Rating  - Charlie golfs his way to redemption
Charlie McLeod shows up at a famous San Francisco golf club to work as a caddy. At this club the caddies are men, most often with a past, a taste for cards and liquor, and occasionally woman - and they understand the game of golf. Drunk or sober they can put the right club in their player's hands. And they often bet more on their players, than the players themselves do. They also have long memories - of matches won and lost, the money that changed hands, and who couldn't make the grade in the prime of life.
Charlie fits right in. He can caddie with the best of them, though no one knows why. Then one day he swings a club, something he hasn't done in over 25 years. And the magic swing that won a state high school golf championship at age fifteen with his father's guidance - and that was ruined with one swing of the club - has returned. Whatever anyone has ever been able to do with a golf ball and club, Charlie can do - and better.
And when word of that gets around the club - the conflict begins. For Charlie the game has always been about the perfect swing, playing the course and the next shot, not the recognition or the money. But that's not the case at the club. Charlie's skill is seen as a way to redeem a match lost long ago by men - both caddies and members, still at the club.
So Charlie must play a high stakes match on a course he has never seen against a pro who has never lost - and play on the pro's home course. And his job and the jobs of his caddie friends are at stake, along with a suitcase full of money, and who knows what else.
Mott is a master storyteller who will have you enjoying every moment of Charlie's journey to redemption. The golfer will recognize the characters as people at their own club. You will recognize the team spirit that can exist in what is often seen as a solitary sport - and you'll enjoy the humor that often crops up in unexpected places.
Armchair Interviews says: You'll cheer as Charlie finally finds his place in the sun.
Rating - Should be the next great golf movie
Great read that you cannot put down, especially if you love the game. Lot's of interesting characters that are easy to envision.
Rating  - Easy now, its ficion
I enjoyed this book. Í agree with the last reviewer in that it was not believable but hey, its fiction. You have to turn your suspicion off and not be too critical of what the writer is trying to ask you to believe. Charlie is a likable character and that is part of your (mine,anyway) willingness to believe what was written about his golf skills. For a real life version of a talented golfer who also quit for a long time, I really enjoyed "Striking it Rich" about the doctor who got on the pro tour after not playing for 30 years. He is the same age of Charlie McCleod and there are some interesting paralels there.
Rating  - Same old golf heroics
The Back Nine by Billy Mott is an oft-told yarn which wasn't credible the first time it was told, and certainly not now. It is full of fantastic deeds which are neither interesting nor believable. It is full of 450 yard drives, driving par fours, making eagles, and could be a catalog of golf feats which never would have happened. Leaping small buildings with a single bound is great for Superman, but not so good for a caddie, now playing in a comeback match. It will remake his life, but no worry because it seems that he can shoot 55 or so at will. Rubbish.
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