Fore the Love of Golf
"Ben and Bonnie Voyage" go back to school.
By Marilyn Pribus

Bonnie is a whiz at golf. Not that she scores eagles and birdies or anything like that. She is a whiz at the game of golf.

It all started in Ohio. She needed one credit to graduate. The only slot still open that semester? Golf. She had never played before and was heading for a solid F. How did she avert disaster? First, she studied and then aced the rules exam. On the fairways, the only spectacular shot she encountered was when a golfer - term used loosely - lost the grip on his driver. The club sailed through the air and struck Bonnie on the leg. You think an instructor - think litigation - was going to fail Bonnie after that? C+!

Years later, Bonnie went on tour ... well, I pulled a tour overseas, and she came along. She hit her stride in Thailand as the only repeat winner in the Can/Am tournament. She won high-score honors both times, garnering a 12-pound turkey and a case of Kloster beer. Bonnie doesn't think scores are important. Winning is! And if it takes a high score to snatch a prize, so be it.

Which brings me to the present. Bonnie decided to go back to school - golf school, that is! She claims the only golf advice she ever gets from me is to "hurry up," and she needs more professional instruction. Her golf shots are straight, but she admits her average distance off the tee is competitive with a Tiger Woods lag putt. As for me, I'm easy ... I'll join her for some fun!

Enter Jeff Symmonds and his boss, Bruce Baird, instructors at the Bruce Baird California Golf School in Las Vegas. Jeff caddied on the lpga and pga tours in the 1970s and began perfecting his own game; by 1986 he had settled into the life of a teaching pro. Bruce, a former history teacher and scratch golfer, has operated his golf academy for eight years. For him, "Golf is not a matter of life and death. ... It's about living." Well, Bonnie and I are ready to start living!

Day one: building a foundation. Bruce and Jeff knew exactly what they were dealing with: hackers. The first thing Jeff did was talk us through the grip and swing - the "foundation" as he called it. Then they gave us each a mountain of golf balls, and the drills began. We chipped, pitched, and stroked over sand traps, out of sand traps, and in my case, into sand traps - then out. By day's end we had hit 400 golf balls.

Day two: putting and more. First, we rolled in short putts using metal rods on the ground to help align the putter head. Once our stroke was straight, we tried longer putts. After lunch, we moved to a raised teeing area to try the woods. Jeff eyeballed my old five wood. "Geez," he bellowed, "that club head is actually made out of wood!" Indeed it was, and my humiliation in a world filled with titanium drivers and graphite shafts was complete.

Day three: the course. After a brief warm-up, we went to the back nine to try our luck on the real thing. I put the ball in the fairway off the tee all but one time - a record! And Bonnie's short game took such a turn for the better, it was almost scary.

We can't wait for the reunion season in Vegas and our refresher course at golf school. Bonnie might even win something for low score this time!