Book Review: Who’s Your Caddy?

• Tweet
• Email

• Tweet
• Email

“Who’s Your Caddy?“, by veteran sports writer Rick Reilly is a humorous look at the ins and outs of being a golf caddy. The stories he amassed together with his sharp wit make this book a really fun read.

He got inside the ropes with some of the greats in the game and managed to find himself looping during none other than the Masters, his introduction to the mystic art.

He carried bags for the likes of greats like Tommy Aaron, Jack Nicklaus, John Daly and more. He also spent a round with someone whose name you might not know but whose story is still great: Bob Andrews, president of the U.S. Blind Golfers Association. From Donald Trump to Deepak Chopra, the tales he has to tell are funny, absurd, and inspiring.

It’s pretty widely known that caddies are some of the most interesting characters in the game of golf. At the end of each chapter, Reilly drops a passage of caddy lingo followed by an English translation, a skill he no doubt mastered spending time among the real thing.

Chapter List

1. The Masters: Get Your Mouth off My Ball!
2. John Daly: Unzipped
3. Donald Trump: The Search for True Trumpaliciousness
4. Tom Lehman: By the Way, You’re Fired
5. David Duval: The Maniac Behind the Shades
6. Dewey Tomko: Just a Lil’ Ol’ $50,000 Nassau
7. Jack Nicklaus: We’ll Always Have Vail
8. Deepak Chopra: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Double Bogey
9. Casey Martin: Hell on Wheels
10. Bob Newhart: The Anti-Trump
11. Jill McGill: Where’s Your Caddy?
12. Bob Andrews: The Blind Approach

The Good

• Reilly is a seasoned writer, having written for Sports Illustrated for over 20 years, and it shows. His style flows very well, and his wit is just dead-on. I found myself laughing out loud more than once.
• The tales he tells cover the whole range of the emotional scale. I have to admit I laughed at Reilly’s expense when Tommy Aaron scolded him with “Keep your mouth off my ball.” after an unwelcome plea of “Get up!” on the 5th hole at the Masters. I got a better understanding of what Casey Martin has to deal with, battling a rare leg disorder. It was fascinating to get a glimpse at how Bob Andrews, a blind golfer, makes his way around the course.
• Usually, I don’t pay much mind to the cover of a book, but I have to say that the photo of Reilly on the cover just gives me a chuckle and puts perfectly the plight of a writer trying to fill the shoes of a caddy.

The Bad

Maybe I’m just too easy to please, but yet again, I’m having trouble finding any negatives in this book. I think it’s because I just don’t review books I don’t like.

Conclusion

I have to give Who’s Your Caddy two thumbs up. Getting to look at the game from the perspective of a caddy (or, a writer posing as a caddy) is quite interesting. The wide array of characters coupled with Rick Reilly’s wit and style make this a quick read. Too quick, really.

——————————-

Further Reading:

Rick Reilly Bio And Column Archive (SI.com)