Q&A With Dan Jenkins, Vol. 4

This has become an annual tradition of sorts, checking in with the Ancient Twitterer, inevitable World Golf Hall Of Famer and still the only golf writer to have his own bobblehead. You can read the past Q&A's here, here and here and during next week's U.S. Open, you can follow him on Twitter here. As a friend of mine said yesterday when discussing the marvels of Twitter: "It's like having Dan Jenkins in my living room watching the Open with me."

GS: Any fond memories of the Congressional's U.S. Opens?

DJ: I recall being happy for Venturi at Congressional because I'd covered him losing the Masters 3 times when I was certain he would win it each time---it seemed to me he'd played the best golf. Always rooting for the story, '56 was particularly distressing, In a 30-mile-an-hour wind, he never really hit a bad shot but slowly bled to death with that final-round 80 and denied all of us typists an opportunity to write about the first amateur winning a major since Johnny Goodman at the 1933 Open. And I had my lead ready: "Ken Venturi just got out of the used car business."


GS: It's Saturday of this year's U.S. Open and you have a choice between watching the third round at Congressional or Obama v. Boehner whapping it around at Andrews Air Force Base. What do you choose?

DJ: I wouldn't watch politicians do anything if it was happening in my retina.


GS: Any books in the works you can tell us about?

DJ: I'm working on a "journalism memoir." And it's slow going. You have to be accurate. In fiction, you can just play away and not asking anybody anything.


GS: How have your sleep patterns been since learning of IMG's swift axing of Mark Steinberg and Tiger?

DJ: Life is full of disappointments. First Steinberg and Tiger, then Anthony Weiner. Not sure I'll be able to recover.


GS: Tiger WD's and your injury and bad marriage prediction as the only stoppers becomes even more prescient. Where does this soap opera go from here?

DJ: Tiger's road back should start with firing Sean Foley and never hiring another guru. All of us golfers understand one thing. Those triple bogeys and 42s on nine holes will sure make the old knees and heels act up. Onward to D.C.

Comments

[digsouth]

Oh boy!

Better'n a 14.5 stimpin'

[Chuck]

Someday Geoff, I feel certain, that there will be a bobblehead of you. So you got that goin' for you. Which is nice.

[Mike T.]

Dan Jenkins is opinionated, curmudgeonly and sarcastic. Hope he continues to keep up the good work.

[RickABQ]

There are two type of people in the world - those who get and love Dan Jenkins, and those who don't. Put me down in the latter camp.

[Zenyatta HOY.]

RickABQ--I'm in the former. Have you read "You Gotta Play Hurt"? Tr it...or not. Fine literature.

[RickABQ]

Zenyatta -

I could give it a try. I am basing my opinion on the number of columns that I have read of his. Never got it, but I am always willing to be wrong and be surprised! Thanks....

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

Well, just last night I re-read "The Glory Game" and "Sam Snead with Hair" again, for about the tenth time, each. The former is about his days at Goat Hills and the latter about the PGA Tour, such as it was, in the 1930s. The original Ky was quite the character, btw. The other pieces in the collection from his glory days at SI are just as good. The latter golf novels starring Bobby Joe Grooves are hit and miss in equal measure, maybe tilting toward the "miss." The misogyny and other assorted ills of the PGA TOUR ring true, but I fall in the same category as Zenyatta HOY.

[Sari]

Dead Solid Perfect was a great novel; the rest of his merely were reiterations of the same book. I've always enjoyed his columns, even though they have become somewhat predictable over the years (Hogan was the best, players from the past generation were better, these players are too pampered, etc...). Still, I will say that back when Dan was writing majors recaps for GD, his column was the first thing I would read.

[loops]

Dan Jenkins and literature is an oxymoron.