"Don't quit your day job Al" – remembering Jim Dent and my bff

There have been several black golfers over the years that have contributed greatly to the game. Of course Tiger Woods comes to mind immediately. I also think of Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, Calvin Peete and Big Jim Dent.Dent passed away recently at the age of 85. His life is worth a look and I have a story that few know about, but you soon will.A native of Augusta, Georgia (where else would one want to grow up if you loved the game of golf), Dent lost his mother at age six and his father six years later. He was raised by an aunt who nearly ended his career hopes before they got started.When he told his aunt that he wanted to start caddying at Augusta National Golf Club she was against it. According to Dent, she was afraid he would start gambling if he took on that job. She was right too he remarked. "It didn't take long before I was playing cards and rolling the dice."At 15, he caddied for Bob Rosburg at the Masters. He caddied for three other professionals at the prestigious tournament, before buying a set of clubs to start learning the game. He practiced at The Patch, a local municipal course, and eventually found his way to the PGA Tour.He was called "Big Boy" because of his size – 6-3 and 224 lbs. – and the prodigious length of his drives. In fact he won the first two World Long Drive Championships back in the 1970's.Dent never competed in The Masters and never won a tournament on the PGA Tour. He did once finish in a tie for second behind some guy named Jack Nicklaus. It was on the Senior Tour where he later flourished. He won 12 times on that tour and made over $9 million dollars.Here is a few of Jim Dent's comments from a few years ago as he summarized his career. He suggested that a lot of what he learned from golf carried over into his every day life. "You had to be honest. You had to work at it. You just couldn't pack up today and not come back until next week. And if you broke a rule, you had to turn yourself in."It was that last sentence that grabbed my attention. I have always been impressed by golfers that play by the rules. Most do, but some do not, particularly on the amateur level. It's a gentleman's game and gentlemen do the right thing.I promised you a Jim Dent story and here it is. It's been nearly a year since I lost my best friend. I think about him nearly every day, but when I learned about Jim Dent's passing my thoughts immediately turned to my pal. Al Falter and I laughed about a myriad of things over the years, but none more so than the story he told me about Jim Dent. Al was lucky enough to play in a pro-am tournament with Dent while he was on the Senior Tour. We've already established the fact that Jim Dent could drive the golf ball a long ways. Al Falter though hit a banana ball off the tee and not very far at that. When my buddy teed off on the first hole with Dent watching, he hit a very short drive that didn't quite catch the fairway.Jim Dent walked slowly toward him and with a hint of a smile on his face said "don't quit your day job Al." We laughed at the story on more than one occasion as we thought it both hilarious and true!Despite suffering a stroke earlier this year, Dent was in attendance at the 2025 Masters. He wanted to be part of the crowd celebrating the 50 year anniversary of Lee Elder becoming the first black golfer to play in the Masters. A couple of days later he suffered a second stroke and passed away on May 2.With his passing the golf world reacted. None other than Gary Player – golf's greatest ambassador – had some very kind words about Jim Dent's golf game. But not before he listed his greatest asset.As Player pointed out, Jim Dent was a gentleman. I'm not sure that a greater compliment can be given to a golfer than being called a gentleman. He had a lot of success on the golf course, but did so by playing by the rules the way a gentleman is supposed to.It is obvious what Jim Dent's assessment of Al Falter's driving ability was on the golf course. I'm fortunate that he never saw me tee off as I'm guessing he would have had very similar feelings about my game!Jim Dent's legacy will be remembered in Augusta as the drive leading up to The Patch was named Jim Dent Way in 2020. A nice tribute to a good golfer and a true gentleman.