Caddy track: Starting life as a looper
It’s not always fun for kids starting out in the looping game.
I loved this piece from a recent issue of Jackson Hole Golfer Magazine from Rus Kirchner.
Kirchner is now the marketing manager at the Bonnie Doon Golf Club in Sydney, but he also spent several years caddying for Michael Long, along with Mark Hensby, Kim Felton and others on the Nationwide Tour.
Kirchner tells of his early days learning the tricks of looping from the local caddiemaster:
The caddiemaster showed us where to stand, how to carry the bag, how to get yardages and what to do on the green. Among the many items on the list of what I call “Caddy Mechanics,” he explained “the two ups” of the caddy business – “keep” and “shut.” Pretty self-explanatory, but it is amazing how few caddies I’ve known who get that right.
…
Single bags paid $20 per bag, and usually you would get a $5 or $10 tip. Thirty dollars for four hours work! Seemed too good to be true. Mom had given me $5 for lunch, but I knew by the end of the day I would have more than enough money to pay her back.
Caddying isn’t quite career path option in Australia like it is in other countries such as the US. There are worse ways to keep kids occupied though. And hey, Steve Williams is New Zealand’s highest paid ‘sportsman’.
