GOLF : 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.

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 during a pro career that began in 1936, is regarded as one of the best ball strikers of all time. It has been said many times that he fell out of bed with his swing.

“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.”

Russ Cochran, who was 10th on the money list in 1991, earned $684,851.

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

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

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, and I played it throughout the tournament. The cover was loose, but it kept going.”

So has Snead.

Davis Love III complained about the crowd’s behavior at the L.A. Open. He wasn’t bothered that the crowd was vocally supporting Couples, who beat him on the second playoff hole, only in the negative comments directed toward him.

“Fans are happy for anything that doesn’t go well for the other guy. That’s not the way it ought to be,” said Love, adding that fans were yelling “Miss it, miss it,” when he addressed the ball.

“Golf in the last five, or six years has gotten a little rowdy, even at Augusta (site of the Masters tournament).”

Said Couples: “I don’t think the fans were discourteous. I just think they’re having a good time. Every sport is getting like that. I think we need it. It’s a little bit of a circus atmosphere. They’re out there to have fun, and that’s what they’re doing.”

However, even the popular Couples was needled before the final round, a spectator yelling, “Have a good day, and don’t choke.”

Gary McCord, a part-time player on the PGA Tour and an analyst for CBS television, said that noise wouldn’t necessarily bother players if it was constant.

“If they were all yelling, that would be fine,” McCord said. “There must be a constant, either no noise, or all noise. In that gray area, when someone suddenly yells, you jump out of your skin.”

McCord said that golf is entering a new generation, with younger spectators.

“But for a lot of these young guys, their only connection with golf is ‘Caddyshack’--Bill Murray and Chevy Chase--and the game between the caddies, saying ‘Miss it, miss it.’

“They think it’s kind of fun and that’s the way you’re supposed to act on a golf course. Which is fine. At least, they’re coming out to watch. Tournaments are now more of a social event to be seen rather than to watch golf.”

Golf Notes

A designated nine holes of the Encino course in the Sepulveda Basin will be open for play Thursday, if it doesn’t rain. 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 NutraSweet tournament is scheduled March 30 at North Ranch Country Club in Thousand Oaks. The tournament benefits diabetes research.