Charles Coody - "Cricket the Caddie - Incognito" SHORT TRACK

Mike Gonzalez 0:16

That must be been a fun week. Your caddy that week, Walter Cricket Pritchett, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Oh, yeah. Yeah, Walter, that's a good story. I guess you've heard that.

Mike Gonzalez 0:24

Well, I don't know. Why don't you tell us?

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Okay, well, yeah, Walter had uh uh Bruce would remember him. He had he had caddied on the tour for a few years. He catted for uh I don't know who all he cadded for, but I think he had the most success with Doug Sanders, if I remember right, Bruce.

Intro Music 0:41

Yeah, I think you're right too.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Anyway, and uh when I went over in '69, I he he had he had left the tour and uh married a gal that was from Atlanta, I believe, and he when he left the tour, he started driving a bus for Marta in Atlanta, but he would come over, I think, on the weekends and caddy at Augusta National. And and then and with that they let him uh they let him caddy in the 69 tournament, and he was assigned to me. And uh we almost won. Anyway, so I go back in 71, they're still assigning caddies. And uh and they gave me this caddy that you know he gets my bag and we're walking to the practice tee to to hit a few balls before we play. This is on a Sunday. And I looked at him, I forgot what his name is, but I called him my name and I said, Where where's your towel? And he said, What do I need a towel for? And I said, Well, I said, when the clubs get dirty and my golf ball is dirty, what are you gonna clean them with? He said, Oh, I'll I'll get one, okay, I'll get one after the round. I said, No, you go get one right now. And anyway, so I I knew I knew this was not gonna be a lasting uh relationship. And we we played the 18 hoes and so we're we're walking back to the clubhouse and I'm I'm getting ready to go in and talk to uh uh Dave Spencer and Dave and Bob Clecky, who were the co-pros there that uh they're kind of involved in the signing of the caddies and along with the caddy master. Anyway, and I'm walking to the uh through the parking lot and there's Stan's cricket. And I said, What are you doing? And he said, I came over here to caddy for you, and I said, I don't care what happens. I don't if a bomb goes off, you stay right there, you do not move, I'll be back. And and I went in it, believe it or not, it took at least an hour to an hour and a half for them to to meet McKenzie and Vincent uh that uh cricket should be able to caddy for me and they they relented. And and he he was a good cricket was a good caddy. He he he he he knew the rules of uh uh show up, keep up, and shut up. You know. And so uh and so anyway, uh we're walking down the uh uh seventh fairway after hitting the tee shot on Saturday and he said, Charles, I need to ask you a question. I said, Sure, cricket, what is it? He said, What holes do they start the TV on? And I I said, Cricket, I got no idea. Probably probably his earliest, probably 10, maybe 11 or 12 or something. Anyway, with that, we're at the um uh we're at the we're at the where we're gonna play the second shot, and I hit the my my shot on the green, he gives me the putter, and I go to the green. And when I put out he gives me the driver, and I go back to eight and he goes up the fairway. And then I catch up to him in the fairway after driving off the T. And I said, Cricket? And he asked you, why why do you won't know what holes they start the TV on? He said, Well, you know, he said, I'm driving a bus for Marta over in Atlanta. And I said, I know that cricket. And he said, Well, I told my supervisor that my grandmother in Houston was sick and I needed to have the week off. And he said, I I'm gonna have to go into my disguise. And I laughed. So anyway, uh, as Bruce knows whatever you finish the tenth green where the caddy would give you the driver, and you'd go back to eleven and and he was shortcut up to the 11th fairway and did that, and uh, and then I'm walking up that hill on 11 and and cricket comes walking out of the gallery on the right side there. And he's got this that uh master's uh towel uh draped over his head underneath his cap. And uh I got to laughing and I walked out and I said, Cricket, it's not gonna do any good, because he had he had a very, very prominent nose that uh you you could identify out in front of that towel. And I said, Well that nose you have, I said, there's no way in the world they're not gonna recognize you in Atlanta. And he and he goes back to work on the Monday morning and he goes by that supervisor's desk, and the supervisor looked at him and said, Cricket had a nice week, didn't he? So so so it was uh it was a little levity that uh really worked out good at the time, because you know uh in different times, as Bruce will attest, uh at different times in the tournament, especially if you're there with a a chance to win or a chance to play well. There's there's times it can get a little tight, and you know, and you you can kind of get uh a little ahead of yourself and and stuff, and that worked out good. That kind of broke the ice a little bit, which I uh I think that uh that that could have been instrumental in my being able to play well.

Mike Gonzalez 5:43

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