all that.
Sometimes when there is a minute, a caddie would tell a joke. One of Scotty’s favorite jokes was one of those question-and-answer jokes; this joke could not come at a worst time. What is the difference between a canoe and a Canuck? A canoe will tip. Not good, Scotty, not good. These guys are from Canada.
I was caddying for a father-and-son twosome. It was early in the round, on our way to the fourth tee box. I saw a lady coming down the road in a customer-service cart. The cart was a long cart with a second row of seats. I thought the cart was from the spa Casa Permero.
Now here is the moment that I thought to myself, Do I say something to the players? In a locker-room guy moment, the lady was large in size and covered in a robe head to toe. The cart did not turn right to the beach club, it headed right toward us on the fourth tee box. It was his wife, glad I did not say anything to the guest about his wife, who he said was Rosan Barr. It was not Tom Arnold; it was the guy after Tom. I pretty much kept my jokes safe because you never know, timing is everything.
I caddied for Michael Douglas one day after driving to LA Improv on Gayley Ave in Los Angeles. We talked about my long drive there and back twice a week, the miles and time it took, and Michael asked me, why I wanted to live and work in LA when I worked at Pebble Beach. The day was one of those days. It was just perfect: no wind, no fog, no clouds in the sky, and that was all I needed to hear on the second fairway. I knew at that moment that he was looking for a good caddie job from me.
We talked some more about my family and how I ended up caddying here at Pebble Beach. I told Michael about my time at Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, not sure if he had a home there, when we talked about Bermuda but he does now live in Bermuda.
Typically, most athletes are coachable and easy to caddie for. The Olympic volleyball gold-medal winners from the US, Kary Walsh and Misty May, they had good timing and were no problem to give good clubs to. We just walked and enjoyed the day. I handed them a club and pointed.
Baseball players have good timing to the ball. That good timing helps them hit the ball a long way. A relief pitcher for the Cincinnati reds, Pete Harnisch, is a closer—big and strong with a good move to the ball. He was just a little hard on himself after a mistake, balls and strikes I guess.
Some MLB players came to Pebble Beach and would play for two days. After each round there was a shoot-out; it was a good tournament. Amateur guests can play along with MLB players. I had a guy from Snake Eyes Wedges make the cut to play in the shoot-out.
There was a lot of Players watching that did not make the cut—a nice galley of MLB and guests. My player with the snake eyes put it on them with the spin check roll of the ball. We lasted to the end of the shoot-out: number one, number two, number three, number seventeen, and number eighteen. Hard to remember every shot, but I do remember the shootout win—expectation exceeded.
Chapter 4
What Was It Like Caddying for Them?
Without a doubt, a caddie’s two favorite holes are the first and the eighteenth hole. Coming down from the caddie barn, this is the time to get your game on and meet the guests. Sometimes your players are there at the podium watching you walk to the tee and make their first contact with you. Everyone gets the same strut, the ringing of the wet towel, proper clean dress and style. “Hello, my name is James, I will be your caddie today. Pleased to meet you.”
The caddie master did not often tell you who was coming up next or down the line, and that was cool with me. It kept the line of caddies going and just the right chance of working with the right guest that day. If a caddie steps back on a loop and you go down to the tee, meet your player, pick up the bags, and the name tag is from LA Country Club, you get pretty pissed.
On my why down on this day, I was doing the normal routine: the wringing of the towel, dressing up, and strut. “Hello, my name is James, pleased to meet you.” And the player went wild. This is someone that knows what he is doing; this is the way it is done, he told the starter at the podium. The starter is one of the shop guys, so at best he would write this day down as a good thing.
“Thank you, sir, nice of you to say that. Welcome to Pebble Beach Golf Links.”
The player just looked at me and told me his name.
“My name is Len.”
“Pleased to meet you, Len,” I said.
“I’m Len from the show Dancing with the Stars,” he explained. Not thinking so much about who he is, I could only think of the compliment he give me a minute ago, that this man is a judge of presentation and dance. I could only think about exceeding his expectations the rest of the loop, and said to myself that if Len liked that he was going to love this loop.
I was treated like a star. He was very coachable, and the loop went well. Of course I had to tell Len I liked his show and how much my mom liked the show, and she especially liked him, so I ask Len for an autograph for me mom.
When I’m in the moment on the job, or even around someone with an accent, I tend to start to get a little accent myself and I mean all of the accents from around the world: Chinese, Spanish, Samoan, and all the English accents: American, Bermudan, and the queen’s English, whatever. So it was only proper of me that I asked for an autograph from Len for “me mom, please,” in the queen’s English.
All the loops start the same: the hello and greet-and-meet moment where you only get one chance to make a first impression. That is the first and most important moment in looping for anyone. As a caddie, you are there to help in the round: carry the bags or do a single bag or caddie for four players, whatever. Keep busy: clean clubs as you meet them, and before you tee off check the clubs to see if they have all their clubs, and let them know if there is a club missing or that they have an extra club. It’s always a good start—most players appreciate that, and know you are there for business.
After that, caddying for anyone and everyone is the same. I have a job to do, and they often let me do my job. After that, it is not “What it is like caddying for them?” That is the question; it is more for me to have them enjoy what it is like to have me as their caddie; that is what matters to me.
Being a caddie is more than just the bag on your back; it’s spending four hours with a player, a guest of the course that you are looping at, and there is a tip involved. The tip is part of my fee. The better the tip, the better the pay for the day, no matter how the players play. Our sixty dollars, no holler, that is two of the end-of-a-day sayings for how did your loop go today, comebacks between caddies.
Chapter 5
How Did They Play?
For the most part, a caddie does not judge players or their ability to play each shot perfect. You watch to see what happens during the shot. If you could remember your own golf game and the times you had on the first tee, you will know how that feels—a little nervous to say the least, teeing it up on the first time at St. Andrew’s old course; the first tee is two fairways wide. It was the start of the Caddie Cup, nerves through the roof. I hit a three iron off the tee and laid up for second shot short of the berm, tried to go up and down for par but two putted for bogie. PS: that was not my caddie’s fault, James Brody, aka, Pin High. He put up with my fear but was able to calm me down, and then I give him the reins, and off we went. Thanks, Pin High.
Most guests at Mid Ocean Club during the
