Skins Game About Big Business, Big Hitters and Big Money

You know, the last time there was a commotion like this in the desert was when they invented the time share. Everybody knows how big that thing got.

What we have going on now is all because of the Skins Game, which isn’t actually about face-lifts or wrinkle cream or anything like that.

No, it’s about that holy trio of money, golf and television ratings, not to mention Tiger Woods and John Daly in the most anticipated long-driving contest since the interstate opened.

As usual, the marshals are 95 Marines recruited from the base at Twenty-nine Palms. And now, a reminder for spectators: You don’t want to cross the fairway at the wrong time in front of one of those guys.

Ticket sales are limited to 10,000 and the golf fans who get into Rancho La Quinta this weekend are going to be there for the same reason Ray Floyd said he’d be interested in watching: “To see which one is gonna’ hit it eight miles first.”

Woods, professional golf’s newly incorporated superstar-in-the-making and traveling gross national product, will attempt to airlift a golf ball to Indio.

Daly, by his own account drier than a cactus salesman’s shoes, will be trying to keep pace.

Of course, there are other players in the Fiscal Foursome, namely Fred Couples and Tom Watson, who probably deserve a lot better billing than they are getting in the $540,000 Skins Game, a made-for-television golf ball-bashing contest between millionaires that begins Saturday.

A two-day, 18-hole event in its 14th year, the Skins Game was starting to show its age recently, especially last year when its 4.0 rating and nine share was its lowest ever. In fact, it was a 43% drop from its top rating of 7.0 in 1986.

But if there is anything guaranteed to get people’s attention out here, besides the senior discount, it may be the chance to see Woods up close, maybe even before the first book on him comes out.

There are six in the works, three of them biographies--one penned by Earl Woods. The result of Woods’ own two-book deal won’t hit the stores until 1999 and 2002, by which time Woods may be the host of “60 Minutes” or developing a cure for the common cold or starring with Bugs Bunny Jr. in the movie “Space Ace.”

Yes, it’s good to be Tiger Woods. When asked about it, Woods said he likes the way things have turned out so far.

“It’s been absolutely perfect,” Woods said. “I get to play golf for a living. I get paid for doing something I love.”

These days, Woods has been spending a lot of time in his new home in Orlando, getting ready to do what he loves for an entire year on the PGA Tour.

He will turn 21 next month. This means that besides being allowed to play in a casino, he also is able to buy one.

Until then, Woods has made other arrangements. He bought a house at Isleworth, an exclusive community built around an Arnold Palmer-designed course. His neighbors include actor Wesley Snipes, baseball star Ken Griffey Jr., basketball star Penny Hardaway, golfer Mark O’Meara and IMG founder Mark McCormack.

If one feels so inclined, it seems to be a nice place to get away from it all. After he tied for 21st and won $55,800 at the Tour Championship in late October, Woods put his clubs away for a while.

Instead of playing golf, he climbed into a boat and started some sort of bass-a-thon with Griffey.

We do not know what the fish scoreboard read, but that’s not important. What seemed vital was that the time away from golf gave Woods time to relax, as well as reflect on his meteoric race up the money list in only eight tournaments after turning professional--$790,594.

Of course, there also were two victories, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, multimillion dollar endorsements, instant fame and the kind of visibility that often prevents him from taking two uninterrupted bites in a row at dinner.

“When I go out to dinner now, people recognize me,” Woods said. “They ask for autographs when I’m trying to eat. I think it’s sort of rude, but people do it anyway.”

Maybe Woods will have to order take-out. Look on the bright side. The price of fame may be fewer calories.

Anyway, make no mistake, the leading experts in golf all seem to agree that Woods may have to get used to signing autographs. He may be destined for very big things.

For instance, Gary Player saw him at the British Open at Royal Lytham and came away, well, really impressed.

“I thought to myself, ‘I’ve just seen America’s next superstar,’ ” Player said.

“What he has done is phenomenal. He is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen in golf. And golf needs superstars. Every player should be thankful to Tiger Woods for raising new standards. This is wonderful.”

Greg Norman also thinks this is wonderful, but he cautioned Woods to be as successful off the course as he is on it.

“He buys a house, he’s going to get a girlfriend, get married, start a family . . . every step he makes from now on will be a calculated step,” Norman said. “We’ve all read about his finances. Now he can deal with them. For a 20-year-old, this is a heckuva responsibility.”

Floyd said there is no advice to give Woods, who will figure it out for himself eventually. “He’s out in the real world now.”

And we all know that it’s sometimes not a pleasant place. But as far as Woods goes, Lanny Wadkins said everything appears to be in place for that perfect harmonic convergence of wealth, fame and happiness.

“It’ll be real interesting,” Wadkins said. “He ought to handle it fine with the poise and character he has. But greatness is not measured from tournament to tournament or year to year, but decade to decade.

“Granted, he has the ability to do it, but he needs to do it. There are no guarantees out there.”

Woods played his first tournament since the Tour Championship last week in Sydney and finished tied for fifth in the Australian Open, 12 shots behind Norman while fighting a head cold.

But it’s still the off-season, not the real thing, so the focus remains on something besides winning . . . something like how far he will hit the ball when standing next to Daly.

Woods said he isn’t really that interested, which is hard to believe.

“It’s not about length in the Skins Game, it’s about birdies,” he said. “I can hit the ball over 300 yards every time if I want to, but there’s no point because I don’t know where it’s going.”

Woods said that on most driving holes, he uses only 75-80% of the total power of his swing.

In the meantime, while he takes his golf ball on tour at the Skins Game, the Woods empire silently waits for more projects and funds to fill it up. What he has is called E.T.W. Incorporated, for Eldrick Tiger Woods, which was formed shortly after Woods turned pro.

Earl Woods is president and Tiger is chairman. It is not known who is on the board of directors, but they’re probably his fairway woods and irons, which of course must remove their head covers when they enter the room.

And the way Woods does business, you can be sure that his driver knows where to sit. Right there at the head of the table.

Read the minutes. It may take decades.

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Skins Game at a Glance

* Site: La Quinta

* When: Saturday and Sunday

* Course: Rancho La Quinta Golf Club (7,087 yards, par 71)

* Who: Fred Couples will defend his title against Tiger Woods, John Daly and Tom Watson.

* Last year: Couples won $270,000 at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, all with a 10-foot birdie putt on the fifth extra hole. Corey Pavin was second with $240,000 and Peter Jacobsen third with $30,000.