A Saratoga Springs native, national broadcaster Dottie Pepper is a 17-time LPGA winner and a trailblazer for women’s golf. She is also the lead walking reporter for CBS Sports’ coverage of the PGA Tour, Masters and PGA Championship.
Pepper retired from competitive golf in 2004. Since then, she has covered all levels of televised golf, including every major championship, international team events, as well as national amateur championships for ESPN, Golf Channel, NBC and CBS.
Pepper’s recently released, self-published memoir is titled “Letters to a Future Champion: My Time with Mr. Pulver.” Her book acts as a loving tribute to the power a mentor can have in an athlete’s career. Through years of handwritten correspondence, Pepper traces the influence her mentor, George J. Pulver Sr., a golf great in his own right, had on her skills, as well as her character. The book will soon be available in audio format.
1. The PGA Tour’s season has now officially resumed and the LPGA Tour season will open in Florida on January 20. As a 17-time LPGA winner and national golf broadcaster, what are you most excited for this season?
“2021 was a huge season for the young guns on both tours and I am excited to see if that will continue. American Nelly Korda is now the #1 female player in the world age 23, Collin Morikawa is just 24 and already has five wins, including two major championships. Will they keep up that pace or will it be a year the veterans step up again? Who would have ever thought Phil Mickelson would have won a major at nearly 51 years old, but he did last year. And will Tiger Woods continue his comeback from last February’s car crash? Many eyes will be on that possibility.”
2. January is National Mentoring Month. You recently self-published a book about your mentor, Letters to a Future Champion: My Time With Mr. Pulver, and how he helped shape your character on and off the green. Why is it so important for mentors to empower young people?
“Mentoring is paying it forward with the next generations: passing on what you’ve learned, setting a positive example and guiding them around pot holes you may have fallen into. It is building on experience and healthy for both parties. It is also essential that the youngsters reach out for that mentorship; I don’t know of anyone who has said “no” to a request or had it be anything but a positive growth experience.”
3. You are also soon-to-be releasing a self-narrated audiobook. Why did you decide to do an audio version of your memoir?
“The audio version of the book was an easy decision to make because my grandmother has macular degeneration and cannot read comfortably. As people return to work and travel, there is also commuter time that can be used positively by listening to audio books and podcasts. A neat local tidbit: the vast majority of the book was produced and engineered here in Saratoga Springs.”
4. Where can people purchase both print and audio copies of your book?
“The Northshire Bookstore on Broadway has been an amazing supporter. Hardcover and softcover versions are in stock there. My website www.dottiepepper.net also has a digital storefront for book purchases. PGA Tour Superstores across the country have stocked the softcover as well. The audio book will have super-wide distribution and will be found nearly everywhere you get your audio books, from Audible to Amazon and beyond.”
5. Partial proceeds from your book benefit a charity near and dear to your heart. What organization is that
“10% of all sales go to the Saratoga WarHorse, a veteran-run charitable organization serving military veterans living with post-traumatic stress throughout the United States. They provide a healing, equine-assisted experience using off-the-track thoroughbreds and there is no cost to the veterans, including travel.”
