Near-disaster at the U.S. Amateur
I started as a caddie at Oakmont Country Club as a 13 year old in the spring of 1967.
I had no idea what to expect but what happened was a wonderful experience. I assumed I would just carry a bag alongside the golfer, get a few dollars, and go home. But the first time out, the caddymaster, Joe Stoner, put me in a group with an older caddie named Ray DiPalma.
This is the first 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
Ray immediately showed me how to carry the bag, where to stand, how to tend the flagstick, where to walk on the green and how to fix a ball mark.
That was followed by other rounds with experienced caddies like Bob Gagliardi, Gar Goddard, Bill Goddard, Sonny Stoner, John Garbo, Jim Pernice, Joe Romanovich, Harry Nolan, Roy Chini, Bernard Pizzuto and others. These men were only too happy to show new caddies the ropes. I found out quickly that caddie development and training was a longstanding tradition at Oakmont. Little did I know of the great experiences and interesting people that lay ahead.
My first big experience was at the 1969 U.S. Amateur Championship. We all knew that the U.S. Open Championship was coming to Oakmont Country Club in 1973 and this would be great experience in preparing for it.
These days everyone sees PGA Tour professionals with professional caddies who travel with their golfers. They know the golfer’s game, chart the yardages, read greens, track and take care of the equipment and whatever other services the golfer requires.
Up until the mid-1970s , the rule was that local caddies were to be used in the months of June, July and August. I understand it was to protect the jobs of local caddies. I believe what ended that rule was that most golf courses where a PGA Tour or USGA tournament was held had trouble supplying enough competent caddies.
But Oakmont was the exception in that they could supply a hundred-plus decent caddies. The U.S. Amateur was not as prestigious as a U.S. Open, but it was interesting watching the USGA come in months in advance to prepare for the tournament.
I caddied for a fine gentleman from Cincinnati named Tony Blom. He shot an 87-80 for two rounds and did not make the cut. But I had an oddly embarrassing experience during one of the rounds.
Coming Tuesday
‘Confessions of an Oaknont caddie’
Ed Wieszczynski, gets his first chance to caddie in a professional golf event.
The 9th green at Oakmont is huge because the practice green and the playing green are all one piece. Tony hit his third shot to the 9th green thin and long. It went to the back of the practice green, which was in bounds. The pin was up on the front of the green so that he had a putt that was over 100 feet from the hole.
I was tending the flagstick as he was getting ready to putt. When I tended a pin, I would always pull the pin slightly from the hole and lay it softly back in the hole. An old-timer caddie told me to do that to make sure the flagstick would easily come out because until a few years ago, it was a penalty for a putt hit from the pitting surface to hit the pin.
Panic on the green at Oakmont Country Club
As Tony prepared to strike the putt, I noticed that the flagstick did not want to come out of the hole. The hole was cut just over the front greenside bunkernd some wet sand had gotten into the cup.
Tony struck his putt and I tried hard to remove the pin. It would not budge. Panic set in. What was going on here? This was the U.S. Amateur. The ball was rolling and even though it was an extremely lengthy putt, it was tracking right towards the hole.
Finally Tony let out a panicked yell for me to pull the pin. I finally grabbed the flagstick with two hands and gave it all my strength. To my horror, the entire cup came out of the hole, disengaged from the flagstick and was flipping through the air above me.
It came down and I caught it with my left hand. I looked down to see the ball come within 3 inches of going into the now-cupless hole. There were a few hundred spectators around the green laughing. I wanted to crawl inside that hole.
Tony came down and put his arm around me and told me I did fine. A surprised course worker came running over and cleaned everything out and put things back in order.
Featured poto illustration of Ed Wieszczynski wearing his 1973 U.S. Open jumpsuit created with ChatGPT
Ed Wieszcznski lives in Pittsburgh
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