Augusta Museum highlights legendary caddies of The Masters

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(L-R) Ike "Stabber" Choice, Henry "JNox" McClendan and Tommy "Burnt Biscuit" Bennett. Bennett caddied for Tiger Woods during Woods' first appearance at The Masters, when he was an amateur.

Credit: The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

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(L-R) Henry "Buck" Moore, Jim "Big Boy" Dent and Henry "JNox" McClendan

Credit: The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

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Actor Keyonice Burts portraying caddie Willie "Pappy" Stokes

Credit: The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

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Jack Nicklaus throws up his putter as his caddy, Willie Peterson leaps into the air after his putt sank for a birdie on the first hole at Augusta, Ga., April 11, 1971, during the Masters Golf Tournament. With this putt Nicklaus took the lead of the final round with 8-under-par.

Credit: AP Photo/Perry Aycock

Every April, golfers from around the world descend on Augusta to play in The Masters Tournament. Champions include golf legends like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Arnold Palmer.

But year round, a museum in Augusta highlights the lesser-known legends of The Masters — Augusta’s famous Black caddies. 

For the first nearly 50 years in Augusta National Golf Club’s history and the tournament, all the caddies were African American, said Corey Rogers, executive director of the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History.  

The museum’s "Men on the Bag" exhibit tells the stories of caddies who helped the world’s best golfers secure the coveted green jacket.

Caddies, like Willie “Pappy” Stokes and Henry Brown, were experts on when to use which club, how a ball would land on the ground — all the nuances of the game and the course, Rogers said.

“Willie ‘Pappy’ Stokes, who's called the godfather of Black caddies in Augusta,” Rogers said, “[on a rainy day], Pappy would have gone out on the course and laid down to look and see how the water was flowing on the green. That way, he could better inform his golfer as to which way the ball would break. And so, these guys were very good at their craft.” 

Many caddies who worked at Augusta National lived in the Sand Hills neighborhood, located next to Augusta National and another golf course, the Augusta Country Club. 

They would often start out caddying at Augusta Country Club, eventually make their way to Augusta National, and many got to caddie in The Masters Tournament, Rogers said.

“Some of them would sneak on to the course, some of them would just go up and ask for a job caddying and that's just kind of how they got started,” Rogers said.

Rogers said Clifford Roberts, cofounder of Augusta National, set the practice of hiring only African American caddies.

“Augusta National was simply a microcosm of what was happening in the country writ large," Rogers said. "So if you think about 1932, at the height of Jim Crow — and so, those prevailing attitudes are really the same attitudes that permeated the membership and the attitudes of those in charge of the Augusta National.”

Through the years, Augusta’s caddies helped golfers like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer compete and win The Masters Tournament, but they often went unrecognized, Rogers said.

“In golf, the position of a caddie is traditionally an unknown position," Rogers said. "So, there have been photos published, articles written, and where you have...Jack Nicklaus celebrating or walking or whatever the case is. The caddie is next to them and it might say 'unknown caddie'."

The Masters started allowing competitors to bring their own caddies, rather than requiring them to use the Augusta National's caddies in 1982. Many of Augusta's caddies continued to caddy while others, like Jim Dent, became professional golfers, Rogers said.

Rogers hopes "Men on the Bag" will shine a light on the caddies' stories and get young people to understand the contributions they make to the game.

“We want to expand the discussion," Rogers said. "We want to tell the individual story that has led to the collective. So the collective story of the masters in the collective story of golf writ large cannot be told without these individuals."

"Men on the Bag" includes actors portraying the legendary caddies, a discussion with some of the living caddies, and the traditional foods served The Masters. The exhibit runs twice a month all year.