European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 12, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday february 12, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary Wadkins is Golf s Man on the move. Lanny Wadkins always plays Golf As if he were robbing a Bank and the alarm just win off. He docs t exactly run Between shots but Guys have moved slower leaving hotel fires. Most a Tiara play Golf As if they were going to the electric chair or cutting the worlds biggest Diamond. They stand Over the Ball until the cof webs begin to form or they need a shave. They look As if they would Welcome an earthquake. Any , on the other hand behaves As if Ehe Ball were tic lung. Or lying on top of a  Guys treat a round of Golf As a Day at the lathe. Two hours at the dentist. Lanny acts As if he sat an All night party. He got into he habit of playing Golf fast because As a kid he always wanted to get in 72 holes before dark if possible. He does everything fast. He walk fast talks fast. He got into the habit of eating fast for the same reason so he could fit As Many holes of Golf into a Day As possible. The realities of the game Are no one Ever go penalized for playing Golf too fast. Almost everyone plays the game too slow. It s the Only game in the world that s already in slow motion the Only game played with a Ball where Speed is not Only not critical or essential it s not even advisable. Some of the great Fig caters of our time have excelled at the game. Gary Middlecoff used to stand Over a Ball As if he were waiting for it to Hatch. Jack Nicklaus sent a whole generation into a catatonic state when he joined the tour and stood Over putt until pigeons lit on his shoulders mistaking him for a statue of  million Golf course starters cursed the Day Nick Laus Learned to play chess Golf. The trouble was when they penalized Jack two strokes he Only won by four. A whole generation of truck Driver golfers got the idea that the Way to play the game was like the Retreat from Moscow do everything but blow up Bridges behind you. There have been other fast players. Doug for used to tear through a round As if he just heard a Bear in the Bushes behind him or had a plane to catch. But the vast majority of golfers act As if they were whittling a ship to put in a , a lot or people had a vested interest in seeing j. Lanston Wadkins do will when he came out on  had a Chance to reverse a trend that had been is a Toto by gut Schull Lepro golfer Lanny Wadkins. Knows precisely what he wants to do stunting the growth of the game in recent years the practice of playing the game at the Pace of an ice Jam on the Yukon. Lanny stood on a Fairway at a Golf course in Cali fornia the other afternoon and studied a lie in a Sand trap As casually As if it were a Beer can lying in Roadway. Without losing a beat in his conversation with two journalists he suggested offhandedly to his Caddy six Iron Herman then took a club hurried through the Hazard slashed and drove the Ball 170yards and Down on the Green seven feet from the pin. He stamped the Sand out of his shoes and went on talking. The moral of this Story is that four out of five pros maybe even five out of five would have taken a look at that shot contemplated it lit a cigarette walked Inland out of the trap several times thrown a Blade of grass in the air studied the position of the Sun in the heavens changed clubs once or twice called Home taken charts out of their pockets and then finally just As the Sun was dipping toward the West hit the same 6-Iran for the Green not necessarily the pin. Lanny Wadkins scorns this waste of time. I work at my game he said. I Don t just hit stand go find it. I Nave a plan in  he does t make up his game As he goes along inspire of appearances. But he never arrives at the Ball in the throes of indecision. The paperwork has Bee worked out in his mind. The geometry has been plotted the blueprints memorized. If he can Sec the pin and sometimes even if he can to Wadkins knows precisely what he wants to do. And fortunately How to do it. Lanny Wadkins Isone of the few stars in what is not exactly the Milky  sports. He has won is tournaments in a Gamin which you get clubs named after you if you win three. Most Guys who have won More Are either re tired or have been on the tour longer. Lanny has won Only two majors a . Amateur and pea but there arc double figure winners on tour who have never won any and he thinks that slowing Down is not the Way to win any tournament. I did t realize i played fast or bold until you Guys brought itto my attention he said to the press types at his Elbow. That s just the Way i grew up with  a round of Golf in Short is not exactly building abridge is Wadkins View. In most other sports you react to a situation. You react to a cur Mcball a for Ward pass or a Cross court serve. Here we have to act not react. It s not a thing that Calls for a special session of Congress Lanny figures. As one of the lop Money winners on the tour Lanny is a role Model a player to emulate. In baseball he d be a first Ball hitter a Pitcher who threw strikes. In football he d never Call time to consult with the. Bench. In basketball he d be throwing up three pointers from mid court. In Golf he s the last Best Hope of every Guy whoever stood in the Middle of a Fairway and watched helplessly As the foursome ahead huddled Over Ever shot As if it were a Versailles peace treaty or an operating room consultation the Patron Saint of Ever Guy who Ever yelled let s go or hit the damned Ball at the Parade of paralytic up  s Book should be titled Golf in the fast Lane or How to get through before your clubs rust or the Sun  it s a More urgently needed instructional work than where to Point the v s on the Shaft at address. Lot an weft time a vote for the rangers no. 1 Valentine by Milton Rich Manuti senior editor sports i Wanna make sure to get my vote nearly. Bobby Valentine for manager of the  so much because he thinks his Texas rangers can win it All or because hand his pm Tom Grieve have got them selves a Corner on Many of the great Youn pitching arms in America but because Valentine a the Only one i be found Bleto commentary Settle the lingering bothersome question once and for All concerning Jack Clark. Bobby Valentine s Best Friend in base Ball you know is Tommy Lasorda. The two Are More like father and urn. You also know what happened when Lasorda had Tom Niedenfuer pitch to the cardinals slugger in the playoffs last october. So f asked Valentine whether he would be also pitched to  at that time. Now i would he said with the slightest face you Ever saw. Nobody shows More enthusiasm for the clocked at 98 Mph Jose Guzman Ric surhoff Jeff Russell and Mitch Williams. Everybody s High on Incaviglia despite his Lack of professional experience. If he has the physical and mental finished 1 last in Thev West. Valen methinks they can win it All this year it s crazy to say it. Not to think it he  Valentine. Enthusiastic about 86 makes the differentiation. What makes him even think it is All the Good looking youngsters the rangers have coming up plus the general attitude an health of the veterans. Some of the kids Valentine can t wait Roget a look at Are outfielder Pete Incaviglia who hit 48 homers for Oklahoma stat last year and fire Allers Edwin Correa Grieve and Valentine Are excited about their pitching. If anyone looks Good to them and there s any Chance of getting him they do. Right now they be got to in Eye on Mike Madden the astros lefty Sodon t be too surprised if they wind up with him. Next Spring the rangers will be doing their training at a Brand new site in port Charlotte fu., Halfway Between Sarasota and fort Meyers. This Spring they la still be in Pompano each. Valentine leaves for there this week. In my mind i left four months ago he laughs about it. I m More excited about this Spring training than any other one i be been to in my 18 years in professional baseball. We Start feb. 22nd. I m so anxious Tope going i m Gonna make sure the Field is in shape if i have to drag it  Don t laugh. Valentine did that once when he was travelling the country As a minor league instructor for the mets. Hews in tuba looking Over Darryl Straw Berry and the rest of the Jackson mets managed then by Gene Dusan when rain interrupted the contest. After it stopped the ground Crew walked at removing the Tarp. That s life in the minor leagues. Maybe All the water made it too heavy. Valentine who was in the stands had come to  a game though. With the help of some fans and players he got the cover ing off and then he also dragged the Field. I m ready to do it again but i would twant to make it a vocation he says. Valentine is a self starter who has no trouble wearing More than one hat. The facility the rangers use for their training in Pompano Beach is limited. There Are Only two Fields and one of themis used by the local High school. The High school players Aren t that impressed by the big league rangers working out on their Field. Sometimes they re very anxious an you see them waiting around to get their Field Back. Valentine who was t there last Spring because he was still coaching third base for the mets has worked out an agreement wit the High school so the rangers can get in All their work this Spring. Since last season ended Valentine has corresponded with every one of his players asking them to be mentally prepared when they report. He has talked to a lot of them. I told them to leave their Golf clubs Home he says