Media Savvy
Links Love Affair
By Paul Alexander

Variety truly is the spice of life. While Steelers' fans want to talk football 24-7-365, I embrace the fact that spring brings us the Masters. And this year it brings us the 66th Senior PGA Championship at Laurel Valley Golf Club.

The Masters is indeed an experience unlike any other. Unfortunately, I've never had the experience. Oh I catch most of it on TV, but it doesn't compare to being up close and personal with the legends of the game.

You have that chance the week of May 23.

Laurel Valley will always be very near and dear to me. I was an 8th grader in 1975 when the Ryder Cup came to Ligonier. My dad and I spent one of the most awesome days of my life there. It was just a practice round, but that made it even better. We followed Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskoff for several holes, and I learned a valuable lesson. Terrible Tom hit the ball further and straighter than the Bear -- but his temper always seemed to get the best of him. I also got Arnold Palmer's autograph.

Anyway, that was my first exposure to professional golf. Right then and there, I decided I was going to learn how to play that silly game.

We're very lucky. We finally have an annual PGA tour stop. The 84 Lumber Classic just gets bigger and better every year, and you never know who Joe and Maggie Hardy will lock up for this years' classic. Oakmont hosted the U.S. Amateur two years ago and that famous track will have yet another U.S. Open on the way in 2007.

There is so much more to these events than the final round on Sunday. Practice rounds are awesome. Watch players hit different shots and play the hole with different strategies. Volunteer and carry a leader board and get some great behind the scenes access. I did that when I was in high school and John Mahaffey won the PGA at Oakmont.

I could actually watch pros hit balls on the range for hours and many of them do just that. Last year at Mystic Rock, Vijay Singh and Rocco Mediate put on a clinic. No offense to Rocco, but I could watch Vijay hit seven irons all day. Just the sound and trajectory were unreal. He hit every single one perfectly.

So don't miss out on these great opportunities. While many of the athletes we follow are bigger and stronger than we could ever imagine, they still play the games the same way we do. Watch the better professional golfers. You will probably never in your life, unless you're a pretty accomplished player, hit a ball the way they do. I believe they are so beyond our realm that Michael Jordan honestly wishes he were Tiger Woods.

I still love all the other sports but that day at Laurel Valley changed my life forever. My wife isn't too happy about it, but I absolutely love golf. I love to play and I love to watch. There really isn't anything quite like watching the best players in the world fight the same fight we do. Sure, they're better equipped with awesome swings and superior equipment, but they have good days and bad just like us.

If the NFL Draft is all that matters to you this spring, I'm sorry you didn't have a special day like I did with my dad at Laurel Valley. Yeah, he took me to Forbes Field, Pitt Stadium and the Civic Arena. We went downtown when the Pirates won the World Series in 1971. Steelers' Training Camp was always a staple.

But there was just something extra special about golf at Laurel Valley. That will never change.

Paul Alexander's talk show airs 6-9 p.m. weekdays on KDKA 1020.