ERIC WOODS

Richard Dunn

His game still has flickers of greatness, which keeps Eric Woods

coming back to the golf course, and, despite his age, his dreams

alive.

“I’m 39 and still have an opportunity to pursue my dream,” said

Woods, a Corona del Mar High and UC Irvine graduate who turned pro in

1988, but hasn’t played regularly in about six years since his

father, Richard, a longtime former Newport Beach Country Club member,

passed away.

At that point, Woods took over the family business, Cactus

Packaging, and his golf career took a back seat.

These days, Woods is in the midst of a mild comeback this year

after having played five mini-tour events and finishing no worse than

12th. He carded a smooth 63 earlier this year in a Golden State

Tour/Pro Series event at Brookside Golf Club in Pasadena, an

indication that recent hard work is paying off.

Once on the cusp of a promising career, Woods traveled the world

in search of a good time, which, if enough rounds in the 60s were

factored in, became a great time. “When I was playing professionally,

no one had as much fun as I was having,” Woods once said. “And I had

enough talent to make enough money to pay my bills.”

As a playing pro, Woods traveled to South Africa and South

America. He played on the Australian and Asia tours, then in 1993 and

‘94, he enjoyed back-to-back years of winning the Order of Merit, as

the money list is called, on the Canadian Tour. In ‘94, Woods led the

Canadian Tour in low-stroke average and captured two tournaments

north of border. His spot on the tour’s all-time money list continues

to open doors if he’s interesting in playing.

“I get to play in almost anything I want to play in [on the

Canadian Tour,]” said Woods, a former CdM football quarterback who

played golf in Canada earlier this year for the first time in quite

awhile.

“It’s so awesome,” Woods added. “You forget how nice professional

golf tournaments are; it’s your course when you get there. It’s roped

off, you get great balls on the driving range and all the balls you

want to hit, the golf course is in perfect shape and you’ve got

caddies, which is the way golf should be. It’s so fun. What I really

miss is a caddie. If I had it my way the rest of my life, somebody

would be carrying my bag. Unfortunately, right now, it’s me doing

it.”

Woods, who hasn’t played competitively on a full-time basis since

his father became ill in 1995, has kept the inherited business going,

while opening The Golf Lab in Costa Mesa, an indoor practice facility

which has been focusing lately on custom putter fitting and custom

junior golf club fitting.

“I love teaching and the technical side of golf,” Woods said. “I’m

intrigued with it and enjoy learning about equipment. I’m not so much

into changing adults’ equipment as I am with kids.”

At this point in his playing career, Woods isn’t trying to win any

more money titles, but he’d like to return to ’94 form. “I don’t care

if [the money] is Canadian. I’m going to play in anything where I

think I can make cash at,” said Woods, who has a 14-month-old son,

Daniel.

“It’s hard. I love golf and I feel I have the ability to make a

living playing golf. But, right now, it’s not realistic, because I’ve

got a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I’m doing what I think

is right. It’s not wise to walk away from a profitable business.”

Woods, who won the South American Tour Order of Merit in 1992

after contending for the championship in five of seven events that

year, has never owned a PGA Tour card, but played in the 1987 LA Open

as an amateur and the 1991 AT&T; National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach in

1991.

A longtime CdM resident, Woods is the latest honoree in the Daily

Pilot Sports Hall of Fame.