Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 20

The Arizona Republic THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2004 C7 WHAT'S NEW Construction has begun on The Links at Las Palomas, the centerpiece of the Las Palomas oceanfront community being developed in Puerto Peflasco, Mexico. Valley architect Forrest Richardson and Jack Snyder, who designed several of Arizona's top courses, are combining efforts on the new course, scheduled to open next spring. Peter Robbeloth, the former Arizona Biltmore golf director who will handle golf operations at Las Palomas, said green fees will range from $50 to $75. Information: (602) 943-2000. QUICK READ Golfers who struggle to understand the rules of golf might find some help in The Rules of Golf in Plain English, written by attorney Jeffrey Kuhn and Bryan Garner, who edited Black's Law Dictionary.

The rules are easier to find and much easier to understand, which might come as a surprise from two men who are wrapped up in legalese. It retails for $11. LUf i i I fi ll i The First Tee Clubs too costly? Make them Hole of the week I I if i0 In it 1 0 i vr: I Correctly identify this hole on one of the Valley's courses and you could win a small but fabulous prize. E-mail the course name and hole number to holeoftheweekazcentral.com. The winner will be randomly selected from the correct entries.

Last week, two people identified No. 14 at Sundance Golf Club in Buckeye. The winner was Randy Walton of Scottsdale. 19th hole One of the best things about golf is it provides so much conversational material after the round is over. As The Republic works to improve our weekly golf page, we'd like to share the experience with our readers in a new feature called "The 19th Hole." We want to know about your best, worst and funniest moments on the course.

We'd like to know your favorite things about golfing in the Valley. We'll also field your questions and provide answers and advice from the experts. Let us hear from you at golfarizonarepubllc.com. Please be brief (150 or fewer words) and provide a name and phone number. If your submission is chosen for publication, you will receive a small but fabulous prize.

Do-it-yourself club assembly Six steps to assembling a golf club: 1 Place shaft in vice with rubber guards on the jaws. 2 Cut shaft to desired length using sharp utility knife or hacksaw with fine-toothed blade (place tape around the site of the cut to prevent splintering). 3 Smooth edges of cuts with sandpaper. 4 Apply clubhead adhesive to shaft end and inside club hozel and press head firmly onto shaft. 5 Apply double-sided tape to grip end of shaft, coat with grip solvent (mineral spirits or lighter fluid also will work) and quickly slide grip all the way onto shaft.

6 Allow adhesive to cure before using club. Adding it up Cost of building a Snake Eyes Fire Forged Compressor driver: Clubhead: $110 Upgraded graphite shaft: $30 Grip: $5 Total: $145 MSRP for similar club: $249 Components available at many stores By John Davis The Arizona Republic For many people, the do-it-yourself method works well when it comes to home improvements, car repairs and other parts of daily life. More golfers are discovering that the theory also works for them when it comes to creating their own clubs. Although it is far more common to simply buy new clubs off the shelf, golfers are finding out that building them at home isn't all that difficult and can add up to considerable savings. "You can build a lot of clubs for half the price and, in some cases, one-third of the price that you can buy them for," said Jim Grimes, a clubmaker for Golfsmith in Scottsdale.

"That doesn't mean you can build a TaylorMade driver or PING irons, because you can't buy new components for them. But you can build good clubs without paying a fortune." The club consists of three basic parts the head, shaft and grip which can be purchased separately at some equipment stores, such as Golfsmith, and on several Internet sites. "The trick is assembling them right," Grimes said, "and it's really not all that tricky." The required equipment is relatively simple: a vice with rubber guards on the jaws to hold the shaft, epoxy to attach the clubhead, double-sided tape and solvent to apply the grip, a hacksaw with a fine-toothed blade to cut the shafts, sandpaper to smooth the shaft edges and a sharp utility knife. "The custom club is the future of golf," Grimes said, "and even though you might not have everything to make it perfect like the big equipment makers, the average player can build something that suits them pretty well." Golf thoughts Photos by Blair BuntingThe Arizona Republic Jim Grimes works to restore a club at Golfsmith in Scottsdale. Grimes is an advocate of homemade golf clubs, insisting that assembly is not that difficult.

The tighter your hands get around a golf grip, the more you have to tell them what to do. No fast food here The clubhouses at Whisper Rock, which Phil Mickelson co-designed, and Grayhawk Golf Club, which has a restaurant named Phil's Grill, were rocking Sunday when he won the Masters. But the crowds were nothing like the one at a South Korea restaurant owned by Grace Park's father after she captured the Kraft Nabisco title. (If you're keeping track, that's two straight majors for former ASU golfers.) Soo Nam Park offers 50 percent discounts at his restaurants whenever Grace wins, and because Nike is one of her sponsors, staffers from the Nike Golf office in Seoul went over to celebrate. The restaurant had a line that went out the door and around the block, and the Nike folks were told they would have to wait several hours for a table.

At a restaurant that seats 1,000, that's a major waiting list. The do-it-yourself approach also works for golfers who want to try different shaft types and flexes in an existing club without the expense of buying several clubs. Component prices vary, but a Snake Eyes Fire Forged Compressor driver, for example, can be built for about $145. Fairway woods can be built for about $50, and irons for much less. Re-gripping an entire set of clubs can be done for as little as $32.

Golfers who aren't sure what types of components are best suited to them can get help from swing monitors that are available at many golf shops. Golfers also can seek recommendations on head and shaft types, and they can ask to be measured at shops to determine the best shaft length. The biggest concerns, Grimes said, are taking care not to damage graphite shafts, which can cause a "run" similar to those in nylon stockings and weaken the shaft, and making sure epoxy is cured before using the club. Golfsmith stores offer four-hour club-making classes on Saturday mornings, which cost $25. Participants build a wood and an iron, which they get to keep, and receive a $25 gift certificate to use in the store.

"All it's really costing you is four hours of time, and you get to keep the clubs you build," Grimes said. Wearin' of the green '1 Mickelson might have taken off his green jacket by now, but don't bet on it. He was wearing it on The Tonight Show on Tuesday night and told Jay Leno: "I've worn it some places I probably shouldn't have. (Wife) Amy and I took it to bed with us Sunday night. You couldn't pry it off." Leno got in a couple jabs in his monologue, comparing Mickelson's record of one win in 43 majors to the record of the Los Angeles Clippers, then added: "I just hope he doesn't get cocky and think he's going to win every 43rd time." Grimes says golfers can build clubs for one-third the price they would pay to purchase them.

"The custom club is the future of golf," he says, "and even though you might not have everything to make it perfect like the big equipment makers, the average player can build something that suits them pretty well." "You can build a lot of clubs for half the price and, in some cases, one-third of the price that you can buy them for. That doesn't mean you can build a TaylorMade driver or PING irons but you can build good clubs without paying a fortune." Jim Grimes Clubmaker, Golfsmith Getting equipped 1 The new Odyssey 2-Ball Blade putter features a sleeker head design that is longer from heel to toe than the previous model and more square from front to back, but still has its distinct two-ball alignment system. The White Hot model uses a white insert with a softer feel, and the DFX version features a black insert with a firmer feel. Suggested retail is $215. ii On tour In Arizona Chris Endres.

igs of the week pro Pitching Chipping Posture Country Club, Las Vegas; Golf Channel. Defending champion: Candie Jung. CHAMPIONS Friday-Sunday: Blue Angels Classic, The Moors Golf Club, Milton, Fla; Golf Channel. Defending champion: Bob Gilder. PGA Today-Sunday: MCI Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, S.C.; USA (Thursday-Friday), Ch.

5 (Saturday-Sunday). Defending champion: Davis Love III. LPGA Today-Sunday; Takefuji Classic, Las Vegas Sunday: JGAA Junior Parent Scramble, Lone Tree GC. April 25-28: ASU and UA men at Pac-10 Championships, Gallery Golf Club, Marana. April 26-27: AWGA Four-ball Stroke Play Championship, Emerald Canyon GC, Parker.

May 1-2: AGA Southern Amateur Championship, Rio Rico CC. Many players have a "dead legs" look to their posture. You need to keep some spring in your legs to adequately support the upper body during the swing. Pretend you are about to do a standing long jump and then mimic the feel in your legs when you set up to the ball. Good pitching requires good rhythm and tempo.

Keeping your lower body too still will disrupt your natural rhythm. Think of pitching like dancing the entire body plays a role. Let your hips rotate through the shot and transfer your weight to the front foot at the finish, and you will hit crisper pitch shots. It is common to align the clubface too far to the right (for right-handed players), which necessitates manipulation of the hands and wrists to get the ball to the target. Place an extra club on the ground to represent the target line and make sure the face is square before making your stroke.

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