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DOGGED VICTIMS OF INEXORABLE FATE
This beloved sports classic from Sports Illustrated writer Dan Jenkins is a hilarious love-hate celebration of golfers and their game.
- GenresSportsNonfiction
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1970
71 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Dan Jenkins
80 books55 followersDan Jenkins was an American author and sportswriter, most notably for Sports Illustrated.
Jenkins was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he attended R.L. Paschal High School and Texas Christian University (TCU), where he played on the varsity golf team. Jenkins worked for many publications including the Fort Worth Press, Dallas Times Herald, Playboy, and Sports Illustrated. In 1985 he retired from Sports Illustrated and began writing books full-time and maintained a monthly column in Golf Digest magazine.
Larry King called Jenkins "the quintessential Sports Illustrated writer" and "the best sportswriter in America." Jenkins authored numerous works and over 500 articles for Sports Illustrated. In 1972, Jenkins wrote his first novel, Semi-Tough.
His daughter, Sally Jenkins, is a sports columnist for the Washington Post.
Jenkins was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he attended R.L. Paschal High School and Texas Christian University (TCU), where he played on the varsity golf team. Jenkins worked for many publications including the Fort Worth Press, Dallas Times Herald, Playboy, and Sports Illustrated. In 1985 he retired from Sports Illustrated and began writing books full-time and maintained a monthly column in Golf Digest magazine.
Larry King called Jenkins "the quintessential Sports Illustrated writer" and "the best sportswriter in America." Jenkins authored numerous works and over 500 articles for Sports Illustrated. In 1972, Jenkins wrote his first novel, Semi-Tough.
His daughter, Sally Jenkins, is a sports columnist for the Washington Post.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 8, 2015
This was the book that taught me how to write lucidly and wittily about sports, which was what I did to buy groceries during my twenties. I would sit down and reread a chapter of Jenkins and then try to recreate the nonchalant rhythm in whatever I was writing about golf or ski racing or backgammon or polo or cricket. Somewhere in my top dresser drawer I have Jenkins' autograph, scored for me by my brother along one of the fairways at a long ago U.S. Open at Winged Foot. It says "Keep writing. Dan Jenkins." I am. I'll use the autograph as a bookmark.
February 1, 2014
I have had this classic in my collection of golf books for years but sadly I had not read it until now. Originally published in 1970, Jenkins writes about pro golf before most of today's stars were born. This a collection of essays written by a true lover of game with sense of humor. One of my favorite chapters was a description of his golf trip to all of the great courses on Scotland. His dialogues with the local caddies showed a true appreciation for history of golf.
Even though this book is from another time, any golfer who has a deep-seeded love for the game should enjoy this classic. Fortunately a few of the golfers he writes about are still alive and have been guests on David Feherty's show on the Golf Channel. Some of their stories are found in this book. These are players I grew up watching. That makes this book even more enjoyable to read at this time.
Even though this book is from another time, any golfer who has a deep-seeded love for the game should enjoy this classic. Fortunately a few of the golfers he writes about are still alive and have been guests on David Feherty's show on the Golf Channel. Some of their stories are found in this book. These are players I grew up watching. That makes this book even more enjoyable to read at this time.
April 25, 2019
Collection of stories by the incomparable Jenkins. Shows it’s age, is a little short in the PC department but if you’re a golfer and want a little history of the game with some timeless humor thrown in you’ll enjoy this.
February 6, 2022
If Sports Illustrated published an annual compendium of articles dedicated solely to golf, it would read something like this book. Jenkins humor is always fun but you really….and I mean REALLY… have to be a golf junkie to maintain reading stamina.
May 19, 2025
A golf classic. All golfers should read this. Several times.
Just re-read it. It truly is a classic piece of golf literature.
Just re-read it. It truly is a classic piece of golf literature.
October 23, 2024
It's Dan Jenkins. It's Dan Jenkins writing about golf. It's Dan Jenkins writing about golf unfiltered.
By this, I mean how can you go wrong here?
Among the five greatest sportswriters who ever sat in a press box--and I'll leave you to rank them--Jenkins makes writing look vastly easier than it is. And this opus, which features many of his golf tales from before 1975, is as sweet as a well-struck 300-yard drive.
While this book is nearly 50 years old, it's timeless in its tales: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and Jenkins' hero Ben Hogan are all present. But so are lesser lights like Dave Marr, George Low and LPGA stars from the 1970s. And even King Hassan II of Morocco makes an appearance in an interesting story about golf pro Claude Harmon teaching the late monarch the game.
Probably the best story is one of Jenkins playing a round at Riviera CC with several Hollywood stars, where he illustrates in typical Jenkinsian detail the merger of Hollywood and golf.
Read this. Thank me later.
By this, I mean how can you go wrong here?
Among the five greatest sportswriters who ever sat in a press box--and I'll leave you to rank them--Jenkins makes writing look vastly easier than it is. And this opus, which features many of his golf tales from before 1975, is as sweet as a well-struck 300-yard drive.
While this book is nearly 50 years old, it's timeless in its tales: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and Jenkins' hero Ben Hogan are all present. But so are lesser lights like Dave Marr, George Low and LPGA stars from the 1970s. And even King Hassan II of Morocco makes an appearance in an interesting story about golf pro Claude Harmon teaching the late monarch the game.
Probably the best story is one of Jenkins playing a round at Riviera CC with several Hollywood stars, where he illustrates in typical Jenkinsian detail the merger of Hollywood and golf.
Read this. Thank me later.
April 9, 2019
Funny, entertaining, and nostalgic
A fun read with stories written in a manner only Dan Jenkins can tell. Lively characters that kept me laughing. I miss this kind of writing.
A fun read with stories written in a manner only Dan Jenkins can tell. Lively characters that kept me laughing. I miss this kind of writing.
April 30, 2009
My favorite golf book ever -- a collection of pieces, some written when Jenkins was the reigning master-writer at Sports Illustrated. The essay/memoir called "The Glory Game at Goat Hills," published in SI in 1965, makes me laugh and cry every time I read it because it reminds me of so many golf characters I knew growing up. This book also includes Jenkins' account of his tour of seaside "links" courses in Great Britain which will have you howling as his laconic Scottish caddy helps him distinguish between the heather and the gorse.
I went looking in Google for a quote to use here and came across -- my own 2008 review of the book at Amazon, which I'd totally forgotten. It's pretty good, so I'll let it speak:
"Every year before the British Open I haul out my copy of Dogged Victims and read once again Dan Jenkins' non-fiction account of playing on a links course. Before long, I'm reading out loud to my wife, who -- so far as I know -- has never set foot on a fairway. We have our best laugh of the year, tuck our tattered copy away on the sports book shelf, and look forward to the following summer.
"OK, I'll confess. Before the tucking, I sneak out in the backyard with a pint of Junior and read Jenkins' remembrance of Goat Hills. I grew up caddying and loading clubs on carts at a course about a faded persimmon three wood from my house, and this premium example of the sportswriter's art takes me right back to those twilight caddy tournaments -- a ball, a mallet head putter, a flashlight and a pocketful of tees.
If you love golf and you haven't read this book, don't die yet.
I went looking in Google for a quote to use here and came across -- my own 2008 review of the book at Amazon, which I'd totally forgotten. It's pretty good, so I'll let it speak:
"Every year before the British Open I haul out my copy of Dogged Victims and read once again Dan Jenkins' non-fiction account of playing on a links course. Before long, I'm reading out loud to my wife, who -- so far as I know -- has never set foot on a fairway. We have our best laugh of the year, tuck our tattered copy away on the sports book shelf, and look forward to the following summer.
"OK, I'll confess. Before the tucking, I sneak out in the backyard with a pint of Junior and read Jenkins' remembrance of Goat Hills. I grew up caddying and loading clubs on carts at a course about a faded persimmon three wood from my house, and this premium example of the sportswriter's art takes me right back to those twilight caddy tournaments -- a ball, a mallet head putter, a flashlight and a pocketful of tees.
If you love golf and you haven't read this book, don't die yet.
December 28, 2013
My first introduction to Jenkins golf satire was and is my favorite. His cast of characters as well as stories of real-life golfers from years back were fascinating enough for me to read it three times. If I could ever retrieve the hardcover copy I had I'd read it again just to get the laughs out! It is a must-read if you are a Jenkins fan!
September 24, 2011
Simply put...maybe the best collections of golf "writings" ever. If you love golf, and you're an avid reader...or even a casual reader, then this book is one you will go back to again and again over the years. If you don't have it, get it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews