Golf

Justin Thomas of Goshen, Ky., overtook leader Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville with a birdie on the 17th hole, and after finishing regulation play all square, won the ensuing first extra hole with a par to gain the final of the U.S. Junior Amateur championship in Ada, Mich. McCarthy had advanced to the afternoon match when he birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Canadian Richard Jung in a morning quarterfinal. pairing. Thomas will face Jim Lio of Smithtown, N.Y., , a 3-and-2 winner over Robby Shelton of Winner, Ala., in a scheduled 36-hole final.

T he 73-year-old in the baseball-style cap could not look happier. It's 10:30 on a January morning, the winds are less than gale force, the sun is peeking through some clouds, and as he bends over on the first tee at the Eisenhower Golf Course in Crownsville, Bruno Heidik doesn't even need the little hammer he used last week to bash his golf tee into the frozen ground. The tee "slides in nicely today," says Heidik before addressing the ball, taking a long backswing and belting an impressive drive down the middle of the fairway.

BOSTON -- When I turned fifty, I discovered three essential facts of middle age: periodontia, bifocals and golf.GOLF? DID SHE SAY GOLF?Let me explain. I once assumed that golf was a sport for elderly Country Club Republicans. The sort of men who wore green pants with whale belts and protected their clubs with duck head covers.Golf was Dwight David Eisenhower. My family was Adlai Stevenson.In my twenties, I thought golf was God's way of telling you that you had too much time on your hands.

Address: 6001 Hillen Rd.Baltimore 21239Telephone: 410-254-5100Professional: Jim Deck, PGACourse architect: Gus HookOpened: 1934Open: All year (First tee-off at dawn)Status: PublicHoles: 18Par: 71Yardage: 5,294 (forward tees), 6,003 (middle), 6,728 (tips)Course rating/slope: back 71.8/119; middle 68.0/114; front 64.3/102Greens fees: $11.50 weekdays; $12.50 weekends and holidaysCarts: $16Tee-time policy: Times reserved up to two weeks in person for $2 or over the phone with credit card for $5.Additional features: Full irrigation, lessons, men's and women's locker rooms, club rental, pro shop, snack bar, snack shack (10th tee)

It soothes presidential nerves. It adds traction to the climb up the corporate letter. It can be mastered by either sex, making it politically correct. It moves real estate. It bonds males. It's clearly more versatile than Scotch tape, aspirin or WD-40.It's golf.Demographics alone would dictate that this sport is primed for a growth spurt. With the average beginner age for golfers below 40, and the country's median age near the mid-30s, this is yet another example of the demographic "pig in the python" dominating changes in American culture.

The Recreation and Parks Advisory Board has urged the county commissioners to purchase land in the next two years for the development of a county-owned golf course.Plans for a county-owned course were first discussed several years ago, but the board formed a subcommitteelast year to take a closer look at the idea. That group found a needfor such courses, which would serve people who don't use the privately owned, open-to-the-public courses in Carroll.Fees at the county-owned course generally would be lower than at a privately owned course, they said.

What do Chuck Thompson, Johnny Unitas, Chris Redman, Ernest Byner, Scott Garceau, Ted Marchibroda, Don Scott, Stan White, Matt Stover, Jesse Jones and Mike Jaskulski have in common? They're all local sports and / or broadcasting celebrities? Sure, that too. But, they all love golf. That's why they all could be found at the Chestnut Ridge Country Club, enjoying drinks and dinner at the fifth annual Celebrity Golf Classic for Leukemia awards banquet, benefiting the Maryland chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

A lot of homeowners would love to have their house back onto a golf course. The expanse of green is nice to look at, someone else is responsible for the upkeep and it enhances neighboring property values to boot.But there's no accounting for some people's reactions. Two Columbia residents have asked the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for a hearing to challenge the state's decision to grant environmental permits that would allow the Columbia Association to build an 18-hole golf course.

Washington -- LISTEN, IT'S mid-August, so let's talk about something important a few minutes here -- like sports.I've always wondered about the haunting last line of the final column by America's best sportswriter ever, Red Smith."