“Oliver Horovitz.”
My name is being called on the caddie shack intercom. I walk to the window. Rob’s standing there, just as Rick used to. “Ollie, I need you on the New Course.”
“Sure thing.”
I put on my bib, grab my jacket, tuck the sovereign carefully inside. And then I step back out of the shack into the cool morning sunlight, for my next caddie round.
By the door, I see Jimmy Bowman, about to head inside for his coffee. He nods at me, gives me a pat on the shoulder. “Good catch, Horovitz.” I nod back to Jimmy, thank him, offer up my sunniest smile.
And then I get going.
(All photos courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted)
The young trainee caddies. Sunburned and smiling. (I’m the third from the left.)
In the shack
At the Dunvegan, with Wee Eck and his mate Bruce Sorley (one of five people in the world to have caddied competitively for Tiger Woods)
On the sixteenth green, locked in thought over this crucial putt to get back to 26 over par
June in St. Andrews. I’d like to point out that on this same day, it was 97 degrees in New York.
With Greaves; both (finally) official caddies
With Uncle Ken, dressed for the occasion, at the Himalayas Putting Green
Please, don’t ever do this. Just . . . don’t.
Rick Mackenzie, our caddie manager
Lydia Hall, warming up before our round in the 2007 Women’s British Open qualifier
2007 Caddie Outing. I’m third from the left, or five left of the guy holding the goblet of wine at 9 A.M.
Guiding Huey Lewis to greatness at the Dunhill Links Championship
The Stuyvesant golf team. As you might glean from this photo, we broke a lot of hearts in high school.
On the eighteenth tee of the Old Course. Not a bad office.
On our third round of the day (at 9 P.M.). This is what happens when you decide to do “The Treble.”
At the Dunhill Links Championship, with Huey Lewis, Tico Torres’s caddie, Tico Torres, Michael Douglas, and Andy Garcia
Standing between Henry and Uncle Ken, during an important flower-scouting operation.
“Fa fook’s sake!” Alistair Taylor. A man of wisdom and many f-words.
Malcolm Dewer, aka Big Malky, aka the Tay Seal
Model caddies, getting some ink
Jimmy Bowman, my documentary subject. Caddying doesn’t get much more old-school than this.
Ken Henderson and Robert Thorpe, working the window in the caddie shack office
Jimmy Castorphin, an Old Course legend
Our team, outside the shack
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Sibeal Pounder for your endless support and confidence and to Cara Spitalewitz for always-useful advice.
Tom Greaves, my caddie mate through so many summers, was an invaluable sounding-board, and Alyssa Wolff and Mark Eglinton provided pitch-perfect pointers whenever I asked. Chris Hill, Will Skjott, and Iain Webster were steadfast supporters of my writing, as was David Field, who helped me keep it real. Thanks as well to Jake Foley, Jordan Weitzen, Ben Kultgen, Sean Harris, Michael Kramer, Joe Kavolus, Tom Nash, Damien and Jasmine Chazelle, Justin Hurwitz, Heidi Dallin, Sol Frieder, Graeme Lennie, Betsy Andrews, Mike Harvey, Claire Pascolini-Campbell, Aunty Jacqui, Aunty Shirley, David Joy, David Coyne, Daniel Ross-Rieder, John Cella, Ryan Murphy, Lissi Erwin, and Tiana Matthews, for encouragement on both sides of the pond.
Jerry DeGroot gave me working space and Thanksgiving turkey, and Sharon Roe listened to all my caddie stories with a smile. The Williams family—David, John, Anne, and Colin—provided accommodation and friendship over many summers. Jake and Edith Davidson, and Louise Anquitel, made home seem much less far away. Mike Woodcock, with the St. Andrews Links Trust, was funny, friendly, and always helpful. Shout-outs to Peter Hood, Steve Clayton, Bass Rocks Golf Club, and Rockport Golf Club for getting me hooked on golf in the first place. At Harvard, thanks to Robb Moss, Ross McElwee, Alfred Guzzetti, Pete Grana, and John Rybicki for teaching me about film and life, and to Thomas Batchelder, for steering me through it all.
New York University’s Bobst Library provided the perfect writing environment while I was in New York City. In St. Andrews, Taste Coffee was my go-to spot for caffeine and free Internet. To the University of St. Andrews Library—sorry for sneaking in coffee that spilled in my backpack, then returning borrowed library books, pretending they were already coffee stained.
My parents, Israel and Gillian Horovitz, are a giant part of this book coming to life. Thank you, for everything. A special shout-out to my dad, who spent countless hours working with me, passing on wisdom and wicked good advice.
Thanks also to my wonderful sisters and brothers: Hannah, Rachael, Matthew, and Adam, and to my uncle Richard Price, who read an early draft and gave crucial golf-nut feedback.
My brilliant agent and friend, Ryan D. Harbage, guided me from start to finish with the greatest of skill and wisdom. Thanks as well to Bill Shinker at Gotham, and to my editor, Jessica Sindler, whose comments and ideas were superb throughout.
I am indebted to Robert Thorpe, my Old Course caddie master, for his unflinching support and understanding, even as my double-rounds began to, um, slacken. . . . Thanks as well to Ken Henderson, Peter Rees, Paul Ellison, and David Hutchison in the caddie shack office, as well as John Grant with the St. Andrews Links Trust. And thank you, Rick Mackenzie, for taking on that eighteen-year-old (talkative) American kid back in 2004 and somehow letting him return each year.
Lastly, I’d like to thank my fellow St. Andrews caddies, past and present. Words cannot adequately express how important you’ve become in my life. To all of you . . . FOOOOAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Oliver Horovitz is a writer, filmmaker, and caddie on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. He has written for Sports Illustrated, Golf World, and Golf Digest. A native of New York City, he was the founder and captain of Stuyvesant High School’s championship golf team and is the former New York City Heisman PSAL Wingate Trophy winner for golf. An active filmmaker whose work has screened around the country, Horovitz received the 2008 Edward H. Potter Prize at Harvard College and directed a 2007 documentary about caddying entitled The Caddies of St. Andrews.
Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
PROLOGUE
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
PART TWO
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
PART THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
PART FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
&n
bsp; CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
PART FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
EPILOGUE
PHOTOGRAPHS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An American Caddie in St. Andrews: Growing Up, Girls, and Looping on the Old Course Page 28