While I was very saddened by the news that Jim Dent passed away (“A Few Extra Holes,” May 5, GGP), I have also been smiling a lot thinking about him and the times we met back in the early days of Callaway Golf, for which he was a longtime endorser.
He was a big man, but he was definitely “bigger than life.” Physically imposing, enormous sense of humor, friendliest person on the planet – he was a force of nature. When he came to shoot those old Ely Callaway-directed TV spots with the original core of Senior Tour (not yet Champions Tour) golfers wearing black polos and explaining why the Big Bertha helped their games (and would help yours, too), he arrived excited and full of fun, bringing light to those long days. He was one of us, no prima donna.
At sales meetings he could fire up the team like nobody else, making jokes and telling stories with that famous twinkle in his eye. He and Ely, fellow Georgians, got along famously. Of course, it helped that Jim could use his Big Bertha to pound a golf ball prodigious distances with great accuracy. Jim is among that great group of special people Ely forged connections with in the company’s early days and will always be remembered with fondness and respect.
Steve McCracken
San Diego, California
(Steve McCracken is a retired Callaway Golf executive.)
I don’t usually comment or email on stories but your article (“Divot: Better with age,” May 5, GGP) hit home as a fellow 68-year-old but with a 12 handicap who usually plays from the white tees (my brother got the golf gene).
Our group uses a different metric, since most of us play from the white tees – in order to move up to the gold/senior tees your age plus handicap has to be over 85. We just implemented this starting this year and I can attest it has made the game much more enjoyable for those who have moved up.
I highly recommend using methods like you describe so the game is enjoyable for all (and it’s easier than everyone “guessing” their average driving distance to figure out what tees to use, especially since most way overestimate it).
Thanks for the article and hopefully getting golfers to think.
Ken Custer
Pensacola, Florida
I will be 70 in a couple of weeks and moved up to the senior tees a few years ago (“Divot: Better with age,” May 5, GGP). I kinda laughed when I saw you went from 6,600 yards to 6,300 yards, as 6,300 would be way too long for me.
A couple of years ago I joined a single and a twosome. We were all around the same age. One guy in the twosome asked what tees I was going to play. I said the senior tees. In a loud voice he said, “We always play the blue tees.” The single looked at me and asked if I was really going to play the senior tees. I said yes. I could see he was struggling with the idea. Finally, he said he would join me.
The “blues” brothers barely broke 100, and the single said he shot the best round of his life. Thanked me profusely, saying it was the first time he reached holes x, y, and z in regulation, and with an iron (he’d always played the blue tees). He said it was the most fun he ever had playing golf, and he was going to be playing the senior tees going forward (pun intended). Seeing the joy on that guy’s face gave me more pleasure than anything else.
Now, I don’t care what tees people play, but I would suggest if golfers left their egos at home they might enjoy the game more.
Sean Foster-Nolan
Weymouth, Massachusetts
This is about the ladies (“Divot: Better with age,” May 5, GGP). We are reaching the same age as men, but you hear no talk about moving our tees forward. I think we should receive the same consideration as the men.
Kathern Johnson
Four Oaks, North Carolina
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