Newport Tennis Club Nets a Surprise Visit From the First Player

Some tennis patrons at the posh Balboa Bay Racquet Club found themselves performing some unusual exercises Friday morning.

Laying on their stomachs, or standing with knees flexed, all bent their bodies into angular positions just to get a peek at the early action on one particular court.

“This looks like the Knothole Gang,” joked club member Kathy Laroche, pointing to fellow tennis players who were lying on the concrete and peering under the wire fence.

Inside the screen- and canvas-shielded court, four tennis players competed under a hot sun for almost two hours in an energetic doubles match.

It just so happened that one of the four players was President George Bush.

“This is so exciting,” cooed Gay Loy Palmer as she peered through a corner opening to the court.

In keeping with a penchant for dotting his presidential schedule with fast-paced athletic pursuits, Bush found some outdoor relaxation Friday after his Thursday meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu at the Four Seasons Hotel here.

Earlier in the week, political insiders had dropped hints that Bush might be in the mood for a round of golf while in Orange County. But some believed those hints were apparently designed to throw reporters and potential spectators off the presidential trail.

Henry Hitchcock, manager of the Balboa Bay Racquet Club, said Bush’s staff had made inquiries at a nearby country club about the possibility of golf and also had put in a call about the availability of yachts for fishing around Newport Beach.

“I think to hide their real game plan, the presidential staff goes into subterfuge,” Hitchcock said.

“When the presidential staff called here (the racquet club) earlier in the week, they just inquired about a couple of staff (members) coming here to play tennis. I told them, ‘Sure, fine.’ They didn’t say anything about the President coming. Until he got here about 9 o’clock this morning, we really didn’t know he was coming.”

Racquet club members also were surprised to find President Bush on their courts Friday morning.

Grace Farmer, who was among those peering through gaps in the fence, gave a mock look of indignation.

“I came here for my regular session, and I find that President Bush has taken my time” on the court, she said. “I think I should carry a sign that says: ‘Bumped By the President.’ ” Farmer, however, made it clear that she was only joking and that she, like the other spectators, was thrilled by the presidential visit.

Inside the shielded tennis court, Bush teamed up with racquet club head pro Bob Ogle. Bush and Ogle played against associate club pro Paul Jenkins and airline pilot Ben Shelfer.

Dressed in a white tennis shirt and an off-white pair of shorts, Bush wielded an oversized Wilson racket and played virtually nonstop from 9 to 10:45 a.m. The President obviously enjoyed every minute of it. He smiled frequently, laughed and waved his arms victoriously after key game points.

The scene fascinated the small group of spectators about 30 yards away as they peered under the tennis-court fence.

“He’s a darn good player,” said Peggy McKay.

Bob Knox added, “He’s in great shape. He’s making some nice shots, and he moves very well.”

Tyler Stillbreaker, 12, of Corona del Mar and Aaron Murray, 17, a visitor from Traverse City, Mich., took in the action while laying on their stomachs to peek under the fence. Both said the presidential game was a great show.

“The President’s got a good forearm, but his backhand is not that good,” Stillbreaker decided.

The group had mixed reviews about the President’s service game, with comments ranging from “pretty lame” to “pretty good.”

Virtually all of the spectators expressed awe at Bush’s fitness and athletic ability.

“He looks much younger than his age,” said Bob Knox of the 66-year-old Bush.

Said Kathy Laroche: “I think he’s cute as a button. I’d certainly vote for him.”

When it was over, Hitchcock disclosed that Bush and Ogle had lost, but just barely. “They played three sets and a tiebreaker, losing the tiebreaker,” Hitchcock said.

“I talked to Bob Ogle after the game, and he told me he was really impressed with the President’s playing. Bob said he had thought the game would just be a ‘hit and giggle’ sort of thing when he first learned he’d be playing with the President. But Bob said it was a very competitive game.”

The First Lady, Barbara Bush, did not accompany the President to the tennis court outing. She remained at the nearby Four Seasons Hotel on Friday morning and made no public appearances. A White House staffer said that Mrs. Bush “worked out at facilities in the hotel.”

The presidential entourage flew on to Los Angeles on Friday afternoon. The gang at the Balboa Bay Racquet Club said the President’s visit here will long be the topic of tennis conversation.

“It’s so nice our Friday could be livened up,” said Glenda Winterbotham.U.S. TO AID KURDS: Bush pledges “immediate” and “massive” airdrops of emergency supplies to Iraqi Kurdish refugees. A1