They’re inspiring a new generation of golfers!
A special monument honoring the Black caddies of The Augusta National was officially unveiled Thursday at the Sand Hills Community Center — a place many of those caddies once called home, The Augusta Chronicle reports. For nearly five decades of The Masters Tournament, all of the caddies at The Augusta National were Black and the club required players to use their caddies. Now those men are being honored for their contributions to golf history.
Standing tall at 20 feet, the monument is a replica of a golf tee, featuring intricate scenes from Augusta National and portraits of the legendary men who caddied for some of golf’s most legendary champions. About 150 guests gathered for the ceremony, including several of the surviving caddies whose hands and knowledge shaped history on the greens.
For Terri L. McCoy and her family, the day was deeply personal. Her late father, E.B. McCoy, a longtime Augusta caddie who famously carried Gary Player’s bag during his Masters wins in 1974 and 1978, is honored on the monument. As she and her family posed around his image, proudly wearing T-shirts that read “E.B. McCoy, Caddie, Master Champions, 1974 & 1978,” she reflected on what the moment would have meant to him.
“He would just be overwhelmed. He loved golf,” McCoy said. “This would have meant everything to him. Finally my father and the others are being honored.”
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In the front row sat about 10 former caddies, including Ben Bussey, who was on Craig Stadler’s bag when he won the 1982 Masters — the last year before Augusta National changed its rules to allow players to bring their own caddies. Though Bussey has since suffered a stroke, leaving him non-verbal and in a wheelchair, he beamed from his front-row seat, surrounded by the love and recognition long overdue.
Among the others present were Buck Moore and Lawrence “Tommy” Bennett, both of whom caddied for Tiger Woods during his historic first green jacket win. As they gathered, the ceremony turned into a celebration of brotherhood, memories, and triumph.
The monument itself was years in the making, first approved by the Augusta-Richmond County Commission in 2020. Creative director Ed Durant envisioned something beyond a traditional granite tribute — he wanted a piece that would spark emotion and connection. Collaborating with local artist Baruti Tucker, they designed and brought to life the breathtaking sculpture, which Tucker painted using a remarkable technique he developed — painting entirely with his fingers.
Throughout the ceremony, speakers took turns lifting up the legacy of the caddies with heartfelt praise and funny memories from the course. But it was Bennett who perhaps captured the spirit of the day best when he said, “You just don’t know how great this moment is. Just how changing this is.”
He also acknowledged the interdependency between golfers and caddies, adding, “They don’t read greens, they whisper to them.”
Located at 2540 Wheeler Road, the Sand Hills Community Center now houses a powerful new symbol — one that ensures the Black caddies of Augusta National will forever be recognized as the legends, leaders, and craftsmen they were.
Cover photo: Historic Black Caddies of ‘The Augusta National’ Honored With New 20-Foot Monument/Photo credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images