GOLF : Upheaval Brings Game Back to Eastern Europe

With the sweeping political and economic changes taking place in Eastern Europe, even golf is affected.

Bernhard Langer, the 1984 Masters champion, is also a golf course designer with his brother, Erwin Jr.

“I just read where an East German Golf Assn. was established last weekend in Dresden,” Langer told the Associated Press. “The game has been banned by the Communist regime for the last 40 years, but there used to be about eight or nine golf courses in East German areas before they were bulldozed into something else.”

Even under Communist rule, four golf courses remained in use in Czechoslovakia, mainly by Scandinavian tourists; and golf lovers in Hungary finished a nine-hole project two years ago at Szentendre, near Budapest.

Szentendre is proclaimed as “Eastern Europe’s home of golf,” if only because, when translated into English, it means St. Andrew, which is also the name of Scotland’s legendary golfing venue.

A nine-hole course has been opened near Moscow, and an 18-hole course is planned there by Robert Trent Jones Jr., the American designer.

Langer, who plays infrequently on the PGA Tour, has more than a passing interest in recent developments in Eastern Europe.

His father, Erwin, a native of the Sudetenland, the German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia, served in the German Army in World War II and was captured by the Soviet Army. Erwin Langer was among several hundred prisoners of war en route to Siberia when he escaped just before the train crossed the Soviet border. He then made his way to Anhausen, near Augsburg in Bavaria, where he settled and married a local woman.

Bernhard was born and raised in Anhausen and, at 9, discovered the Anhausen Golf Club, where be was a caddie, before going on to become West Germany’s No. 1 golfer.

“When anyone in the Eastern sector is ready to build a golf course, we’ll be ready,” Langer said. “Once the Western money begins pouring in, things will really develop there.”

He believes that Hungary will be the first country receptive to Western golf course developers.

There are some problems, though.

Golf balls, as well as other equipment, are in short supply in Hungary and other Eastern European countries and can only be purchased in Western countries with hard currency.

Gene Littler, the 1961 U.S. Open champion and seven-time Ryder Cup team member, and three other players have been elected to the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame.

Others honored were Bill Campbell, a past president of the U.S. Golf Assn.; Paul Runyan, a two-time PGA champion, and the late Horton Smith, winner of the first Masters tournament in 1934.

The inductees were nominated by a committee and elected solely on the basis of their achievements as golfers in the last 20 years.

In a recent nine-hole exhibition match at Orlando, Fla., Payne Stewart, the defending PGA champion, shot a 60.

As Golf World reported, Stewart didn’t have to watch his well-over-par round--he was playing blindfolded. The match with Blind Golfers Assn. champion Pat Browne was to draw attention to retinitis pigmentosa, a blinding disease.

Stewart said his round was humbling. He hit three shots out of bounds. He four-putted from 15 feet on the second hole, missing three times from 2 1/2 feet. He also nearly got hit by a ball when someone yelled, “fore,” but he had no idea it was headed his way.

“I hope what I did will make people more aware of this disease,” Stewart said. “It could happen to anyone.”

Golf Notes

Local qualifying for the U.S. Open will be held Monday in a 36-hole tournament at Industry Hills, Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage and Rams Hill in Borrego Springs. . . . At Industry Hills, 182 golfers will play one round each on the Eisenhower and Zaharias courses. Fifteen spots in the sectional qualifier will be at stake. Among the entries are Mark Johnson of Barstow, the SCGA Mid-Amateur champion; Eric Meeks of Whittier, the 1988 U.S. Amateur champion; Aaron Meeks, Eric’s brother and the 1988 State Amateur medalist; Greg Bruckner of Manhattan Beach, the 1985 Pacific Coast Amateur champion, and Greg Starkman of Los Angeles, the 1987 SoCal Amateur winner.

At Mission Hills, site of the Dinah Shore LPGA tournament, 110 players will go for nine spots. Among them will be Bobby Lasken of Whittier, the 1987 California Amateur medalist; Brad Greer of Rancho Mirage, the 1984 and ’85 Southern California Amateur champion, and Jeff Hart of La Quinta, the 1972 SoCal Amateur titlist.

There will be seven spots available at Rams Hill for an 86-golfer field that will include Dave Hobby of Pasadena, the 1983 SoCal Amateur winner, and Pat Duncan of Rancho Santa Fe, a 1988 U.S. Open qualifier. . . . The sectional qualifying rounds will be June 5 at San Francisco Golf Club.

Frank Newell, the head pro at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach for 25 years, died May 10 after a long illness. He was 74. Newell was the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate champion in 1940 while playing for UCLA. He also played on the PGA Tour in 1953. . . . Brad Gallagher, 24, has qualified for the Canadian golf tour. Gallagher, who won the Santa Barbara Open on the Golden State Tour last month at the Sandpiper course, is the son of KNX radio sportscaster Fred Gallagher.

The PGA of America has announced a working agreement with THEincorporated of Del Mar to initiate a national fitness program for elementary and high school students. THE (therapy, health, education) is an organization founded 15 years ago by Pete Egoscue to maximize the physical attributes of amateur and professional athletes. . . . The Los Angeles City Women’s Golf Championships will begin Tuesday at Rancho Park. Teri Melanson is the defending champion.

A $1.5-million renovation program, which includes enlarging some of the greens, is well under way at Los Coyotes Country Club, site of the $325,000 MBS LPGA tournament Sept. 20-23. . . . A golf tournament to benefit retired priests of Mt. Carmel High School will be held Monday at Rolling Hills Country Club. . . . The Alliance of Latino Business Associates will hold its annual golf tournament June 1 at the San Dimas Canyon course.

The eighth annual Vince Ferragamo Special Olympics golf tournament will be held June 5 at Los Coyotes CC. . . . The Make-a-Wish Celebrity golf tournament will be held June 3 at the River Ridge Golf Course in Oxnard. The Make-a-Wish Foundation was organized to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening diseases.