Mark’s Kaddy Korner

Kaddy Korner – Week Off – Random Golf Thoughts

My $125 Sunday redeye flight from San Jose to Milwaukee stopped in Atlanta and Cincinnati but I was sitting in Wrigley Field at the start of the third inning Monday afternoon. Moira Dunne was calling and texting me needing a caddy in NW Arkansas P&G Classic but I priced myself out of the deal plus she needed someone there sooner than I could drive down. I spent the week visiting Mom and Dad in Havana attending my first Octoberfest in 37 years.

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Boeing Classic – Champions Tour – Snoqualmie, WA

We were more impressed with the vistas than the golf course when the Champions Tour first stopped here six years ago. The Jack Nicklaus signature course was designed for selling high end real estate but the layout stretching over three or four distinct ridges, across a couple deep ravines, and a precipice bordering quite a few fairways has turned into one of my favorite courses. 2006 was my last trip, my how it has matured.

First Tee Open – Champions Tour – Pebble Beach, CA

I really wasn’t sure I was going to Pebble until the last minute. In fact, I booked my flight late Sunday evening and flew into San Jose Monday afternoon. Luckily, I have some good friends, Jim and Lolita, in Santa Clara who understand the last minute arrangements caddies sometimes have to make. They picked me up at the airport, loaned me their car for a few days, and put me up for the week.

A Fan’s Lament – The Fleecing of Sports Fans

Growing up in central Illinois I was a diehard Cubs fan, the Bears and Bulls were my favorites but I didn’t live and die with them. My first game was a 1969 Wrigley Field Cub-Cardinal doubleheader, Billy Williams Day, helping my hero celebrate his continuous game streak and watching him hit for the cycle in four straight at-bats. Whatever sport was in season my instincts followed but my heart was always with the Cubs and baseball. I couldn’t wait for my Sporting News subscription every Saturday morning; it was all about baseball back then.

This article was just published in Australian Golf Digest as Show up, Shut up, and Keep up – A Veteran Caddy’s take on Tour Life. The article definitely looks better in the magazine, they added some great pictures and made my writing look good. 

Aussie Players and Caddies on the PGA Tour

In 1988, my first year on the PGA Tour, there was a handful of Australian golfers on the tour. Norman was dominating, “Elkie” was an up and comer, Wayne Grady was steady, Ian Baker-Finch could find fairways back then, and David Graham showed up occasionally. They were all great players, Greg had Steve Williams on the bag, the rest of the crew used American loopers.

Simpson: Honored to go on ‘trip of a lifetime’ to Iraq Courtesy of Tim Simpson Champions Tour players Corey Pavin, Tim Simpson and Tom Watson all spent Thanksgiving in Iraq. Dec. 5, 2009
By Tim Simpson, Special to PGATOUR.COM
Tim Simpson, Tom Watson, Corey Pavin and long-drive hitters Dan Boever and Bobby Wilson spent Thanksgiving in Iraq for “Operation Fore the Troops.” Simpson wrote this blog for PGATOUR.COM to share his experiences from the trip:

Early on Thanksgiving morning in Bagdad, I wished three young army soldiers “Happy Thanksgiving” in the mess hall. After shaking hands with them, one young soldier looked me in the eyes and asked, “Is it really Thanksgiving, sir?” What amazed me was that the young man was so focused on doing his job to the best of his ability every day, he had completely lost track and hadn’t remembered about the holiday. Although professional golfers are the same way while playing in tournaments, I still found it amazing.

Well, they caught a really big fish. Doug Barren has never been a household name until now. He’s the first caught for use of performance enhancing drugs but I’ll bet there have been a few recreational drug users recognized during last year’s drug testing. Professional golfers are a reflection of society, there’s a few boys out here partaking of a few vices, it’s not that big of a deal though.

Everyone remembers where they were when JFK was shot; when the Space Shuttle exploded; and, 9/11. October 25, 1999, the day Payne Stewart’s plane made that eerie flight across the Midwest, every golfer and fan turned to the TV, hoping the news wasn’t correct. We had just finished the Kaanapali Classic in Hawaii, and were relaxing on a boat off the Maui coast. A day of sun, fun, snorkeling, and fishing was disrupted by the news from PGA Tour headquarters.

Going to Work for Tom Watson

Stoic is the first word that came to my mind. Tom Watson is a stoic champion. Eight Majors that is all you have to say. In 1992 I was standing on the eighth green at Pebble Beach and looked towards the cliff. Tom was standing at the edge surveying his domain and the sun was setting behind him, very stoic. The straw hat and hands on hips created an awesome memory, now I get to work for him, what an experience.

Kaddy Korner 2007 on http://www.youpublish.com/files/17832. For a unigue perspective about a year on the tour go to this link and purchase a web book for $4.95.

 

Most of them are all gone now. In the late 80′s the characters were still aboard the PGA Tour’s traveling circus. Convicts, conmen, de-filed lawyers, drunks, bums, shysters, hippies, rastafarians; all walks of life were carrying bags for professional golfers. Brother James, Lost Lee, Penitentiary “Work with me” Larry (he had a bunch of names), Golfball, Big Lee, ol’ Lee Lynch, Hobo, the Russian, Levi, One Armed Mikey, Dolph, Fluff, Boats, Egal; I’ll add to the list as we go on.