Caddie Sense : Revelations of a PGA Tour Caddie on Playing the Game of Golf [Hardcover]

Michael Carrick (Author), Steve Duno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2000

Thousands of golfers have learned invaluable lessons from the legendary likes of Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, Faldo, and Norman. Caddie Sense provides a brand new and tremendously important perspective. Here, for the first time, are intimate playing strategies used by the best of the best from the viewpoint of a PGA Tour caddie.

As a former President of the Tour Caddies Association who has caddied for the legendary Tom Kite for nearly 20 years, Michael Carrick will provide you with rare, inside-the-ropes glimpses of the game, including:

* The first strategic book on golf written by a Tour caddie
* A personal caddie to take on the course
* Helpful instructions to beginners as well as the advanced player
* Advice on how to plan a good round of golf

Caddie Sense will appeal to both the players looking for help with their game as well as the players looking to get an insider's view of professional golf.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Other than an ability to rocket a drive consistently some 300 yards and putt with the touch of a cat burglar, about the only thing that separates the majority of us duffers from the cream of golf's crop is the wise counsel, steadying influence, and trusted partnership that comes from teaming with a Tour-quality caddie. At that level, carrying clubs is the least they do. A good tour caddie is far more psychologist, tactician, and teammate than Sherpa, and Carrick is as good as it gets; president of the Professional Tour Caddies Association, he walked beside Tom Kite for most of Kite's stellar career, including his shining U.S. Open victory in 1992 at Pebble Beach. In Caddie Sense, he shares his secrets. It's as close as most of us will ever come to having a master strategist and technician on our bag.

Filled with an equal mix of anecdotes and advice, Caddie Sense is divided into three sections. The first looks at caddie history and details a caddie's various functions before, during, and after a round. The second explores the complex and marriage-like quality of a caddie's relationship with his or her pro. Then it's off to the course for some practical instruction and guidance for how to serve as your own full-service caddie, everything from understanding your clubs, the course, the swing, and the weather to the necessity of good yardage books, realistically assessing your distances, and keeping yourself keep cool when emotions get hot. All through the journey, Carrick speeds up the pace of play--and the fun of his book--by letting us inside the ropes to eavesdrop on his own experiences with Kite. It makes for an altogether entertaining and instructional loop. --Jeff Silverman

From Library Journal

If you were writing a job description for a caddie on the PGA tour, it would include "counselor, coach, politician, statistician, meteorologist, golfer, craftsman, cheerleader, scapegoat, landscape architect... friend...[and] an enduring walking machine." Carrick has performed the job for over 20 years, 17 of them with pro golfer Tom Kite. Here he explains what a caddie does and how the caddie/player relationship works. The balance of the book is a caddie's-eye view of steps the average golfer can take to improve his game. Written in clear and entertaining prose, this is a useful addition to the literature of golf, and it should be added to most sports collections. Carrick is president of the Professional Tour Caddie's Association; coauthor Duno has written several books, including The Kiss Guide to Golf.DTerry Madden, Boise State Univ. Lib., ID
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (May 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312202865
• ISBN-13: 978-0312202866
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,095,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Caddie sense? How about common sense!, June 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Caddie Sense : Revelations of a PGA Tour Caddie on Playing the Game of Golf (Hardcover)

I saw this book in a store the first week it came out, read the cover and snatched it up with great anticpation. How cool. A book by a serious tour caddie that could give me new knowledge about the game. Great concept, at least in theory.

I was going to write a review a few weeks ago, but I was reluctant to pan this book. I have a great deal of respect for Tom Kite's success and his caddy must share some of the credit. One of the the two stars is out of reverence for Tom's record on the tour.

However.....

Who is this book written for? If you are an experienced golf (I play to a 10 and have been playing golf for 27 of the 34 years I have been alive) this book does not deliver much insight. Some of the stories of about Tom's U.S. Open win are entertaining. The stories of the caddy lifestyle are not interesting at all... spare me the sophomoric stories of life on the road.

If you are a beginner, the vocabulary and concepts used in the book will be foreign.

I think there is only one legitimate target audience for this book; the aspiring tour caddie.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the revelations I expected, May 1, 2001

By 

rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Caddie Sense : Revelations of a PGA Tour Caddie on Playing the Game of Golf (Hardcover)

About the most significant revelation he makes about toting the bag of Tom Kite, one of best, is the story about the other players loading up his bag with their rain gear at an Open.

Other than that, it is pretty much common sense about caddying and mostly half the book about the golf swing and strategy. There are too many other good books out there on these subjects.

However, he does give some good advice. I especially appreciated his idea of treating the par 3's like par 4 approach shots. This is neat idea mentally.

Much of what he says about prepartation and practice is good for us amateurs to hear. Lay down clubs when practicing. This really pays off benefits. Doesn't compare in looks to the guys just pounding ball after ball, but when they are out spraying them, alignment practice will pay off.

Could have cut this book down by 1/2 to 1/3 and gotten good stuff in. Expected more stories of his caddying experience, not rehash of what other instructional books provide. More actual experience stories making the point would have been more effective and kept ones attention.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars bud sweat & tees is a better investment, March 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Caddie Sense : Revelations of a PGA Tour Caddie on Playing the Game of Golf (Hardcover)

dont waste your money on this one. fluffs video is a better buy but the shipnuck book is a good read. i read both within the last two weeks and have read way to many golf books and watched way to many videos. maybe eye surgery and lessons would be a better investment (like tommy). i agree the tips could be counted on one hand and you probably already know them if you score below 100. caddie stories could have been great and to rehash tom's pebble win in THE FIRST CHAPTER was a waste. i like tom as well as the next guy but this book was written to do one thing--make money! one of the few golf books that i would like to return if i could. usually you can get something out of golf books but not this one. take you $20 ± dollars and buy a few buckets at the range and always pick a target.