GOLF / STEVE ELLING : Shackelford Keeping Shots Within Range

Hide and seek, Lynn Shackelford style. He loses every time.

Dollars to doughnuts, bet he can be found at the Sinaloa Golf Course in Simi Valley. Calling the former UCLA basketball standout at home is almost surely a waste of a dime.

“I will be (at Sinaloa) in the mornings, afternoon and evenings,” the message informs callers, “basically every day of the week.”

Four months ago, Shackelford took over the promising little par-three course, which is nestled along Madera Road on the west end of town. Its nine holes range in length from 90 to 135 yards. Shackelford has but one goal: Make the place short and sweet.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a great place where you can play in an hour, hour and 15 minutes, tops.”

Shackelford, the general manager, sits at the top of the course flow chart. And he has some changes up his sleeve.

There are plenty of improvements planned, like rebuilding the greens, installing automatic irrigation, landscaping the facility and upgrading the driving range. The cost could run as high as $400,000 for Shackelford, who last May was granted a lease by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District to run the facility.

There was definitely room for improvement. Friends call him Shack, and that’s essentially what he inherited as the pro shop. In fact, it is the metal shell of what was once a gasoline service station.

“It’s definitely not going anywhere,” Shackelford said. “It’s not real homey. There’s lots of work to be done.”

One chore at a time. Shackelford has upgraded the facility and Simi Valley residents have taken notice. Shackelford said that play in the month of July, compared to the same period two years ago, has risen from 5,805 rounds to 7,721. Golf revenue doubled from $27,321 in July of 1991 to $55,720 last month.

So while he will shell out several thousand dollars to upgrade Sinaloa, it should pay off in the long haul. He already has bought new mats for the driving range, which he promises will soon be the best in Ventura County.

“If you bite the bullet early, you will profit down the road,” he said.

Shackelford, 45, may be a hired gun these days, but he fell into the business almost by accident. He played golf as a senior at Burroughs High in 1965 and wasn’t very good. After his college basketball career came to a close--UCLA won three NCAA titles in his three years on the varsity--he moved into broadcasting, which afforded him plenty of spare time to hone his game.

In 1983, Shackelford was hired by the American Golf Co., a course-management group that runs Knollwood Golf Course in Granada Hills, Brookside Park in Pasadena and Vista Valencia in Valencia, among others.

“I’m doing what they’re doing,” said Shackelford, who carries a four handicap. “Now I’m just doing it by myself.”

Sinaloa has been a big hit with young golfers. Each Monday, Shackelford opens the course for two hours to juniors, and 50 or so usually show up. He conducts a free clinic and allows them to play and hit range balls for free. In fishing, this is called chumming the hole.

“I think I’m getting more kids than ever,” he said. “They seem to come back after the Monday clinics and bring their little brother, or their dad. . . .”

If everything works out as planned, a new 15-year lease between the recreation district and Shackelford will take effect next May. Shack and Sinaloa will be synonymous into the next millennium.

Shackelford never backed down from a challenge. In November of 1965, he and a group of UCLA freshmen that included Lew Alcindor routed the returning Bruin varsity--ranked No. 1 in the nation after winning consecutive NCAA titles--in the first game played at Pauley Pavilion. Freshmen were not permitted to play for the varsity at the time.

“The saying was, ‘They’re No. 1 in the country, but they’re only the second-best team on campus,’ ” Shackelford said.

By his senior year, 1968-69, he was surrounded by the likes of Lucius Allen, Mike Warren, Sidney Wicks and Alcindor. The Bruins were 88-2 in his three years.

“I was the perimeter guy,” Shackelford said. “If there had been a three-point line, that’s where I would have been.

“I was the outside shooter.”

He still is. Only the sport has changed.

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Thriller: Vinny Giles says that the two most significant moments in his distinguished golf career came when he hit his first tee shots in a Walker Cup match and at the Master’s in Augusta, Ga.

They were also the most “exhilarating or nerve-racking, take your pick.”

“When I teed off at the Master’s, there wasn’t a lick of wind, but if you looked at my pants leg, it would have looked like there was a hurricane blowing,” said Giles, the captain of the Walker Cup team and a four-time team member. “It’s the same feeling when they raise the stars and stripes at the Walker Cup ceremonies.”

Dave Berganio Jr. of Sylmar can now officially begin biting his nails. Last week, Berganio was formally named to the 10-member team, which begins play today at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. The event pits the best U.S. amateurs against a team from the United Kingdom.

Berganio, an NCAA All-American who has had a few ups and downs with the USGA, was clearly a player Giles wanted on the squad. Berganio was one of three amateurs to participate in the U.S. Open and last month won the U.S. Publinks title for the second time.

Berganio, who completed his eligibility at Arizona last spring, delayed turning pro with the hope that he would be named to the Walker Cup team.

“That said a lot to me about his dedication to making the team, and it showed me that it was pretty doggone important to him,” Giles said.

The U.S. holds a 29-3-1 edge in the Walker Cup series.

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Metal head: Corby Segal decided it was time to carry a big stick. And Bertha equaled berth.

After years of using the same metal-wood driver, Segal decided it was time to make a change. It was like tossing out the old faithful-but-toothless family dog.

“I’d had the old one for seven or eight years,” he said. “The metal head was dead. It had to be done.”

In July, Segal switched to an expensive, graphite-shafted Big Bertha model. Last week, it paid for itself.

Segal, who completed his final year of eligibility at Cal State Northridge in the spring, fired a pair of 68s to win medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier at Redlands Country Club.

Segal, 22, said he hit all but six fairways over 36 holes on the tight course. It marked the first time he made the U.S. Amateur field in four attempts.

Charlie Wi and David Saylor, members of Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley, also qualified for the Amateur, which begins Aug. 24 at The Champions Golf Club in Houston.