Sport & Outdoor

Friday, July 1, 2016

THE GIFT OF SPORTS (Part 1)

The expanding category is now a formidable contender in the holiday book-buying game

NOW THAT THE UNRELENTING excitement of the political conventions is over and the Labor Day holiday has signaled the official end of summer, the energies of all booksellers are being directed toward one goal--Christmas 2000. And sports books play an important part in holiday sales. Without agonizing and spending a ton of money, the gift giver can satisfy the sports fan in the household. Succinctly, it's the perfect gift. But it isn't just books on baseball or golf anymore. Sports publishing continues to expand its horizons to reach different fans with different sports interests. This holiday season will present a myriad of sports publishing gifts, from calendars and audios, to inspirational biographies, to V/V/F wrestling tomes.

One cannot deny the importance of holiday sales to the sports publishing industry. "Christmas sales are crucial, especially for encyclopedias and collegiate histories," says Peter Bannon, president ofSports Publishing Inc. "Nearly 50% of our sales occur in the last quarter."

"It's extremely important," reiterates Gretchen Young, senior editor of Hyperion. "We see the sales for all our books more than triple at Christmas."

"Holidays are an important time for all retailers, as well as Barnes & Noble," says Debra Williams, director of corporate communications at Barnes & Noble. "We are expecting a strong holiday season."

"Christmas sales account for a sizable portion of our net sales," adds Tony Lyons, president and publisher of Lyons Press.

PW has never been inundated with so much material for a sports feature. So let's take a look at what the Sports Publishing Santas will be leaving under booksellers' trees this holiday season.

Icons: Saints...

All summer long they ran side by side on the bestseller lists: It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong and Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography by Tracey Stewart, Payne's widow. In a time when so many of America's "heroes" are facing either murder or drug charges, it seems the American people are crying out for heroes --genuine heroes-- and publishers across the nation are responding with a heavy dose of inspirational publishing that will flood bookstores this holiday season.

"I think people have been so disappointed and embarrassed by the behavior of high-profile people, they are looking for a hero," says Ken Stephens, president of Broadman & Holman and the publisher of Payne Stewart. "A role model who has congruity, that is, the integrity of their private life matches the rhetoric of their public life. We especially need people like this to hold up as examples for our kids."

Lance Armstrong's editor concurs: "Athletes like Lance are regarded as being nearly superhuman thanks to their athletic accomplishments," says Stacy Creamer, v-p and senior editor at Putnam. "When they have something to write about that involves more mortal struggles--in Lance's case, his battle with nearly fatal testicular cancer-- readers get a chance to witness both their human and heroic sides, not just in the context of their sports but in one that the reader, too, might struggle. In It's Not About the Bike, Lance shows his very human--and ultimately heroic--responses to his cancer diagnosis. That's what makes a book like It's Not About the Bike so inspirational."

"All the recent successes are stories about athletes of great character on and off the field," says Gideon Weil, associate editor, Harper San Francisco. "Today it seems that book-buying sports fans aren't so interested in who says what about whom as they are in very personal stories of athletes overcoming the odds, achieving the highest levels of success and remaining true to themselves, their loved ones and their fans. People are looking for real heroes who face real challenges and overcome them in remarkable ways.

"The appeal of sports themselves has to do with the exhilaration we feel in seeing athletes triumph against the odds," adds Bruce Tracy, editorial director at Villard. "When we read about athletes like these, whose accomplishments in their fields are already staggering, facing with courage and grace even greater challenges, we feel empowered and inspired."

In life Payne Stewart, with his old-fashioned golf knickers and broad grin, had a great rapport with fans. Since his death in a tragic plane accident last fall, his legend has grown and there are no less than three books about him, all of them doing extremely well, each appearing to help each other.

Ken Stephens believes Payne Stewart will have legs through Christmas. "We knew that we would get a big bump the week of the U.S. Open, so all our publicity was keyed to go the week of the Open. With magazine and television media paying so much attention to Payne that week, the book reached 'critical mass' and kept on selling strong, even after the media exposure was over." Broadman & Holman initially went out with 250,600 copies and currently have 400,000 copies in print. "We intend to advertise the book during the Christmas season," declared Stephens, "as well as provide some additional marketing help for retailers. I want the book to carry through the Christmas season in a strong way so it will be positioned for trade paperback and possibly audiobook release sometime next year.

The Payne Stewart Story by Larry Guest, with Reflections by President George Bush (Woodford Press/Stark Books/An Andrews McMeel Publishing Imprint), currently has 60,000 copies in print. It has appeared on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List and much of its success can be attributed to the fact that serial rights have been sold to over thirty newspapers throughout the United States. Cumberland House's I Remember Payne Stewart by Michael Arkush is now up to 50,000 copies in print. Counting all three books, there is an astounding 500,000 copies of Payne Stewart titles in print.

Lance Armstrong's book has been riding the bestseller lists for over three months. "Several factors contribute to It's Not About the Bike's longevity on the bestsellers list," says Stacy Creamer of Putnam. "It's an extremely well-written book. Contributor Sally Jenkins perfectly captured Lances voice. The word of mouth has been very positive. And because the book is so much about Lance's battle with cancer and his inspirational recovery from it, it's gained a readership in the cancer community well beyond the sports-fan base. The book addresses cancer survivorship issues in a very personal way, and has struck a chord with cancer survivors (and their relatives and friends) across the country. As a result, the book has more staying power than the usual sports-figure autobiography." The book also got a boost when Armstrong won the 2000 Tour de France. "Winning the Tour de France definitely boosted sales," Creamer agrees, "but the book was selling well before the Tour began. But Lance's visibility increased the minute the tour started and he was featured everywhere when he won. That increased the book's visibility, and with it, its sales. The book was on the New York Times list practically from the moment it was published, but it was only after Lance's 2000 Tour win that it went to number one." Putnam has 331,330 copies in print and plans heavy holiday promotion. "Because of the anticipated continued interest in Lance," Creamer continues, "we anticipate continued retail promotions through the end of the year--both online and in the bricks-and-mortar stores, as well as in Christmas catalogues."

As with Payne Stewart, Lance Armstrong has become a cottage industry in himself. PW has tracked down no less than five other titles dealing with Armstrong. There's Lance Armstrong's Comeback from Cancer by Samuel Abt (Van Der Plas), Sweet Victory by Mark Stewart (Millbrook), and Lance Armstrong & the 1999 Tour de France by Waterson, Wilcockson, Pelkey and Andreu (Velo). Armstrong himself gets into the act with The Lance Armstrong Performance Program from Rodale Press, and his wife, Kristin, has an All Aboard Reading hook for children ages 7-9 coming from Grosset & Dunlap called Lance Armstrong: The Race of His Life.

One of the great feel-good stories of this year was the Cinderella journey of quarterback Kurt Warner and his St. Louis Rams winning the Super Bowl. Harper San Francisco, together with her sister imprint Zondervan, signed Warner up after the Super Bowl for All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and the Miracle Season. "Recently the NFL has been going through some image problems," observes Harper San Francisco's Gideon Weil, "and as in so many things the negative receives more attention than the positive. All Things Possible is an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the positive. Kurt's book is a great example for all of what it means to have a dream, work until it comes to fruition, and then continue to work to ensure that all those around you enjoy the fruits of your labor. It is a combination of three key elements: a great story, spiritual content and bootstrapping inspiration."

Harper San Francisco will be doing an initial printing of 100,000 copies and Weil stresses that both imprints "are working hand in hand in making sure this book reaches as many people as possible. This is an extraordinary synergy. Zondervan is working in its area of expertise in reaching the Christian book market and we are focusing our attention on general trade."

One of the saddest stories of the year was the death of football great Walter Payton from liver cancer. Before he passed away he collaborated with veteran sports author Don Yaeger to pen Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Payton. "What attracted us to this project," says Bruce Tracy of Villard, "was the human story--Payton's tremendous grace, courage and humor, particularly in facing grave illness. He was also deeply involved in charitable activities, which he didn't widely publicize, and which many people didn't know." Villard will be going out with 100,000 copies and both Yaeger and Payton's widow, Connie, will participate in the book's promotion. There will be signings and national print and electronic media, including Good Morning America." Two other Payton books will also be out for the holidays: I Remember Walter Payton by Mike Towle from Cumberland House and Sweetness: The Courage and Heart of Walter Payton, published by Triumph.

One of the classy young ballplayers who seems to have his head planted squarely on his shoulders is the Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter. He makes girls --of all ages--swoon and baseball aficionados appreciate his superior professionalism. He's handsome, young and a Yankee, and Crown--not Mariah Carey --has finally corralled him.

"Though Derek is one of the most talented players in the major leagues," says Kristin Kiser, executive editor at Crown, "he knows success is not just about being talented or lucky but about setting goals and sticking to them. When he was eight years old he told his parents he wanted to be a Yankee, and they helped him achieve that dream. Derek shares his steps for achieving success in The Life You Imagine--the advice here is both practical and personal, as Derek uses examples from his own life growing up and playing baseball to show others how they can reach their goals, too."

Crown will start out with 100,000 copies of The Life You Imagine and has declared September 11th to be "Derek Jeter Day." On that day Jeter is scheduled to appear on Good Morning America and Live with Regis and his fans are encouraged to go to a local participating bookstore to enter a raffle. One lucky winner will be drawn at random to attend a Yankees game and be given a chance to meet Jeter at the game. Crown will also be giving away signed gloves, bats and balls to the first, second and third prize winners.

"We are very proud of The Life You Imagine and think Derek and his family should be, too," adds Crown's Kiser. "Derek is a great role model for young people all over the country, and his message is about working hard, finding helpful role models, thinking before you act, surrounding yourself with a strong supporting cast." Sports Publishing Inc. also has a Derek book, Jeter: Hero in Pinstripes.

He may not bean icon to all, but former Giants, Patriots and Jets coach Bill Parcells sure knew how to be inspirational. If he couldn't inspire you, you were gone from the team. lie was a coach from the old school, a la Vince Lombardi. The Final Season by Parcells with Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough may not be When Pride Still Mattered , David Maraniss's bestselling biography of Lombardi (just out in trade paperback from Touchstone), but it is a blunt diary of Parcells's final season as Jets coach. He says what he thinks: which agents are "jerks," which players are lame, and which owners he wouldn't want to work for. A totally refreshing read. Both Parcells and McDonough will be doing signings and Parcells will also participate in a 40-city TV/radio satellite tour. If you can't get enough of Parcells, Carroll & Graf has Parcells: A Biography by Bill Gutman.

And speaking of the Jets... Everyone knows that the Tennessee Titans came within a yard of winning the Super Bowl last year, but most people don't know that they are the second Titans to play in the AFC. The original ones changed their name to the Jets in 1963 and went on to cause the biggest upset in football history when they won Super Bowl III in 1969. Total/Sports Illustrated brings us a look at the early years of the franchise in Crash of the Titans by Bill Ryczek, with a foreword by Jets Hall of Fame receiver Don Maynard, who was there from the beginning.

The name alone still causes havoc. Veeck. As in wreck. As Bill Veeck named his long out-of-print autobiography. Baseball's master showman--the man who had a midget bat for the St. Louis Browns, who first integrated the American League, and who invented the exploding scoreboard--is gone but not forgotten thanks to Pat Williams's Marketing Your Dreams: Business and Life Lessons from Bill Veeck. PW in its spring sports preview took an extensive look into business books fromsports personalities and this book fits right into the category. "There is a lot of crossover in business and sports as far as management styles, motivation, preparation, planning, recruiting and more," says Peter Bannon of Sports Publishing Inc. "The business person who follows sports, especially successful programs, will be extremely interested in the management style of his/her favorite coach," Bannon will start the ball rolling with a 20,000 print run, and author Pat Williams, the vp for the NBA's Orlando Magic, will be doing extensive p romotion across the country for Marketing Your Dreams.

To be an inspirational hero you don't need to be a Payton or an Armstrong or a Parcells. This is proved beyond a doubt in Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn. "In short, Counting Coup is Friday Night Lights for women," says Rick Wolff, executive editor,sports and business titles, for Warner Book. "It's the riveting story of a girls' high school basketball team on the Crow Indian reservation in Montana, and the main character is Sharon LaForge, perhaps the best player in the state and hopeful of becoming the first Native American female from the rez to ever win a college basketball scholarship." Counting Coup was written by former major league pitcher Larry Colton and the storyline goes much deeper than just hoops. It tells a gritty narrative of a hardscrabble life in a part of the U.S. that most Americans don't even know exists. The first printing is 30,000 copies and will be backed up by a solid author tour, advertising and reviews. Wolff expects sales to build rapidl y and believes that Counting Coup is "truly something special."

Another common-man hero is found in Doubleday's First and Last Seasons by Dan McGraw. "It's an incredible memoir reminiscent of Fred Exley's A Fan's Notes," says Shawn Coyne, McGraw's editor at Doubleday, "about a black sheep son returning to his hometown of Cleveland to watch the first season of football's Browns with his dying father. It's really an amazing book, unschmaltzy and tremendously moving, about fathers and sons and the games that hold them together." Coyne compares it to cult writer Exley because "Exley used his fascination with Frank Gifford and the New York Giants to show the way he was observing his own life without really living it. Just the way a man sometimes can live vicariously through sports without really having control of his own life. And I think Dan really updates that."

John Feinstein is a walking bestseller machine. After hitting pay dirt with books on golf (A Good Walk Spoiled) and college basketball (A Season on the Brink), he returns to the college basketball arena with The LastAmateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball. This is a look at American sports at its purest, written with the intensity, drama and insight only Feinstein can provide. He will limit his promotion to signings on college campuses, but Little, Brown expects sales to be good during the holiday season and they are going out with an 125,000 initial printing.

...And Sinners

"Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio/A nation turns its lonely eyes to you." Paul Simon penned those lines about the ultimate American icon. Now, less than two years after DiMaggio's death, Pulitzer Prize--winning author Richard Ben Cramer is prepared to take a "revised" look at the Yankee Clipper in Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life. Cramer had been working on a biography of DiMaggio for years, but when he died Cramer decided to go back and dig for more. Last spring David Rosenthal, publisher of Simon & Schuster Adult Trade, told PW that "when Joe died, it opened up a lot of sources and we were able to talk to people who were unavailable when Joe was alive. This has made the book much richer and a better book. Sadly, Joe's decline and death has become part of the book." When asked if this would be a controversial book, Rosenthal cryptically replied, "People will be amazed and surprised." S&S has embargoed this book, so little will be known before its October pub date. Clues, albeit, have leaked out. Last spring PB S's The American Experience presented "Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life," which was co-written by Cramer. It was not a portrait of a hero but rather a crude drawing of a saturnine, hollow man. S&S will be going out with a 225,000-copy first printing during the World Series and Cramer will be doing major promotion. There will be a PW Interview right around pub date.

One of the more thought-provoking titles of the fall is Beer and Circus: How BigTime College SportsIs Crippling Undergraduate Education by Murray Sperber (Holt). If the name Murray Sperber rings a bell, it's because he was the most vocal critic of Bobby Knight, the Indiana University basketball coach. After years of throwing chairs and abusing players, Knight was finally caught on videotape choking a player and later admitted to verbally abusing a 60-year-old woman secretary. For all his buffoonery Knight was given a slap on the wrist and a reprimand. Sperber, meanwhile, because he made a stance against Knight, was subjected to threats and intimidation and decided to take a sabbatical and returned to his native Montreal.

While Beer and Circus is not about Bobby Knight, it is about the kind of environment and hucksterism that make false icons like Bobby Knight possible. Sperber examines the origins of "beer and circus," the party scene connected to big-time sports, and explains its current manifestations, including the epidemic of student binge drinking at many universities. Sperber takes on the brewing companies (think Spuds MacKenzie), the TV networks (think about the blowhards on SportsCenter), and the universities themselves (think Animal House). Parents may want to reconsider the wisdom of investing their hard-earned dollars in tuition after reading Beer and Circus. Holt plans a 20-city publicity tour to support Beer and Circus. There will also be a PW Interview on Sept. 25.

If you want to catalogue your naughty athletes get Villains: The Bad Boys and Girls of Sports by Barry Wilner and Ken Rappaport (Andrews McMeel). This is a book that profiles athletes and othersports figures who become notorious as a result of poor sportsmanship or an excessive desire to win, The book cover in this case tells the whole story--it has a picture of the infamous Dennis Rodman, the ultimate bad-boy of the NBA.

And finally, speaking of ESPN, if fans really wonder what goes on behind the scenes at their headquarters in Bristol, Conn., they should get a hold of ESPN: The Uncensored History by Michael Freeman (Taylor Publishing). After reading this explosive book it's hard to believe that a network owned by the squeaky-clean Disney Corporation could allow the sexual hijinks that go on at ESPN to escape their corporate scrutiny. A devastating read.

Classics: Never Say Die

One of the sports publishing trends that demands attention this fall is the massive revival of classics. What's a classic? Often it is a book by a well-known author that has been out of print for years. Sometimes it is a book that revolutionized not only its own sport, but the publishing industry as well. This fall, the older the classic, the hotter it is.

"Why the fascination with classic sports?" asks Peter Burford, president of Bur-ford Books. "My guess is that it's the baby-boom generation feeling nostalgic for sports heroes who were -- and always will be -- older than they. How can a baby boomer like me 'look up' to Kobe Bryant, Sergio Garcia, Venus Williams? Great as they are, they're not much older than my own kids. While my 12-year-old has to ask me, Who was Joe Namath? Who was Willis Reed? Who was Jack Nicklaus? You want your sports heroes to stay put on their pedestals."

"Classics continue to sell year after year and backlist extremely well," says Peter Bannon, president of Sport Publishing Inc. "Certainly, the awareness of these titles is already there so the buyer is familiar with the book."

"It always seems like smart publishing to find books that people really want," says Tony Lyons, president and publisher of Lyons Press. "There's a level at which bigger publishers lose fascination with sticking with a book. Even if it's a well-known author, when it gets down to the 5,000 or 6,ooo per year sale, many of the larger houses just let it go out of print." Lyons believes a face-lift--new cover and new preface--can "make a world of difference." Lyons Press has published two classics this year: Practical Golf and Golf Doctor, both by John Jacobs.

"The demand for these titles comes essentially from two separate and distinct segments of the marketplace," says Robert Wilson, editorial director at Total Sports. "The first is from baby boomers who were around when books like North Dallas Forty and Instant Replay were originally published. The nostalgia factor is what appeals most to them, as evidenced in the popularity of the sports-collectibles and memorabilia industry and by ESPN Classic's sports network. The other market is comprised of younger readers, those born too late to remember the '50s and the '6os, and who missed out on the classic sports books published before the 1970s. What we seek in building this line are legitimate sports classics, books that most sports fans have at least heard about or books that achieved a cult status. Of course, they must offer an enduring quality. But also, by their very nature, they offer a rare firsthand historical."

The biggest classic this fall is Ball Four: The Final Pitch by Jim Bouton. Originally published in 1970, Ball Four played an important part in changing the perspective of sports fans on how their heroes approached their craft. In Ball Four fans learned that Mickey Mantle liked to "shoot beaver"--the act of being a voyeur--with the best of them. Readers learned their favorite pitcher was really on his game because his "greenie"--amphetamine of choice--finally kicked in, and they learned that the humbleness they saw in TV interviews was not from a ballplayer's "Fear of the Lord," but from a diabolical hangover. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was so outraged by the book that he called Bouton on the carpet--and the rest is publishing history. The Yankees ostracized Bouton for years and Ball Four: The Final Pitch is partly about his rapprochement with the Bronx Bombers.

"Bouton seemed eager to work with a smaller company who specialized in sports," says Bannon on his acquisition. "His first three editions had sold over 20 million copies and we were pleased that he would consider Sports Publishing for his final edition. As for the initial print run, we are closing in on 75,000 hardcovers. We have had great interest in special sales and feel the book could be sold out by its release date. We were very pleased to add Ball Four to our list of titles because of the tremendous notoriety it's garnered over the past 30 years. When we initially talked to Jim Bouton, we asked him if he thought this would be the last update that he would do of Ball Four. He said yes, and so 'The Final Pitch' was a logical choice as the subtitle. Though Ball Four has been updated twice--in 1980 and 1990--we feel that there is at least one generation who has never read the book. Plus we feel that those who have already read it will want to purchase this edition for the simple fact that it is the final u pdate of his classic."

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

T&C's guide to great golf (Part 2)

JIM FLICK, 68, Scottsdale, Arizona. Background: One of the old-school luminaries. After morning With Arnold Palmer at Wake Forest, Flick was a club pro for twenty-two years before setting up first the Golf Digest and then the Nicklaus/Flick schools. Students: He has worked with more than 100 Tour players, including Tom Lehman. Named PGA Teacher of the Year in 1988. Teaching style: Likes to watch people on the course to see how they approach the game. "Most people work golf," Hick says. "I try to get people to play golf. I try to teach them to feel, to help them, through their grip pressure, to become aware of where and how the club is swinging." Advice: Don't pay attention to the tip or technique that supposedly turned around the game of a Tour player--you're not at that level. Follow the tips that work for you. Most memorable moment: Watching pupil Tom Lehman play his 5-iron 194 yards out of the rough onto the green at the 18th hole during the 1995 Ryder Cup. Favorite course: Royal County Down, Ireland. Cost: $250 per hour. Teaching base: Nicklaus/Flick Golf School at the Desert Mountain Club, Scottsdale, AZ; (800) 642-5528 or (602) 488-1791.

HANK HANEY, 42, McKinney, Texas. Background: The career of this lifelong teacher took off in 1984, after his student Mark O'Meara finished second on the Tour money list. Six years ago, he built the Hank Haney Golf Ranch near Dallas to house his own school. Named PGA Teacher of the Year in 1993. Students: More than 100 Tour pros have sought out Haney for advice, including O'Meara and LPGA stars Emily Klein and Kelli Kuehne. Teaching style: Relaxed, friendly and curious, Haney is known for teaching the correct "swing plane," or the angle your club takes on the backswing and the downswing. Advice: "Develop a good understanding of the golf swing so you can become your own best teacher and understand the flight of the golf ball." Most memorable moment: "When I met Mark O'Meara on the practice tee at a PGA event in North Carolina and started helping him right then and there." Favorite course: Pebble Beach, California. Cost: $250 per hour. Teaching base: Hank Haney Golf Ranch, McKinney, TX; (972) 529-2221.

BUTCH HARMON, 55, Las Vegas, Nevada. Background: This former Tour player is the son of Claude Harmon, a renowned teacher and winner of the 1948 Masters. After winning the British Columbia Open in 1971, Harmon devoted his life to teaching--one of his first jobs was a two-year stint as the personal golf instructor of King Hassan II of Morocco. Named Teacher of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 1995. Students: Best known as Tiger Woods' guru, but has also worked with Greg Norman, Davis Love III and Raymond Floyd. Teaching style: Sticks to the fundamentals. He likes to keep his teaching as simple as possible so students are able to understand his message. Lessons focus on all aspects of the game, including the mental approach and fitness. Advice: Stick to the basics and practice with a purpose. Most memorable moment: Seeing Tiger Woods win The Masters and Davis Love III take the PGA Championship--both in 1997. Favorite course: Pine Valley, New Jersey. Cost: $500 per hour. Teaching base: Harmon School of Golf, Rio Secco Golf Club, Henderson, NV; (888) 867-3226.

PETER KOSTIS, 50, Scottsdale, Arizona. Background: This former chemical engineer studied under Bob Toski and Jim Flick before setting up his own school With Gary McCord. Though he has given thousands of lessons, Kostis is perhaps best known for his commentary on the CBS and USA network broadcasts of Tour events. Students: He has worked with such luminaries as Tom Kite and Mark Calcavecchia, but Kostis also devotes time to teaching kids and promising younger players at a reduced rate. Teaching style: He focuses on the full swing and fundamentals as well as the short game and expects his students to come away from lessons having learned something about themselves, physically or intellectually. Advice: "You don't see many signs out there on the road telling you to speed up. Don't swing for the fences." Most memorable moment: Helping Calcavecchia advance from mini-tour player to 1989 British Open champion. Favorite course: Shinnecock Hills, New York. Cost: $250 per hour. Teaching base: Kostis/McCord Learning Center, Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale, AZ; (602) 502-2656.

DAVID LEADBETTER, 46, Orlando, Florida. Background: Though he has been teaching for only fifteen years, this English transplant is considered the best teacher in the world. The "king of swing" was also the first to turn himself into a marketing force and now runs eighteen David Leadbetter Golf Academies around the globe. Students: Greg Norman credits the lanky Brit for taking his game to "another level." Nick Faldo, Nick Price and Ernie Els are also disciples. Teaching style: Leadbetter is known for clearly communicating all aspects of technique and for his ability to teach "feel" Advice: "Most amateurs would improve their games significantly by learning to adopt a proper posture and place their hands correctly on the grip of the club. This is the area of the swing that every player can get right." Most memorable moment: Watching Nick Faldo, who had been written off as a player, win the 1987 British Open after working with him for two years. Favorite courses: Turnberry, Scotland; Royal County Down, Ireland Cost: CA for rates. Teaching base: The David Leadbetter Golf Academy, Lake Nona Golf Club, Orlando, FL; (800) 424-DLGA or (407) 857-8276, ext. 13.

RICK SMITH, 40, Gaylord, Michigan. Background: A former amateur tour player, Smith found himself helping other professionals at tournaments and developing interest in nonplaying aspects of the game. He met Lee Janzen when Janzen was 15 and guided the rising star to his U.S. Open victory in 1993. Smith now designs courses, writes books and produces Videos in addition to running the Rick Smith Golf Academy. Students: David Duval, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. Teaching style: Direct and simple, Smith is known as a communicator. "I don't speak one language," he says. "I speak many languages to many individuals." Advice: It depends on the individual, but developing a sense of "feel" is essential to his teaching. Most memorable moment: Watching Janzen win the Open. Favorite courses: Pine Valley, New Jersey, and Shinnecock Hills, New York. Cost: Call for details. Teaching base: The Rick Smith Golf Academy, Gaylord, MI; (800) 444-6711, ext. 2485.

BOB TOSKI, 71, Coconut Creek, Florida. Background: One of the grand old men of golf. instruction, Toski helped start the famed Golf Digest Schools in the '70s with Dick Altman; later joined by Davis Love Sr. and Jim Flick. He was the leading money winner on the pro Tour in 1954. Students: Toski has taught innumerable Tour pros but still works with mostly high- and medium-handicap players. Teaching style: In your face, aggressive. "I'm not a bedside-manner teacher," he says. Advice: "There are no secrets and no gimmicks," Toski says, just the six P's: Peace of Mind, Preparation, Position, Posture, Path and Pace. "Start with the putter. Success is built on watching the ball go into the hole." Most memorable moment: "Watching Tom Kite win the U.S. Open in 1992. I worked with him for six years." Favorite course: Cypress Point, California. Cost: $150 per hour. Teaching base: The Toski/Battersby Teaching Center, Broward Community College, Coconut Creek, FL. Call Toski's home to schedule lessons: (561) 483-7299.

The Mind Game

BOB ROTELLA, 49, Charlottesville, Virginia. Background: Rotella, former director of the sports psychology department at the University of Virginia, spends about 75 percent of his time working with golfers. He got his start more than twenty years ago lecturing at a Golf Digest school and is now considered the best person to see about improving your mental game. Students: Almost all of his students are Tour players, but Rotella does work with amateurs. Teaching style: "I work on the mind and the emotions," Rotella says. "I don't try to teach someone how to swing." All sessions am two full clays of individual attention. Advice: "You must stay in the present to let yourself win," he says. "A lot of my work involves trusting what you've learned and letting it work under pressure." Most memorable moment: "Helping players realize their dreams and realize that anything is possible if they commit themselves." Favorite courses: The ones his students succeed on. Cost: Available on request. Teaching base: Glenmore Country Club, Charlottesville, VA. Rotella's office phone is (804)-296-7872. THEODORE SPENCER

A Golfer's Grand Tour

If there are no more passionate sportsmen than golfers, it also holds that no group travels with more anticipation. In the course of researching my book Golf Resorts of the World [Harry N. Abrams; call 800-962-6651, ext. 1115, to order], I not only got a chance to Visit the game's great venues, I met players who regularly trot the globe in search of courses that fully engage their senses--and fully challenge their skills. True enthusiasts tend to be generous with their suggestions (and wildly partisan about their favorites). First and foremost, a pilgrimage to Scotland or Ireland completes a golfer's education. If you've never been, I envy you, because there's nothing to compare with a maiden round on a genuine seaside links, the briny wind sweeping the seemingly featureless land, a caddie at your side to guide you. Because the game is so widely spread out, golf trips eventually become a lifelong quest to see how the game has embellished every corner of the earth--and to observe, of course, how one's game rises to meet the challenge. Based on the offerings currently available in the travel marketplace, the sky is the proverbial limit.

Scotland

The Holy Grail. Birthplace of the game, this mystical kingdom has nurtured "the Gowf" since the Middle Ages and is the destination with the most resonance for dyed-in-the-wool disciples. For players steeped in the game's traditions, nothing can match Caledonia's landscapes, its whiskey or the thick brogue of its citizens. Scotland can best be explored with the judicious use of a helicopter, according to Gordon Dalgleish, president of PerryGolf, a leading operator of custom golf vacations. Begin your trip at Turnberry on the Ayrshire coast, its Edwardian-style hotel fronting one of the grandest links in creation, the Ailsa Course. A few miles down the road, near the birthplace of Robert Burns, is Royal Troon, site of last year's British Open. Troon is a stern test with a sporty front nine and grueling back nine. On the third day, plan a helicopter trip from Turnberry to Machrihanish, a remote and timeless links on the Mull of Kintyre that offers golf in its purest, most unadulterated form. Next stop is Gleneagles, the "Palace in the Glen," one of the world's finest full-service resorts. The King's and Queen's courses, their holes tucked into hollows formed by glaciers, are two of the most beautiful inland layouts in Scotland. The newer Jack Nicklaus-designed Monarch's Course has more modern design features, as well as golf carts! On your third day at Gleneagles, reboard your helicopter for a flight to Royal Dornoch, northernmost of the great Scottish links and still relatively untrammeled because of its remoteness. The next stop is St. Andrews, the Home of Golf, where accommodations are found in the Old Course Hotel, which sits opposite the infamous Road Hole; or Strathtyrum, a staffed mansion with six guest quarters not far from town. Like centuries of players before you, you'll be alternately dazzled and befuddled by the quirky Old Course. A forty-five-minute drive across the Firth of Tay from St. Andrews is Carnoustie, a brutish links scheduled to host the 1999 British Open. On a windy clay, which is every clay at Carnoustie, it's the toughest course in Scotland. A fitting finale to your Scottish pilgrimage is found near Edinburgh at Greywalls, a charming hotel With beautiful walled gardens that sits opposite venerable Muirfield, shot for shot the fairest (and some say finest) links in the land. PerryGolf (800) 344-5257.

Ireland

The Greenest Greens. In addition to its fabled links courses, Ireland, the greenest and possibly the most charming golf destination on Earth, has debuted several deluxe resorts in the '90s that compare favorably to th e finest in Europe. Forty minutes west of Dublin is the Kildare Hotel & Country Club, a.k.a. the K Club, a 330-acre property anchored by a 6th-century estate and a superb Arnold Palmer-designed layout that skirts the River Liffey. Backtrack from the K Club to play Portmarnock, outside Dublin, a venerable championship links that provides a firm but fair test; or make the two-hour drive to Newcastle in Northern Ireland to play Royal County Down, a visually stunning links where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea. Heading south from Dublin is Druid's Glen, a spectacular inland course that hosted the Irish Open last year; and the European Club, a magnificent new links at Brittas Bay. Farther down the road in County Kilkenny is Mount Juliet, a pastoral estate with a restored Georgian mansion set amid formal gardens. In addition to a splendid Jack Nicklaus-designed course, there's a working stud farm at Mount Juliet where Thoroughbreds graze idly. In the west of Ireland, below Shannon Airport, is Adare, where charming thatched houses line the main street. Behind wrought-iron gates at the head of the village is Adare Manor, the former ancestral home of the Earls of Dunraven, recently ushered into the modern era. Outside the manor house, an architectural novelty with fifty-two chimneys and 365 leaded-glass windows, is the Robert Trent Jones-designed Adare Golf Club, a majestic spread marked by rock-walled streams and ancient specimen trees. The legendary links at Ballybunion and Lahinch are readily accessible from Adare or from Dromoland Castle in County Claw, a Relais & Chateaux property that's a triumph of hospitality. In the southwest, the resplendent Sheen Falls Lodge in County Kerry, notably Its new Little Hay Cottage overlooking Kenmare Bay (weekly rentals start at about $4,000), is the perfect base from which to explore courses at nearby Killarney, Tralee, Waterville and, the latest sensation in Irish golf, the Old Head Golf Links in Kinsale, its fairways propped on bluffs 300 feet above the crashing Atlantic. For customized tours, contact AtlanticGolf, (800) 542-6224, or Owenoak, (800) 426-4498.

The Golf Cruise

From Sea to Tee. Lindblad's Special Expeditions, renowned for its environmental voyages to the Galapagos Islands, Madagascar and other exotic locales, has pioneered the concept of expedition golf with a fascinating array of European cruises aboard the Caledonian Star, a 110-passenger ship small enough to enter ports inaccessible to larger vessels. In addition to an eleven-day program that will visit hidden gems in Scotland and Ireland this summer, an intriguing twelve-day cruise is planned for France, Spain and Portugal, departing August 29. The tour commences in Bordeaux and explores French, Basque, Cantabrian, Galician and Portuguese cultures, with a range of excursions (medieval city tours, nature walks, etc.) ideal for couples and friends who like to travel together but who have different interests. Golf highlights include charming Chantaco in St.-Jean-de-Luz; de Pedrena near Santander, where Spanish star Seve Ballesteros learned the game; and Penha Longa, a Robert Trent Jones II-designed course set on the grounds of a 14th-century monastery in the Sintra foot hills outside Lisbon. Tour costs range from $7,540 to $10,820 (airfare included if trips are booked by mid-April). For information: (800) 397-3348.

The Monterey Peninsula

California Classics. Few destinations can match the glamour and majesty of California's Monterey peninsula, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as the most beautiful meeting of land and water that nature has produced. Occupying Monterey's noblest expanse is Pebble Beach, which offers clifftop thrills, intoxicating views and a dramatic seaside finish along Carmel Bay. The treasured links will host the 2000 U.S. Open. Another must-play is Spyglass Hill, a cutthroat pirate of a golf course woven through sandy dunes and towering pines, its holes named for characters in Stevenson's Treasure Island., Spanish Bay, an inspired rendition of a Scottish links, features topsy-turvy holes carved from manufactured dunes that roll to the Pacific. There's even a strolling bagpiper to herald late finishers. Poppy Hills, one of the courses used in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, is also worth a tour. For accommodations, there's The Lodge at Pebble Beach (elegant rooms I with wood-burning fireplaces and links or sea views) and The Inn at Spanish Bay, a fabulous low-rise compound set into a forest of pines. Off-course attractions include Seventeen Mile Drive; Carmel-by-the-Sea (art galleries, fine dining); spectacular Big Sur; and fascinating exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. For a customized itinerary, contact Wide World of Golf in Carmel: (800) 214-4653.

New Zealand and Australia

Playing Down Under. While it doesn't generate the feverish heat sparked by the Ryder Cup matches, the Presidents Cup, a biennial competition pitting top PGA Tour pros against a team of "Internationals" (Greg Norman, Ernie Els, etc.), will be held in Australia this year. This premier three-day event is the focus of a Kangaroo Kiwi Tour Down Under trip, scheduled from November 29 to December 14. Organized by Australia New Zealand Golf, the tour departs Los Angeles for Auckland (New Zealand's "City of Sails"), with visits planned to Lake Taupo (trout fishing), Rotorua (center of Maori culture and geothermal activity) and Queenstown (backdropped by mountains called "the Remarkables"), with five rounds of golf at top Kiwi courses. The tour then departs for Australia's Royal Melbourne, site of the Presidents Cup matches. Players can tee it up at Metropolitan Golf Club, one of Melbourne's famous "Sand Belt" courses. Tour price is $5,645 per person, double occupancy. Information: (800) 622-6606. BRIAN MCCALLEN

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

T&C's guide to great golf (Part 1)

Golf involves the simplest of elements--grass, ball, club, hole. Yet in recent years, as the sport's popularity has taken off like a Tiger Woods tee shot, players find themselves facing an increasingly complex array of options: everything from beryllium/nickel-alloy wedges and short-game gurus to customized Scottish vacations with helicopter hops between courses. The good news is that, with a little guidance, today's golfer has a better chance of improving and enjoying his game than ever before. Thus, we present our first-ever golf guide. We've found golf schools where professionals will videotape your every move and lavish you with individual instruction, and where you will not only perfect your putting stroke but unwind with a seaweed wrap, a first-class meal and a slumber between lavender-scented sheets as well. We've singled out the country's top ten instructors, people who've had years of success with a who's who of top Tour players, who will work with you to improve your stroke. And we've mapped out golf vacations that will take you to the right courses in Monterey or to a staffed mansion near the Old Course at St. Andrews. There's also a primer on deciphering new club technology, a list of excellent instructional books and some insider's tips on how to get onto the country's best private courses. All this should come in handy, considering that five million new players have hit the fairways--and stayed there--in the last ten years, and that golf as an industry has doubled in size since 1984, now bringing in $15 billion a year, according to the National Golf Foundation. The NGF reports that 429 new courses were built or expanded in the U.S. in 1997, up from only 145 built a decade ago, and that waiting lists for junior programs are now hundreds of names long. Even development-phobic Nantucket Island recently permitted construction of a new course, and heavy demand has forced Long Island's exclusive Piping Rock Club to require members to reserve tee times, changing an age-old policy. All this is a long way from the days of sleepy pro shops and empty courses. But the changes are not to be bemoaned much less resented. Our guide is intended to reveal how golf, in expanding, has become more diverse; how it leads to greater enjoyment and richer possibilities. Now, all you have to do is figure out how to make the game itself easier.

Top Places to Stay While Learning to Play

There's a special breed of energetic, overachieving American who dominates business ventures, banks and boardrooms, and yearns to do the same to a small, white dimpled ball. Some in this group have played since they could grasp a cut-down club; others saw the light later on in life. But all insist on improvement. Eventually, their thoughts turn to golf school.

To lure this desirable yet dauntingly demanding group, golf schools are fast realizing that they must transcend the venerable traditions of dormitory living and drills at dawn and offer a more attractive learning environment. For a clientele as passionate about being pampered as it is about playing, they must provide both excellent instruction and world-class perks: a cushy clubhouse for a two-star lunch, elegant guest rooms with scented linens, digital video analysis of the swing and spa treatments for the soul, at least one championship course and a generous assortment of diversions for time off the tees.

The resorts included here are destinations with enough appeal for a nongolfing spouse or even for a family getaway. They have or are affiliated with superb schools--all top names in golf--appropriate for both new and experienced players. The list includes some time-honored classics (golfers are, after all, a conservative clan), but all have been renovating and updating to keep their sheen. Note: One other renowned resort will be adding a golf school and joining this august group before the millennium: The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; (800) 624-6070.

Pebble Beach Resort

Pebble Beach, California

A golfer will always manage to mention it if he or she has played Pebble Beach, that legendary course with clifftop greens over-looking the ocean, a highlight of Monterey's Seventeen Mile Drive. The uninitiated may boggle at the thought of paying $310 per round ($245 for resort guests), but anyone who owns a set of clubs will tell you that "Pebble"--the course, the school and the resort--is as good as it gets. Courses: Pebble Beach was ranked the No. 4 course in America by Golf Digest and will host the US. Open in 2000. The resort has two other famous courses--Spyglass Hill and The Links at Spanish Bay--and those with a member introduction can also play the nearby No. 3-rated Cypress Point Club course. Instruction: The Pebble Beach Golf Academy offers two-day programs, including short-game practice on a nine-hole course and video analysis of your swing at the high-tech Calloway Performance Center. Afternoons are spent on Pebble or Spyglass, With an instructor escort for the first rune holes. Accommodations: Students stay at the luxurious Inn at Spanish Bay (sister to the smaller but equally soigne Lodge at Pebble Beach, which is not part of the Academy package), set between forest and ocean. The best of the 270 rooms feature gas fireplaces, whirlpool tubs and oceanfront balconies. In keeping with Spanish Bay's Scottish-style links, there's an appealing Highland atmosphere at the Inn, including bagpipes at dusk and superlative single malts at the Traps bar. Resort appeal: Eight restaurants, a beach and tennis club, and an equestrian center. A full-service spa debuts next fall. Rates and contacts: Pebble Beach Golf Academy: Programs from $2,495 per person, double occupancy, including three nights at the Inn at Spanish Bay, breakfast and lunch, and two rounds of golf, on Pebble Beach and Spanish Bay. (408) 622-1310.

La Quinta Resort & Club

La Quinta, California

The backing of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has given La Quinta new life, turning a 1920s Hollywood hideaway into a sprawling resort--and a bastion of golf--for the '90s. Big news: a comprehensive spa and wellness center debuts this summer. Courses: La Quinta holds the 1997 record for hosting the greatest number of televised PGA Tour events. Of the four courses, the Dunes, With scenic desert surroundings, has one of the toughest holes in America (the 17th). The Mountain Course requires demanding target play. The other two are at PGA WEST, an adjoining sister property: a rugged Scottish layout called the Stadium, and the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course. Instruction: On site is the highly regarded Jim McLean Golf School, with a three-day program of seventeen hours of instruction and course play, including video evaluations. Five minutes away is the training center of golf guru Dave Pelz, whose well-known Short Game School has three-day programs for putting, chipping and escaping sand traps. Accommodations: La Quinta has 640 rooms in one- and two-story casitas--some with wood-burning fireplaces, private patios and whirlpool tubs--set in a forty-five-acre garden dotted with pools and no fewer than thirty-eight hot tubs. Resort appeal: Five restaurants (the mega-margaritas at the Adobe Grill are very popular postgolf), riding, biking, hot-air ballooning, and a full range of fitness and beauty options, including outdoor massage. Rates and contacts: Jim McLean Golf School: Three-day programs from $2,200 per person, double occupancy, with three nights at La Quinta, plus daily breakfast and lunch; (800) 723-6725. Dave Pelz Short Game School: Three-day programs from m $2,710 per person, double occupancy, including three nights at La Quinta; (800) 833-7370. La Quinta: (800) 598-3828.

The Phoenician

Scottsdale, Arizona

The low desert-tan buildings, blue pools and green fairways that gleam in the desert near Camelback Mountain debuted just tell years ago, like a magical mirage. Golfers mix with spabarites in front of the soaring glass wall of the lobby lounge, a great place for tea and spectacular views of Phoenix. The Course: One of Arizona's most popular courses, and certainly among the most scenic. Twenty-seven holes wrap the resort, incorporating desert, mountain and classically lush layouts. Instruction: A half-hour away is the renowned Kostis/McCord Learning Center, founded by PGA pros and CBS golf commentators Peter Kostis and Gary McCord. October through May, three-day programs on the nine-hole teaching course include telephone consultation with a sportspsychologist. While at the Phoenician, you may want to consider an interesting new clinic, "Golf Power," offered by the resort staff since January. During the ninety-minute consultation, students swing for a digital video camera, and the footage is analyzed by both the Phoenician's director of golf and an expert in biomechanics from the Centre for Well-Being (the spa). Additional coaching in breathing, relaxation and visualization helps golfers build a better game with both body and mind. Accommodations: The main house has just under 500 rooms; more than 100 additional rooms are set in garden villas. Most in demand are the new one-bedroom suites in eight-unit casitas overlooking the golf course, all with private entrances and parking. The rooms are quite large (at least 600 square feet), with vast marble bathrooms. Resort appeal: Nine swimming pools offer something for everyone. The family version has a 165-foot water slide; a more serene adult option is lined with shimmering mother-of-pearl, for swimming laps in luxury. The spa offers both fitness classes and beauty treatments. Other diversions include tennis, croquet, archery, biking, a children's program, activities for teenagers (including a desert jeep rally) and, for everyone, guided stargazing on Saturday nights. Rates and contacts: The Kostis/McCord Learning Center: Three-day programs from $1,695 per person; (602) 502-2656. The rate does not include accommodation at the Phoenician, which starts at $410 per night; (800) 888-8234. The Phoenician's "Golf Power" clinics are $150.

The Ritz-Carlton

Naples, Florida

The Ritz, with its sleek U-shaped tower and its grand gardens on the Gulf of Mexico, is considered the most desirable destination in the golf-mad state of mind called Florida, even though it doesn't have its own course. The Course: Ritz guests have priority tee times at the thirty-six holes of Pelican's Nest, the finest of Naples' fifty-plus courses, located twenty minutes away. Instruction: The top name in golf instruction right now is David Leadbetter, whose clients include such PGA pros as Nick Price and Nick Faldo. Leadbetter operates several golf academies, one located twelve miles from the Ritz at Quail West, a private thirty-six-hole course with state-of-the-art practice facilities built five years ago. One enthusiastic Ritz guest from Germany recently signed on for two of the three-day courses, back to back. Accommodations: All 463 rooms have water views. Many guests gravitate to the Club Floor (on the fourteenth floor), which has its own concierge (convenient for booking tee times) and five daily buffets in the private lounge, from breakfast to evening hors d'oeuvres. Resort appeal: Three miles of blinding white beach, with beachside food and drink service and a massage tent. Five restaurants, a pool, a fitness and beauty center, six tennis courts, a children's program, fishing, sailing, Naples' concert hall, exploring the Everglades. Rates and contacts: David Leadbetter Golf Academy: Three days of instruction from $2,575 per person, double occupancy, with three nights at the Ritz and daily lunch; (800) 424-3542, ext. 3. The Ritz-Carlton: (800) 241-3333.

The Cloister

Sea Island, Georgia

Set on a private coastal island, this family-owned and -operated resort has a timeless feel--it still hosts black-tie dinners twice a week--yet promotes some of the most progressive thinking in golf. Courses: The Cloister's fifty-four holes, tended by immaculately uniformed caddies, are set across a small covered bridge on neighboring St. Simons Island. The most legendary are the Seaside Nine, known for unpredictable ocean breezes. Instruction: Classes (including parent/child sessions) are offered by the Golf Digest Learning Center, a venture of Sea Island and Golf Digest. The indoor/outdoor facility has greens and fairways to simulate every aspect of the game and is set between marshland and the Atlantic for ultrascenic training. The Cloister's own staff of pros--including Jack Lumpkin, a 1995 PGA Teacher of the Year--work with fitness trainers from the resort's acclaimed spa to design personalized programs for strength and flexibility, which is why no one blinks at the sight of CEOs engaged in a ritual of stretching and breathing at the first tee. Accommodations: The 262 rooms are set in buildings with a variety of views. The most popular are in three villas right on the beach, with private balconies or patios. Resort appeal: A live orchestra at dinner, and dancing six nights per week. Tennis, a five-mile private beach, a spa and fitness center, riding, boating, biking, fishing, sporting clay and instruction, as well as Friday night plantation suppers (oyster stew, pecan pie) and a bonfire set out along the river. The chef leaves out milk and cookies at night. Rates and contacts: The Golf Digest Learning Center: Three days of instruction from $3,110 per person, double occupancy, with four nights in a river-view room and all meals; (800) 243-6121. Strength/flexibility programs vary in price and are arranged by the spa. The Cloister: (800) 732-4752.

The Homestead

Hot Springs, Virginia

It's one of the most historic resorts of the South, where there's equal reverence for Thomas Jefferson, who many believe designed the octagonal bathhouse for the hot springs in 1761, and Sam Snead, the golf legend who began his career here in 1934. Though tradition is still important, new owners (the company that revived Pinehurst, in North Carolina) have swept away the relish trays and butter girls of the Vanderbilt era. The public rooms, golf courses and most guest rooms have already been renovated. Courses: The Cascades, one of three courses, is considered the best mountain layout in America (and ranked No. 42 overall in the US. by Golf Digest). Fun fact: The Old Course, established in 1892, has the oldest first tee in continuous use in America. Instruction: Programs with two-and-a-half days of instruction are offered from April to October by the Golf Advantage School, pioneered at Pinehurst. Schooling features video analysis and supervised play on the Cascades course. There are special dates for junior players ages 11 to 17. Accommodations: Renovation has thus far resurrected 260 of the 517 guest rooms. Quite popular are the aeries in the tower of the main house, where private balconies offer an eyeful of the Alleghenies, and rooms in the East Wing, with porches or fireplaces. Resort appeal: The updated and expanded spa, tennis, carriage rides, canoeing, hiking, biking, fishing, riding, a 1930s movie theater, an eight-lane bowling alley. Don't forget tea at four, served among the sixteen Corinthian columns of the Great Hall. Rates and contacts: The Homestead/Golf Advantage package: Two-and-a-half days of instruction from $800 per person, double occupancy, including three nights in a deluxe room and all meals; (800) 838-1766.

The Equinox

Manchester Village, Vermont

The minute the snow melts in Vermont, talk turns from skiing (and shopping) to golf (and shopping), especially at this grande dame of colonial inns, set on 2,300 wooded acres. The Green Mountain Boys met here during the Revolution, but they wouldn't recognize the place, which has been refurbished and expanded by Equinox Resort Associates, partly owned by the Guinness family. The Course: Thoroughly renovated in 1992 and renamed Gleneagles, after the Guinnesses' revered resort in Scotland. It's a great walking course (carts are available) and spectacularly beautiful in the fall, when the foliage flames. Instruction: It's a half-hour drive to the Stratton Golf School, which runs two-day programs from May through October on specially. built greens and fairways, with classrooms and shelters for rainy days. Accommodations: Of the resort's 183 rooms, the most favored are the suites with full kitchens in the Charles Orvis Inn, former home of the famous fisherman, set near the main house. Resort appeal: Three restaurants (don't miss Sunday brunch at the Colonnade), hiking, biking, riding, a full-service spa, Manchester's upscale outlet shopping, plus--most unusual--schools for fishing, falconry and off-road driving. Rates and contacts: Stratton Golf School's two-day programs start at $395 per person; (800) 787-2886. Stratton can reserve a room With a king-size bed at the Equinox from $169 per night, double occupancy. To book a suite, contact the Equinox directly at (800) 362-4747.

What I Learned In Golf School

It wasn't the fact that my mother and younger Sister play, or that I've always loved the drama of the televised game. It certainly wasn't Tiger Woods. It wasn't even because my husband ever-so-hopefully gave me a set of clubs one Christmas. I really don't know what it was. But one spring day it just seemed right to walk onto a driving range and smack my very first ball 100 yards down the middle of the fairway. Needless to say, the rest of my efforts weren't so successful; needless to say, I was hooked. I had discovered the glorious, maddening, oh-so-addictive charms of golf.

That's right. Addictive. (There's a reason all those Type A twenty-somethings are in the game--and blowing away the field.) Sure, some basic physical mechanics are involved, but golf is, above all, a subtle mind game with an anything-but-subtle adrenaline rush as the reward. What golfers really want isn't to beat the other guy or even, as the professional is fond of saying, the course. The real competition is with yourself. Every time you step up to the ball, you remember your best shot...your worst shot...and imagine hitting an unbelievable, fist-pumping, best-of-all-time, you-should-be-die-Tour-Champion shot. This is true even if, like the average golfer, you haven't a clue what you're doing. So imagine how much more fun you'll have if you make a commitment to yourself to really learn how this game should be played.

I'm not talking here about a few lessons with the dub pro or a daylong clinic at a public course. These are all fine things, but they're not enough if you want to achieve the dreams that golf is made of For that, there are just no shortcuts. You'll need to start with school.

"Practice makes permanent," says Bob, holding a putter before him like a pointer and emphasizing his words by pointing at each of us in turn. "Permanent practice makes perfect." Point taken. We may be in southern California, but for the fifteen students at the Aviara Golf Academy (in Carlsbad just half an hour north of San Diego), there's nothing laid-back about the instruction. We've been out on the range for what seems like an eternity, hitting bottomless buckets of balls in our quest for perfection. Our four wonderful instructors--Bob, Wayne, Bruce and Ted--have made us believers.

Most of Aviara's students, I'm told, come by way of the grapevine--a friend or colleague takes the course, knows he's on to a good thing, then passes the word along. The grapevine isn't lying since the student/teacher ratio for each of its schools and clinics is never more than four to one--and limited to no more than sixteen students each--the academy IS able to include players of all skill levels without compromising the amount of instruction each will need. This means that "beginners like me, can take the same class as an "Intermediate" or "advanced" friend or spouse.

I'm attending with my "advanced" spouse, Lex. (Advanced as a golfer, not as a spouse. We're newlyweds. There's time.) We have opted for the three-day school, the most intensive offered. Like the two-day school, it includes plenty of videotaping sessions, classroom time and range instruction, and--since the academy rents space from the Four Seasons Resort Aviara--a delicious lunch at the resort's clubhouse and late-day play on its eighteen-hole Arnold Palmer-designed course; unlike the two-day school, the three-day school offers a morning on the course with an instructor on the final day.

The first day, since Lex and I were staying at the resort's new hotel--a gleaming, bougainvillea-draped affair of soaring ceilings, imposing marble foyer and floor-to-ceiling windows--we took its convenient shuttle down to the course. (We were also able to have our clubs sent down there the night before, when we checked in.) We met our instructors, were issued locker keys at the club, and hopped into carts for the short drive out to the range for a warmup and preliminary videotaping.

"Well" said Bruce, as he recorded my preinstruction. stroke for posterity, "your backswing is terrible, but the downswing is terrific. You could be a 10 handicap based on that. Good movement through the hips and legs, club right on plane.... From the waist down, you look like Ben Hogan." (I decided to accept this as the compliment it was meant to be.) We went back up the hill and hit iron shots with an aim to having me "feel" the proper motion for puffing the club back. During the course of this instruction, Bruce realized that my grip was also terrible, and showed me in one easy lesson how to fix it. Eureka!

Bruce has moved on to another group, so Bob comes up to watch. "What are you working on?" he asks. (As if it isn't obvious--but these guys are very polite.) He takes the club out of my hands (pretty brave of him, considering that I was planning to hold on to it all day so that I wouldn't lose the grip I'd suddenly found) and shows me a clubless drill I can also use to improve the backswing--it consists of just twisting the upper body to get the feel. Feel is everything, I'm beginning to grasp.

Elsewhere on the range, other students are putting down their clubs and learning drills like mine or just practicing their setups in the full-length mirrors. Bob is helping Lex correct his reverse pivot problem by having him swing with one leg held rigid inside one of the tall iron bag holders. (We joke later that we hadn't known that restraining devices were included.) Wayne and Ted are circulating, looking for problems and offering creative solutions. "Let us know when something we say makes it `click' for you. It could be just the thing that will help other people, too."

Back at the classroom, Kip Puterbaugh, the founder of the academy, gives us a lecture on the "myths of golf," punctuated by videotapes of the pros in action. Essentially, it's a cautionary tale, showing how the pros aren't actually doing what they tell you they are in their books. "He knows what he thinks he's doing, but that's not the same thing as what he's actually doing. Look: Seve's head moved, didn't it? Watch Hogan's left arm--it bent, didn't it? That's why our method is based on actual observation--and that's why it works."

After lunch, Ted gives the group a lesson in the proper setup for the wood shots (we silently worship his way with a driver), then I have a video session with Kip: "Nice grip," he remarks. I glow--and cant wait to tell Bruce. Lessons end around 3:30; then, Lex and I head to the first tee to put our new skills to the test. As we should have expected, there are so many new things to remember and so many old things to forget that the round ends up becoming the golfing equivalent of dancing with a drunken sailor.

"Just remember," we are instructed the next morning, "that it's very tempting to go back to what you know works--sort of--even though you won't get better that way. Just keep practicing, and keep studying your manual and your video. It may take a year--but if you stick with it, you will improve. Dramatically." Today we improve our chipping and putting, and we have also broken down into small groups. Ours is led by Bruce, and includes Mike, a Japanese businessman from Los Angeles, and George, a local computer consultant. It is a good group, so after school today, Lex and I play eight holes before dark with Mike and George--and I hit the best 7-wood shot of my life. As it sails 120 yards over the menacing greenside traps and rolls to within ten feet of the hole, George and Mike just whoop and Lex can't believe it. Ted was right. It's all in the setup.

"OK," says Bruce the next morning, hands on hips, smile on face. "Let's see this amazing wood shot." I take out my 7-wood and just cream it, dropping it on the green. "Great!" says Bruce. "Do it again." Unbelievably, I do it again. Unbelievably, it's all starting to make sense. I'm hitting it straighter and longer. So is Lex. "Practice makes permanent. Permanent practice makes perfect "We've seen some amazing things in these three days, so...if Bob thinks there's perfection in our future, we're prepared to believe him. We can't wait for spring.

The Aviara Golf Academy charges $1,195 per person for the three-day school, $795 for the two-day school, $150 for the holiday clinics, and $90 per hour for private, one-on-one instruction. The two-and three-day options include accommodations at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara. All, options include a videotape of your personal instruction. For information and reservations, call (800) 433-7468.

The Four Seasons Resort Aviara offers its own golf/hotel packages (not including instruction at the Academy) for $525 per person per day. The hotel also provides all the amenities one expects from an executive-level hostelry (including spacious, well-appointed rooms, fine dining, tennis courts, a multitiered pool area, nature walks for the children and a spa for the nonplaying spouse). It also offers the convenience of proximity to the academy and the course. Call (800) 332-3442 for reservations. Other lodging options are L'Auberge Del Mar Resort and Spa (800-553-1336) and the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe (800-843-4661; a stay at the latter entitles You to afternoon playing privileges at the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club).

Deans of The Greens

Ponce de Leon and golfers have something in common: the never-ending search for something that doesn't exist. While Ponce de Leon hacked in vain through the deepest jungles seeking the Fountain of Youth, golfers throughout the years have employed innumerable devices and gurus in their quixotic quest for the perfect swing. Ponce de Leon's quest is over; you, golfer, are condemned to continue yours.

The good news is that we have assembled a list of ten of the best teachers in the world. And while there are no women on the list-instruction is still a field whose zenith is occupied by men--many of these men, particularly Chuck Cook, Hank Haney and Peter Kostis, have enjoyed much success with women players.

But regardless of their gender, this is a group of shamans who--through their knowledge of the game, their ability to communicate, their unique perspective and their one-on-one attention--can help you attain a shimmering glimpse of that perfect stroke and its attendant bliss.

JIMMY BALLARD, 55, Key Largo, Florida. Background: Taught by Sam Byrd, Babe Ruth's former roommate with the Yankees and then a Tour notable, that the baseball swing and the golf swing are the same, just on different planes. Students: Ballard has worked with more than 300 Tour players, including Curtis Strange, Seve Ballesteros and Hal Sutton. Teaching style: Warm and affable. "We have a saying: `The dog Swings the tail and the body swings the arm,'" Ballard says, adding, "I teach a connected. golf swing, and I teach it as an athletic move" Advice: Get behind the ball and don't worry about keeping your left arm stiff. Most memorable moment: When Hal Sutton won the PGA in 1983--Ballard's first major tournament win as a coach. Favorite course: Pebble Beach, California. Cost: $250 per hour. Teaching base: The Jimmy Ballard Swing Connection, Fort Lauderdale, FL; (800) 999-6664.

CHUCK COOK, 53, Spicewood, Texas. Background: After doing a tour in Vietnam, Cook played amateur golf and attended graduate school before turning to teaching full-time at 27. He then went on to become head instructor at the famed Golf Digest Schools, and later started the Academy of Golf in Austin, the school that helped launch the, careers of short-game wizard Dave Pelz and sports psychologist Richard Coop. Named 1996 PGA Teacher of the Year. Students: Tom Kite, Corey Pavin and Payne Stewart, among others. Teaching style: Cook looks for a pupil's natural style and then works to find the fundamentals to match. "My feeling IS that it's real important to get immediate results; you should hit a lot of shots better during the lesson" Advice: "You get out of golf what you put into it. Find a teacher you're compatible with, one who can show you improvement within three lessons" Most memorable moment: Seeing Corey Pavin hit a beautiful 4-wood at the 18th hole of the 1995 US. Open; the two had worked on the shot a week earlier. Favorite course: Cypress Point, California. Cost: $150 per hour, or $5,000 per off-site outing. Teaching base: Barton Creek Lakeside Country Club, Spicewood, TX. Home office: (830) 693-6231.