A Wee Nip at the 19th Hole

Steeped in history and lore, the Old Course at St. Andrews is one of the meccas of golf. And yet, of all the great stories that have been played out on what are considered the most famous eighteen holes in the game, perhaps the most fascinating of all are those told by and about the legendary St. Andrews caddie.

One of the game's most time-honored traditions, the St. Andrews caddie has become synonymous with the Old Course itself: gruff, eccentric, rough-hewn, challenging, unpredictable, sometimes frustrating, sometimes hilarious, but never duplicated.

Written by Richard Mackenzie, the current caddie manager at St. Andrews Old Course and a former caddie himself, A Wee Nip at the 19th Hole is filled with the written and oral records of some of the game's great unknown sages. The result is a masterful celebration of golf as seen through the eyes of arguably the most colorful characters the game has ever known.

As every golfer is aware, the only thing better than playing the game is talking about it. Part history, part back-nine gossip, and pure entertainment, A Wee Nip offers golfing enthusiasts the next best thing to pulling up a stool at the nineteenth hole and sharing a pint--and a tale or two--with such unforgettable figures as Old Tom Morris, Trap Door, Poot Chisholm, and Stumpie Eye. It's an experience you'll never forget.

A Wee Nip at the 19th Hole celebrates one of the most intriguing, entertaining, and time-honored traditions in golf--the St. Andrews caddie. For over two hundred years, caddies have been walking the most famous piece of golfing land in the world, advising players of vastly different abilities, not only on the club to take, but also on the type of shot required. Richard Mackenzie, Caddie Manager at the historic Old Course and a former caddie himself, brings to life some of the most legendary and colorful characters ever to walk the links in this highly readable and enjoyable book. Filled with vintage photographs and documents, A Wee Nip at the 19th Hole traces the great contribution caddies made to the game and features profiles of characters like Old Tom Morris, who has since assumed a prominent place in golf history. In fact, it was Old Tom himself who in 1864 elevated the expectations of the caddies, insisting that they "appear for work clean, and moderately sober." Old Tom was routinely disappointed, however, by a band of ragamuffins with names like "Stumpie Eye," "Trap Door," and "Boosy Chas." Reading Richard Mackenzie's tribute to the St. Andrews caddie is a little like pulling up a stool at the 19th hole and sharing a pint with these and other famous and infamous characters. -->

Richard Mackenzie is a native of Scotland's west coast but has made St. Andrews his home for the last eighteen years. His first passion was soccer, and he came into golf through an unconventional route. While visiting friends in Australia in the early 1970s, he was in the crowd at a national tournament played over the Royal Sydney Golf Course. At the seventh hole, one of the golfers dismissed his caddie in anger and, turning to the gallery, asked if anybody would like to carry his bag. Richard's friends pushed him forward, and the golfer said, "There's the bag--let's play golf!" It was the beginning of his love for the game.

Ten years later, in St. Andrews, Richard began to hone his skills as a caddie, soon becoming good enough to work the 1984 Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he carried for five-time winner Peter Thomson. Since then, he has worked seven Opens, has taken time out to work the European Tour, and made an occasional sojourn into the U.S. Tour, eventually coming home to St. Andrews to take over as caddie manager in 1992. His most recent success as a caddie was the 1994 Alfred Dunhill Cup win, when he carried for Canadian Rick Gibson, beating the United States in the final at St. Andrews, played over the Old Course.