Who's Your Caddy?: Looping for the Great Near Great, and Reprobates of Golf

by Rick Reilly

Amazon.com

To really know someone, as the saying goes, you must walk a mile in their shoes. But to really understand a golfer, you've got to work as their caddy. Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly managed to get some very intriguing golfers to let him lug their bag and write what he learned both about the game and the folks who play it. Going hole to hole with them let Reilly know a different side of veterans such as John Daly, David Duval, Tom Lehman, and Jack Nicklaus. But Reilly also went beyond the pros to caddy for Deepak Chopra, Donald Trump, professional gambler Dewey Tomko, and Bob Newhart. In some cases, the portraits that emerge fall directly in line with the popular image but at other times it's just the opposite. Daly is sober but has shifted his addiction to massive amounts of Diet Coke, candy, and marriages; Duval is intensely driven during rounds but surprisingly laid back and friendly off the course; Chopra's inner peace is locked in a mortal battle with the inherent frustrations of golf; and Trump manages to be both an egomaniac and a pretty nice fellow. And although he's on assignment to profile his temporary employers, Reilly emerges as an entertaining figure in his own right as he commits numerous faux pas, breaks taboos, infuriates multiple golfers and caddies, accidentally dumps all of Nicklaus's clubs onto the turf in the middle of a round, and discovers that caddying is tougher than it looks. Reilly walks a nice line with the tone of Who's Your Caddy?: it's reverent to the game without becoming a misty-eyed poetic ode, and it's laugh-out-loud funny without being nasty or low brow. And while golf fans will certainly appreciate it, Who's Your Caddy? is an impressive book for fans of biography in general. --John Moe


From Publishers Weekly

Hilarious misadventures, catty gossip and downright embarrassing facts are only part of the appeal of this deftly written journal by Sports Illustrated writer Reilly (Missing Links). Caddying for a golf pro just might be every amateur golfer's dream. Reilly managed to talk 11 players, media personalities and one infamous gambler into letting him follow them inside the ropes, even though he had no experience as a caddy and showed that fact so many times that John Daly nicknamed him "Dumbshit." Consider spilling Jack Nicklaus's clubs out onto the wet ground, just as he asks you for a new ball. Or leaving David Duval's golf clubs in the locker room overnight (the ones he won the British Open with) and not being able to find them the next morning. Self-help guru Deepak Chopra recently took up the game and proved that although he may be able to control the aging process, hitting driver is beyond his mystical powers. Reilly gets serious while carrying Casey Martin's bag, the pro golfer who sued the PGA Tour for the right to ride a golf cart during tournaments (Martin suffers from a rare leg disorder that makes every step excruciatingly painful). Billionaire Donald Trump, comedian Bob Newhart, beautiful LPGA pro Jill McGill, Tom Lehman (there's a "Jimmy Stewart decency about him"), legendary gambler Dewey Tomko and blind golfer Bob Andrews round out the field and provide Reilly ample inspiration for a truly funny, don't-miss read.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile

This title demonstrates why Rick Reilly is considered by many to be the finest sportswriter in the country. It's hard to imagine anyone else with the chutzpah to ask the famous, the infamous, and others in between to allow the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED columnist to be their caddy. Amazingly, pros such as John Daly and Jill McGill, as well as millionaire Donald Trump, among others, agree, and Reilly's stories range from warm to acerbic to hilarious. Grover Gardner's reading couldn't be better. He brings Reilly's written words to life brilliantly, changing pace, changing tone, but never forgetting that Reilly's ability to turn a phrase is the key to transforming this presumably mundane topic into a book with appeal for everyone, including those with no interest in golf. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.


From Booklist

Sports Illustrated columnist Reilly takes a page out of George Plimpton's book by going inside the ropes on the PGA Tour--not as a player, as Plimpton did briefly in the '60s (The Bogey Man), but as a caddy for some of golf's biggest names (Nicklaus, Duval, and Daly). Most of Reilly's "loops" (golf lingo for caddying) took place during practice rounds or Pro-Ams, but he did hoist the bags of Tom Lehman during an early round of an official tournament and of Tommy Aaron during the Masters. The result is both insightful and funny (Reilly made every mistake a caddy can make, from dropping clubs to instilling negative thoughts in his player's tender psyche). Along the way, Reilly gives golf fans a revealing look at the human side of tour players--not just their odd acts of kindness but, in the case of John Daly, a glimpse of what Reilly calls Long John's supersized penis! Reilly also looped for a few celebrities, including guru Deepak Chopra, whose on-course deportment is not nearly as tranquil as his image would suggest. Golf fans won't want to miss this one. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review

'Reilly could write about lawn bowling and make it funny, informative, and entertaining. You never know what the next page is going to bring.' -Los Angeles Times

'You might not think the story of a man carrying Tommy Aarons golf bag for 18 holes could make you laugh out loud, but you'd be wrong. Who's Your Caddy? is funny enough to coax a chuckle out of Vijay Singh. A great way to read about the game and its people, too.' -Charlotte Observer

'Goes down faster than a cool Bud on a 100-degree day.' -Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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