Caddie Cam Stepping on a crack might break your player's back

A caddie should be aware of his player's superstitions. Fred
Couples always used a particular 1965 quarter to mark his ball
on the putting green. Curtis Strange thought it was bad luck if,
after he had hit an iron shot stiff, his standard-bearer changed
his score before he had actually holed out the putt. Curtis
would get real uptight and more than once he missed the putt, at
which point life would become quite unpleasant for the
standard-bearer. I am very superstitious and think it paid off
when I caddied for Ben Crenshaw at the '95 Grand Slam of Golf in
Kauai, Hawaii. After finishing the 17th hole in the first round,
John Daly, Steve Elkington and Corey Pavin all unknowingly
marched across a rock wall that the natives said used to be an
ancestral resting place. I decided that this was bad karma, and
I persuaded Ben to walk around the wall and go an extra 40 yards
to get to the 18th tee. The next day Ben skulled a wedge on his
approach to the 18th green, but the ball dived into the hole for
an eagle and a one-stroke victory. I'll always chalk up that one
to the spirit world.

Linn Strickler, 50, has been a Tour caddie since 1973.

COLOR PHOTO: DAVID WALBERG