The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • Page 67

m. A Speoal Section of The Desert Sun, Thursday, May 5, 1994 Gasper returns to desert for his second tourney px Name: Ron Skayhan Age: 34 Family: Wife Elizabeth, son Jake, daughter Alison. Club affiliation: Desert Princess Country Club Position: First assistant professional College: University of Oregon, 1983. Other Jobs: Worked as a field director for the Republican Party in Eugene, before turing pro. PGA status: Class A Career achievements: Inland Desert Chapter PGA Player of the Year 1990 through 1993.

How he cmae to the desert: Skayhan first came to the area for the 1986 PGA Tour Qualifying School. "I knew a couple of guys down here. I de FAMILIAR SETTING: Pro golf legend hosts event at Del Webb's Sun City Palm Springs, which he designed. 1 1 SKAYHAN Lit IV wV Iff 'A. i 1 i' i Aj'-v 4 I cided I would just work and find a place to practice and play the Golden State Tour.

I found a place at Desert Princess, working in the cart and bag rooms. That gave me the freedom to play. Then Dave (McKeating, head pro at Desert Princess) asked me to come up into the shop." Other club Jobs held: None. Why he's a club pro: Skayhan debunks the myth that most club professionals can't play at a high level. He's been one of the best players in the Inland Desert Chapter since coming to the area, but enjoys being a club pro.

"I've played in six or seven tour events, and of them I've made three or four cuts. It's great for a certain amount of time, but it's a totally different lifestyle. I'm married now and we have two kids, and I thouroughly enjoy them. I didn't turn pro until I was 26 or 27. If it (PGA Tour membership) had happened then, it would have been fine, I guess.

But only the big boys take their families out there." Most enjoyable part of his Job: "I have the freedom to play, but more than anything I'm a people person and being in a service-oriented business, and having been in politics before, this is a good business for me. Future ambitions: Skayhan recently obtained his Class A status with the PGA of Amenca, opening doors to more tournament play. "I want to be a nationally ranked club player. Now that I have my Class I can try to qualify for the PGA (Championship), the national club pro championship. I'd like to play a few with the big boys." 3 Computer golf takes on added dimensions in valley By LARRY B0HANNAN The Desert Sun BERMUDA DUNES When Billy Casper and his partner Greg Nash designed the 18-hole layout for Del Webb's Sun City Palm Springs, Casper knew exactly what kind of a course he wanted to build.

"You have to design the course for the player," Casper said. "There are a lot of courses now that take the average player right off the course. And that is definitely not what Del Webb wants." Casper, one of golf's best players in the 1950s and 1960s, knew he was designing a course for Del Webb's older, retired residents, people who remember Casper from his prime playing days. Casper returns to his course this month for the second annual Del WebbBilly Casper Pro-Am Invitational. The tournament will be played May 14 at Sun City Palm Springs, with Casper conducting a clinic May 13 for the public and tournament participants.

The tournament benefits the Joslyn Senior Center and the Braille Institute Desert Center in Rancho Mirage. The Del Webb course opened in December 1992 and is just one of the courses Casper and Nash have designed and built for Del Webb. Casper and Nash also have designed a second course for the Sun City Palm Springs project. While Sun City Palm Springs is played mainly by the residents of the retirement community, Casper and Nash also tried to ensure that his courses are playable for golfers of any level. That was proved last year when Sun City Palm Springs was used as a qualifying site for the U.S.

Amateur Championship. "This is by no means an easy course," Casper said when the course opened. "It is challenging. The problem is many designers today create courses that are too challenging." Casper's own design career came, in part, as a result of his displeasure with modern course architecture. "We played a course up in northern Michigan that is a resort course, and the people there say the average round is 6ft hours.

That's not good for golf," he said. If anyone is qualified to comment on the state of the game and FBephoto TEST DRIVE: Billy Casper tries out Del Webb's Sun City Palm Springs during its grand opening in January 1993. organized and run by Prodigy. Several computer bulletin boards offer hundreds of courses that can be downloaded for play. Computer golf clubs, like bridge clubs, have formed so members can compete against each other in a variety of tournament formats.

The Computer Tutor, in cooperation with the Joslyn Center in Palm Desert, is offering a variety of computer golfing opportunities in the Center's computer lab. Programs are designed for those with and without computers at home. Those with computers can practice at home and come to the Joslyn Center to participate in tournaments. Those who do not have computers at home can arrange to practice, as well as play in tournaments, at the center. With more than 400 courses available, both real and fantasy, there is no shortage of golfing opportunities.

Participants play the great courses of the world. Augusta, Doral, TPC Sawgrass, and Pebble Beachare just a key stroke away. Demonstrations of the JSNE computer golf tournaments will be held at the Joslyn Center from 9 am-noon on Saturday, June 4. The Joslyn Center is located at the corner of Catalina Way and San Pas-cual in Palm Desert Admission to the demonstration is free. Submitted by Russ Beckner The Coachella Valley is a virtual heaven for golfers.

With exclusive country clubs, resort hotels and public courses, there are almost 100 places for golfers to fulfill their passion to follow that little white ball over hundreds of lush, manicured acres. But what happens when it's 100 degrees or more and too hot to play? Or maybe a physical disability or monetary considerations make those trips to the golf course seldom or even non-existent? Until recently, these difficulties often meant the end to enjoying a favorite recreational activity. However, now people of all ages have found computer golf to be a rewarding substitute or supplement to the real game. Over the last few years, several programs have been developed to bring the excitement of golf to the computer at a nominal cost. Accolade, one of the nation's largest software producers, and Jack Nicklaus have combined to make available the Jack Nicklaus Signature Edition computer golf program.

JNSE, as this program is known, has thousands of players across the country and around the world. Prodigy, the country's largest online interactive computer service, offers thousands of JNSE players a forum for playing in tournaments ularly on the PGA Tour. The San Diego native was one of the first big names to compete on the fledgling Senior PGA Tour, winning nine times from 1982 to 1988 and earning more than $1.5 million, nearly as much as he won on the regular tour. From 1982 to 1985, Casper was never lower than eight on the senior tour's money list. With Casper playing on the senior tour and designing courses for retirement communities like Sun City Palm Springs, it was natural that the Del WebbBilly Capser Pro-Am Invitational benefit seniors.

"Del Webb has helped to perpetuate the tournament and ensure the future of our center," said Judy Graham, executive director of the Joslyn Cove center. Entry fee for the tournament is $375 for amateurs, $150 for pros, who will be playing for a $3,600 purse. For information call: 772-5328, 340-3220 or 321-1111. its architecture, it is Casper. Playing in a era when names like Palmer, Nicklaus and Player dominated the game, Casper still managed 51 PGA Tour victories, good for sixth on the all-time list.

He was the second player, behind Arnold Palmer, to reach the $1 million mark in career earnings. Among Casper's wins are two U.S. Open titles, the first in 1959 and the second coming in 1966 with a memorable come-from-be-hind victory over Palmer at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Casper also won the 1970 Masters, beating Gene Littler in the tournament's last 18-hole playoff. In both 1966 and 1970 he was named the PGA Player of the Year.

He also played on a record eight U.S. Ryder Cup teams and still holds the record for most career Cup points at 23ft. But Casper didn't let his career end when he stopped playing reg.