Alcott passes passion on to next generation
By: MARC FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | ∞
There was never a question of what Amy Alcott was going to do with her life.
In the mid-1960s her father, an orthodontist who preferred handball to golf, built his youngest daughter a practice area in their Santa Monica backyard when she was 8. She took to the game like a fish to water, prompting her teacher, Walter Keller, to classify her enthusiasm as that of a racehorse.
Her fate was sealed, and a Hall of Fame career would soon be born.
Alcott is 51 now with five major championships and 29 LPGA Tour titles to her name. Looking back on what made it all possible, Alcott points to the simplicity of it all: love. She worshiped the game, pure and simple, and couldn't get enough of it.
Nothing's really changed.
With more than four decades of perspective, she now has the opportunity to impart some of her knowledge to today's younger golf generation. Before speaking to the participants in this year's Callaway Junior World Golf Championships at Sunday's opening ceremonies, Alcott shared what she feels is the most critical thing an aspiring golfer can do.
"It's important to smell the roses," Alcott said. "(Golf) wasn't as rigorous and business-like as it is today. It's very competitive as young players have visions of going to play college golf and the pro tour. But I still look at golf as a lifestyle. Whether you're 9 years old, 60 or 100 years old, it's a sport that ultimately enhances your life."
Before Alcott turned pro at 18, she was tearing it up on the junior circuit. She won the Junior World 13-14 division in 1970 -- the same year Craig Stadler won the top boys division.
Alcott carded rounds of 75-74-76 -- 225 was a division tournament record at the time -- and beat Beverly Klass by a whopping 16 shots. She finished second two other times.
At 17, she won the USGA Girls' Junior and the California Women's Amateur at Pebble Beach. It was only a matter of time before Alcott started turning heads as a pro.
It didn't take long.
Alcott turned pro at the tender age of 18 and won in only her third LPGA Tour appearance, the Orange Blossom Classic. She earned Rookie of the Year honors at 19, and every year for the next 12 years, she won at least one tournament. Three times in the 1970s and '80s, she enjoyed four-victory seasons, including 1980 when she won the U.S. Open and the Vare Trophy for low scoring average.
"There was no doubt I was ready," she said. "There were racehorses like me that wanted to take it all on. I wanted to see how good I could become and I never looked back.
"I weathered a lot, a lot of slumps and the yips, but I also won the U.S. Open and I'm a Hall of Famer, so I did something right."
Indeed. But Alcott was quick to point out that her playing career was an anomaly. The fast track isn't for everyone and sometimes the pursuit has its price.
"A lot of these young golfers want to be standing on the 18th green in a major championship with the trophy, but you have to realize that you have to enjoy the process," she said. "And you can't be signing deals for $10 million before proving yourself. That puts a lot of pressure on a young player. You have to earn it."
Alcott, who spent her childhood days playing at Rancho Park and Riviera Country Club, remembers purposely hitting practice shots around trees, a regimen designed to help her shape shots and provide a better feel for the game.
Although ball technology has limited the shaping of shots while at the same time prompting the long ball, Alcott says it's important to stay focused on the short game. That is "your bread and butter game" after all.
She mentions Lee Trevino, Fuzzy Zoeller, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods when referring to players who have mastered the proper mix of technique and art, the latter of which she said is the real secret to success.
"The more artistic you can be and the more feel-oriented you are, the better off you'll be because your mind works better in that kind of mode," she said. "The more you can key into that artistic side of your brain, where you know how to hit flop shots and visualize, that will give you more longevity. No teacher can give you that. You have to be able to work on that on your own."
Alcott, who is currently writing her second book, "Spiked Shoes: Golf Lessons, Life Lessons," has reached a point in her life where lessons are her way of giving back to the game that has given her so much. Just last week she was officially introduced as the new girls golf coach at Harvard-Westlake School, a private school in North Hollywood.
Alcott said having the chance to mentor young girls to be the best they can be is a "win-win opportunity." So if the golfing world is ready for the next racehorse, it's only appropriate that Alcott be the trainer.
"If it's in your heart and (golf) is something you want to do, then go at it full throttle," Alcott said as her message to young players. "And enjoy the challenge of becoming as good as you can be."
-- Marc Figueroa covers golf for the North County Times. E-mail him at marcfig@aol.com. The Golf Gallery appears every Wednesday.
Quotable
"There's better equipment, better training, there's more teachers, more information. But that doesn't automatically make it better, because golf to me is still an instinct and feel game. It's an art form."
-- Amy Alcott, on the modernization of golf
Birdie
Seve Ballesteros: The charismatic Spaniard hasn't been on his game for a number of years, so the 50-year-old decided to retire from competitive golf.
Ballesteros won five majors and 88 times around the world with shot-making abilities that often mystified his fans. Nick Faldo called Ballesteros the "Cirque de Soleil of golf." Players like that don't come around very often. He will be missed.
Bogey
Sergio Garcia: Maybe now with his childhood hero retired, the torch can finally be passed. But is Garcia up to filling the shoes of Ballesteros? We used to think so, but still with no majors to his name, we're not so sure anymore.
Garcia does have five top 10s in the Open, but he missed the cut at the Masters and the U.S. Open earlier this season and shot a dismal 89-83 at Carnoustie in '99. Ouch!
Open season
The British Open returns to Carnoustie for the first time since 1999. Here's a look at five players worth keeping tabs on:
+ Tiger Woods: The two-time defending champion finished seventh at Carnoustie in '99 and, considering he hasn't won a major this season, you have to figure he's due.
+ Angel Cabrera: The U.S. Open champion has a knack for coming up big in big events. He finished seventh in last year's Open and tied for fourth at Carnoustie in '99.
+ Paul Casey: Another major face on the major circuit, the Englishman is one of only five players who have finished in the top 10 in the first two majors -- Woods, Jerry Kelly, Justin Rose and David Toms are the others.
+ Jim Furyk: He's missed the Open cut in five of his last six attempts, but Furyk does have four top-10 finishes over the years, including a tie for 10th at Carnoustie. He placed fourth last year.
+ Luke Donald: He's never fared well in the British Open -- his best finish is a tie for 35th in 2006 -- but Donald has a few things going for him this week, as he's coming off a final-round 64 in the Scottish Open and he's returning to the site of his first Open Championship.
-- Marc Figueroa
Golf glance
By: Associated Press
ROYAL & ANCIENT GOLF CLUB OF ST. ANDREWS
British Open
Site: Carnoustie, Scotland
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday
Course: Carnoustie Golf Club, Championship Course (7,421 yards, par 71).
Purse: $8.46 million. Winner's share: $1.51 million.
Television: TNT (Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 7-9 a.m.; Sunday, 6-8 a.m.) and ABC (Saturday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m.).
Last year: Tiger Woods successfully defended his title for his 11th major victory, beating Chris DiMarco by two strokes at Royal Liverpool. Woods also won at St. Andrews in 2000 and 2005. He won the PGA Championship in August for his 12th major title.
Last week: France's Gregory Havret won the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, beating Phil Mickelson with a par on the first playoff hole. Mickelson bogeyed three of his last five holes, dropping strokes on No. 18 in regulation and the playoff. ... Jonathan Byrd won the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., to qualify for the British Open, birdieing three of the final five holes for a one-stroke victory over Tim Clark.
Notes: Scotland's Paul Lawrie won the 1999 tournament at Carnoustie, taking advantage of Jean Van de Velde's 72nd-hole collapse. The Frenchman made a triple bogey to fall into a three-way playoff with Lawrie and Justin Leonard. ... Tommy Armour (1931), Henry Cotton (1937), Ben Hogan (1953), Gary Player (1968) and Tom Watson (1975) also won at Carnoustie. ... Carnoustie opened in 1842 with 10 holes laid out by Allan Robertson. Old Tom Morris expanded it to 18 holes in 1867. ... Woods has three PGA Tour victories this season to push his career total to 57. ... The 2008 tournament will be played at Royal Birkdale. ... The Canadian Open is next week at Angus Glen in Markham, Ontario, followed by the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron, Ohio. The European tour will be in Germany next week for the Deutsche Bank Players Championship.
LPGA TOUR
HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship
Site: New Rochelle, N.Y.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Wykagyl Country Club (6,237 yards, par 71).
Purse: $2 million. Winner's share: $500,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 2-4 p.m.; Friday, 4-6 a.m., 2-4 p.m.; Saturday, 4-6 a.m.) and CBS (Saturday, 3-5 p.m., Sunday, 4-6 p.m.).
Last year: Brittany Lincicome won her first tour title, beating Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa and Juli Inkster in the final three matches at Hamilton Farm in New Jersey. Lincicome also beat Michele Redman, Brandie Burton and Kyeong Bae.
Last week: Se Ri Pak won the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic for the fifth time to tie the LPGA Tour record for victories in an event set by Mickey Wright and matched twice by Annika Sorenstam. Pak, also the Farr winner in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, shot 63-68-69-67 for a three-stroke victory over Morgan Pressel.
Notes: The tournament moves to Wykagyl after two years at Hamilton Farm. ... Colombia's Marisa Baena won the inaugural event in 2005. ... Wykagyl was the site of a tour stroke-play event from 1990-2006. Ochoa won the 2006 event, and fellow match-play participants Sorenstam (1998, 2000), Paula Creamer (2005), Inkster (1992), Sherri Steinhauer (1999, 2004) and Redman (1997) also have victories on the tree-lined course. ... After single rounds Thursday and Friday, the third round and quarterfinals will be played Saturday and the semifinals and final are set for Sunday. ... The Evian Masters is next week in France, followed by the Women's British Open at St. Andrews.
PGA TOUR
U.S. Bank Championship
Site: Milwaukee.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Brown Deer Park Golf Course (6,759 yards, par 70).
Purse: $4 million. Winner's share: $720,000.
Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 4-7 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 1-4 a.m., 4-7 p.m.; Monday, 1-4 a.m.).
Last year: Corey Pavin won his first tour title in 10 years, shooting 61-64-68-67 for a two-stroke victory over Jerry Kelly. Pavin shot a tour-record 26 on the front nine in the first round and matched the course record with his 61.
Last week: Jonathan Byrd won the John Deere Classic to qualify for the British Open, birdieing three of the final five holes for a one-stroke victory over Tim Clark.
Notes: Pavin also won the 1986 tournament at Tuckaway Country Club. ... Shigeki Maruyama won in 2001 to become the first Japanese player to win a PGA Tour event on the mainland. ... The Canadian Open is next week at Angus Glen in Markham, Ontario, followed by the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron, Ohio.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Price Cutter Charity Championship
Site: Springfield, Mo.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Highland Springs Country Club (7,060 yards, par 72).
Purse: $556,000. Winner's share: $100,800.
Television: None.
Last year: Doug LaBelle II won his first tour title, closing with a 64 for a tournament-record 27-under 261 total. Nick Flanagan finished second, two strokes back.
Last week: BYU star Daniel Summerhays became the first amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history, finishing with a 2-under 69 for a two-stroke victory in the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.
Notes: LeBelle finished 15th on the money list last year to earn a PGA Tour card. ... The Cox Classic is next week in Omaha, Neb., followed by the Wichita Open.
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