Golf Balls

Borders Books, Music and Cafe at 1890 Newport Blvd. in Costa Mesa is having a special event today to celebrate the release of the latest Harry Potter book. Free balloons in the shape of lightning bolts, Harry Potter glasses and other items will be created and handed out by Mr. Twist from 8 to 10 a.m. And for the release of the fourth book, the store will open an hour early today at 8 a.m. There will also be more Harry Potter-related giveaways, such as miniature peel-off Hogwarts pennants, Harry Potter body stickers, Qudditch World Cup patches and crossword puzzles.

Elia Powers As professional and amateur golfers practiced their swings this week at the Newport Beach Country Club driving range, they likely noticed a man driving the vehicle that scooped up their scattered golf balls and dodged their airborne projectiles. That man was Dee DeVaney, and he was doing his duties pro bono. An 18-year club member, DeVaney is one of more than 900 volunteers at the Toshiba Senior Classic, which wraps up Sunday. Since the tournament moved to its current location 10 years ago, DeVaney has been in charge of the driving range during tournament week.

"It's a wise father that knows his own child. " William Shakespeare wrote that in his play, "The Merchant of Venice. " Anyone who stayed awake during high school English knows that quotes from the Bard are drenched with layer upon layer of meaning. But, as today is Father's Day, best not to go too deep. For all the dads out there, today is the time for the nation to recognize that it isn't moms alone who are meant to shoulder the burden and savor the joys of raising children.

Greg Risling Rub. Scratch. Rub. The numbers vanished and reappeared. I haven't used an eraser in years, but it sure came in handy Friday morning as I scored a round of golf at the Toshiba Senior Classic. What was once a smooth nub turned into a leveled rubber pad by day's end. An eraser is a pencil's best friend. It was a pal of mine, too. Keeping score isn't hard in golf. How hard is it to distinguish a birdie from a bogey or an eagle from even par?

Chris Yemma Newport Harbor High junior golfer Natalie Draganza was 10 years old when one of her best golf shots occurred. She was about 100 yards from the pin, in the trees, on hole No. 3 with her grandpa at the Costa Mesa Golf & Country Club. She took a swing with her 7-iron and hoped for the best. "We walked around the green looking for it, but we couldn't find it," Draganza recalled. "And then we looked in the hole and it was there." Six years later, Draganza is the No. 1 golfer for the Newport Harbor girls golf team.

Marisa O'Neil Hundreds of volunteers armed with trash bags, rubber gloves and bottles of water scoured local beaches and shorelines Saturday morning as part of the 19th annual International Coastal Cleanup. Local environmental groups organized cleanups in the Back Bay and Crystal Cove State Park, where volunteers cleared three beaches of accumulated garbage. Sage Hill student Audrey Kim, 16, helped collect and weigh garbage at Reef Point, where volunteers collected nearly 200 pounds worth.

RICHARD DUNN As Jack Nicklaus got up from his chair on stage in the interview room at the Toshiba Senior Classic media center at Newport Beach Country Club, he acted his age. It was slow and careful. There was a grimace on his face. He reached down with his right hand to grab his hip and lower back. It was painful to watch. Then he gracefully stood up. Like a bear growling in the forest. Nicklaus, however, is fine physically. "I'm OK," he quipped.

Ann C. Shultz To visit Mammoth in the late summer is to fall in love. The days are warm and sun dappled. The nights are crisp and cool with the promise of fall. My husband and I arrived in town on an August afternoon just in time to join the fun at the Art A La Carte Festival. Once a year, local artisans, restaurants and wineries set up colorful booths in Mammoth Park. We spent the afternoon sipping wine, sampling local fare and viewing the artwork and crafts displayed along the shaded forest path and sparkling creek.

Bryce Alderton The love of golf prompted a vision for Boyd Martin and Tom Shauppner. Martin, who claimed his sixth Santa Ana Country Club's men's golf championship late last month, and Shauppner met in the mid 1990s and a short time later, a facility for driving golf balls was built. The two own the Long Beach Golf Learning Center, which opened in 1997, near where the 710 and San Diego Freeways meet. "Just the love of golf," Martin said when asked what sparked him and Shauppner to build the center.

Richard Dunn NEWPORT BEACH - The largest gallery during the Toshiba Senior Classic Pro-Am rounds Thursday at Newport Beach Country Club wasn't for Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Watson, Chi Chi Rodriguez or Lee Trevino, all of whom played in the morning under a steady rain. For the third time in three pro-ams this week, former baseball slugger Mark McGwire teed it up for charity and drew the biggest following among golf fans. McGwire, a certain Hall of Famer after hitting 583 career home runs, including a record-breaking 70 in 1998, hammered golf balls out of sight again and signed autographs for fans Thursday afternoon between holes.