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    Caddiewampus: Looping for the Greats
    Caddiewampus: Looping for the Greats
    Caddiewampus: Looping for the Greats
    Ebook80 pages1 hour

    Caddiewampus: Looping for the Greats

    By James Y. Bartlett

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    About this ebook

    Award-winning golf writer James Y. Bartlett spent most of his distinguished career covering the greats of golf from outside the ropes. But on five occasions, he got up-close and personal carrying the bags of some of golf's greatest names: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ernie Els, Ben Crenshaw and Corey Pavin.

    This special edition ebook from Yeoman House Books tells the stories of those on-course adventures, along with some bonus material on the history and lore of the golf caddie.  Don't miss the story about Donald Trump who, after arguing with his caddie, made the shot of a lifetime at the AT&T National Pro-Am.

    If you enjoy Bartlett's witty and erudite style, be sure to pick up copies of his Hacker Golf Mystery series. There are six great novels in the series with the newest adventure due in fall 2019.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherYeoman House Books
    Release dateOct 2, 2019
    ISBN9780985253738
    Caddiewampus: Looping for the Greats
    Author

    James Y. Bartlett

    One of the most prolific golf writers of his generation, James Y. Bartlett's first Hacker golf mystery, Death is a Two-Stroke Penalty, was published in hardcover by St. Martin's Press in 1991. The second, Death from the Ladies Tee, followed a year later. After a hiatus of nearly ten years ("Hey! I had to earn a living," Bartlett says) in 2005 Yeoman House brought out those two novels as well as the new Death at the Member-Guest simultaneously in trade softcover editions. The latest in the Hacker series, Death in a Green Jacket, was published in 2007 and begins what the author is calling Hacker's major series.  The latest Hacker golf mystery, Death from the Claret Jug, was published by Yeoman House in the summer of 2018. James Y. Bartlett has been a golf writer and editor for nearly 20 years and has probably published more words about the game of golf than any other living writer. He has worked as features editor at Golfweek, editor of Luxury Golf magazine, and executive editor of Caribbean Travel & Life magazine. As a freelance writer, his work has appeared in dozens of national magazines, ranging from Esquire to Bon Appetit. He was the golf columnist for Forbes FYI (now Forbes Life) for every issue of the first 12 years of that magazine's history. And under the pseudonym of "A.G. Pollard Jr." is now in his 16th year of providing witty golf pieces for the readers of Hemispheres, the in-flight magazine of United Air Lines. In addition to his Hacker mystery series, Bartlett is the author of four nonfiction books. He currently lives in Rhode Island with his wife Susan.

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      Book preview

      Caddiewampus - James Y. Bartlett

      By JAMES Y. BARTLETT

      Published by

      ISBN : 978-0-9852537-3-8

      Published by Yeoman House Books

      10 Old Bulgarmarsh Road, Tiverton, Rhode Island 02878 USA

      FIRST PRINTING, APRIL 2019

      Cover: James Y. Bartlett and Jack Nicklaus at Great Waters.

      Photo courtesy of Reynolds Plantation, Oconee, GA

      COPYRIGHT (C) 2019 by James Y. Bartlett

      All rights reserved

      Foreword

      Almost without trying , I seem to have pursued an alternate career as a nonprofessional caddie. It started with the chance to loop for Jack Nicklaus and snowballed from there. Over the years, I have caddied for Jack, Arnie, Corey Pavin, Ben Crenshaw and Ernie Els.

      The first story, about my two rounds looping for Jack Nicklaus, was a breakthrough piece for me. I’d been writing The Golf Bag column since Forbes FYI magazine (the executive-lifestyle magazine from the Forbes brand—it’s now called ForbesLife) launched in 1990, after a decade or so toiling in the high weeds of magazine freelancing, but this up-close-and-personal experience with Nicklaus firmly established my bona fides as a golf writer.

      FYI reprinted the piece on the occasion of the magazine’s fifth and tenth anniversary. Then other guys, like Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated and Michael Konik of Delta’s Sky magazine, stole the idea of caddying for books and profit. You’re welcome, guys.

      Of course, the whole idea of participatory journalism was started by the great George Plimpton back in the 1960’s. Growing up, I devoured his books — Paper Lion, Out of My League and The Bogey Man.  I suppose credit must also be assigned to Nellie Bly, who in 1889 decided to try and beat the clock and Jules Verne’s popular Around the World in Eighty Days...and made it in 72, writing about her experiences in the pages of the New York World.

      Just goes to show: nothing is new in journalism!

      CHAPTER ONE

      Caddying for the Big Guy

      Hefting Jack Nicklaus’s bag, James Y. Bartlett has a chance to discover what makes the Golden Bear tick—and growl

      forbes fyi – March 1993

      The 11th hole at Great Waters, a new golf course on Georgia’s Lake Oconee, is a short par four of just 349 yards from the back tees. The green rests diagonally on a spit of land that extends out into the lake, and it’s theoretically possible, since the hole runs downhill, for big hitters to bust one down the right side, catch a favorable bounce and reach the green.

      Jack Nicklaus, even at age 53, is still a big hitter, but on the day he played Great Waters, a course he designed and his company built, he laid up safely in the middle of the fairway. There was no percentage in trying to kill one onto the green: the pin was tucked way left, out on that sliver of green extending dangerously, nakedly, into the lake.

      Jack’s caddy was waiting for him when he arrived at his ball.

      You’ve got 139 to the pin, the caddy said. Slightly downhill, bit of wind against.

      Jack nodded and pulled his eight-iron out of the bag. This was an exhibition match against the Great Waters club pro, Rick Dodd, and the Reynolds Plantation property owners and their friends had come out in strong numbers to watch the great Nicklaus play their new course. Jack turned to the crowd, which had followed him down the fairway, to explain why he had designed the long, narrow green, offering multiple pin placements along its almost 70-yard width, and the challenge of the water on three sides and the bunkers placed front, side and rear. I think this could be the signature hole on the course, he said. Then he got ready to play his shot.

      Wait a minute, a voice said. Jack looked up. Jim Lipe, one of Nicklaus’s senior designers, was shaking his head. I don’t think that’s right, Lipe said. He was looking at his own yardage book. I think you’re only about 128, 129 out.

      Jack looked at his caddy, who whipped out his own book, covered with scrawled numbers indicating yardage from every sprinkler head, every tree, every bunker on the course. The caddy quickly recalibrated. He shook his head.

      Nope, he said. I got it 1-3-9.

      You sure? Jack questioned, eyebrows raised.

      Jack, the caddy remonstrated, spreading his hands in supplication. Have I ever let you down?

      Nicklaus laughed. The people standing around laughed. Jim Lipe was still frowning and shaking his head. Nicklaus looked at the flagstick, sitting there on its tiny piece of green in a sea of trouble. I think I’ll go with my caddy, he said.

      He addressed the ball and swung. From the moment it left the clubface, the ball traveled as if tied to a string that was attached to the base of the flagstick. It flew in a high, arching parabola, hanging there in the blue Georgia sky for an eternity before beginning its descent. Everyone back in the fairway held their breath, none more so than the caddy, waiting for the ball to come down. It was obviously dead on line, but would it fall short and run down the grassy bank into the lake? Or carry too long and plug into the deep bunker waiting back there?

      There was a soft chunk clearly audible from 139 yards away when Nicklaus’s ball landed on the green, three feet below the hole. It bounced forward once, then spun backwards a foot and stopped.

      The gallery cheered the magnificent shot. Nicklaus turned to his caddy with a big grin and held up his hand, high-five style.

      I slapped Jack Nicklaus’s hand, shouldered his bag and floated on gossamer wings to the green.

      Jack Nicklaus’s 18 major championship victories are one of the untouchable records in sports, ranking with Ted Williams’ .406 season

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