Episode 120: The Golf Life of Reilly – The Golfer's Journal Podcast
You know Rick Reilly from the back page of Sports Illustrated, where he delivered 800 words of humor, heartbreak or heroism every week for 15 years. And though you’ve seen him at St. Andrews and read him at Augusta—his ‘96 opus on Norman’s collapse is an all-timer—you’ll be surprised to discover just how deep his golf obsession goes. Reilly, who joined the Broken Tee Society earlier this year, jumped into our members-only Discord server to talk with Tom Coyne about his lifelong love of the game, which he has distilled into his new book So Help Me Golf. The stories within—from a fraught relationship with his dad, to the myriad cheating methods employed by sitting US presidents, to tales of POWs and drug-mule caddies—cement him as one of the finest golf scribes of our time.
Excerpt: The Bartender’s Son
Reilly was kind enough to give us an excerpt from his most recent book, which we’ve made available exclusively to TGJ subscribers. The tale of an enterprising imp at Lahinch will wring a smile from anyone who’s ever sent an iron over an aiming post and thought: “That might have a chance.“
About Rick Reilly
During his 23-year run at Sports Illustrated from 1985 through 2007, Rick Reilly was considered by many to be the preeminent sportswriter in America. He was voted the National Sports Media Association’s Sportswriter of the Year 11 times, and was recognized in 2009 with a Damon Runyon Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. Reilly spent seven years creating written and video essays for ESPN before officially retiring from sportswriting in 2014. He is the author of 15 books, including Missing Links, Who’s Your Caddy?, and Commander in Cheat.
