Yes, "Caddy for Life" by John Feinstein is technically a golf book. It's the biography of Bruce Edwards, who caddied for Tom Watson for 27 years between 1973 and 2003 (he caddied for Greg Norman from 1989-1992). For those of you who don't know, Tom Watson is one of the top 10 golfers of all time. He won 39 PGA Tour events and 8 major championships. He's known as a great "bad weather" golfer, having won the British Open 5 times (for more information, click the link earlier this paragraph to get to wikipedia...same for Edwards).
I loved this book. This is more than a story about a great caddy/player relationship. This is a story of one of the great friendships and partnerships, that was tragically cut short when Edwards was stricken with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) early in 2003. He died of the disease in April of 2004, but not before lending a public voice to this deadly disease through participating in one of the most stirring rounds of US Open golf in recent history. At the age of 53, Watson, playing his heart out for Edwards shot a 5 under par 65 to take the lead of the 2003 US Open. While he ended up finishing outside the top 20, for 1 day at least, the pair was on top of the golf world. Edwards would later say that he was so touched, because he knew Watson played that round for him.
But the book is more than just a sad ending. It chronicles Edwards' career from a high school caddy at his local club, to becoming a favorite of players and caddies alike on the PGA Tour, to his crowning achievement...helping Watson with the 1982 US Open. Feinstein does a wonderful job telling Edwards' story, through interviews with Edwards himself, his wife, parents, siblings, and of course Watson. Even if you aren't a golf fan, I think you'll really enjoy this book.
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