WFB was teased a lot for using big words. And one day he sat down to read a book by Updike. And he made a list of all the words he didn’t know — a long, long list. He then wrote a column called “Passing the Sesquipedalian Torch.” (“Sesquipedalian” means given to the use of long words.) He concluded (I paraphrase): “Next time you want to tease or complain about fancy words, turn to Updike, not me.”

Also, Updike was — is — one of the best writers ever about golf. He played golf constantly and wrote about it a lot. He wrote well, too. All of us who tee it up are grateful.