John Dunn opens the entertaining and humorous Loopers with Bill Murray's famous lines from Caddyshack about being "a looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock," and carrying clubs for "the Dalai Lama himself." Dunn never looped for anyone as eminent, but he did pretty well. Growing up in Connecticut, he fell in love with golf, and the "ragtag, bohemian subculture" of caddying "became my ticket to Neverland."
He confesses he never made much (caddies at exclusive country clubs might top $40,000 a year), but he loved the freedom and the quick cash. And the travel: he's caddied at some of the world's greatest courses: Shinnecock Hills, Augusta National, Olympic Club (with its surprisingly Bad News Bears caddy yard), St. Andrews, Bandon Dunes, Sherwood and many others. All golfers will enjoy reading his accounts of walking these hallowed grounds.
Dunn's memoirs yield up great golf tidbits, including anecdotes about caddying for Bill Gates and Arnold Palmer at Augusta--where guests aren't allowed to tip their caddies. (Nevertheless, Dunn reports, three-time Masters champ Phil Mickelson "showers the caddies with hundreds" when he's there.) You'll also learn about Oregon's Bandon Dunes Resort, which has what Dunn says are the best caddy perks by far, and a course hailed by many "as the greatest... in the galaxy," luring players from around the world. For any golfer, Loopers is a delight. --Tom Lavoie, former publisher