By JEFF KEATING, PHOTO BY WILLIAM VASTA
‘DON’T be a hero." Scott Arnold’s words weren’t directed at me specifically, but rather at that substantial percentage of the recreational golfing population — guys, especially — who think they can do a lot more on a golf course than they actually can do.
Arnold, the pro at Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside, offered his at- large advice during a recent round at the club, which later this month will host the ClubCorp Charity Classic, the world’s largest one-day charity golf and dining event.
ClubCorp, which owns Canyon Crest, operates 170 private business and sports clubs, country clubs, golf courses, and golf resorts around the world. On Sept.
26, the company’s business clubs will open their dining rooms, offering unique meals and auctions, while ClubCorp’s golf and country clubs will open their courses to an estimated 15,000 players for tournaments and auctions.
Proceeds — 100 percent of them — from Canyon Crest’s event will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association — Augie’s Quest, and to the Employee Partners Care Foundation. For more information, call Canyon Crest at (951) 274-7900, or visit the ClubCorp Web site at www.clubcorpcharityclassic.com.
Those who play at Canyon Crest during the ClubCorp Charity Classic will catch a break if they happen to be partnered with Arnold, a congenial sort who has arguably the most laid-back approach to golf of any club pro I’ve ever met.
He really enjoys his work — "I mean, come on, this is my office," he said, gesturing around Canyon Crest’s well-kept fairways and greens — but he doesn’t take himself too seriously, at least about playing the game. Neither should recreational players, he believes.
It’s a trap for players to constantly focus on their swing mechanics, their score, or "hitting that perfect shot" — meanwhile forgetting that they’re supposed to be relaxing, enjoying themselves, soaking up some sun and scenery, and generally forgetting their worries for a few hours.
"There are people who walk off a golf course way more stressed than when they walked on," Arnold said. "That’s not really the idea." The key to a successful round, he continued, is knowing your limitations.
This is harder for some of us to do than others.
I confessed to Arnold that throughout most of my lofty golf career, all 12 years of it, I’ve been told I should be able to hit most of my clubs, especially irons, much farther than I actually can hit them.
The comment usually goes something like this: "A big guy like you should be able to hit that 5-iron 200 yards, no problem."
I actually can hit a 5-iron 200 yards.
Thanks to the magic of in-cart GPS, I know that a 5-iron I once hit at Eagle Point Golf Club in Medford, Ore., one sunny summer afternoon in 1997 traveled 206 yards, from the fairway to the center of the green.
The operative word in that sentence is "once." I’ve hit a 5-iron 200 yards exactly once. But I spent the next year thinking I could hit every 5-iron 200 yards, and swung accordingly — that is to say, overswung. So I naturally would hit poorly, and not only did the ball NOT go 200 yards, but it usually would go less than, say, 125.
And I’d end up being one of those people who walks off the course more stressed than when they walked on.
"It was hard to admit to myself," I told Arnold, "but I finally had to concede I can’t hit a 5-iron 200 yards. I can hit it 180 yards. Not 200. Same for all the rest of them. I can’t hit them as far as other people think I should." "And I’ll bet you enjoy the game more," he responded. "You know your limitations." Canyon Crest’s pro plays well, as you might expect.
I especially envied his relaxed swing, which though seemingly effortless resulted in straight, high, long drives and iron shots. Unsurprisingly, Arnold can explain the difference between an "easy" swing and a "relaxed" one: " ‘Easy’ means you don’t care how you hit it, really, you just walk up there all rubber-limbed and whack the ball. ‘Relaxed’ means with purpose but without tension." But what I mostly envied was his serenity about the whole thing, from the relaxed swing to the "just enjoy yourself" mantra.
I observed that such a state isn’t easy for a lot of us to achieve, especially on a golf course.
Arnold sort of shrugged his shoulders.
"Golf is a game," he said. "Treat it as such."
- Jeff Keating is executive director of public affairs at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona.
