Golf Outing With David Maraniss

by John Kim

 It's 5:45 a.m. in the nation's capital and one man is tromping around waking up the entire house. He's not winning any popularity points with his early morning sojourn, but he's not out to make friends. He wants to play golf.

"Good morning" I mutter, though I hardly mean it.

  Considering the big party at the house the night before, waking up at this time of morning is not only obscene, it's downright mean. David Maraniss is not only up; he is showered, dressed, and practically taking practice swings. He is, by far, the most awake person in the area code.

Within 45 minutes, we are all up - and on the way to the course. There are eleven golfers ready to compete in the first ever Maraniss Invitational, a golf outing in conjunction with the weekend celebration of the Maraniss' 30th wedding anniversary.

  Speaking of the big soiree, what a great party it was. The guest list was quite impressive, Michael Weisskopf of Time Magazine and George Stephanapoulus among many Washington celebrities were in attendance. Of course, the only thing all of them wanted to talk about…AtlantaGolfer.com. (Not really, but hey, I can dream, right?) The host of the party has quite a resume himself.

In 1991, as a staff writer for the Washington Post, David Maraniss was assigned to cover the presidential campaign of the governor of Arkansas. A few months later, his subject had been elected President of the United States and Mr. Maraniss had won a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Building on that experience, David went on to write First In His Class, the definitive biography of Bill Clinton. ("Lots of people have put forth theories on what makes Bill Clinton tick, but the most trustworthy source may be David Maraniss of the Washington Post." - Amazon.com) Immediately, the book became the ultimate resource for presidential observers and historians, and thrust David into the national spotlight. Since then, he has written two more books on the Washington political scene, is practically a regular on Larry King Live, CNBC and Meet the Press, and is about to release When Pride Still Mattered: The Life of Vince Lombardi..

We arrive at the course and believe it or not, there are a few golfers there ahead of us. Apparently, tee time reservations have yet to make their way up to the capital city. (Insert favorite Washington D.C. joke here.) Anyway, we divide up into three teams and will play a nine-hole scramble as soon as we can head out. I draw Andrew as a partner and eleven year old Ben, the son of another writer. We are by far the youngest (and best-looking!) group. We are also (for some unknown reason) favored to win.

Rock Creek golf course is never going to be confused with Congressional Country Club, but like the commercial says, it's still golf. David's group tees off just ahead of ours. I razz him a little about how much pressure there is on him to play well, since this article is based on his (and his team's) play. I watch them all hit, and they march down the fairway to the one ball hit straight - the one hit by the woman on their team. They then march up to the only ball put on the green - the one hit by the woman. I'm thinking, "Great, they got a ringer."

Before I knew David Maraniss as a writer, journalist, or golfer, I knew him as Andrew's father. My friend had only mentioned his dad worked for a newspaper, never that he was a reporter of national repute. (Heck, I thought he delivered papers by the way Andrew murmured it.) He was the dad who teamed up every year with his son to draft a rotisserie baseball team. He went bowling with us, to Falcons/Packers football games, and quite honestly, was a lot more fun than Andrew. (Just kidding dude!) It was at least a year after meeting the elder Maraniss that I became aware of his national standing in journalistic circles. Now it seems he can't travel anywhere in the country without being recognized by someone. In addition to several television appearances, he can be found all over - such as this month's Vanity Fair which is excerpting his newest book.

"Did you see that drive?" David yells from the #2 tee box. I wonder if he's feeling added pressure after having the female ringer carry the team on hole #1. "No" I yell back. My group has not hit the fairway or green in regulation, and we're staring down a decent length putt for par. Right now, I'm wishing we had that woman with us.

From the #2 fairway, I hear the yells and see the celebration on the green. Later I find out the group used all of David's shots for a birdie. Eventually, his team would record two "all-Maraniss" birdies. I know this because he told me this - twice. It's okay, Pulitzer prize winners like to confirm their sources so as to get the story right.

Mr. Maraniss doesn't have the most fundamentally sound swing in the world, but it certainly works for him. He claims that his errant drives are his major weakness, his short game is his strength, and for playing only 10-15 times a year….he is proud of his mid to high 80s scores. One of his regular playing partners is fellow Post reporter and journalist extrordinaire Bob Woodward. Now wouldn't that be an interesting twosome to pair up with? You know, I have this really funny joke, but I'm not gonna use it cause Mr. Maraniss would bash a 5 iron into my skull if I did. But trust me, it's really funny.

Whether it has to do with it being his big weekend celebration, or him being the subject of this article, David starts playing some serious golf. I scurry to watch him hit as often as I can, and I see him hitting laser like 3 woods and his team dropping bomb putts from all over. As I miss a five foot putt on the last hole (to stay at one over, but we lied and told everyone it was for four under), the entire outing is watching and heckling. There is no prize for winning (the other two teams tied at 4 under) but the major goal of the day has been achieved…a great time had by all.
Afterwards, over a nice brunch at the Maraniss estate, the main topic of conversation is the round just completed. The genuine enthusiasm and love of the game stands out among all those that played. Mr. Maraniss talks golf like he's written a few books on that (though he hasn't - yet). Even with all the degrees, journalism awards, and book signings represented in the room, I get the feeling shooting a 72 would rank real high on anyone's list of accomplishments. Still, whether he ever breaks 80 or wins another Pulitzer, I knew him first as a father and friend - and seeing him and his family over the weekend tells me that those are the roles he should be most proud of. A big "thank you" to him, his wife Linda, Andrew, Sarah, and everyone up in D.C. for making the trip (and golf outing) a great time. I am looking forward to the next trip up there for the 2nd Maraniss Invitational, only next time…I get the female ringer on my team.