First published 2013
Oliver Horovitz gets his Harvard acceptance call during high school graduation, but he can't start for another year. A skilled golfer with a 1.8 handicap who has caddied since age twelve, Ollie decides to spend his gap year in St. Andrews, Scotland. He enrolls in the caddie trainee program at the Old Course, golf's most famous eighteen holes. The veteran caddies treat him like dirt at first. Ollie wakes up at 4:30 every morning and carries bags for two rounds daily until he slowly wins their respect. Then he has to leave for Harvard, where he feels out of place among classmates who are sons of diplomats and Fortune 500 CEOs. Even after college when his friends head to Wall Street, Horovitz keeps returning each summer to caddie at St. Andrews. This memoir captures his journey from awkward teenager to young adult, finding his identity in the most unlikely place.
Genres: adventure, coming-of-age, autobiography, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Harvard, Old Course, Scotland, St. Andrews
Period: High School Graduation
336 pages · Hardcover · Avery