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 The Open winner is in here somewhere
Posted: Monday June 15, 1998 10:10 PM
Click here to send a golf question to Alan Shipnuck. Sorry this column is a bit tardy, but hunched over my laptop yesterday I was hit by back spasms and had to Lear to Tom Boers' clinic in Columbus, Georgia. O.K., not really, but it does seem like all the cool people these days are exploding lumbars. The condition of Messrs. Els, Woods, Couples, Love and Azinger makes it tough to forecast for the Open, much to the chagrin of many of you, who sent obsequious e-mail hoping I'd win your office pool for you. Don't worry, we'll get to that.
I am a Swede in the U.S. confused as to why people here say
that a putt breaks "from right to left" or
"from left to right." Wouldn't it be sufficient
to say the putt breaks "to the right" or "to
the
left"?
Imagine, an expat from the country that gave the world Jesper Parnevik calling us quirky. Yes, the right-to-left thing is from the Department of Redundancy Dept., but it is a golfism, as ingrained in the culture as "golf shot." Try eating volcanic ash for a month and then perhaps it will make more sense.
Is there a limit to how many balls a PGA Tour pro may start
a round
with?
I was all set to break off a Bob Barker joke—Barker, you'll recall, ends every "Price is Right" telecast by reminding viewers to spay or neuter their pets—but cooler heads prevailed. The only limit is imposed by the shoulders of the player's caddie.
My question has nothing to do with golf, but rather with
your meteoric rise through the ranks of SI. As an aspiring
sports journalist, I would love to pick your brain about
any suggestions you may have for cracking the
business—especially since graduation day is
looming.
Luis, you're already showing great promise. Sucking up is a key component in any field. One clarification, for starters. Avoid the term "sports journalist." It's hollow and pretentious. Willow Bay is a "sports journalist." Jim Gray is a "sports journalist." Go instead with "sports writer." That induces visions of fedoras and cigars, old typewriters and Red Smith. And the first thing I can tell you about the job is the writer part is more important than the sports. Guys (and gals) who get into the biz as jock sniffers looking for free tickets don't last. The games become mere backdrops for your stories, and writing on deadline for surly editors while living out of a suitcase as you're being left by your underappreciated sig other while a science project grows in your fridge at the apartment you haven't seen in seven weeks can be a tough go. You must get a perverse thrill every time you turn on your computer. Regarding your impending graduation, I hope you didn't waste your time on a journalism degree, or, the horror, a master's in journalism. When you're looking for a writing job no one cares what you studied—or, to a lesser degree, whether you studied at all. Better to major in philosophy at a community college and write a dozen stories a week for local papers than to go to Northwestern and throw muses about communication theory. The best way to become a writer is to write—constantly. Even if it's for the annual newsletter of your softball league. Published work in a distinctive voice is what gets you in the door. Lastly, show some chutzpah. SI, The New York Times, The New Yorker, none of these are impenetrable fortresses. Go the intern route (as I did), submit freelance stories that will raise eyebrows, or even start in the mailroom if necessary. I'm here to tell you it's doable.
Because caddies wear tennis shoes, doesn't it make sense to
have them retrieve the ball from the cup? This would
eliminate a lot of spike marks around the
hole.
Obviously Jerry has never made a 25-foot snake at the last moment to take his playing partner's rent money. Retrieving the ball from the cup is one of life's great pleasures. Regarding wear around the hole, try not to drag your feet.
AND NOW, THE U.S. OPEN TOP 10. (Note that I played it coy in my preview in the magazine, but I could never let you guys down.)
Winner: Justin Leonard (-6) Send your golf questions to Sports Illustrated staff writer Alan Shipnuck, and check back next Thursday (we promise) for his answers.
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