SHE SAID, SHE SAID.

Byline: Jill Painter

HER TAKE

Jenny Choe

Rancho Park pro

Try to hit your first shot to the right about 220 yards. Then I usually hit a 3-wood left about 190 or 200 yards. Depending on how much you have left, you can use a sand wedge or pitching wedge. There are trees on the left but the right side is open. There are bunkers on the right and top and left. You want to be on the green.

Choe's hole: We had her play from the red tees, which are 449yards out, even though she usually plays whites or blues. She hit her first shot about 190 or 200 yards in the fairway. Then she used a 5-wood and landed about 60yards in front of the green. It was hard to find the ball, since balls from the adjacent driving range clutter the hole. She used a pitching wedge, since the greens are wet late in the day, with a 3/4 swing to about 15 feet from the hole and putted from to within six inches of the cup.

HER TAKE

JILL PAINTER

Daily News golf columnist

I'd heard Rancho Park was dubbed the busiest golf course in America. From dawn until dusk, the course has golfers teeing off every seven minutes. At any given time on No. 18, there's a group on the tee, one in the fairway and one on the green. This is the hole Arnold Palmer made famous when he made a 12 in the L.A. Open in 1961. The copper plaque dedicating the hole to hackers everywhere was stolen, so now the plaque is made of rock.

I hit my drive about 150 yards in the fairway. I took a good piece of the course with me on the second shot. Not wanting to get plunked by a golf ball by impatient golfers, I picked up and chipped from the same spot Choe did about 60 yards from the hole. I hit into the right sand trap, took it out (hey, I didn't have my sand wedge) and pitched from the rough to about 12 feet and made the putt.

TEEING OFF WITH ...

Noah Clarke, Kings left winger

Like many hockey players, Clarke has golfed a little, too. Clarke, who grew up in La Verne, began golfing on Glendora courses when he was 12. Clarke was drafted by the Kings in 1999 and has spent most of his time with the Kings' affiliate Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League. He made his debut with the Kings in 2003, becoming the first Southern California-born to skate for the Kings.

Clarke and Daily News golf columnist Jill Painter teed it up at the Marriott's par-3 course in Manhattan Beach recently. Clarke played golf just twice this summer but hadn't lost his touch with the putter and drained a 40-footer.

DAILY NEWS: What's the most challenging thing for you about golf?

NOAH CLARKE: Just trying to be consistent. You can hit a good shot and then hit a lot of bad ones. I'll hit a good one, then spray it right or duff one.

DN: A lot of hockey players seem to pick up golf as a hobby. Compare the two sports.

NC: Golf is so much more of a mental game. Those pros are unbelievable. It's amazing how focused Tiger (Woods) is. Hockey is a lot about athleticism. It's similar with the way you swing and the way you shoot the puck.

DN: You shoot left-handed but do everything else, including playing golf, right-handed. Why is that?

NC: I think a lot of people are like that. I know guys that do everything else left-handed and shoot right. My dad played and he gave me a straight stick and for whatever reason I was just shooting with my left hand.

DN: You transferred to Shattuck St. Mary's prep school in Minnesota as a junior to be able to play hockey every day. How much golf were you able to play there?

NC: At the time I left, I was playing a lot of golf here. You lived in the dorms there and after you survived the winter you could play from April until September. ... I almost got hit by a golf ball when I was there. I was standing by a tree and my professor hit a 3-wood pretty good and it went right for my head. The ball snapped a tree branch and hit the ground. He felt really bad.

DN: Who would be in your dream foursome?

NC: Michael Jordan -- I was a big Jordan fan. Andy Warhol -- I like his work and I think he'd be interesting to talk to. Abraham Lincoln -- he's a name that always comes up throughout history for his character.

DN: What's your most embarrassing moment on a golf course?

NC: I was playing with a group of friends and we bet dinner. I was right in the hunt but on the last hole, I shot a 12. I hit one in the water, I lost one in the woods. It was just bad.

DN: What's your most memorable moment?

NC: Getting my first birdie. I still remember it. It was at Glendora and it was the second hole, about 130 yards. I hit it pretty close. I rolled in the putt from about 10 feet out. I was pumped.

DN: You have one year left on your contract with the Kings. How important is this upcoming season to your career?

NC: I think the last two years have been big for me, my third and fourth years as a pro. I'm 27and it's kind of a make-or-break year for me. I like it here but this is the last year of my contract and there's all new management. I'm not sure what the options are, whether I'll be here in L.A. or somewhere else.

DN: Change has been the theme with the Kings this year, with new management and coaching staff. What do you think it will be like this year?

NC: It's just different. You get used to one staff. Ever since I was drafted, it's been (former general manager) Dave Taylor and (former coach) Andy Murray. (General manager) Dean Lombardi did a good job in San Jose and (coach) Marc Crawford has a Stanley Cup and then there's (assistant general manager) Ron Hextall. They're all proven winners. It's exciting. It's a new challenge for them and the players.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 7 boxes

Photo:

(1) no caption (Michelle Wie)

(2) no caption (RANCHO PARK)

(3) no caption (Noah Clarke)

Box:

(1) PRO'S SCORECARD

(2) TOUR PERFORMANCE

(3) ON THE CALENDAR

(4) THEY SAID IT

(5) TIP OF THE WEEK

(6) STAT OF THE WEEK

(7) IF YOU GO