Mark Calcavecchia staying active … on social media

What has PGA TOUR Champions veteran Mark Calcavecchia been up to since the coronavirus quarantine went into effect in March?

Let’s just say he has been a lot more active on social media than he has been with his golf clubs.

“Monday was the first time I put a club to a ball,” Calvacecchia said. “I hit about 10 chips in my backyard. I made the second one, so I still got it.

“But yeah, by my count it has been 44 days since I took a full swing with a club and actually hit a golf ball.”

Not to worry. Calcavecchia, who turns 60 in June, always has been a streaky player. He can be going along badly for weeks, get right in a few holes and run off birdies by the bucket.

Where Calc has been on fire is Twitter. His handle is @MarkCalc, and, well, it’s a treat for golf fans, dog owners, food and win aficionados, and anyone who just wants to pass some time during these days of stay-at-home orders and social distancing.

“I’ve been on Twitter for a few years, but I spent more time reading it,” Calcavecchia said this week. “I would go weeks without saying anything. It was for when I was sick and tired of Facebook or playing Words With Friends. It was a lot of fun to read.

“Once we get home from Newport Beach (the last event for PGA TOUR Champions shut down, the Hoag Classic) … I started to be more active. You take pictures of your dogs and food, and you find stuff to keep yourself amused. Sometimes I come up with some funny stuff and sometimes my wife, Brenda, helps. She’s behind a lot of it, and she’s pretty funny on Twitter, too.”

Fans of Calc no doubt have followed the exploits of the newest member of the family, an adopted rescue American boxer pup who has been dubbed Dexter Diablo Destroyer Calcavecchia. Mark and Brenda had been contemplating another dog for a while after one of theirs passed away in 2018. Shortly after they returned from the Hoag Classic, friend Lauree Simmons of Big Dog Ranch Rescue arranged for them to come by the facility in Loxahatchee Groves, Florida, not that far from where the Calcavecchias make their home.

Simmons brought out an 8-week-old puppy.

“We weren’t set on getting a dog, let alone a puppy,” Calcavecchia said. “She brought him out, and we saw him from 30 yards away and were like, ‘Oh sh--.’ We played with him for like 30 minutes and he was just as cute as can be. He was the last of a litter of 16 puppies, and we said when can we get him. Less than an hour later he was in the car with us.”

While admittedly cute, Dexter has been much more than the Calcavecchias bargained for. The “Diablo Destroyer” part of his name came after they got him home.

“It’s been a long time since we had a puppy,” Calcavecchia said. “I think whenever we get another dog it should be at least a year old so we can skip the teething and biting and chewing phase.”

“His teeth are just like razor blades, and he comes at you with an open mouth full of teeth. But he’s actually a really good boy. Sleeps all night. Of course, in bed with us.”

Besides playing with and training Dexter, Mark has kept busy cooking, binging shows on streaming services, doing jigsaw puzzles with Brenda and checking into NASCAR simulators.

Calc has taken to watching simulated races among the NASCAR drivers and says he’ll own a simulator someday.

“Those things can run up to 50 grand,” Calcavecchia said. “I’ll find a nice used one for 10 or 12 grand at some point. They look like a lot of fun.”

Calcavecchia was off to a rough start pre-quarantine: In five starts he had only one finish better than 63rd, a 38th at the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. In fact, his last top 10 was a T10 at Hualalai in 2019.

But he believes there is life still to be found in his golf game, much as his fellow PGA TOUR Champions competitors Jay Haas, Mark O’Meara and Bernhard Langer have extended their great play into their 60s.

“I just want play well again,” Calcavecchia said. “I definitely can win again. It’s only been two years (Calcavecchia last won at the Boca Raton Championship in February 2018). I know it’s still in there. I know I’ve hit enough good golf shots in a row.

“You have to play well for 54 holes in a row. I just want to play well again and have more fun doing it. I don’t care how old you are, when you’re shooting 73, 74 on a regular basis it’s not really that much fun. You need to have some decent tournaments and some top 10s to keep your interest. But I will say one thing about these last few months because of the virus. It has squashed any idea I had of retiring. I’m getting edgy and I’m starting to lose it. I’m gonna keep playing for a long time.”