Mantrack

Whistling in the Wind

Whistling Straits is the best golf course you've never heard of. That's going to change now that the Straits has been invited to host the PGA Championship. It's also rumored to be the choice for golf's highest honor, the U.S. Open, and we think it's deserving. Straits is the best Irish-style links course in this country, with two miles of sandy Lake Michigan shoreline, constant winds and an amazing attention to detail. From the fescue grass and pot bunkers to the caddies and clubhouse pub, it could be in Ireland. But it's near Milwaukee and Chicago at one of the Midwest's top golf resorts, the American Club. The ninth (above) and eighteenth holes return to the clubhouse, and the seventh (inset)--the par-3 Shipwreck--typifies Pete Dye's brilliant design. With five tees, high-handicappers will have fun, but the best players will struggle from the tips. Eighteen holes cost $176, plus a $44 caddie fee.

The Asian Connection

Don't know bagoong padas from petis-udang? Pick up a copy of The Asian Grocery Store Demystified and discover that the former is Filipino fermented anchovy sauce, and the latter is a slightly sweet shrimp paste. Within Demystified's 20 chapters you'll find information on pickled items and preserves, snacks and sweets, healing and herb teas, utensils and cooking techniques--plus a slew of recipes. Author Linda Bladholm's text is easy to understand, and she includes anecdotes of her own shopping adventures in the Orient, where she lived for years. The $14.95 price and softcover format make it a book that you won't mind splattering with angelica dang gui when you're preparing spiced pork-bone tea soup for six. Demystified is the first in a series of take-along guides that the publisher, Renaissance Books, says will put "savvy chefs in control of their menu destiny.'' What's next in the series? India.

Suburban Security

O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt has provided mobile security for every U.S. president since Harry Truman, as well as dozens of international heads of state and other dignitaries. If you want to beef up your Chevrolet Suburban to withstand just about everything but a nuclear bomb, here's what the company offers. (A) Fully armored perimeter, firewall, floor and roof. (B) Multilayered glass with a polycarbonate inner layer. (C) Run-flat tire inserts, including the spare. (D) Upgraded tires, suspension and brakes. (E) Bullet-resistant battery. (F) Computer vehicle armor system. (G) Explosion-proof fuel tank. (H) Operable front power windows. The package will set you back $75,000 (not including the cost of the Suburban). Other protection levels are available, including light armoring that will resist handgun fire ($45,000). The company can equip more than 50 sedans and sport utility vehicles. Defensive driver training is also offered by the company at an additional cost.

Absente for Your Thoughts

The French banned absinthe in 1915, claiming the wormwood-flavored liqueur caused hallucinations, convulsions, insanity and death. We'll drink to that decision-- but we'll do it with Absente, a wormwood-free licorice-flavored import that isn't a one-way ticket to the booby hatch. To enjoy Absente the way Manet, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec enjoyed absinthe, you need a seven-ounce glass and a slotted absinthe spoon. Pour a shot of Absente into the glass, balance the spoon on the rim, place a sugar cube on the spoon and slowly add five ounces of cold water over the cube to dissolve it. Absente, like absinthe, turns an opalescent green. (Absinthe is said to be the only liquor that glows in the dark.) A 750 ml bottle of 110-proof Absente costs about $35, ideally packaged with a limited-edition glass and spoon. If not, check crillonim porters.com for information on how to obtain the items.

How to Love Your Glove

In springtime, a young man's fancy turns to baseball. If you've been out of the ballpark for a while and buy a new glove, you'll need to spend time breaking it in. This is a satisfying ritual that will remind you of your boyhood. Anything leather gets better with use. In time a leather mitt will conform to your hand, making it easier to catch a ball, fish it out and throw it. Follow the blueprint here. Use a high-quality leather oil and work it into the palm of the glove before you form it around the ball and secure it with rubber bands. Putting it under your mattress is optional. Be sure to interrupt this process and use the glove for pickup games. The more you play with it, oil it and flex it, the more pliant it will become.

Clothesline: Kelsey Grammer

The star of NBC's Frasier (pictured here with his wife, Camille Donatacci, a former Playboy Newsstand Specials cover girl) says he's sort of preppy at heart. In fact, his friends used to call him a preppy-gone-to-seed. "I have an arch disregard for clothing. I'm a sneakers-and-jeans type of guy with the occasional Brooks Brothers pullover sweater thrown in. I do like to shop at Brooks Brothers. It's the kind of place that has the uniform you need without the danger of overstyling.'' Grammer also disclosed he has a designer who makes certain apparel for occasions such as business meetings, dinner parties and awards shows. The designer's name? "Richard Tyler. He's been very nice to Camille and me. I wore his creation at the Emmys and she wore a Richard Tyler gown at the People's Choice Awards.'' Kelsey, you look fine, but we're all eyes for Camille.

Guys Are Talking About...

Dinner theater at the movies. San Francisco's Foreign Cinema (2534 Mission St.) serves fine French food with its foreign films. While you dine on game, Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game could be playing on the outdoor screen. The dining room seats 120. Call 415-648-7600 for a menu of movies and to make reservations. • E-mail anonymity. Blind Gift.com is an online gift-giving service that enables you to send a gift to someone you've met on the web without revealing your name or address. That way "Hot to Trot'' won't drop by after she's received your gift of food, wine, chocolates or other goodies--unless you want her to. • Tire smarts. SmarTire, a tire-monitoring system that works via wireless technology originally developed for run-flat tires, lets you know both aurally and visually when air pressure drops below a certain PSI. Now the technology can be applied to non-run-flat tires offered by Goodyear, Bridgestone/Firestone and Michelin, among others. The price: about $300 (not including installation). The system includes four rim-mounted sensors and a display module you can clip to your sun visor. • Speech improvement. New York Speech Improvement Services, Manhattan-based "speech therapists to the stars,'' claims to have improved the speaking voices of Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and dozens of other celebrities, eliminating regional and foreign accents, lisps and nasal pronunciations. The service also trains actors who want to acquire a foreign or regional accent. • Gourmet ice cream. Jeremy's Microbatch includes such new flavors as Revenge of Chocolate Overload and Eve's Sinful Cider. Fat city.

Where and how to buy on page 154.