And gives his player bad yardages, too
On Tuesday I met John Schlee, my assigned golfer. I was told he was also a journeyman Tour player with no wins yet. He asked me if I had any yardages for the golf course. One of the other Oakmont caddies, Sonny Stoner, claimed to have Lee Trevino’s yardages from the previous year.
This is the third in a 10-part series of recollections by Ed Wieszczynski, who caddied at Oakmont Country Club near Puttsburgh from 1967 to 1975, including at the 1973 U.S. Open. While looping, he encountered the likes of Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle
Yardages came in two forms. To the front of the green or to the middle of the green. Sonny told me the yardages were to the front of the green and to make sure to add the yardage from the front of the green to the pin.
I asked again, and he said they were definitely to the front of the green. I told Mr. Schlee that I had yardages that Lee Trevino used. On the first hole of the practice round, he asked me for the yardage. I told him it was 145 yards from the back of the bunker on the right and he was 7 yards behind that, so he had 152 yards to the front of the green.
It looked like the pin was back about 15 yards. I told him to play for 167 yards. He said it did not look that far, but he would believe me. He hit the shot over the green. He stepped the shot off himself and told me he got only 138 yards to the front of the green.
Mr. Schlee told me where to stick my yardages
I gave him another yardage on the second hole and the same thing happened. He hit it over the green and when he stepped it off, my numbers were too far. They seemed to be calibrated for the middle of the green, but Sonny insisted that they were to the front of the green.
Mr. Schlee told me where to stick my yardages and he stepped them off himself for the rest of the round. Bad start. We then got to the third tee. I stood on the right side of the tee as standard and he hit a drive way to the right of the fairway. He had hit two fine drives on the first two holes. He asked me for another ball.
He hit another drive far to the right. There was a tree near the right side of the tee and I had trouble seeing where the balls ended up. He asked me for a third ball and he blasted it right down the middle. Since the hole was a par five, he told me to give him a three wood and to go find the first two balls he’d hit.
I went in the general direction of where he hit them and it was very high rough. I looked and looked and could find nothing. I saw that he had hit his second shot and was nearing the green, so I gave up and hustled down to the green.
He finished the hole and on the next tee, asked me for the balls that he’d hit. I told him I could not find them. He moaned that I had one simple job to do. Watch where he hit the ball and go find it. What could I say? I just stood there and took it and walked after his drive.
‘I’m stuck with a bad caddie’
As we were walking, I could hear him talking to his partner, Bob E. Smith. He was telling Mr. Smith that he got himself a bad caddie and was not sure if I was going to last. I just kept walking quietly, taking my medicine. I did not want to get fired because I drove two other caddies. I did not want to stick around all week if I was not working.
Bob E. Smith then asked John Schlee why he was so worked up over two lost golf balls. He mentioned how Mr, Schlee had wasted a dozen balls a few weeks earlierin Florida, skipping them over a lake trying to hit an alligator.
John Schlee said that was not the point. He gave me a simple job to do and I didn’t do it. We made it to the fifth tee and he told me to look at him. I figured I was getting fired. I looked him straight in the eye. He finally smiled and told me I would be fine. He noted that he had a caddie the week prior that would break into tears if he told him he was doing something wrong. He told me I passed the test He harassed me just to find out if I could take some heat. A relief for sure.
When I got in from the practice round, I saw Sonny Stoner at the campground. I told him what happened with the yardages. He acknowledged that he told me wrong. The yardages were to the middle of the green. Thanks a lot, Sonny. Oh, well, it was an honest mistake, Sonny did a lot for me.
There was one more practice round on Wednesday. After the round,Mr. Schlee told me to go to the practice range with him. That was great. Standing there as your golfer practiced and also watching the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Trevino. Lee Trevino was telling jokes and busting balls like it was any Tuesday night golf league. Gary Player was giving another golfer some pointers.These guys were competitors yet mostly friends. It was a great way to spend a summer evening, taking it all in.
Coming Monday
‘Confessions of an Oaknont caddie’
Playing with Tom Weiskopf
Tommy Aaron was hitting balls next to us. A local reporter came by and asked him if he could ask him some questions. At the time, Tommy Aaron had a reputation of coming in second place a lot.
After a few quesions, the reporter asked him if it affected him coming down the stretch in contention in a tournament knowing that he had not won so many times. Aaron must not have liked the way he phrased the question because he got quiet and his face got a little red. When Aaron next spoke, it was clear to the reporter the interview was over, and Aaron turned away to resume hitting balls.
Oddly enough Aaron would come in second a few weeks later in the PGA Championship. But the following April, he won The Masters for his only major championship.
Featured poto illustration of Ed Wieszczynski at Oakmont wearing his 1973 U.S. Open jumpsuit created with ChatGPT
Ed Wieszcznski lives in Pittsburgh
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