Bill Murray still fondly remembers his days working as a “looper”: “You know, a caddie, a jock.” We’ll let this guy explain it to you.
In the new documentary “Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk,” Murray narrates the history of the caddie’s importance to the game of golf and even recounts some of his own memories.
“When I first started, I got three dollars a bag. Then they bumped it to four,” the former “Caddyshack” star says in the exclusive trailer obtained by TheWrap. “The money got out of control.”
As it’s explained in the trailer, an 18-hole round of golf was called a loop, so caddies in turn called themselves “loopers.”
But the documentary “Loopers” goes deeper into the bond shared between golfers and their caddies as they spend hours of time together, even examining the key role the best caddies have played in shaping the careers and critical moments in professional golf.
For instance, Greg Puga, who grew up in East Los Angeles, went on to caddie at Los Angeles’ Bel-Air Country Club and qualified as an amateur to play in the Masters Tournament. There’s also the legacy of caddie master Mike Kiely, who has been the caddie organizer at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland for a half-century and has guided many caddies toward successful lives.
The film includes interviews with World Golf Hall of Famers Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Lee Trevino, Curtis Strange and former Masters Tournament and U.S. Open champion Fuzzy Zoeller. Professional caddies who participated in the film include Steve Williams (Tiger Woods’ former caddie), Carl Jackson (Crenshaw), Fanny Sunesson (Faldo), Pete Bender (Greg Norman and others), Michael Greller (Jordan Spieth) and Jariah “Jerry” Beard (Zoeller at the 1979 Masters).
Longtime golf journalists Rick Reilly, Michael Collins and Ward Clayton are also interviewed.
Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, acquired the worldwide rights to the film last week and plans to release it in theaters June 7. Jason Baffa directed “Loopers” with Murray narrating. Baffa previously directed films like “Bella Vita” and “One California Day.”
“Loopers” made its film festival premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and also at the Boulder International Film Festival. Upcoming film festival screenings include Cleveland (April 3), Newport Beach, Calif. (April 25-May 2), Greenwich, Conn. (May 29 opening night film) and the international premiere in mid-June.