**This was a comment response I posted as a reply to an inquiry about my inspiration to become a caddie and after posting it as a reply, I decided it might be a good blog***
Well honestly, if it hadn’t been for Ron, I never would have even started to play golf myself, let alone become a caddie.
A few years ago, Ron took me to the driving range with him and as I watched him, I realized then and there that this man had a talent that far surpassed the “average” golfer. Having an athletic background and family members and friends who are/were professional athletes, I have witnessed first hand what people look like when they’ve got that exceptional talent in a sport…and Ron had it!
For the better part of the next year, I worked my butt off trying to convince him to go for his dream, no matter what anybody else said. I started practicing with him, traveling to our friend’s golf course up north, watching golf with him on tv, learning how to read the greens, and becoming a player myself. We spent hours and hours, day after day, working on chipping…flop shots, bump & run shots, roll out shots, back spin…you name it. The more time inspect on the course with him, the more I learned the game, and more importantly, his game.
I will never forget the first time I “officially” caddied for him…he had back to back rounds (36 holes) to take his P.A.T. and while I didn’t have to carry the bag that day, I did have to walk the course (twice) and keep up with him, offer words of encouragement and discuss basic yardage. Back then, I was still in the process of learning his distances with each club, how the weather affected his distance, how to find the drainage angles, how to pay attention to the grass direction, etc. We were actively trying to ‘wean’ off using the sky caddy and measuring distances ourselves.
Over time, I learned to trust my instincts on the course and make recommendations when asked. I had the good fortune of caddying for Ron in the same pairing with Birdie Kim, who was caddying for her brother in a PGA qualifier…and Birdie really taught me some good things about what the golfer’s need from their caddies. From that point on, I took it upon myself to study different aspects of the game, make sure I knew the rules, and I devoted hundreds of hours to watching and practicing with the golfer I believed in.
I’m going to add that it’s funny how many people come out of the woodwork to “help” a PRO golfer…everyone has advice to offer, new tips they feel would be helpful, and I’ve come up against more than my share of people who think a woman can’t possibly learn enough about their players game to be a good caddie (let alone carry that big bag)…some truly are helpful and I certainly see the value of talking shop with other pros…but having the opportunity to work alongside Ron & watch him progress has been a truly rewarding experience!