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Memories of '75 Fifty years since Elder's debut, has golf managed to broaden its horizons?

The Guardian

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April 07, 2025

For Carl Jackson, the path was one well trodden. Caddie shed to 1st tee; he had done it hundreds of times across 14 years as a bag man at the Masters.

- Ewan Murray

Memories of '75 Fifty years since Elder's debut, has golf managed to broaden its horizons?

For Carl Jackson, the path was one well trodden. Caddie shed to 1st tee; he had done it hundreds of times across 14 years as a bag man at the Masters. Jackson's connection to Augusta National stretched even beyond his major debut of 1961. He was a caddie at the venue from the age of 14; breaching what employment law existed in 1950s Georgia but still savvy enough to make his mark, Jackson was quickly accepted. This time, he had no cause to give advice over a choice of club. He had no competitor anxiety to calm. Thursday 10 April 1975. Fore please, now driving: Lee Elder. Jackson made sure he formed part of the gallery. A Masters colour split - caddies black, players white - was about to end.

"I was nervous for Lee Elder," Jackson recalls. "It was an earth-shattering day for golf. Augusta had a lot of members and not all of them approved of this. I was out there, gathered around the tee like a lot of other people, because I wanted to see the expression on some of the members' faces.

"That was a breakthrough for Augusta, for the Masters, for the golf world. He made it there on his own. We put a lot of weight in him and in his talent."

And the reaction? "In my mind and what I read was far more positive than negative. Lee had a very pleasant personality. He always seemed to have a smile on his face. I never heard anything negative about Lee."

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