"He's the No. 1 golf man. He believed it when he saw how I read the greens and how I hit it."

I finally had a chance to peruse the November Golf Digest and was rivetted by Dave Kindred's investigation into purported hole-in-one specialist Jaqueline Gagne. Do read the entire piece as it's great entertainment told only as Kindred can when he's hot on the trail of a shyster.

Most entertaining of all...

Gagne lapped up the attention. Her website, jacquelinegagne.com, carried 39 citations of national and international media outlets reporting on her, including Golf Digest, Golf World, USA Today, The London Times and The Wall Street Journal. She hired a Los Angeles public-relations firm. She planned a book, Turning Up Aces. She posted a Titleist feature bragging that she used the Pro V1 ball on every hole-in-one. She waxed enthusiastically about Cobra clubs (the company sent her a set and a staff bag). She did a testimonial for the Q-Link pendant (over the signature, "Jacqueline Gagne, World Record Holder, Most Hole In Ones in One Year"). She agreed to play in certain events as a national spokesperson for a breast-cancer charity.

Gagne twice appeared on CBS television's "The Early Show." Co-anchor Harry Smith began the first segment saying, "Oh, do I love this story." Later he brought her to New York, where he enlisted golf analyst Peter Kostis. When Gagne revealed that she reads the green from the tee, Kostis declared that "the first clue" to the holes-in-one. Then she made a few swings, and Kostis liked what he saw. His conclusion: "It's the real deal."

Another feather in his every growing plume! Oh wait, Kostis gets an endorsement too...

Anyway, Gagne and I had talked only briefly, but it was clearly long enough for her to decide she didn't like the way it was going. When I asked if she could help me find the SilverRock witnesses, she said, "Nope."

"Why not?"

"They've already been interviewed."

"I haven't seen a word from them," I said.

She said, "I'm really getting tired of this."

She thought the Kostis chatter should have convinced me. "He's the No. 1 golf man. He believed it when he saw how I read the greens and how I hit it."

Nice read Peter.

Meanwhile, it seems Gagne is a blogger now and she's fighting back at Kindred, confirming she weighs 140 pounds, not 155 as was reported. Oh and Kindred's wife was rude on the phone to some of her friends.

So glad we got that cleared up!