Gloriously available again, forty years after it was first published—now with a new introduction by Brad Faxon, a new afterword by the author, and a batch of newly discovered time-capsule photos—The Green Road Home is the classic account of a young caddie on the PGA Tour, and the book that launched Michael Bamberger as a bestselling author.
In 1985, Michael Bamberger was a twenty-something college grad and golf nut with a daunting dream: to become a caddie on the PGA Tour. His hope was to travel widely and deeply, to see the game up close and personal, and to be accepted into the vagabond guild of professional caddies. When the great golf writer Dan Jenkins heard about Bamberger’s gig, he said, “Finally, an Ivy Leaguer carrying the bags of other people.” Bamberger had his own take. He was looking for adventure. As William Least Heat-Moon had his blue highways, Bamberger had green ones.
The Green Road Home, first published in 1986, takes you inside the ropes, and inside the heads of the players Bamberger caddied for. You’ll hang with the author in New York and New Orleans and Las Vegas. You’ll get to know a wide range of golfers, legends like Al Geiberger (the first player on Tour to shoot 59) and George Archer (winner of the 1969 Masters), as well as Steve Elkington (future winner of the PGA Championship) and Bill Britton (future golf coach at Monmouth University). The author gets road and life advice from a colleague named Killer. He caddies in the US and British Opens and in the vicinity of Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson. He plays in the Tour’s annual Caddie Classic golf tournament and the caddie-player softball game. The Green Road Home is a funny and heartfelt account of what it takes to make it as a touring pro—and as a touring caddie.
This book is about the 1985 season on Tour. Turns out, it was a pivotal one. We now know what we didn’t then, that Bamberger was witnessing the end of the line for the Tour as a mom-and-pop operation. (In ’85, the annual tournament in Pebble Beach was still named for Bing Crosby. A year later, it became the AT&T.) Whether you’ve been following the game all your life or are new to it, The Green Road Home is a window into a magical time in the pro game. In this charming book, a young writer finds his own voice, and a young man finds his own way.
