How respected is Dan Jenkins as a golf writer? Well, he’s one of just three writers to be inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame. The acerbic Texan loves the game, and has written on it extensively for Sports illustrated and Golf Digest. In “Unplayable Lies” he shares 38 essays that he says are “throbbing with opinion.” They are also often both hilarious and insightful on subjects ranging from player rivalries on the pro tour to the differences between old-money and new-money country clubs.
Here’s an excerpt from “Unplayable Lies”:
“It’s easy enough to blame America for the six-hour round, the infernal plumb-bob, the blimp-size driver, the island green, and ‘Get in the hole!’ – son of ‘You da man!’ – but ask yourself this: What would the game be like without the gimme, the mulligan, improving the lie, and a chili dog at the turn?
“Here’s the thing: America has been very good for golf, even though we may have overcooked the game, which is to say over advanced it, and maybe overcorrected what we’ve overcooked.
“If America hadn’t become interested in the game, we might still be swinging at the ball in tweed coats, neckties, and plus-fours, and talking like Lord Crawley, the Earl of Grantham.”
