Scrappy 11

Why Scrappy 11? Since the mid-1980s, I've been playing matches with Jeff Rude, a colleague at the Chicago Sun-Times and Golfweek magazine. During one particularly close round, he branded me "a scrappy little player." Since then, when asked what my handicap is, I answer "I'm a scrappy 11" – or whatever my GHIN index happens to be at the moment. (Lately I'm more like a scrappy 14.) 

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As a journalist, I tend to be on the scrappy side, as well. My writing is spare, and I don't lob softballs. When editing others' work, I challenge them the write with accuracy, clarity and context.