Duke Doubles Fun on a Golf Tour of Maui

Strange things seem to happen to Donna Duke on a golf course. The hole keeps getting in the way of her tee shots.

Duke, 60, a retired civil service worker who lives in Camarillo, recently visited Maui on a vacation with six friends.

They played golf on March 8 and naturally she got two holes in one in one round at the Silversword golf course near Kihei.

By her count, she has recorded 30 holes in one since 1984 and says there were witnesses for every one of them.

Adds Duke: “I almost got another one on the par-three, 97-yard third hole. The ball was two inches from the cup, and four gentlemen playing ahead of us were whooping and hollering.”

She was more accurate on the back nine, with aces at the 134-yard 12th hole (four-iron) and the 131-yard 17th (six-iron).

The odds of any golfer making a hole in one are 8,000 to 1. Whether you believe it, or not, the odds for Duke are considerably shorter.

Trivia time: Name the only Pacific 10 school that hasn’t won an NCAA championship in any sport.

Fame is fleeting: USC’s Harold Miner was named to Dick Vitale’s 1991-92 preseason All-American basketball team before the Trojans lost to Florida State, 75-72, Thursday in a first-round NCAA tournament game.

Vitale, an ESPN sports commentator, quickly revised his All-American team on a subsequent show. Miner was dropped.

Bowling along: Joe (the Jet) Perry, the former San Francisco 49er Hall of Fame running back who used to bowl over defensive players, is simply bowling now.

Perry, 64, is competing this week in a four-day PBA senior event at San Francisco. He’s not a novice. He used to take his bowling ball with him on 49er trips.

Passing the bar: Baseball players are considered more superstitious than most athletes. In the Incomplete Book of Baseball Superstitions, Rituals and Oddities, it is noted that outfielder Minnie Minoso would purge a hitting slump by going into a clubhouse shower fully clothed and engulfing himself with soap and water.

The game after one clean routine, Minoso got three hits, and after the last out, eight of his teammates jumped into a shower wearing their uniforms.

Football foodies: The World League of American Football is seemingly just as concerned about what spectators will eat as about the product it puts on the field.

For example, fans in Frankfurt will eat hot dogs and German bratwurst, and fish and chips will be served in London. Barcelona concession stands will offer beer, brandy and bocadillos--ham, sausage or cheese sandwiches on hard rolls.

Theme food is encouraged, such as San Antonio bringing Mexican food to a game in Europe. It’s also suggested that New York could provide deli food. And, to play it safe, Alka-Seltzer should be available.

Trivia answer: The University of Washington.

Quotebook: Lori Norwood, the No. 1-ranked woman in the modern pentathlon and a prize-winning sculptor, when asked if she would give up sport for art: “I’ll be starving as an athlete, or as an artist, so there’s no rush.”