GOLF : Farmer Stays Home to Lead Efforts in Spreading the Story of the SCGA

For five years, from 1983 to ‘88, Marion Farmer was a member of the executive committee of the United States Golf Assn. and the Southern California Golf Assn.

When it came time for the former Bel-Air Country Club president to make a choice, he selected the local organization, and now, approaching 75, he is the oldest president in the 92-year history of the SCGA.

“Each year it became more apparent that I couldn’t do both (jobs) because of the time and travel involved, so I took a look at my options and decided the SCGA served my purposes better,” Farmer said after succeeding Serge Ballif of Wilshire CC as president.

Farmer’s primary objective is to broaden the scope of the SCGA to bring more participants into the game and continue to break down the class distinctions fostered by the “country club” image some people have of private clubs.

“We have a large number of private clubs in this area, but we have an even larger number of golfers playing on public courses,” Farmer said. “We would like to have more of them participating in our tournaments, and we plan to continue taking steps toward that goal.

“Nearly half our membership (of 130,000) is from affiliated public organizations or municipal courses. We would like to enhance the image that golf is for everybody.”

Another project in Farmer’s administration is ground-breaking for the SCGA’s 36-hole facility on Fairbanks Ranch property in the Diamond Bar area.

“We have had several false starts in developing our own course in the past, but we hope to start work next fall on what we feel will be a showcase facility,” Farmer said. “The property is owned by the Boy Scouts, and they are working with us in the project. Once it is under way, it will do a lot of things for our members.”

When the course is finished, the SCGA will move its headquarters there from North Hollywood.

Farmer, who plays to a 13 handicap, has been a member for 27 years at Bel-Air, where he was president in 1970-71. Before that, he was a founding member of South Hills CC in West Covina.

Elected to the SCGA executive board with Farmer were Paul Jenkins, Eldorado CC, vice president; Jack Kaplan, Brentwood CC, secretary; and Lowell English, Hacienda CC, treasurer.

Glenn Davis of La Quinta and Al Love of Pomona were elected to first terms on the 23-member board of directors. Davis, former Heisman Trophy winner at West Point, represents Avondale CC, and Love is a member of the Industry Hills Golf Club.

The way Mike Springer looks at it, he was destined to win the final Ben Hogan Tour event at El Paso and thereby qualify for next year’s big tour.

The big-hitter from Fresno had won the inaugural tournament at Bakersfield but had done little else before arriving in El Paso. He was 10th on the money list, and only the first five would graduate to the PGA Tour. He had to win at El Paso to make it.

“The night before the final round, I even dreamed that I had won the golf tournament,” Springer said. “I was spooked. There were just so many little things going on to believe it was all just a coincidence.”

Such as the fact that he played the final two rounds with the same player, Dave Tentis, that he had played with at Bakersfield. Or that the player in 10th position on the money list won the tournament the week before. Or that his winning margin, two shots, was the same as at Bakersfield.

Springer, 25, a University of Arizona product, shot a final-round 65 to win at El Paso.

Golf Notes

The Skins Game will have a new look when it has its eighth outing Saturday and Sunday at PGA West with Nick Faldo and Greg Norman making their first appearances. Joining them will be Jack Nicklaus, who has played in the previous seven, and defending champion Curtis Strange. . . .

Former LPGA champion Shirley Englehorn is leaving Desert Island CC in Rancho Mirage after 18 years as a pioneer female professional to become director of golf at the new Redhawk course in Temecula. Redhawk, designed by Ron Fream and Mark O’Meara, is ready for play but will not open until March because of road construction in the area. . . . Arnold Palmer shot a 69 in his exhibition at Annandale, but he and Billy Ray Brown (72) couldn’t handle Mark O’Meara and home pro Pat Rielly, who each had a 68.

Charles Laws of Pasadena was named winner of the SCGA’s Lynn Smith Award for outstanding service and contributions to amateur golf. Laws, a member at San Gabriel CC, was the SCGA president in 1964 and has been a member of its course rating committee ever since. . . . A new course, Cypress Golf Club, is being built on the site of the old Los Alamitos course, adjacent to the race track. Los Alamitos was closed three years ago. Pete Dye will redesign the course and upgrade it from a par-66 to a championship par-71.

It’s not how, it’s how many: Bob Spraska, playing on the Highland course in St. Paul, Minn., hit a slicing shot 25 yards to the right of the par-three hole he was playing. At the same time, another golfer, playing on a hole going in the opposite direction, hit a similar slice. The balls collided 60 feet in the air, knocking Spraska’s ball onto the green, where it rolled into the cup for a hole-in-one.

Lou Rawls will hold his 10th annual charity tournament today at Pasadena’s Brookside course to benefit the United Negro College Fund. . . . Also today is the City of Hope/Eric Tracy Open celebrity tournament at Braemar CC with the Dodgers’ Mike Scioscia and Mickey Hatcher and former Dodgers Tommy Davis, Willie Davis, Don Drysdale, Lou Johnson and Don Newcombe in the field. . . . Professional Fred Scherzer reports that the 21st annual pro-member-guest invitational will be played Saturday and Sunday at Avondale GC in Palm Desert.

The Southern California section of the PGA raised $104,016 on National Golf Day and for the sixth consecutive year was the highest fund-raiser in the country for NGD charities. Jeff Walser, head pro at PGA West, was awarded the PGA President’s Plaque for making the highest individual contribution. Walser raised $38,450.

Final qualifying for the 1991 PGA Tour will start Nov. 28 at the Jack Nicklaus resort and La Quinta Hotel Dunes courses in La Quinta. . . . Dave Farabaugh of Sepulveda shot a 72 at Rancho Park to defeat Pablo Duarte of Griffith Park for the City club championship. Susan Rennie of Rancho beat Judy Marlow of Sepulveda for the women’s crown.