Caddying at the J Golf Phoenix Open

Last Wednesday was my caddying "gig" at the J Golf Phoenix Open. I showed up at 5 am and signed in and was told I would be going on my loop at 7 am with 4 amateur golfers and 1 LPGA pro. So I hung around talking and then they called my name and escorted us to the player's sign-in table and there were three young women there from the junior golf division... They paired up the other three caddies and we walked to the practice range... I was told my golfer was on her way so I watched the others warm up. My golfer then walked down with her Dad and I introduced myself. Dad was confused because he thought he would be caddying for his daughter. I told him I was assigned to her group but if he wanted to talk to the caddy manager I would get another foursome... He came back and said no problem, he would walk along and watch. So Laura and I went to work...

The four girls were all from the same high school golf team in the Phoenix area... There were two 16 year olds and two 17 year olds... Laura was a senior graduating in May and waiting to hear back from the colleges she applied to. She was the number 5 player on the team, but she had mad skills... I nicknamed her "Laura Longball" because she could pound the driver... (all the girls had beutiful swings and the lefty in the group was a nationally-ranked junior girl). They assigned us with Eun-Hee Ji and her caddy Zack... Eun-Hee was from South Korea and this was her third year on the tour. She was extremely friendly and talked the whole round with the girls offering tips and joking with the caddies... She hit tee shots from the back tees and the girls hit from the designated amateur tees... (Laura almost drove a green on a hole playing 314 yds. downwind!)... It was a scramble format so we would pick up the balls and drop them at the best tee shot and Eun-Hee would drop an extra ball and play from where the girls drove it. They shot seven under par on the front nine and had two eagle opportunities...(and they only needed Eun-Hee's shot twice).

After the round Dad paid me and we took some pictures with Eun-Hee, the girls and the caddies... Eun-Hee signed the hat I got for caddying and we all shook hands and told her we would be rooting for her in the tournament... I went back to the tent and asked if they had another loop for me (I had told them I could do a double), but they had had plenty of caddies so I hung around the practice range and saw many of the LPGA pros warming up...(Natalie Gulbis is even prettier in person, as hard as that is to believe...). Watch for the name Kara Martin in a few years on the LPGA tour. This little lefty had the sweetest swing in the group and is nationally-ranked (but she was number 3 on her golf team--the number 1 player won the junior national amateur as a 14 year old!). And she could putt lights out... She easily could have shot even par or better from the back tees... All the girls were very good players. It made my job very easy.

This was probably the coolest "job" I have had so far...walking "inside the ropes" at a tournament site, talking with a professional golfer and learning the course was an absolute blast...plus I scored two free passes to come back and watch the tournament on Sunday... More to come on the week that was back in the work force. Friday and Saturday I will be back in the parking lot at the tournament (The Stand II). Parking is a chore, but somebody has to do it...
Oh, I forgot... Thursday night I saw my first exhibition baseball game out here... I hosted the Cubs-Giants game on the windiest, coldest night in Arizona so far...(Auntie Em, Auntie Em, it's a twister!). We had lawn seats in left center field and the wind was blowing so hard, the cops removed us from the area because the "Dos Gringoes" concession stand and wobbling and threatening to blow over! When we went in the bleachers down the right field line the wind was sand-blasting us right in the face...(I had a hooded sweatshirt and a blanket was was still feeling cold). Lasted until the sixth inning and blew out of there (literally). Had to get up at 4:30 am for parking duty...(Ronnie "Lot" returns!).