THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504090166
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
It's been said that you can get so much of the good things in life - fame, power, money, sex, even ice cream - that they actually become mundane.
So when Bruce Heflin watched his tee shot on the 150-yard seventh hole at Sewell's Point fly majestically through the air, take a couple of bounces and roll into the cup for a hole in one last Monday, he didn't go nuts. He said he hardly reacted at all.
Monday's ace was the eighth - that's right, eighth - for Heflin, and his seventh in 24 years at Sewell's Point.
``I don't get much kick from them anymore,'' the 73-year-old said, ``except that I will say that I hadn't had one since September 1989, and so I was beginning to think that maybe I wouldn't get any more.
``But the pro was elated for me.''
And for good reason. According to Sewell's Point pro Pat Kurowski, at worst, Heflin is just the second golfer to complete the ``Grand Slam'' of holes-in-one at the 68-year-old club, meaning he has aced all four of the course's par-3s.
The course has undergone some slight modifications over the years, but in 1971, Heflin aced what is now the 138-yard fourth hole. He doesn't remember the years, but aces 2-5 came on Sewell's Point's 126-yard No. 16 (twice), No. 4 and 162-yard No. 10.
In 1983, he scored a hole in one on the 11th hole at Elizabeth Manor, then came back in '89 with an ace on No. 10 at Sewell's Point.
While that's a houseful of aces, Heflin still needed a 1 on No. 7 to round out the Slam.
He had no reason to think that would happen Monday. A variety of back and shoulder problems have robbed Heflin of much of his pop off the tee. He normally hits a 7-wood from 150 yards and in, but had so little control of the club Monday that he had put it back in his bag for good several holes earlier.
When he got to No. 7, he pulled the 5-wood and let fly for the ace.
Heflin, 6-foot-1, was a college basketball center at Salem College (now Salem-Teiko College) in West Virginia from 1940-42. He plays about three rounds of golf a week. He says he's actually more proficient at tennis. Maybe so. Despite Monday's ace, he shot 93.
NEW KID IN TOWN: Work on the Bayville Golf Club off Shore Drive in Virginia Beach is moving at an rapid clip. According to course superintendent J. Cutler Robinson, the front nine has been shaped in, meaning tees, greens, fairways, bunkers, mounds and rough have been sculpted from dirt. About five holes of the private club's back nine also have been shaped.
Around May 15, the course will be sprigged (tees, fairways and rough), seeded (greens) and sodded (mounds). Weather permitting, the 7,020-yard, par-72 Tom Fazio creation, built on 260 acres of Bayville Farms adjacent to the Lynnhaven River, should open this fall.
TEACHING TIP: It's that time when thousands are just beginning to rediscover golf, their clubs and the appetite to play. Muscles that haven't performed athletically in months should be retrained before taking to the course, says Tom Stevenson, head pro at Hell's Point.
``If you haven't been practicing, I suggest you take a lesson to review the fundamentals,'' Stevenson said. ``A lot of golfers forget the fundamentals during a long layoff, and that shows up in the scores.
``If you have the time, start out by spending a few days on the range before playing. Start by hitting chip shots, which will help develop the feel of where the clubhead is without putting stress on the body, and by putting. It even wouldn't be a bad idea, if you have the time, to spend the first couple of practice sessions doing nothing but chipping and putting. Then before every other session, chip as a warmup and slowly work your way through the bag, wedge and 9-iron through driver.
``The other thing is that, at least on your first dozen or so range shots, aim to get about 50 percent of the distance you normally get from a certain club. That keeps you from overswinging and possibly hurting yourself.''
A REMINDER: Local pros, take note. Yours truly is seeking information on what's happening at your club or course.
If you think it's interesting, call me at 446-2366.
Also, if there's some aspect of the game you would like to comment on for one of our Teaching Tip(s), let me know. by CNB