robles Greens golf course in Thousand Oaks. Ruggerio was the head golf professional and course manager at Los Robles for more than 20 years. He died in 1986.

The $100 entry fee includes greens fees, golf cart, lunch, dinner and prizes. The proceeds will be used to provide lessons to junior golfers during a seven-week clinic at Los Robles starting July 6.

Information: 805-495-6421.

Juniors tournament: Calabasas Park will hold a tournament for junior golfers July 11, and more than 120 youngsters between the ages of 8 and 18 are expected to compete. The Calabasas junior program has produced many outstanding golfers, including pros Duffy Waldorf and Laura Hurlbut.

The entry fee is $20.

Information: 818-888-8811.

Fund-raisers: El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana will hold a fund-raising tournament for the Maccabiah Games on June 27. Television game-show host Monte Hall will be the master of ceremonies. The $350 entry fee includes a round of golf, golf cart, lunch and dinner.

All 180 slots in the fourth Glendale Community College fund-raising tournament have been filled, according to Oakmont Country Club head pro Skip Whittet. The tournament will be held Monday.

Information: 818-345-2770.