Mark’s Kaddy Korner

Punta Cana- Cap Cana Championship

The Dominican Republic sports numerous challenging golf courses including Pete Dye’s incomparable Teeth of the Dog and the Champions Tour has been coming to Punta Cana for the last four years. Jack Nicklaus designed a challenging tract with eight holes directly touching the stunning blue Caribbean waters and a layout weaving around ancient underwater ocean formations. The first and second tees are perched on limestone cliffs, once submerged but now overlooking the Cap Cana Oceanside resort, the Caribbean, and on a clear night the lights from Puerto Rico.

For this youngster, it’s never too early to design a golf course. Cody Carroll tends to use the family’s dining room table when he needs room to draw holes for his imaginary golf courses.

Dec. 31, 2009
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There have been countless nights in Cody Carroll’s life in which he has sat on the king-size bed in his neatly kept second-floor bedroom, looked out the large window toward his front yard and dreamed of building a golf course on the 8-1/2 acres that surround his house.

Ann Arbor, MI to Indianapolis Monday morning and a full day at Crooked Stick for the U.S. Senior Open. Dinner with some old friends that night and then off to Columbus, OH for the Nationwide Tour at the Ohio State course and another long day networking with a lot of guys I didn’t know. I left there Tuesday afternoon, headed back to Crooked Stick and spent another agonizing day looking for a job. The search was fruitless so I headed north with a stop in Flint, MI and a visit with the PGA Tour boys on Thursday. It was a lot of territory to cover networking for a job, but I felt it was necessary.

Hey all,

Sorry about last week, there was nothing to write about, long travel days, and technical difficulties. This week started on top of Brockway Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the only place in the area my phone worked. I got a call from Leah Wigger, an LPGA rookie, she needed a caddy and wanted to know if I was interested. My brother and his friend, Steve “Rubble” Shellard, were trying to line me up with Se Ri Pak and I was waiting for her call, but crippled old caddies can’t be choosers on a Sunday before the tournament. I told her I’d be there Tuesday morning and hit the road early Monday.

We do a lot of things out here, but when it comes to nut crunch time, nothing is more important. All the preparation, yardages, wind charts, elevation change readings, diagrams and scribbled notes in the yardage book mean absolutely nothing unless you can turn to your pro in a crucial situation and calmly, confidently say, “I like smooth seven iron”. Then, you better be able to back up your answer if he questions you again. You can’t waffle, you have to stick to your call. Hesitation signals uncertainty, and when you’re coming down the stretch, or really any time during a round, there is no room for indecision. It could be the perfect club but if your pro’s not sure he’s not pulling the shot off.