GOLF / MAL FLORENCE : Palmer Plan Would Provide More Courses

Arnold Palmer returned to Rancho Park golf course last week.

He wasn’t there to relive memories of his Los Angeles Open victories in 1963, ’66 and ’67. Nor was he there to discuss his infamous 12 on the 18th hole in the 1961 tournament that is commemorated by a plaque. However, he still jokes about it.

Palmer’s golf design and management company has formed a partnership with California Muni Golf, a public-private venture, to provide more courses in the state.

According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of golfers in the United States increased from 17.5 million in 1985 to 24.7 million in 1989, more than 40%.

It’s estimated that this trend is likely to continue in the 1990s, creating a demand for public courses that far exceeds the supply.

The program not only deals with the development of new courses, according to Palmer, but also the rehabilitation of other facilities. He said that 13 or 14 communities have expressed interest in the project.

“This is one of the most dynamic programs you’ve ever heard of,” Palmer said. “You will see a lot of programs that will come from this program.

“We have had numerous inquiries from other states wanting to know what this program is all about. Our bottom-line interest is getting a program that will expand to the entire United States and eventually the world.”

Palmer said the golf courses will be affordable to the public, without additional cost to taxpayers.

He also said the California Muni program is sensitive to environmental concerns.

The program intends to emphasize the use of reclaimed water along with water conservation.

“The drawbacks are obvious. California is the most sensitive state in the U.S. in regard to the environment, fertilization and the critical water situation,” Palmer said. “We will prove that in taking water out of the system for golf courses, we’re putting as much in as we’re taking out.”

“I have always been very high on public courses. When you think how many cities and towns have a baseball field, why shouldn’t those municipalities and counties have golf courses, too?

“It has been said that golf is a game for the high uppity-ups. That won’t be the case. We’re going to educate people that golf is a game for everyone.

“It’s a unique program, and the fact that the state of California is willing to back this program makes it more unique. I think this program can do tremendous things for the youth of the country.”

California Muni Golf is jointly sponsored by the County Supervisors Assn. of California and the League of California Cities.

Palmer said he has always had a high regard for the L.A. Open.

“I always felt if you didn’t win the L.A. Open, you didn’t make it on the tour,” he said. “For many years, this would be my first tournament.”

It was also a forgettable tournament for him in ’61.

“I was playing pretty well at Rancho until I came to the 18th hole,” Palmer said.

He then proceeded to hit four balls out of bounds and missed the cut.

“I was devastated,” he said. “I went to the VIP tent and ordered a beer. I was mulling over what happened, and J. Paul Getty was in there and he said that he had just heard about my disaster. “ ‘You made 12 on the last hole,’ he said. ‘How in the world could a player of your caliber do that?’ I said, ‘Well, I missed a 20-foot putt for an 11.’ ”

That answer enhanced Palmer’s legendary status.

In an era when professional golfers are promoting and playing with modern technology in their equipment, Amy Alcott is a throwback to simpler times.

Alcott, winner of the recent Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament, said she has had the same set of irons for 17 years.

“A lot of people laugh and say why don’t you try this, or that, and say the technology is so much better now,” Alcott said. “I don’t think there’s any technology that is better than believing in yourself. Those clubs have been good to me, made me a lot of money, and most important, I know how to use them.”

She also uses a seven-wood, an unusual club, that she found in an old barrel when she was 14. And she uses a putter from a miniature golf course.

“Maybe I’m a little eccentric,” Alcott said. “I buy maybe only two pairs of shoes a year, and my golf gloves have holes in them.”

She has also won 29 tournaments, one shy of gaining her admittance to the LPGA Hall of Fame.

In her first book, “Amy Alcott’s Guide to Women’s Golf,” she obviously doesn’t stress equipment.

Golf Notes

Even though Nick Faldo is the two-time defending champion of the Masters, a reporters’ poll conducted by Golfweek magazine made Curtis Strange the favorite to win the tournament that begins Thursday in Augusta, Ga. Strange had 73 points--based on a first-, second- and third-place point system--to edge Greg Norman, who had 72. Faldo was fourth in the balloting, behind Paul Azinger.

Entry forms are available at all Long Beach golf courses for the 67th annual Long Beach Match Play Championships at Skylinks golf course. Qualifying will be May 4-5. . . . UCLA’s women’s golf team is ranked No.3 nationally by Golf Stat, a rating service. . . . The Los Angeles City Junior Championship at Griffith Park, which was postponed for the first time in 40 years because of rain, has been rescheduled for the first week in June. . . . Douglas A. Booth was named head professional at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Memberships are open to non-residents at the Coto de Caza Golf Club in Orange County. . . . Upland Hills Country Club will be the site of the Players West Golf Tour women’s tournament April 16-18. . . . The Official 1991 United States Golf Course Directory and Guide is available. It can be ordered by calling (800) 628-GOLF.