Country Club Set for Senior Event

Newport Beach Country Club got good reviews--for the most part--from Senior PGA Tour players last year during the Toshiba Senior Classic.

The seniors said they enjoyed the traditional layout of course, trees lining most of the fairways instead of housing. But many groused about the condition of the greens.

Walking off the 10th during the second round, Lee Trevino said, “It’s like putting on a mattress.”

Ron Benedict, who is responsible for maintaining the course, tries to avoid hearing such comments, but says the greens were a problem area.

“Last year we got hit with a lot of rain and these old greens take on a lot of water,” said Benedict, the club’s course superintendent for six years. “When that happens they almost take on fluid properties and every time a heel hits it or someone walks on with spikes, it dents the turf all up.”

The absence of significant recent rain means that won’t be a problem this week when the seniors come to town for the tournament, which runs Friday through Sunday. But Benedict realizes criticism comes with the territory.

“There are so many tastes out there,” Benedict said. “It’s impossible to please everybody and that’s what the tour officials taught us last year. They said, ‘Your job is to please us and not the players.’ ”

Players might not be pleased that tour officials have instructed Benedict to grow the rough deeper and speed up the greens. Benedict said the rough will be cut to 2 1/2 inches, an inch deeper than last year, and the stimp-meter reading on the greens will be increased to 9 1/2-10, compared to 9-9 1/2.

Driving around in a cart Friday, Benedict showed a visitor a course lush from winter overseeding. Electronic leaderboards already were in place and courtesy tents were in various stages of construction.

Country club members getting in rounds of golf before the course closed to them for nine days, called out to Benedict often. “It’s looking great out here, Ron,” one said.

To make sure it stays that way, Benedict and his 13-man crew will arrive at the course this week at 4:15 a.m. daily, about an hour earlier than usual. “It’s a lot of stress,” Benedict said. “But it’s good stress. It’s exciting.”

Benedict said it has been easier to prepare this year because of last year’s experience. “The course showed really well on TV last year,” he said. “It looked great. My crew was really proud. By Friday, they were tired and went home to watch the first round on television and came back with a renewed sense of enthusiasm.”

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Bob Neely, president of International Sports & Event Marketing, the tournament operator, is bullish about this year’s tournament, despite a few glitches.

A couple of sponsors pulled out late, opening about two dozen spots in the pro-ams. If they aren’t filled by paying players, Neely said ISM will donate the spots to charities.

ISM is also hoping the Orange County community will support the tournament better. About 20 spots for volunteers haven’t been filled.

“The bottom line on producing an event like this is that it takes a couple of years to smooth out the wrinkles,” Neely said. “Quite frankly, it might take a while for the local community to understand it is as big an event as it is.

“But we think we are on a great path.”

The competition itself, Neely pointed out, should be excellent. Thirty-five of the top 40 players on last year’s money list will be here battling for the $1-million purse. Arnold Palmer, recuperating from prostate surgery, won’t be here. Neither will Raymond Floyd (eighth on the list), Graham Marsh (ninth), Kermit Zarley (13th), Tom Weiskopf (28th) or Jack Nicklaus (38th), but there will be no shortage of big names: Hale Irwin, Chi Chi Rodriquez, Trevino, Gary Player and defending champion Jim Colbert.

“Good weather permitting,” Neely said, “we should have a colossal week and a banner weekend.”

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Volunteers are needed to work the ticket booths and the parking lots--not glamorous opportunities, but for two to four hours of work a volunteer gets a meal and admission to the event.

“We really bend over backwards to make sure that anybody who volunteers gets to see what’s going on on the golf course,” said Pete Cuneo, coordinator of volunteers. For information: (714) 646-9007.

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Schedule: Tournament week kicks off today with a celebrity pro-am at noon. Tuesday, there is a shootout at 11 a.m. presided over by ESPN’s Jim Kelly and a free youth clinic at 3 p.m. on the range.

The main pro-am is all day Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday at nearby Big Canyon Country Club, the MasterCard Grand Masters Pro-Am will start at 9 a.m.

The tournament runs Friday through Sunday with the first tee time scheduled for 7:30 a.m. daily.

Notes

The Anaheim Amateur City Championship will be April 26-27 at the city’s Anaheim Hills and Dad Miller courses. The entry deadline is April 7. For information: (714) 921-9311. . . . The Salvation Army Orange County Women’s Auxiliary Save A Generation Golf Tournament will be held May 12 at Coto de Caza. The fee is $225 for the usual package of golf and banquet. Proceeds benefit the Salvation Army’s youth and youth-at-risk programs. For information: (714) 544-7050. . . . John Carrido of Newport Beach will be signing his book, “The Fitness Approach to Power Golf,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 5 at SuperCrown bookstore in Costa Mesa. Carrido is a personal trainer, former Mr. California bodybuilder and former basketball standout at Estancia High and Orange Coast College.

The Orange County Golf Notebook runs monthly. Suggestions are welcome. Call (714) 966-5904, fax 966-5663 or e-mail Martin.Beck@latimes.com or Steve.Kresal@latimes.com