Mr. Jariah Beard Sr., 82, entered into rest on Friday, March 3, 2023. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Gilbert-Lambuth Memorial Chapel on the campus of Paine College with Rev. Dr. R. F. Telester Leverett officiating. The interment will be at Westover Memorial Park.
Jariah “Bubba” Beard, a longtime Augusta National caddie, famously caddied for Fuzzy Zoeller when he won the 1979 Masters, becoming the most recent first-time participant to win the tournament. Zoeller, a rookie golfer at the time, praised Beard’s expertise in clubbing, yardage, and reading greens, and credited him with leading him to victory.
Beard was born on January 19, 1941, in Columbia County and moved to Augusta, Georgia, at a young age. He began caddying at the age of twelve when he was introduced to the game of golf. A graduate of Lucy Craft Laney High School, his path to the caddie yards at Augusta National was unusual. He served as an apprentice caddie at Augusta Country Club at the age of 11 and graduated to Augusta National at 16, gaining a steady job at the Masters Tournament that lasted 40 years.
From 1957 to 1983, he caddied for a variety of players, including Bob Toski (known as “The Mighty Might”, who later became a world-renowned golf instructor), Doug Sanders, and Don January, with whom he caddied with for nearly thirteen years. Beard was known as the unofficial historian of Augusta National caddies and had a deep knowledge of the caddies’ nicknames, family members, and the influence they had on winning players’ games.
Beard continued working for Zoeller at the Masters tournament until 1983, when the ban on non-Augusta caddies was lifted, making Beard, and many other Black caddies essentially unemployable. Since that time, he has never worked another Masters. Zoeller called Beard a “very special person” and reached out to him before his death to express his gratitude for their times together. Beard passed away due to cancer, one month before the 2023 Masters.
Beard is a revered figure in the world of golf and is widely regarded as one of the greatest caddies of all time. His remarkable story is chronicled in Ward Clayton’s book, “MEN ON THE BAG, The Caddies of Augusta National,” where he is ranked as the seventh-best caddie. In addition, Beard is featured in the upcoming film “Loopers” The Caddie’s Long Walk, set to premiere in select theaters on June 7th.
In addition to caddying, Jariah was also an accomplished golfer. He participated in several golf tournaments over the years and won the Jim Dent Invitational at Forest Hill Golf course in 1991, which he considers his greatest achievement. Despite having potential as a golfer, he chose not to pursue a career in the sport due to his responsibilities as a husband and father of five children. To do so —loving the extra cash that caddying brought in— he worked the night-shift at International Paper as a filter-plant operator. The well-paying job that allowed him to support his family. He would arrange to take his vacation time from the plant during Masters Week, so he could caddie.
In September 2017, Beard was honored by the African American Golfer’s Digest as an “Outstanding Leader In Golf“
Beard was preceded in death by his wife, Gracie Beard. Survivors of Beard are his children, Prudence (Lee) Ingram, Eric Beard, Stephanie (Timothy Sr.) Cook, Jariah (Shatara) Beard, Jr. and Leonardo Beard; eleven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren; sister, Jennie Warren; brother, Rev. Dr. R. F. Telester Leverett; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends.
Please send cards to the family of Jariah Beard, Sr. 2707 Oakland Ave. Augusta, GA 30909. Williams Funeral Home, 1705 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Augusta, GA handled the arrangements.
