Greetings Golfers,

Here’s a quote from Tiger Woods “Did you read Dan Jenkins’ interview with me in the latest GOLF DIGEST? I hope not. Because it wasn’t me. It was some jerk he created to pretend he was talking to me.” (Click HERE to read the article).

Why’s Tiger so upset? Because Jenkins – 84 year old Dan Jenkins – pounded him into the ground. And Tiger shouldn’t get into the ring with Dan – he’d be a lot smarter to focus on golf than get into a war of words with Mr. Jenkins.

Who is Dan Jenkins? Definitely one of the all-time great golf writers. The other two would probably be Bernard Darwin and Herbert Warren Wind. But Jenkins is/was funny. The other two – not so much. Sure, HW Wind coined the term “Amen Corner”, but Jenkins was wittier.

Jenkins grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and played golf for TCU. And while in college he wrote for the FORT WORTH PRESS … and became a close friend of Ben Hogan. Hogan was a tough guy – few reporters had the access to him that Jenkins had. Jenkins continued that access to the great golfers of the 60s, 70s, and 80s as SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s golf writer. Then in the mid-80’s, he went to GOLF DIGEST. In 2012 he was elected into the Golf Hall-of-Fame.

Dan Jenkins has covered over 200 golf Majors. He wrote the football book SEMI-TOUGH, and the golf book DEAD SOLID PERFECT. Both books were made into movies. But my favorite book of his is THE DOGGED VICTIMS OF INEXORABLE FATE – a must read (and/or a great Christmas present).

And, you need to read the December issue of GOLF DIGEST – not just for the Jenkins-Tiger “interview” … but for the thoughtful article written by Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy isn’t funny like Jenkins, but he’s a much better representative of the game of golf than Woods – he actually has perspective. (Click HERE for the article)

One last thing. If Woods was accessible to real interviews, he wouldn’t be a “victim” to fake interviews. A sense of humor would help too.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com