Mark’s Kaddy Korner

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My favorite afternoon on tour, bar none………hope you enjoy it also.

Some guys are just naturally nice guys. They don’t try anything special, they just go about being nice without forcing it down your throat. It’s just the way they are, I guess. Freddie “Boom-Boom” Couples is probably the statistical leader in this category. My first encounter with him was at a little bar in Orlando. I was visiting my brother in the mid-eighties; we were out for the evening; and in walked Freddie. It was just a little local neighborhood place and Fred was by himself. He ordered a Coke; joined us and chatted for awhile. When he left my brother said he’d be one of the next superstars so I began following his career.

A quick look at my first couple weeks on tour

1988 was a blur, both physically and emotionally. I was escaping from a bit of misery, learning a new occupation, and trying to establish relationships with folks who didn’t want to be bothered with a new kid on the block. The grizzled veterans scoffed at my exuberance and didn’t want some veteran caddy’s brother tugging at their pant legs talking about golf. They had seen it all, done it all, when caddies had it tough. A naive newcomer wasn’t welcomed in the ranks. These guys remembered days “professional caddies” weren’t allowed to work certain tournaments, when there were signs announcing, “public welcome, no caddies allowed.

During last week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic I was thinking about some memorable pro am experiences. Every week we have a scheduled pro am on Wednesday (Wednesday and Thursday Champions Tour), and there are three or four week long celebrity pro ams each year. I’ve been on the tee box with Presidents, movie stars, Hall of Fame sports legends, corporate CEO’s from every industry, and “Joe Hacker”. To be honest, I’m not sure where the best stories come from. I’m going to tell a few, you let me know your favorites.

First Tee with President Ford

This is just a little something I’m working on for the book. There will be a variety of chapters about caddy basics, and I’ll try to tell a few topical stories. This is a very rough draft, so bear with it, I hope you get the gist of what I’m trying to accomplish. There’s a lot of stories like this about towels, bags, umbrellas, etc.

The Yardage Book