They're Plotting a New Course of Action

By STEVE HENSON

March 9, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Many of the students are grandfathers, but school is in session today and their undivided attention is essential. Honors will go to fast learners.

Only a handful among the SBC Senior Classic field of 78 have played the Valencia Country Club course in Santa Clarita, the new venue for a tournament held the last six years at Wilshire Country Club.

Even fewer can recall anything about it.

“A senior moment is kicking in, I don’t remember much,” said Tom Kite, who played in the 1998 Nissan Open, the only PGA Tour event held at Valencia.

“I do remember that it certainly is a challenging course. A lot of golfers commented in ’98 that they preferred it to Riviera, which is hard to believe because Riviera is so good.”

Challenging is also good. So say Senior PGA players, who expressed in a year-end survey that they wanted firmer, faster conditions and at least a few courses longer than a walk-in closet.

Glorified pitch-and-putt layouts ensure respectable scores but are no longer necessary for the seniors, who are in better condition and play more often than in the past.

“Fifteen years ago the tour was set up more for guys turning 60; now it’s 50,” said Larry Nelson, the Senior PGA Tour money leader this year and last.

“They are finally realizing it doesn’t matter if you shoot 20 under or six under, the type of golf is still the same.”

Built in 1965, Valencia has everything the seniors consider challenging: long fairways, tall rough and spacious greens. After 54 holes this weekend, they might be more careful about what they wish for.

“The biggest concern will be to keep the ball in the fairway and to position well on the greens,” said television commentator Mitch Voges, a former PGA Tour player from Southern California who has played Valencia frequently.

“There is a lot of variety. Even good players will use every club in their bag. There are holes with trouble on the right and others with trouble on the left.”

The 6,905-yard, par-72 layout is long to begin with by senior standards. Mushy fairways from rain will make it play even longer.

At first glance, strong drivers such as Bobby Walzel, Steven Veriato, Jim Ahern and Dana Quigley appear to hold an advantage--as long as they keep their tee shots out of the three-inch rough.

However, accuracy and learning the course’s nuances after one round might be more important.

“Who is a quick study? You’ll find out looking at the leaderboard,” Kite said. “I suspect we won’t go too far down the money leader list to find a winner.

“This golf course should provide enough of a challenge for guys to be able to show off their shots.”

Something else was obvious to players during Thursday’s pro-am. The greens are enormous and feature as many slopes, twists and turns as a skateboard park.

“If your putts are within 15 feet, they don’t break a lot,” Joe Inman said. “At 30 feet, there is all kinds of break.”

Inman is the three-time defending tournament champion, but it doesn’t mean much because those events were held at Wilshire. And they were held in the fall, when the sun is shining and the air is dry.

“I’m only upset about this being held in March,” he said. “I’m calling this the Wet Coast Tour.”

Inman has been nagged because of a back injury for a month. Cold, rainy weather only worsens the pain.

However, he gets no sympathy from his senior brethren. Some have their own creaky bones to contend with and others are among the new breed who want increased challenges.

Kite, 51, can’t quite decide where he falls. He’s in his second year on the senior tour and still believes he can make just about any golf shot. Yet he wouldn’t mind a wet course, not too mushy, mind you, just enough moisture to keep balls from rolling into the rough and off the greens.

“Any time you soften up a golf course, you make it easier, especially when there is trouble all around,” he said. “I’m not sure how much that will apply here.”

He’ll learn soon enough. Going to school is what today’s round is all about.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

SBC SENIOR CLASSIC

Site: Valencia Country Club.

Schedule: Today-Sunday.

Course: Valencia Country Club (6,905 yards, par 72).

Purse: $1.4 million. Winner’s share: $210,000.

TV: PAX (today, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.) and CNBC (Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m.).

Last year: Joe Inman won for the third consecutive year, beating Larry Nelson by three strokes at Wilshire Country Club. The tournament was played in late October.

On the Net: www.pgatour.com.

TODAY’S TEE TIMES

8 a.m. Sammy Rachels; Bill Brask; Bob Ralston

8:10 Jesse Patino; Chuck Moran; Darren Maurry

8:20 Barry Jaeckel; Jim Holtgrieve; Roy Vucinich

8:30 Don Bies; Tom Shaw; Mark Hayes

8:40 Rocky Thompson; Harold Henning; Walter Zembriski

8:50 Al Geiberger; Graham Marsh; Tom McGinnis.

9 a.m. Gary Player; J.C. Snead; Jim Thorpe

9:10 Bruce Fleisher; Dana Quigley; Bob Gilder

9:20 Dave Stockton; Isao Aoki; Tom Wargo

9:30 Hale Irwin; Lanny Wadkins; Gary McCord