GOLF : New Plan to Speed Up the Game Is Right on the Markers

Everybody complains about slow play on golf courses, but nobody does much about it.

Jack Kirby, a retired real estate developer who lives in Carmel Valley, is an exception.

He did something about it.

Kirby, a former USC and NFL running back, scored the only touchdown in the Trojans’ 6-0 victory over UCLA in 1947. He is also an avid golfer.

Like others, he has heard complaints about slow play on public and private courses for years.

“I noticed a significant delay came when players tried to figure out how far they were from the green,” Kirby said. “The way distance was given--posts, bushes and sprinkler heads--didn’t make sense.”

So, Kirby invented a distance-marking system.

The markers are green with yardage numbers in yellow. They’re made of a hard but not brittle plastic and are seven inches in diameter.

Unlike some markers, they’re not obtrusive. They are located at 25-yard intervals, from 75 yards from the center of the green to 225 yards on par fours and par fives. They are also 25 yards apart laterally on the fairways.

The markers are collapsible, allowing maintenance workers to mow over them without damage to the markers or the mower.

They have already been installed at Poppy Hills and Spyglass Hill, two of the three courses used for the annual Pebble Beach tournament.

Poppy Hills pro John Gertsen Jr. said the pace of play has picked up since the markers were installed, cutting half an hour off a round in crowded course conditions.

Moreover, with more rounds being played, there is additional revenue for the courses.

“I think it is going to result in more than two additional foursomes a day,” Kirby said.

There was some concern that the Kirby Markers, the official name of the product, would be unsightly, detracting from the natural beauty of a course.

“Some thought it would be like an LAX runway,” Kirby said. “But that’s not the case at all. You can see them when you want to see them, from 15 to 20 yards away. When you get farther away, they look like little mounds of grass.”

Tom Kite, all-time leading money winner on the PGA Tour, says it’s difficult to become a multiple winner because of the quality depth of the fields.

Only four players--Mark Brooks, Corey Pavin, Tom Purtzer and Billy Andrade, each with two--won more than one event last year.

“The good players don’t have much room to improve,” Kite said. “The poorer players have a lot more to improve, and when they improve, they kind of jam everything up.”

John Daly, a tour rookie last year, was the big “jammer.” He captured the admiration of the public with his Paul Bunyan-like drives in winning the PGA Championship.

“He did an awful lot for the game of golf,” Kite said. “There were also some other players who did some very exciting things. Corey Pavin had a great year. He was the leading money-winner, and what a gutsy player.

“To a certain extent, it’s unfortunate that the public hasn’t been able to grasp hold of other players as they have Daly.

“John has a certain charisma. He worked the crowd well while he was winning. And hitting it as far as he does creates a lot of excitement, too. He probably created more excitement than golf has ever seen in one week. Home runs are more fun to watch than singles.”

Even though there were more established players in the recently concluded Tournament of Champions field at La Costa, Daly drew the largest galleries.

The fans even cheered his practice swings and then marveled at his tee shots.

There is a Babe Ruth-like quality to this unassuming 25-year-old pro from Dardanelle, Ark.

Daly said of his instant celebrity status: “My lifestyle has changed, but I’m not going to change.”

He conceded that it’s more comfortable to sleep in a hotel bed than in his van, as he did when he first came on the tour and was struggling to make the cut.

Daly wasn’t in contention in the Tournament of Champions, tying for 21st in a 32-man field.

He tees it up in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic starting Wednesday on four courses--Bermuda Dunes, La Quinta, Palmer course at PGA West and Indian Wells.

He will be paired with Hope for Saturday’s round.

Golf Notes

Fred Couples was named the PGA Tour’s player of the year at the annual awards dinner Thursday night at La Costa. He led the tour in scoring average and finished third on the official money-winning list. . . . George Archer and Mike Hill were named co-players of the year on the Senior PGA Tour. . . . Ben Lehman, who had three victories on the Ben Hogan Tour in 1991, was also honored. . . . PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman was selected as the winner of the William H. Richardson Award by the Golf Writers Assn. of America, and Jim Nelford won the Ben Hogan Award. The Richardson award recognizes an individual who has consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf. The Hogan award recognizes an individual who has continued to be active in golf despite a physical handicap. . . . Pat Bradley will be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame Saturday. . . . The Steve Garvey Celebrity Invitational will be held Feb. 10 at Braemar Country Club in Tarzana. . . . Three members of the Jack Nicklaus family are scheduled to compete in the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Jan. 27-Feb. 2. Joining Jack will be his sons, Gary, who is a professional, and Steve, who is an amateur.