Prep column: Of aces and clubs

Barry Faulkner

The golf travelogue of Newport Harbor High senior Jake Allanach,

already filled with more experiences than most players twice his age,

added its most peculiar entry last weekend.

Allanach’s three-day journey to Northern California, along with his

Sailor teammates, began inauspiciously, when four clubs and his soft

fabric golf bag were irreparably damaged during the flight.

Upon landing, a tight itinerary forced him to head straight for the golf

course, where he called upon friends, as well as the courtesy of the pro

shop, to borrow replacements for his bent and unusable putter (which, of

course was nearly brand new), two wedges and his 9-iron.

Though understandably upset about his crooked former clubs, Allanach

didn’t have to wait long to regain the graces of the golf gods.

Friday, on the 154-yard, par-3 No. 8 hole at Hagen Oaks in Sacramento,

upon which the hole is not visible from the tee due to a bunker in front

of the green, Allanach used an undamaged 8-iron to record a hole in one.

“It gave me a boost,” said Allanach, whose playing partner discovered the

ball in the hole as they approached the green.

It was the second ace for Allanach, 18, who recorded his first 10 years

ago in Lake Oswego, Ore.

And while Allanach will have to battle the airlines for damages, he

admits the mishap may turn into a positive.

“The putter I borrowed really felt good” Allanach said. “I shot 74 the

day I used it and I had 25 putts.”

Allanach began searching for a putter similar to the model he left behind

in Sacramento Monday with hopes of remaining in the groove as the Sailors

returned to Sea View League play Tuesday against Laguna Hills.

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Just three weeks after the last eventful CIF Southern Section Council

meeting, the legislative body will meet again Thursday at the Sequoia

Athletic Club.

Among the action items is the proposed football playoff groupings

(divisional breakdowns) for a three-year term beginning next fall.

The proposal includes no changes in Division VI (Newport Harbor) and

Division IX (Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa and Estancia).

The Century League (4-12 in the postseason the last four years) appealed

its placement in Division VI, but the appeal was denied.

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At 7-7, and in the midst of a three-team battle for the two remaining

Pacific Coast League playoff berths, there is little to link the Corona

del Mar High baseball team to last spring’s CIF Southern Section Division

IV championship.

But the program has commemorated the accomplishment, as well as the CIF

2-A title won by the 1981 Sea Kings, with a scoreboard display.

In addition to the team titles, the scoreboard also features a tribute to

Jeff Pries (‘81) and Ty Harper (‘99), who collected CIF Player of the

Year honors on the two championship teams.