GOLF / MAL FLORENCE : At 79, Snead Talks You Through a Good Game

Sam Snead was an honored guest at the recent Nissan Los Angeles Open at Riviera Country Club.

The legendary Snead, 79, won the L.A. Open for the first time in 1945--14 years before the current champion, Fred Couples, was born.

He repeated in 1950, beating another legend, Ben Hogan, in a playoff at Riviera.

Snead, who won a record 81 events in his pro career that began in 1936, is regarded as the best ball striker of all time. It has been said many times that he fell out of bed with his swing.

And he had some advice for amateurs and pros alike.

“I set a scoring record in 1950, 96 straight rounds of tournament play, with an average score of 69.23,” Snead said. “I didn’t try to out-drive anybody. I just played the hole.

“You can’t do that hitting it as hard as you can. You’ve got to play within yourself. Golf is rhythm and timing. The guys that usually win have a smooth, easy swing.”

Snead said he once gave a lesson to a man who was struggling with his swing.

“I asked the man what he did for a living, and he said he was a professional dancer,” Snead said. “So I asked him if he could swing the club in waltz time.

“He said, ‘You better believe it.’ When he changed his tempo he hit some of the most beautiful shots you ever saw.”

Snead is regarded as a shrewd man with a dollar, even to the extent of being penurious. So the disparity in prize money from his era to today has him figuratively shaking his head.

“When I won the British Open in 1946, I got $600 and it cost me $2,000 (in expenses) to play,” he said. “In 1937 I was the second- (actually third-) leading money winner. I won $10,000, and the 10th money winner didn’t even make expenses.”

For comparison’s sake, Russ Cochran, who was 10th on the money list in 1991, earned, $684,851.

“In 1938, I was the leading money winner,” Snead continued. “I won nearly $20,000, and I won eight tournaments. In 1950, I won 11 tournaments and made $35,000.

“Do you know how much you’d make today if you won that many tournaments? Today, players never win more than three or four tournaments (in a year), and they make a million bucks.”

Snead said he watched 16-year-old Tiger Woods play in the L.A. Open and was impressed with the youngster’s skill.

But he was more impressed with a 13-year-old, whose name he couldn’t remember.

“He was the best player I ever saw for his age,” Snead said. “He might have a better swing than Tiger has. They said he could shoot in the 60s. I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ but he could move the ball a long ways.

“I only played with him for nine holes in Florida. We weren’t playing for anything (money), so I said, ‘Adios.’ ”

Snead was asked if he was able to shoot in the 60s when he was 13? “Hell, I wasn’t allowed on the golf course,” he said, chuckling.

Snead said that when he won the L.A. Open in 1945, he used the same ball for four rounds because of World War II shortages.

“You couldn’t get balls then,” he said. “I was paying $100 a dozen. Bing Crosby gave me ball, a Spalding Dot, and I played it throughout the tournament. The cover was loose, but it kept going.”

So, apparently, has Sam Snead.

Golf Notes

The recent rain has delayed the opening of nine holes on the Encino course in the Sepulveda Basin indefinitely. Damage from the Feb. 10 storm to the Encino, Balboa and Woodley Lakes courses has been estimated at $700,000. . . . The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach charity golf tournament will be held April 7 at the U.S. Naval Memorial course. Chi Chi Rodriguez will conduct a clinic before the start of the tournament.

The seventh annual NutraSweet golf tournament is scheduled March 30 at North Ranch Country Club in Thousand Oaks. The tournament benefits diabetes research. . . . Defending Masters champion Ian Woosnam has joined the field for the Players Championship March 26-29 at Ponte Vedra, Fla. Other foreign stars who will play include Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle. . . . The Players Amateur Tour has added four tournament sites to its schedule: Stone Ridge Country Club, Poway, Calif, next Sunday; Aviara-Four Seasons Resort, Carlsbad, March 23; Coto de Caza Golf Club, Coto de Caza, Calif., Aug. 24; Newport Beach CC, Aug. 31. Other tournaments will be played at Aviara, Oct. 24, and Valencia CC, Aug. 10.