GOLF / MAL FLORENCE : Terrible Twenties Still Roaring

Golfers are a curious breed. The average players, who normally refuse to leave the house in inclement weather, would never give up their weekly games, regardless of rain, snow or previous commitments.

For longevity, there is hardly a golf group in the country that can rival “the Terrible Twenties.”

Organized in 1926, the group has had a monthly golf outing at country clubs in the Southern California area ever since.

They will meet again Thursday at Oakmont Country Club for the 800th monthly tournament. The players are members of the various country club courses they play. The groups sustains its membership through nominations by the country club where vacancies occur.

The name of the group came from the first tournament, when one player called to another on an adjacent fairway and asked: “How are you doing?”

The answer was predictable: “Terrible.”

This is the original senior tour. The average age is in the mid-60s.

At one golf outing a few years ago, Bill Gee, the oldest member at 82, was putting together the pairings when he was informed that one player was missing.

“Did he die?” asked another member. He said it in jest, but perhaps that would be the only valid reason for an active member to miss a tournament.

At 63, Arnold Palmer hasn’t lost his zest for the game. Even though he has an active business schedule involving golf course design, construction and development that limits his appearances on the Senior PGA Tour, he is still competitive.

“I’d like to start and do the whole thing over again,” Palmer said. “Having the opportunity to continue to enjoy playing and enjoy the competition is an opportunity I don’t want to forgo.

“My goal is to win . When I see that is literally impossible, I will give up. At the moment, as long as I can enjoy it and work myself into reasonable condition, I’m having fun.

“I have no intention of cluttering a field, or taking a spot that should go to someone younger, but at the same time, you only go by once.

“If you stop doing something you enjoy, shame on you. I enjoy playing golf.”

Palmer, who will play in the Senior Skins Game on Jan. 30-31 at the Mauna Lani Resort at Kohala Coast on the island of Hawaii, makes only one concession to age.

He has had back problems.

“My vertebrae are sort of fusing in the back,” he said. “That’s probably the good news. If they weren’t fusing, I’d probably have to have back surgery. I’ve been doing a lot of things to strengthen my stomach and back muscles and trying to improve my endurance.

“I had to quit running because of my back, but I ride a bicycle and do a lot of sit-ups every day. Four days a week, I do a more extensive exercise workout.”

Palmer said his back problems began in 1966, when he tried to hit a tee shot too hard.

Bruce Crampton, defending champion of the Senior Tour GTE West Classic, which will be held March 5-7 at the Ojai Valley Inn and Country Club, realizes that he has to adjust to the passing of time.

“I’m not getting any younger,” said Crampton, 57. “You know, you just don’t (play) quite as well as you did in past years. You feel like you can be an exception to the rule, but you must face reality.

“The competition certainly is stronger, with Raymond Floyd, Dave Stockton, Isao Aoki and Tom Weiskopf now on the (senior) scene.”

Crampton was gratified to note that Al Geiberger, who won the senior division of the recent Tournament of Champions at La Costa, would have placed eighth in regular tour competition there.

Golf Notes

The fourth annual Bret Saberhagen-Cleveland High School golf tournament will be held next Monday at Porter Valley Country Club. . . . The American Golf Assn. will stage an amateur event Friday at Industry Hills. . . . Chi Chi Rodriguez will replace Lee Trevino in the Senior Skins Game at Mauna Lani. Trevino is recovering from thumb surgery. Rodriguez will join Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd in the field.

Nick Price, the PGA champion, talked to Golf Digest about Nick Faldo’s reputed aloofness. “I have been close to Nick at times gone by and he can be a very friendly person, but he has just adopted this attitude,” Price said. “One day, he may regret it. Because when you are old and you have got nothing and you were a good player and the attention has shifted away from you, what’s left? You’ve got trophies and a huge, fat bank balance but, hey, that doesn’t make friends.”