After a year of attempting to privatize its Pete Dye-designed course, the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa has decided to switch Mystic Rock back to a resort and daily-fee facility that is open to the public.

The move coincides with last year's decision by the 84 Lumber Co. to cease sponsorship of the PGA Tour event -- the 84 Lumber Classic -- that was staged the past four years at Mystic Rock.

One of the reasons the resort was going to privatize Mystic Rock was to limit the amount of rounds in an attempt to improve turf quality for the tournament.

In an attempt to lure players back to the course, director of golf Dennis Clark said the resort is offering a special in which a foursome can play Mystic Rock for $399, with lunch and a post-round beverage included.

"A lot of people haven't been able to play the course since we made all the changes," Clark said. "We want them to come out and see what we've done."

The resort is also planning a major renovation to the adjacent 18-hole Links Course that won't get started until 2008. The course needs to be upgraded because Nemacolin Woodlands is trying to attract, among other events, the NCAA Championship, which requires a 36-hole facility.

Trivia question

When was the last time a European player won a major championship? Answer at end.

Pro on the move

Sean Farren has left the Tri-State PGA section to become head professional at The Creek Club in Locust Valley, N.Y., a move that transports the Oakmont native to one of the most exclusive clubs on Long Island.

Farren left his position as head professional at Totteridge Golf Club in Greensburg last fall, then spent the winter months working as an assistant under Bob Ford at Seminole GC in Jupiter, Fla., something he has done the past three years.

"I would compare it to a Fox Chapel," Farren said. "It's kind of under the radar. You don't hear a lot about it."

The Creek Club was founded in 1925 and built by Charles Blair McDonald and Seth Raynor, who also designed Fox Chapel. And, like Fox Chapel, the Creek Club is not very long, measuring only 6,402 yards from the back tees.

With his new position, Farren will no longer work winter months at Seminole. He also will be entering the Metropolitan section of the PGA of America, perhaps the only section in the country with better players and bigger purses than the Tri-State.

"At some point you want to have roots and not keep moving your stuff," said Farren, a former player of the year in the Tri-State section.

Farren isn't the only head professional to change jobs. Here are other Western Pennsylvania clubs who have hired new head professionals this year:

Oak Tree GC, Dennis Dolci; Alcoma GC, Jim Finke; Greensburg CC, Dale Loesline; Edgewood CC, Peter Micklewright; River Forest GC, Brad Phillips; The Country Club (Meadville), Bernie Quinn; Valley Green Golf & CC, Brian Klocek.

A tour stop

Even with the loss of the 84 Lumber Classic, the Pittsburgh area still will be the site of a professional tour stop this year.

The NGA Hooters Tour returns for its second season at Quicksilver Golf Club in Midway, site of past Hogan Tour and PGA Seniors Tour events. The tournament, known as the Quicksilver Golf Classic, will be May 10-13, and it has been so well-received that a third pro-am was added for May 7.

"It's growing and growing," said Quicksilver director of golf Sean Parees. "They're certainly good players. We saw that last year when 15 under was the winning score [by three shots]. That's the best winning score we ever had, even when the other tours were here."

Mad at Tiger

Count Steve Wheatcroft among the PGA Tour players who are not happy about Tiger Woods' new tournament -- the AT&T National -- being a limited-field, invitational tournament.

The tournament, which will be July 5-8 in Washington, D.C., will have a $6 million purse. But, like other invitationals such as the Memorial and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the tournament will have approximately 100 to 120 players, fewer than most events which usually have 144 or 156 players.

Fewer spots mean fewer opportunities for players who are trying to earn enough money to retain their playing cards. Rich Beem was among the first to speak out against the new tournament, saying Woods is "sticking it to the players."

He was upset because Woods' tournament is taking the place on the schedule of The International, a full-field tournament that always had 156 players.

"The rank and file need to shut up," said Rocco Mediate, pointing to the large purses that exist on the PGA Tour because of Woods. Phil Mickelson agreed, saying Woods has expanded playing opportunities, not to mention purses, for all tour players.

But consider a player such as Wheatcroft, a Washington, Pa., native.

A rookie on the PGA Tour, Wheatcroft has played in just eight events this year, making the cut twice. He played in the Shell Houston Open last weekend, his first event in more than a month, and missed the cut.

Because he earned his tour card at qualifying school, Wheatcroft is in a category of 60 players (Q-school qualifers and Nationwide Tour graduates) whose qualifying order is based on how they play. But because he got off to a bad start, Wheatcroft dropped from No. 12 to No. 43 in the qualifying order when the tour re-shuffled the players, making it even more difficult to get into events and all but eliminating any chance of getting into a limited-field tournament.

"I know I'm only a rookie and I haven't played well, but it doesn't make it any easier for me or other young guys who are trying to play enough to make money," Wheatcroft said.

Excellent training tool

It seems like a simple training device, this 17-ounce club with a 4 1/2-inch-long yellow head. But Matt Kluck, one of the top teaching professionals in the country, calls its a great swing-development tool.

It's called the D2 Swing Trainer, and its nothing more than a club that is the same size as a 6-iron but with a specific lie angle, length and weight distribution. The club is nearly 3 ounces heavier than a normal 6-iron, with 67 percent of the weight in the toe of the yellow head, but it is designed to promote a balanced address and spine angle and automatically produce the correct swing pattern.

Kluck said that allows someone using the swing trainer to "feel the clubhead easier." The weighting is designed to make it easier to swing the club when the proper mechanics are used.

"It helps the student to feel the proper movement with the golf swing," said Kluck, head pro at Mt. Lebanon Municipal. "It changes the swing almost immediately. It can help a teacher establish the feeling they are trying to establish with the student."

Go online to check it out at www.d2golfbetter.com.

Dissa and data

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh will be the host of its 14th annual Big MAC (Most Assists with Children) outing May 15 at Laurel Valley Golf Club. The event benefits the Ronald McDonald House Charities and families receiving life saving medical treatment at local hospitals. Call 412-362-3400.

The Greater Pittsburgh Football Officials Association will have its annual Harry Quinn-Ralph Schorr Memorial Classic June 24 at Ponderosa GC. Entry is $90 and includes breakfast, gift and buffet dinner. Call 412-787-5422 or 412-788-0760.

Trivia answer

Paul Lawrie of Scotland won the British Open in 1999, the last time a player from European won a major title.