Trevino, at Any Age, Will Still Be Lee : Golf: He’s funny, he’s opinionated and he will add spice to the Senior Skins Game as well as the Senior Tour.

Lee Trevino at 50 is settling down in his new career on the Senior PGA Tour, but don’t expect to see any change in his personality. The man also known as the Merry Mex will be the same wisecracking golfer who says what he thinks and enjoys himself immensely on and off the course.

“If I’ve got to change, give me a .45 and I’ll blow my brains out,” Trevino said last week at Indian Wells, where he played in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He’s getting ready to play old friends Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in the Senior Skins game at Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii on Saturday and Sunday.

At his best, Trevino is expected to dominate the senior tour. At least that’s what he was quoted as saying when he played in his first seniors event in December.

Trevino denies any such statement.

“I don’t know where the idea came that I said I expected to dominate the seniors,” he said. “And I never predicted how many tournaments I’ll win. I respect these guys. I believe I won’t do any better, or any worse, than I did on the regular tour.

“Maybe people got the idea because I talked so much and was so excited about joining the senior tour. I was excited about reaching 50 because it meant I could be competitive again. For the last five years I haven’t been. The youngsters on the regular tour hit the ball too far and play too well. Now, I’ll be playing with people I played against when I was just starting. I’m really going to enjoy myself.”

While pronouncing himself better prepared both mentally and physically to play golf than he has been in the past 20 years, Trevino had some strong opinions about the sport he loves. Among them:

--New golf courses: “They are making the courses too difficult. While golf is getting to be high-tech, equipment is better and there are more golfers, average golfers haven’t improved because courses are too tough.

“I’m building courses in Wisconsin, Taiwan and Japan. They are courses the 15-handicapper can enjoy.

“If someone calls me about building a golf course, I first ask what kind they want. If they want to build a stadium type or with bunkers 40 feet high, I tell them to go somewhere else. Everyone’s trying to build the most difficult course. There’s nobody building Donald Ross courses. There are some exceptions, such as the Palmer course at PGA West.

“Just take a look. Some places are going broke. They are the ones the members can’t play. They aren’t fun for the average golfer. The scratch amateur is disappearing because of the difficulty.”

--Clubs with square grooves: “It doesn’t make sense for the amateur golfer to ever use them. The 15-handicapper should use V-shaped grooves. Because the square grooves put so much spin on the ball, it doesn’t go as far.

“It reminds me of the featherweight clubs a few years back. Everyone wanted them. Almost every garage has a set. I had to laugh. There was no way you could hit the ball as far with a light club as you could a normal club.

“If they really want to find out who has the most talent, begin with the ball. Let’s go back to the old golf ball. It had 360 dimples. If you hit it bad, it went bad. Now, they have 492, 500 dimples. I’ve seen those balls correct the error in flight.

“Why not have everybody use the same ball? One year on tour they could use the Titleist, the next year the Topflite, then Wilson and so on. That way you could find out who has the most talent. You might have someone dominate again, too.”

--The Skins Game: “There is more pressure in a skins game than in trying to win a tournament. Nicklaus contends the pressure is worse trying to sink the 12-footer that will win the hole. But what about the 12-footer to keep someone from winning the hole? That’s pressure.

“There are some people who think we just split the money and don’t really care what happens. I can promise you there ain’t no split. It’ll cost $2,000 of your own money just to go over there. If you don’t win anything, all you can say is it was a bad week. There ain’t no split.

“It’s a popular sport on TV, because everybody who plays golf can relate to it. All our tournaments are medal play. When the average golfer plays, it’s match play. It’s a skins game. You and your partner playing the other two. Everybody understands it.”

--His back problems: The back hasn’t hurt since an operation in 1983. After being struck by lightning and undergoing back surgery, he could practice or play, but couldn’t do both. Now, he can hit 150 practice shots, then play up to 36 holes later in the day.

“The reason I took the job as a TV analyst in 1982 was because I thought I wouldn’t be able to play anymore.

“But a doctor in Dallas said it was a nerve problem in the scar tissue from the previous operation. He did a microwave procedure with needles in the area around the soreness. He burned the nerves. Fortunately, he burned the right nerve and the pain stopped.”

--The TV years: He never wanted to be a TV analyst, but was fortunate to work with people such as Vin Scully and Charlie Jones. He didn’t realize how hard it was to televise a golf tournament.

“Scully is a pro’s pro. He and Charlie worked hard and knew what was going on all the time. They did the work. I had the easiest job. I just sat there until someone asked me a question.

“I think Bryant Gumbel and Johnny Miller will do a fine job. I know Johnny’s knees hurt and he can’t play much.”

--The Senior Tour: “It’s more of an entertainment than the regular tour. It owes its success to corporate America. The sponsors wanted golfers they could relate to who would want to play the pro-ams. They found them. It’ll continue to grow.

“I would like to see them gradually lower the age to 45. Say in 1991, they lower it to 49 and lower it again the next year until they get to 45. It just isn’t possible for a guy 45 to compete on the regular tour. By lowering the age to 45, they would make it more competitive.”

--Nicklaus: He doesn’t need to play against seniors. If he put his mind to it, he could still win on the regular tour. He’s so much more talented than anyone else.

“Jack never did play that much on the regular tour. He often played only 12 or 15 tournaments. I don’t think he is willing to work as hard as it would take to win again on the regular tour.”

Trevino, who was born in Dallas, became a professional in 1960, but didn’t join the tour until 1967. A year later he amazed the golf world by making the U.S. Open his first victory. He won 27 tour events, the last, the PGA championship in 1984 when he was 44. In 1980 he was No. 2 on the money list with $385,814. Barring injury, he figures to top that total on the 50-and-over tour.