Who's Your Caddy?

April 14, 2003
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. (May)Forecast:Just in time for Father's Day, the book will get added attention as a first serial in
Sports Illustrated and with Reilly making an appearance on the
Today show.

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 (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

March 15, 2004
Overall, this CD set is a great deal of fun to listen to, as Reilly knows golf and golfers well. Somehow or other, he managed to caddy for several professional and prominent golfers: John Daly, David Duval, and Donald Trump, to name a few. Reilly is more than willing to describe in detail his mistakes as an inexperienced caddy; he has the ability to make the listener visualize exactly what the embarrassment factor was for each "goof." Reader Grover Gardner is excellent at portraying the author's emotions. Working together, Reilly and Gardner make the experiences so real that listeners can almost hear the rattle of clubs before one of the professional caddies shows Reilly how to stop them from shaking in the bag and disturbing his golfer. Two of the golfers, Casey Martin and Bob Andrews, play with physical handicaps: Martin, who is the only professional golfer allowed to ride in a golf cart by a Supreme Court decision, plays with continual pain; Andrews is blind. Reilly's descriptions of their courage and competitiveness display great sensitivity and are extremely effective. The only chapter that fails is the one involving LPGA golfer Jill McGill, where Reilly's attitude abruptly changes to patronizing and supercilious as he describes the women's golf tour. Recommended for all audio collections, but primarily for men.-Nancy Reed, McCracken Cty. P.L., Paducah, KY

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.