Is a Caddie Important?

I’ve found it very interesting how many people think the only thing a caddie does is carry around that big heavy tour bag for the player. Tonight’s blog is going to be info about what a caddie does for a golfer…

A caddie is one of the golfer’s most important tools…and while she/he does carry the bag if necessary, there are numerous other functions they perform! I’m going to use the term “she” as I am a female 😉

1. She knows yardage…this includes yardage from tee to green and where bunkers and fairway hazards are.
2. She knows her players game as well as, if not better than, he knows it himself. She has studied his shots, seen his tendencies and knows his strengths and weaknesses.
3. She checks the weather for the scheduled day of the tournament…and takes into account what the weather variations will do to the flight of the ball.
4. She talks to the staff at the course to find out the “secrets”…does everything slope a certain way? Are the greens particularly slow or fast? What is the sand like?
5. She has to keep her player in the right frame of mind. Caddie and golfer have a history together and a caddie can break the tension her golfer may be experiencing with just a few well timed humerous words.
6. The caddie is also there to run interference. This can be crowd control, this can be stopping other players from getting in her golfer’s head, or allowing others to make suggestions during play.
7. Standard pay for a caddie is 10% of the players winnings, although the player may choose to give more for a big win.
8. Caddies practice with their players and travel with them to tournaments. Even though players have a lot of buddies on tour, the reality is every player is ultimately out for themselves and in the end, they know they can count on their caddie.
9. Caddies help read greens with their golfer and instill a level of confidence with shots.
10. Extras I do as a caddie: I clean the grooves in the golf clubs, wipe down the grips and make sure a new golf ball is ready at all times (and clean the grungy one on the green). I pack snacks and drinks to keep Ron’s energy level up during his round. I bring icy cold rags to cool him down during the hot summer nights. I hold the umbrella when it’s raining. On top of all that…yes, when playing in a tournament where no carts are allowed, I carry that big tour bag.

Being a caddy is a very rewarding experience. Sure, you occasionally get blamed for a misread green, and a caddie certainly takes the brunt of the player’s frustration…but the teamwork and trust in the partnership is what makes it an amazing experience!

Group Sponsorship…Great Idea!

This is a concept that Ron and I have discussed in the past and in fact, a portion of his Golf Sponsorship Packet is devoted to Group Sponsoring. Here’s how it works- a group of people (this can be 3 people or 20 people) get together and decide to each pitch in X dollars which collectively go towards sponsorship. So simple math…let’s say a group of buddies love golf, and even more, love the idea that a guy in his late 30’s is trying to live his dream, so each of them pitches $50 into the group pot. Now let’s say those 10 guys decide to form a support group for Ron. 50•10=$500

Well guess what…$500 can put Ron in two CPT tournaments plus pay for practice rounds, OR it can put him in a 3-day GST tournament.

The great thing about group sponsorship is no one person has to have particularly deep pockets in order to support a great cause! It allows anyone to be able to be a part of professional golf and what’s super cool is that if you have a business, Ron will promote it too!

Thanks again for all your blog support and your encouraging comments and continued interest in Ron’s career! Happy golfing!

An Update…due to multiple requests

When I began this blog, I had no idea the following it would create. I want to first thank everyone who takes the time to visit my site, check out linked pages and give a HUGE thank you to all of you who actually send me comments and encouragement as well! I know my blogging has been less over the past few weeks and I appreciate those of you have contacted me wanting an update…so here it goes…

Golf is a constantly evolving profession. The pressures of daily life sometimes become overwhelming and can affect everyone associated with a golfer’s career. It’s true I haven’t been on the course with Ron the past few weeks (as many of you have clearly noticed) but that doesn’t mean we aren’t still an effective team. Mini tour players don’t always need a caddie during their rounds because they often get to ride carts…and sometimes players have to step back and re-establish their confidence with their own choices on the course.

As for the marketing and fundraising I do for Ron…well that’s a portion of the package that most golfers don’t actually want to have to deal with. That’s where I still come in. So please…continue to visit his web site and consider sponsoring Ron for an upcoming tournament!

Other updates…Ron has changed clubs and is now using the PING S-56’s…and says he is hitting them better than ever!

Again, thank your continued support and interest in Ron’s career. To answer a few questions: Yes, there will be more fitness suggestions posted this upcoming week…yes, Ron does plan to try out for more PGA qualifying events…yes, Ron practices several hours daily, even in this bad AZ heat. To those of you who have requested to see pictures of us in action on the course together, I will see what I can do. 😉

Stay hydrated out there and happy golfing!

Back to Back Tournament Play

Today’s tournament proved a theory I have…

It is extremely important for professional golfers to get into back to back tournaments in order to improve their game.  For those of you who golf, you know that repetition is the key to executing a particular shot successfully.  Well, in the world of professional golf, not only is that stroke repetition important, but so is the tournament atmosphere.  We tend to play a more relaxed style of golf when it’s just “for fun”, and the intensity of high level competition seems to change the overall feel of a round.  It may be simple for a Pro to shoot a 67 in a practice round, but add the competition of a tournament, and they can easily shoot over par.  By playing in back to back tournaments, professionals get into the mental aspects of their golf game more and can handle things, one shot at a time.  They can bounce back much quicker from any potential mid-round disaster.  This repetition also allows these athletes to get into a swing or putting groove and their game suddenly all clicks into place.  That is where Ron’s game is at…he has shaved several strokes off his tournament play and is in perfect position to place quite highly at the next tournament!   You can help!

A big THANK YOU to all who have generously supported Ron’s golf career, and another thank you to those who have yet to contribute but have wanted to do so.  Now is the PERFECT time to show your support, and believe me when I say that no donation is too small.  Just click on the PayPal link…and help put Ron in another tournament.

The Time is Now…

If you are one of the dozens of people who have said you’d like to give support to Ron’s Professional Golf career, there has never been a better time to step up and get involved! I’ve noticed that quite often, people hesitate to donate because they think they can’t make a big enough impact financially. Well guess what my friend’s, no donation is too small. Additionally, there are people who sometimes keep waiting because they are expecting a big amount of money to free up which they can in turn donate…but we aren’t greedy, lol. Little bits at a time are just fine too!

Here’s an example many of us can relate to: let’s say someone is a fast food junkie…they decide to cut ONE day per week of their unhealthy eating habit and put that money aside (and choose to eat a healthier meal also on that one day)…at the end of the month they not only save about $35 but they actually drop a few pounds! If they donated $20 of the saved food dollars to the golf fund, they could used the other $15 to go to a matinée movie with a friend or some other little treat for themselves. Sounds like a cool idea!

Just think…something so simple can make a huge difference!

Reasons to get involved now:
> Ron is playing the best golf of his life
> Ron’s mental focus and physical stamina are very refined
> This is the main part of the touring season
> You can earn money AND gain exposure by supporting Ron
> Its fun to know a professional athlete

There are many other reasons to get involved but HERE IS A BIG INCENTIVE for those of you who like a little guarantee on your investments: For those who contribute towards entry fees into a specific tournament, your contribution will be refunded if Ron wins the event or places in the top 3! Yes…you read that correctly…it’s kinda like a “loan” that gets repaid!!

So many options…and again, no amount is too small (or too large, Hehe). If you Click on the Donations link, you can make a donation via PayPal and it will be put towards tournament entry fees right away! If you’d like to fund a specific event, make a note of that as well. Thanks again and have a great day!

Life goes on after qualifying rounds

I know many of you have been anxiously waiting for an update on the US Open qualifier Ron competed in on the 12th.  While he actually had a very good round of golf, he unfortunately did not make it in the top 7 spots…which is what was needed to continue on to the Sectional Qualifier.

Disappointing…yes.  Learning experience…YES!  Motivation for the next event…YES YES YES!!!

Some really valuable lessons came out of this:

•  First, we learned that walking the courses is so much better than riding in golf carts.  There are several reasons for this including not getting stiff between holes, having ample time to discuss the next shot and strategy, and most importantly, it kept us mentally in-tune and relaxed.  I have to say that even though Ron did not qualify, his mental presence was fantastic during this round. 
• Another lesson learned was trusting the shot 100% and knowing we can count on his abilities to hit precisely where he needs to.  That may sound simple, but it’s not.  For those of us who are just hackers, striving to break 100 and just have a lot of ‘fun’ on the course, we hope we can hit our irons in the general vicinity where we need to and stay in play.  For a Professional Golfer, there is no doubt what distance each club is going, that the ball can be worked to fade, draw, cut, flop, run-out, spin back, land soft, (and many other options too)…that’s his job…and he has refined his skills to perform that job.  The kicker is the mental space and making sure that’s working in unison with the rest of his body.  Not letting a doubt or altered thought creep into his mind during a golf shot has allowed Ron to advance his game even more.
• When the pressure is on…jokes ease the tension!  We knew this…afterall, we are constantly joking and messing with each other during practice rounds, but until this tournament, we’ve stayed more rigid during events.  Well…lightbulb…staying relaxed keeps the game fun and the attitudes positive!  We had the good fortune of being paired with a very cool guy who joined in on the joking, along with his caddie, toward the end of the round.  It’s always such a pleasure to pair up with fun people on Tour!
• People quit…Ron will NEVER be one of them!  One of the guys in the pairing (it was all 3-player pairings for this event), withdrew after 9 holes…ouch.  Now granted, there is some rule about being banned from PGA events if you shoot over a certain score and maybe this guy felt he was in jeopardy going into the back 9.  Regardless, having a fellow golfer withdraw mid-round actually does impact the other people he was golfing with.  Ron managed to block that out and continue playing well.

So what’s next on the agenda?  Fundraising and mini Tour!  There is a 3-day event here in Arizona, at the end of the month that would be a great opportunity for him.  There’s decent money to be made in 3-day events and again, great experience and exposure for future touring.  As always, thanks for your continued support and stay tuned for more exciting golf news!

Someone out there is a Slanderous Coward

In the world of Professional Sports, (or really, any occupation which puts a person in the limelight) there is always the chance that a few haters will be in the crowd.  When did these people decide they could sit in judgement of others?  What happened in their early life to make them feel so un-important, that they need to cast accusations at others…is it just to get a little twisted pleasure? 

Are people really so ignorant in their simple-minded thinking that they would make a written statement in which their sole intent was to create a negative image about another person…and can they honestly not know that defamation is an offense which can be brought to court?!  Legal action can (and WILL) be taken against those who generate and spread false personal information about another individual…defamation is a crime. 

These are just my opinion, but I feel these are a few good rules for people to live by:

1. If you can’t PROVE something, don’t go around spreading a rumor.
2. If you haven’t walked in someone elses shoes, you have no room to judge their life.
3. If something doesn’t concern you or those you love, don’t get involved in it!
4. Karma comes around to kick people’s ass…so watch out if you are being deliberately evil!

There are enough positive newsworthy stories out there (the whole reason behind this blog and my support of Ron is one of them), so why does society tend to dwell only on the negative or over-dramatized topics?  What makes people think it is ok to cast inaccurate accusations and dispersions on someone’s good name?

The definition of the word SLANDER is as follows:  The action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation.

The definition of the word LIBEL is as follows:  The action or crime of making a published false or malicious statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation.

Any idiot who makes defamatory accusations better beware.  Taking that warning a step further, the same idiot should realize that by using a fake identity (especially one associated with a felonious conspirator from the 1600’s), they have penned themselves after a traitor…a TRAITOR!  Here in the United States, traitors are the enemy…they create treasonous acts against of betrayal.  What happened to the last traitor…oh yeah, he just got snuffed out this weekend…kinda like Fawkes in European history…(and yes, oh slanderous coward out there, that reference was included for you)!

To all my blog-reading fans…thanks for your support and for showing so much interest in my blog.  I promise it will be back on task with wonderful caddie news later today!