Matt Bonner | SAN ANTONIO SPURS TICKETS

Former Spurs still driving to the hole

By Richard Oliver
roliver@express-news.net

On a recent steamy morning, Sean Elliott walked out his back door and headed to a corner of the patio of his sprawling home in far north San Antonio.

There, the former Spurs star renewed the quest for another miracle.

Only this time, Elliott wasn’t launching a 3-pointer from a deep corner of the Alamodome basketball court, a breathless city waiting to erupt. Instead, standing on a square patch of artificial turf, a scattering of scuffed golf balls at his feet and a weathered pitching wedge in his hands, the 6-foot-8 athlete lofted shot after shot toward a small, distant putting green that bordered the back of his nearly 5-acre plot.

The only spectators were the dozens of wild birds that screeched and swooped in and out of nearby towering oaks that hugged a large man-made pond.

“I want to be much better at this,” said Elliott, 43. “I want to be a plus handicap. Years ago, I was eating at a table with the coaches, talking about golf, and I said I wanted to do that.

“One of them said, ‘It’s impossible. You can’t do it.’ I got that bug inside me and said, ‘I’m going to do it.’”

Elliott, who took up the game in earnest after retiring from the NBA in 2001, is getting closer.

Listed these days as a 5-handicap, he practices with the kind of focus he once did when NBA championships were the goal. Whether in his picturesque backyard, playing in at least two scrambles a week or toiling at any number of driving ranges around the city, he will sometimes hit 400 shots or more a day, perfecting his game.

He’s not alone among former Spurs who have fallen in love with golf.

Hall of Famer George Gervin, who also professes a 5-handicap, carries his clubs with him around the world in his role as one of basketball’s beloved ambassadors.

Bruce Bowen, a passionate player since retiring two years ago, has rapidly whittled his handicap from well in the 20s to about 14. Other former Spurs players, including Brent Barry and Terry Porter, are excellent players.

“I just enjoy the game of golf,” said Bowen, 40. “It’s difficult, and that’s intriguing for me. There are so many things about golf that equate to life. One day it’s your best day of life, the next day it’s tragedy. In golf, one day it’s your best score ever, the next day you shoot about 100.

“In every round, there are real-life moments.”

When not teeing it up in China, Germany or at various headline courses nationwide, Gervin is practicing on the makeshift driving range he has constructed in the back of his 30-acre tract in Spring Branch. The practice area, from its teeing mats to the fence cutting across the other side of the property, stretches roughly 270 yards.

In between, Gervin has installed greens and flags at 50, 80 and 100 yards. A prolific scorer who totaled nearly 27,000 points during his NBA and ABA career, the 6-foot-8 “Iceman” now wants to score far less in a sport that requires it.

“That’s where I put the clubs in my hands every day,” Gervin, 59, said of his home range. “It’s therapeutic. I cut my own grass, I get up in the mornings and hit balls and in the evening I hit balls.”

He laughed. “I threatened to put some lights out there, but my wife thought it was overboard,” he said.

Gervin began playing golf actively after retiring from basketball in 1990. He said it filled a competitive void for him.

“I loved basketball so much. I had a passion for it,” he said. “We all wish we would have played (golf) when we were younger, but my mind was occupied on something else. I’m glad I had a passion for the game of basketball. But that time of life is over. Now, I’ve got golf.”

Elliott understands. After hitting wedge shots over the oaks and mesquites in his backyard, landing them on the rectangular green beyond, he gathered up errant balls and put them in a pile about 20 feet away from the flag. Under a blazing sun, the former Spurs great chipped shots toward the hole until sweat streamed down his brow.

He’s a 5-handicap working to become a scratch golfer. Only better.

Elliott admits he would like to someday try to play a pro event, perhaps on one of the blossoming celebrity tours.

“I love the game for a lot of reasons,” he said. “It’s challenging, for one. It’s a journey, a hard journey, and I like that. There’s nothing easy about it, and it takes a lot of work to just be mediocre.

“I feel like I can do it, so I’m going to go for it.”

Ex-Spurs greats’ golf profiles

Former Spurs George Gervin, Sean Elliott and Bruce Bowen, among other players, have taken up golf to fill a competitive void after retirement from basketball:

GEORGE GERVIN
Age: 59
Professed handicap: 5
Favorite local courses: Sonterra, River Crossing
Best golf memory: Playing Bob Hope Classic pro-ams with pros Bill Haas, Justin Leonard, David Duval and Kevin Chappell.
Holes-in-one: None
Thoughts on golf: “I’m glad I had a passion for the game of basketball. But that time of life is over. Now, I’ve got golf.”

SEAN ELLIOTT
Age: 43
Professed handicap: 5
Favorite local courses: Sonterra, The Quarry.
Best golf memory: Playing Valero Texas Open pro-am with Adam Scott and ATT Championship pro-am with Lee Trevino.
Holes-in-one: Two.
Thoughts on golf: “I love the game for a lot of reasons. It’s challenging, for one. It’s a journey, a hard journey, and I like that.”

BRUCE BOWEN
Age: 40
Professed handicap: 14
Favorite local course: Briggs Ranch
Best golf memory: Playing Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., this year. Enjoyed seeing historical photos on site, then playing.
Holes-in-one: None
Thoughts on golf: “I want to get better. There are so many things about golf that equates to life. One day it’s your best day of life, the next day it’s tragedy.”

— Richard Oliver

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Former Spurs playing golf

Former Spurs player and current broadcaster Sean Elliott practices his chip shot at a putting green in the backyard of his San Antonio home Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (Jerry Lara/glara@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs great Sean Elliott uses his hat as a pin flag Monday, Sept. 12, 2011 while practicing at his home in far north San Antonio. (Jerry Lara/glara@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spurs player and current broadcaster Sean Elliott practices his golf swing in the backyard of his San Antonio home Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (Jerry Lara/glara@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spurs player and current broadcaster Sean Elliott jokes around as he practices his golf game in the backyard of his San Antonio home Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (Jerry Lara/glara@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spurs player and current broadcaster Sean Elliott practices his golf game in the backyard of his San Antonio home Monday, Sept. 12, 2011. (Jerry Lara/glara@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs forward Matt Bonner shakes hands with former Spur George Gervin during the Matt Bonner KSN Charity Golf Classic on Monday, Oct. 20, 2008. (Helen L. Montoya/hmontoya@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spur Sean Elliott hits his tee shot on the No. 16 at La Cantera on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006 during the pro am event for the Valero Texas Open. (Tom Reel/treel@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

PGA golfer Dickie Pride (left) and former Spur George Gervin play a game of “Horse” for charity on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 19, 2006 during an event held for the media to promote the Valero Texas Open. (William Luther/wluther@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Then-Spurs guard Brent Barry (left) and PGA golfer Dickie Pride talk Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 19, 2006 during an event held for the media to promote the Valero Texas Open. (William Luther/wluther@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Then-Spur Brent Barry blasts from the sand on No. 3 during the Oak Farms Dairy Charity Pro-Am event of the Valero Texas Open at La Cantera on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. (Bob Owen/rowen@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

Then-Spur Brent Barry tees off under the watchful eye of playing pro Olin Browne during the Oak Farms Dairy Charity Pro-Am at La Cantera on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005. (Bob Owen/rowen@express-news.net / San Antonio Express-News)

George Gervin smiles for the camera at the George Gervin Celebrity Golf Tournament on Monday, Sept. 22, 2003 at Tapatio Springs. (File photo / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spur George Gervin watches his putt on the green at the George Gervin Celebrity Golf Tournament on Monday, Sept. 22, 2003 at Tapatio Springs. (File photo / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Spur George Garvin (left) talks with Reggie Jackson at a golf tournament benefiting the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials at Tapatio Springs in Boerne on July 9, 2002. (File photo / San Antonio Express-News)

Then-Spur Sean Elliott smiles as he misses a birdie on the sixth hole at the Dominion Country Club SBC Senior PGA Tour on Tuesday, June 13, 2000. (File photo / San Antonio Express-News)

Then-Spur Terry Porter keeps a close eye during a drive off the fairway at the Dominion Country Club SBC Championship Senior PGA Tour on Tuesday June 13, 2000. (File photo / San Antonio Express-News)

Then-Spur Sean Elliott tees off on the seventh at the pro-am Senior PGA Tour on Tuesday afternoon, June 13, 2000. (File photo / San Antonio Express-News)

Miss ‘Coach B?’ Check out Bonner’s latest video wackiness

Lockout be damned, “Coach B” is at it again.

That’s Matt Bonner, of course, aka Coach B, wacky purveyor of basketball tips and life lessons.

Bonner’s latest video efforts center around promos for a benefit basketball game in Toronto, scheduled for Sept. 10. Bonner is recruiting teams to play in the event. The idea is to raise money for Athletes for Africa and the St. Albans Boys and Girls Clubs.

Cost to enter a team is $500, but teams are being encouraged to raise additional money. The payoff: The top money-raising teams get the right to draft some celebrity players. These include Bonner and Nick Collison, of the Thunder. The real draw, though, is Arcade Fire front man Win Butler, who is both very tall and a bona fide indie rock star. He also happens to count Bonner a good friend.

Here’s a link to a video promoting the event that features Bonner on the art of trash talking.

Fans fear they’ll be the losers

A quick glance around A.J. Hausman’s office tells you everything you need to know about his NBA allegiance.

At least a dozen Spurs team balls, dating to the 1980s, line the shelves. Upward of 30 autographed Spurs jerseys festoon the walls.

When it comes to the latest NBA work stoppage, Hausman — a Spurs season-ticket holder since George Gervin was wowing audiences at HemisFair Arena — has but one rooting interest.

“I just hope they get it fixed before they start missing games,” said Hausman, 63, who runs a wholesale meat distribution company south of downtown. “The people who suffer the most in something like this are always the fans.”

The first full day of the NBA lockout came and went Friday, a day after league owners and the players’ union agreed they couldn’t agree on a new collective bargaining agreement.

At first blush, Spurs fans in San Antonio probably didn’t notice the difference.

At lunchtime Friday, the fan shop at the ATT Center had for sale the usual collection of jerseys, T-shirts and other paraphernalia bearing names and likenesses of Spurs players. Business was slow, but typically so for a random weekday in July.

The lockout was most immediately felt in the Spurs’ front office, where July 1 normally would have signaled the opening of free agency. Instead, phones remained quiet across the league, with team personnel barred — by threat of a $1 million fine — from contact with players, agents or intermediaries until the labor issue is settled.

Perhaps the most noticeable sign of the lockout’s arrival in San Antonio could be found on the Spurs’ official website, where images of all current players had been removed by order of the NBA.

Late Friday afternoon, the Spurs.com home page featured a link to NBA.com’s coverage of the labor struggle, a story on player-development coach Chad Forcier and video features about the Silver Dancers and the team’s mascot, The Coyote.

Though the earliest effects of the lockout have been easy to miss, fans who stuck with the team through the league’s last labor stoppage in 1998-99 realize more meaningful consequences are on the horizon.

Carol Muir, a real-estate agent with Kuper-Sotheby’s, has owned Spurs season tickets since 1974-75, when the club played in the ABA. If she learned anything from the labor war of 13 years ago, it’s that things are likely to get worse before they get better.

It took 204 days to resolve the last lockout, and not before 32 of 82 games were erased from the NBA schedule.

“The longer it goes, the worse it will be,” Muir said.

Owners are seeking to revamp a player salary-structure they say is unsustainable, citing league accounting that claims 22 of 30 teams posted losses last season totaling in excess of $300 million.

Players have been willing to concede some salary relief but would prefer owners contribute to their own bailout through revenue sharing, rather than relying solely on payroll cuts.

The two sides plan to return to the bargaining table in a few weeks. If an agreement can’t be reached by October, the start of the regular season could be postponed. If the dispute persists into January, the entire season might be scuttled.

Fans, some of whom plunk down thousands of dollars per year on season tickets, don’t seem to care about the specifics of the tug-of-war. They just want basketball.

“I feel more sorry for the people who work the games, the ushers and the concessionaires, than I do the players,” said Muir, who says she will keep her season tickets even if games are missed. “And I feel sorry for all the fans.”

After the 1998-99 lockout, it took several years for some fans to fully embrace the sport again. At a news conference Thursday in New York, league commissioner David Stern said he understood why fans might not take kindly to another stoppage.

“I think our fans will tend to have a negative view of, ‘Why can’t you guys work this thing out?’” Stern said.

Spurs forward Matt Bonner, a vice president of the players’ union, echoed sympathy for the league’s fans.

“As players, we want to play,” Bonner said. “But at the same time, we need a fair deal.”

For fans such as Hausman, that day can’t come soon enough. Like Muir, Hausman says he has no plans to cancel the season tickets he first purchased in 1984.

He just hopes he has a chance to use them again sometime soon.

“I’ll still support the Spurs,” he said. “I just hope they figure this out. It’s sad that it had to come to this.”

Staff Writer Mike Monroe contributed to this report.