Playing Golf

Dulaney junior Carolyn Chandler has already won two Baltimore County golf championships. Last fall, she also won the district title and finished 18th in the state championships. This summer, she won her fourth straight Jimmy Flattery Tournament title, in the 15-17 age group, and tied for first in the Middle Atlantic Junior Girls Championship. She also played in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in July. A member of Hunt Valley Country Club, Chandler played several tournaments on the Titleist Junior Tour and American Junior Golf Association tour.

WHEN PRO GOLFER Tiger Woods won the Masters two weeks ago, it was all I could do to suppress a yawn. Much ado was made about young Woods being the first black to win the Masters, but my basic reaction was, "Hey, it's only golf."Ah, yes, golf. That sport television networks use to deliberately bore football, baseball, basketball and hockey fans. That sport with all the action of a flea circus. I've seen funerals more exciting than golf.No, I just couldn't get swept up in the euphoria. An African-American winning the Masters is not a milestone.

"We had a great rapport, playing golf in the off-season. Earl wasn't perfect and I certainly wasn't perfect, but the bottom line was we knew we were going to win. He was the best manager of his era."Jim Palmer"We were never caught off-guard and we attacked other teams' weaknesses. We knew Earl would never cost us a ballgame."Frank Robinson"He kind of had a reverse psychology with us. When we played well he would hoot and holler and he was all over us. When we were going bad he would pat us on the back.

Kevin "Field of Dreams" Costner plays a pro golfer in the movie, "Tin Cup," but he carefully explains to interviewers, "This is not a 'golf movie,' it's a 'boy-girl movie.' "Costner apparently believes if you build 18 holes of dreams, hardly anybody will come.But golf has been growing in popularity as baby boomers, who used to jog, slow to a stroll or hitch a ride on a golf cart.Clues of golf's gains are all around. Fashion houses like Liz Claiborne and Tommy Hilfiger are now creating lines of golf wear.

It was with mixed emotions that the family and friends of Andy Gibson gathered to pay their final respects last week.There were sorrow and mourning for the loss of a loved one, but there was a joyous celebration, too -- for a life so well-lived for 87 years.And the stories! Anyone who knew Andy Gibson has a story to tell, most likely a personal recollection as vivid in memory now as when it happened, perhaps 40 or 50 years ago.Gibson was born in Prestwick, Scotland, and was already an accomplished golfer when he came to the United States at the age of 19 to pursue a job in the sport.

I used to imagine hell as a place where golfers in bright green pants and canary-yellow polo shirts stood around in steaming pools of molten lava with Coors Lights in their hands, talking about how they birdied this hole or used a 7-iron instead of a 9-iron to play that dogleg right and blah, blah, blah.There would be other sub-species in hell, of course: Elvis impersonators and TV repairmen and mimes and accordion players, most of them relegated to the Kathie Lee Gifford Wing for the Truly Evil.

As an authority on etiquette and civilized behavior, I'm frequently asked for advice on how to handle difficult social situations.Today's question came from a woman who asked that she be identified only as "Ms. Frazzled Nerves."Here is how she described her problem:"I recently joined a women's weekly golf league. I have been playing golf for several years, but always with my husband or close friends. This was my first experience in a league with strangers."The first round was a nightmare.

Joe Lynch of Baltimore County has been playing golf for only two years but has made progress quickly. He usually plays at Pine Shore Golf -- a tough 27-hole layout on Beauchamp Road that features three nines of par 30 each -- with octogenarian John McQuay.Recently, Lynch shot a 69 over 18 holes, topping McQuay for the first time. Even though 69 is 9-over-par, it's impressive since Pine Shore owner Al Janis has a standing challenge to anyone who plays par 72 courses to see how close to par they will be on the difficult course.

Kathy Fitzpatrick has no handicap when it comes to the history of golf in the Baltimore area.This historian is blessed with patience and tenacity. For nearly three years, she's read reel after reel of newspaper microfilm. She's visited the Library of Congress and the headquarters of the U.S. Golf Association in Far Hills, N.J."I don't know what people must think of me, but once I start a project, I just don't like to give up," she says. "The golf research is far easier than playing golf. I really have to work at the game . . . I shoot in the 90s. Not all the time, you understand."

At Howard High School Al Sutton's athletic world was two-pronged. He starred in golf and basketball.These days, however, the University of Maryland junior is focusing his athletic talents on golf -- a focus that has resulted in a significant improvement in his game.Sutton, playing as an amateur, made both cuts in the 73rd annual Maryland Open championship that ended Wednesday at Crofton Country Club. He finished with a respectable 79-74-78 -- 231.The score wasn't nearly as low as he would have liked, but wasn't bad for a 20-year-old playing against pros.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The crown of the PGA Tour's Everyman has not always rested easily atop Phil Mickelson's head. Often, what you saw and what you got were not what you believed. There were the long lines of autograph seekers who were never left unsatisfied. There were the frequent appearances in pro-am events, especially those long grinds such as the Bob Hope Classic, where Mickelson actually seemed to enjoy every minute and always made his 15-handicap partners feel as if they actually mattered.

Dulaney junior Carolyn Chandler has already won two Baltimore County golf championships. Last fall, she also won the district title and finished 18th in the state championships. This summer, she won her fourth straight Jimmy Flattery Tournament title, in the 15-17 age group, and tied for first in the Middle Atlantic Junior Girls Championship. She also played in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in July. A member of Hunt Valley Country Club, Chandler played several tournaments on the Titleist Junior Tour and American Junior Golf Association tour.

At the time, Atholton senior golfer Leslie Walker didn't know the significance of her 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole of Thursday's Howard County Golf Championships, but she did know she wanted it to be her last of the day. "I just said to myself, `Don't leave it short - putt it like it's for the win,' " Walker said. "And it turned out to be." Walker found out a short time later - a huge smile from coach John Zitco gave it away - that she captured the girls individual title by one stroke over Centennial's Audra McShane.

When Joseph Singleton, a former high school gymnast, lost the use of his legs in Vietnam, he refused to surrender to a sedentary lifestyle. He lifts weights regularly, but because he cannot stand up, he has never tried playing golf, the sport of his idol, Tiger Woods. Yesterday, all that changed for the 48-year-old Columbia resident. Singleton, who had never even picked up a golf club, drove the ball 100 yards without leaving his wheelchair. "Now you're just showing off!" yelled Mike Messina, an assistant golf professional, as he watched Singleton's ball fly down the fairway.

Robert L. Kulp Sr., a retired master electrician, died of cancer Friday at his Linthicum home. He was 55. Mr. Kulp was born in Baltimore and raised in Curtis Bay. He attended City College until enlisting in the Army in 1964, and served with the 82nd Airborne Division in the Dominican Republic until his 1967 discharge. After completing an apprenticeship, Mr. Kulp worked as a master electrician through International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 24 AFL-CIO. He retired last year on a medical disability.

Lorraine S. Knox, a homemaker and golfer, died of lung cancer Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 61. Lorraine Snyder was born and raised in Portsmouth, Va., where she graduated from high school. After her 1963 marriage to Louis P. Knox III, who survives her, the couple moved to Towson and later settled in Timonium. Mrs. Knox began playing golf in 1961. She was an active member and former president of Pine Ridge Women's Golf Association and Mount Pleasant Women's Golf Association.

FEELING FRANTIC? Got 20 hours' worth of work that you intend to plow through today? Join the crowd. It turns out that Tuesdays, on balance, are the work days in which we get the most done. That's from a survey of executives released this year by a national firm that provides temporary financial professionals. Mondays, as everyone knows, are tied up with meetings and water-cooler talk. How was your weekend? It comes in second as the most productive day of the week. After Tuesdays, the work week just falls off a cliff, according to executives' estimates of how much actually gets accomplished when.

They stand on each side of the green, taking turns putting a large, yellow ball to a target about 10 feet away. Hayley, tall and blond, stands on the right, wearing a bright orange hat and a light blue skirt, matching the color of her eyes. Mallory, with dark hair and a playful smile that's missing two front baby teeth, stands on the left, giggling and leaning on her putter. Both love golf and want to become better at it, which is why they joined 20 other girls at Chartwell Country Club in this putting exercise that is part of the LPGA's Girls Golf Club of Baltimore, which holds sessions once a month until October.

Quote: "We know what we have to do. If you win, you're in [the playoffs]. If not, you're playing golf on Oct. 2." - Red Sox reliever Derek Lowe It's a fact: The Yankees' Denny Neagle has won his past four decisions. Who's hot: The Athletics have hit 23 homers in their past 11 games. Who's not: The A's Ben Grieve has hit into a major-league-leading 29 double plays this season, one short of the franchise record of 30 set by Billy Hitchcock in 1950. On deck: Pedro Martinez (16-5) and the Red Sox face Charles Nagy and the Indians in the finale of a three-game series between American League wild-card contenders.

WHEN PRO GOLFER Tiger Woods won the Masters two weeks ago, it was all I could do to suppress a yawn. Much ado was made about young Woods being the first black to win the Masters, but my basic reaction was, "Hey, it's only golf."Ah, yes, golf. That sport television networks use to deliberately bore football, baseball, basketball and hockey fans. That sport with all the action of a flea circus. I've seen funerals more exciting than golf.No, I just couldn't get swept up in the euphoria. An African-American winning the Masters is not a milestone.