”The hardest thing is change,” says Frank Chirkinian, CBS Sports` long- time producer for golf. And Chirkinian is learning about change the hard way this week as the Western Open, for 17 years a mainstay at Butler National, moves to Cog Hill.
”It`s a green golf course, just as Butler,” says Chirkinian, who had been to Cog Hill only once before this week. ”I`ve heard a lot of good things about (Cog Hill). It`s a Dick Wilson-designed course, and Wilson had a magnificent reputation.
”It`s not the same (as Butler) in that one is a well-manicured private club; the other is a well-used public facility. But it`s in great condition from what I can see.”
But while Chirkinian says ”all comparisons are odious,” he adds: ”The ambiance might be a little different. We`re surrounded by a chemical plant and the city dump. It`s not exactly downtown Oak Brook.”
But Chirkinian predicts the players will like the Dubsdread course. ”An awful lot of players, for some inexplicable reason, never really liked Butler. I don`t envision any major difference. They`re all going to have to go out and play the same golf course to win the championship.”
CBS, which telecasts the final two rounds of the Western on Saturday and Sunday, has had three tournaments change courses this year due to what might be called the ”Shoal Creek Effect”-the National Pro-Am, the PGA Championship and the Western Open.
”These courses were not averse to adhering to the PGA policies,” says Chirkinian, ”as much as they were against changing their own policies
(regarding new members). When there`s a waiting list of 10 years, how could you push one person ahead of the others?
”It`s a pity we`ve lost such treasures, but we have. I`ll certainly miss Butler. I`ll make no bones about that. I loved the course, the setup there, the people who ran the tournament.”
– The images are beautiful-Cubs and White Sox players frolicking in white and gray flannel uniforms. No, it`s not a scene from the new movie about Babe Ruth. Rather, it`s a scene from old home movies, shot by fans and players, that fill HBO`s baseball documentary ”When It Was a Game” that debuts at 9 p.m. Monday.
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Old color movies of players like Leo Durocher, the Babe, Lou Gehrig, Billy Herman, Pepper Martin, Jackie Robinson, Enos Slaughter. Old color movies of ballparks like Wrigley Field (before the bleachers and the ivy) and Comiskey Park (before the white paint). Old color movies of a pre-World Series parade in Chicago, circa 1938.
The documentary, produced by HBO`s Dave Harmon in conjunction with Black Canyon Productions` George Roy and Steve Stern, came about after a meeting in May, 1990, with HBO executive producer Ross Greenburg.
”The four of us sat in wonderment and watched clips Black Canyon had dug up when they were producing a video on the Dodgers,” recalls Greenburg.
”They had some color film they gathered on people like Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese.”
While Stern and Roy pitched the program as a Dodger documentary, ”I told Steve and George to go into the basements and attics around America,” says Greenburg, ”and let`s dig up all these original color home movies and make a general baseball show, giving people an idea what it was like from 1934 to 1957.”
The research team sent out about 1,000 inquiries and received 50 hours of footage, 90 percent of it color, according to Greenburg. So much that a sequel is ”a strong possibility.” Once the documentary airs, Greenburg expects another 100 hours of film.
Helping with the narration are James Earl Jones, Roy Scheider and Jason Robards, who read works from baseball books, and interviews with former players such as Duke Snider and Tommy Henrich.
”We pulled passages from the great baseball books,” says Greenburg of the three actors` participation. ”Their interest was piqued once they saw what the project was all about. Robards and Scheider basically spent all day looking at footage, loving to be a part of this.”
– The CBS Sports Challenge, a sports-themed shopping mall exhibition, makes a stop at Stratford Square Friday through Sunday. . . . Pirates outfielder Barry Bonds explains his side of the spring training blowout with manager Jim Leyland to WCBR-FM`s Cheryl Raye at 6 p.m. Sunday. . . . The first of 10
”Illinois Golf Almanac” shows, featuring tips and history tidbits from local pros, airs on SportsChannel at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. . . . Joe Paschen and Scott Slocum preview the Western Open at 3 p.m. Friday on WCTV-Ch. 15 in Will County.
– Michael Jordan-remember him?-participates in the Celebrity Golf Classic on WMAQ-Ch. 5 this weekend. TV analyst Bucky Waters tells what it`s like to play in the Bulls star`s own tournament: ”If you are not in Michael`s group, you feel like the Maytag repairman. If you are in his group, your best shot of the day may be a tetanus shot after Michael`s fans have massaged you for 18 holes trying to get close to the Great One.”
– Anheuser-Busch, with the cooperation of SportsChannel, is test-marketing a scoreboard commercial during White Sox telecasts. The station airs a 30-second Budweiser commercial that is condensed to provide room for scores of other games in the bottom of the fifth inning. ”They (A-B officials) want to find out if this will enhance the environment for their commercials,” says a SportsChannel spokesperson.