DATE: Wednesday, June 11, 1997              TAG: 9706100470

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C8   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: FORE!

YOUR WEEKLY LOCAL GOLF REPORT

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   50 lines

THEY TAKE AIM AT AGE, AND SHOOT THEIR AGES

Frank Dunham is that rare player who, needing a par on 18 to shoot 73, dumps the ball in the water, finishes with 75 and can't stop laughing about it. That's because Dunham is 77 years old. There's nothing more precious to a golfer than shooting his age, or lower.

``I knew one day my body would stage a mad dash between ability and senility,'' Dunham joked when asked about the errant tee shot. ``Looks like their paths crossed right then.''

Dunham's round took place at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club on May 30. It wasn't the first time this year he's equalled or broken his age - in fact, he's done it four times in the last two weeks. But the first three times don't really count, he argues, because he was playing from the white tees. His 75 came from the blues.

``The retired group of guys I play with got on me so bad after the first three that I'd finally had enough of that and went back to the blues,'' Dunham said.

Dunham's round was keyed by a tip he got watching the pros on TV. He noticed they all grip the club with their left hand over enough to see a couple of knuckles. He immediately gained 20 yards off the tee.

``I've always been very accurate - I haven't hit one O.B. in 1997 - but never very long,'' said Dunham. ``The new grip has really helped.''

Maybe there's something in the water at Cavalier. Two days later, 84-year-old Bob Goodman shot his age.

``An aberration,'' Goodman said. ``My lowest score in the previous 12 months was a 91. Everything clicked that day. My swing was smooth, well-grooved. I was relaxed. I parred the first hole and was off from there.''

For Goodman, a 26-handicapper, the key to the round was a par 4 he made at the 380-yard 16th hole. Still off the green after his second shot, he stroked an 8-iron four feet from the cup and holed the putt.

``I had only two or three double bogeys,'' he said. ``You do that, you can score.''

And the next time out?

``Bad,'' Goodman said, laughing. ``Real bad. High-90s bad. At least I've got two things to remember about my golf - a hole in one at Cavalier in 1993 and this.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

Dunham, 77

Goodman, 84

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