Chapter Three - US Open Qualifier

Chapter Three – Now the real work begins – US Open Qualifier

For the couple of months after Turtle Bay, Angela and I kept in touch by email, phone and Facebook. For me work on the Aloha Team Classic – 2009 has begun and it is clear that this will be a tough year with the economy in the tank. For Angela the number of tournaments are limited in the first few months of the season and she is focused on preparing for a triathlon that she and her sister are doing in memory of their father who passed away a couple of years ago.

My golf game is progressing pretty well. Lessons with our head teaching pro at Kapalua Resort (Jerry King) are starting to pay off. I have also realized that my game improved during the couple of weeks directly following my week at Turtle Bay. My approach to the course is different and my thought process has a different focus. Now if I can only hit the ball as consistently as the girls do. The one key that I find myself focusing on is the smooth tempo they have when hitting the ball. I know we all think we are Tiger or Phil, but the reality is that as amateurs (especially older amateurs) our bodies just can’t do what the young guys do. The girls are a much better example. Likewise all the time spent at the practice green watching their putting stroke seems to have rubbed off as well.

Unfortunately as with anything, given enough time we forget what we have learned so in late April during a conversation with Angela I asked her about her schedule and whether she is ready to put up with me for another week or so. Turns out she was planning on going to Rockville, Maryland for the US Open Sectional Qualifier and then on to Mason, Ohio for a Futures event. We agreed to meet in Rockville and then travel on to Mason as well.

I did not fully understand a couple of elements to this plan. First Angela needed to go through the regional qualifier a couple of weeks before the sectional. She had no fear making it to the sectional so neither did I, as I needed to get my ticket prior to the regional taking place. Secondly, initially I did not realize that the sectional was 36 holes in one day. Well at least she agreed to bring her lighter carry bag versus the heavy staff bag.

I arrived at Rockville, Maryland on the Friday before the Monday qualifier so as to have a day or two to get over the 17 hour trip. (There is a price to be paid for living in paradise.) On Saturday I went to Woodmont Country Club and walked both courses that we would be playing on Monday so as to get familiar with the layout and to get some yardages.

I was not aware whether there would be yardage books available like we had at the tour events, so I felt it would be a good idea to get some of the info prior to the practice round we would play the next day. The Sky Caddie comes in real handy during the process. It was interesting to stand on the tee box for each hole and try to figure out how Angela would want to play each hole. She had played the courses previously so that was going to help a lot.




On Sunday I picked Angela up at the airport and we went straight to the course to play a practice round. We were paired with a couple of club members and took a cart so the day was really focused on getting yardages and planning how to attack the course. It turned out there were yardage books available. ( I wish I had known that the day before. ) Angela played a full practice round on the North course and then we drove around the South course to get the lay of the land while she hit selective shots. Turned out to be a long day so a quick dinner and early to bed since we are scheduled to play early in the morning.

Monday started out with a quick breakfast and then on to the course. We are scheduled to play with Michele Wie and Blair O’Neal (from Big Break) so it turns out that we have a small crowd following our group. Note to self and others, if you want to see some great golf, up front and close find out when the US Open qualifiers are and go out to watch. You get to walk with any of the players and you will see great golf being played.

Our first 18 holes were on the North course. Angela played well and finished 1 over for the round. Woodmont is a private country club with lots of trees and bunkers. The greens on the North course were rebuilt about a year ago so they are in pretty good shape. Most of the greens seem to slope from back to front. Most everyone I talked with seemed to indicate that the North was the harder of the two courses.

There were a couple of things to keep in mind during these two rounds. First of all 36 holes with no break to speak of is a lot of golf. Drink lots of water, stay patient and stay focused. I am not sure why, but the day was much more stressful than any of the days at Turtle Bay. Maybe it was knowing how important the Open is to all the players. This qualifier was played the day after the McDonalds LPGA Championship so most of the players at the qualifiers were LPGA players that had to qualify. (There is a set of criteria that makes a player exempt from qualifying, but most of those that play in the Open have to go through qualifying process.)

Angela and I fell into a familiar routine. Review the hole on the tee and note any special note worthy information about the hole. Positive thoughts are the key. As we approach each shot we each compute the distance to the front and to the pin and then compare our results. She determines the shot she wants to hit and then commits to it. Occasionally she will ask about what we hit during the practice round and whether I concur on her choice of club. This is where keeping notes about what club was hit and distances come into play. If there is anything special about the green we make note of it and then she plays the shot. Record the results, clean the club and move on to the next shot.

Angela is comfortable to be around on the course. She stays relaxed and loose by remaining herself. She chats with the other players while walking the fairways always returning to the task at hand when it is her turn to play. Walking along with her provides insight into what these players are thinking about during this long day. And there is also lots of time for the two of us to chat about things as well. Family, friends, trips are all fair game. Another good lesson for us all to consider is that four to five hours on the golf course is a long time and if you tried to stay singularly focused on golf for the entire time you would burn out. Multiply that by two for this Open qualifier and you would have a disaster.

The first 18 holes took a bit of extra time due to some rulings and slow play. It is interesting to watch how Angela handles it especially when the group is put on the clock. She stays focused on her play and does not try to change her style of play which is all ready quick. She reads putts before it is her turn and is always ready to play having made decisions while others are doing their own thing. My job is to keep up with her and be ready when she is ready to play. Slow play has always annoyed me so watching how Angela deals with it is helpful. She stays within herself, ready to play when it is her turn.

We finish the first 18 and have approximately 30 minutes before we go again. A few minutes spent on one of the practice greens which is the older style green and then a short break to get a quick sandwich. As noted above, the North’s greens were rebuilt a year ago but the South have yet to be changed, so they roll differently. Therefore we used the practice green that had not been rebuilt to prepare for the afternoon. No need to hit balls on the range. It feels really good to sit down for a couple of minutes.

The second round on the South course starts on the 10th tee. Unfortunately we did not play as well as hoped. It was a quicker round, but a few mishit shots and the score went up. The greens started to get dried out which meant they were firmer than in the morning. Combined with the length of the day and the stress of knowing that we were going to need to shoot a low score and the afternoon was tough.

We completed the round and then spent an hour or so at the score board to see how others had done. Everyone was focused on one number, that which would put you in the top 30 and ties. There were 30 spots in the Open that would be filled at this sectional and it turned out that one over par (145) was the magic number. We had needed to shoot even par or better in the afternoon round and we missed that by a few.

It was nice to see many of the players that had participated in the Aloha Team Classic the previous October in Maui. We had a chance to chat and wish everyone well going forward. The day came to an end when there were more than 30 players on the score board with scores lower than ours and we headed to the airport.

As I told Angela in the car, this one day had probably been the most stressful day on a golf course for me and I was not the one hitting the shots. Being able to share the day with Angela and seeing how well she deals with it made for a lot of fun. Knowing how important getting into the Open can be and having to play 36 holes in one day on two different courses made for an interesting day. I was glad to be able to be there and as I head to Chicago for the night I am looking forward to the next 5 days in Mason, Ohio. Now if United will only be on time. Well they were not and I did not get to my hotel in Chicago until 1:00am. No problem falling asleep. Flight to Cincinnati is at 9:45am.

Chapter Two - First success (Turtle Bay)

Chapter Two - First success (Turtle Bay)

Over the next few months Angela and I kept in touch and talked about the 2009 season. As the economy continued to tank and sponsorships became more difficult to find, we had a discussion about what it would take to stay out on tour. Unlike the PGA, the players on the LPGA play for much smaller purses and more and more of the events are finding themselves without sponsors and thus unable to continue. This is not an easy way to make a living, but for any of us that have the passion for the game we understand what keeps these young ladies going. So my wife and I offered Angela a bit of financial support to help her continue her quest. In exchange Angela agreed to be the LPGA tour professional spokesperson for Beyond the Rainbow Foundation .

As the 2009 season drew near we invited Angela to come to Maui the week before the SBS Turtle Bay event on Oahu. She could practice at Kapalua and get use to the time change. She also accepted my offer to go over with her to Oahu and carry for her for the week.

On Sunday before the event we went over to Turtle Bay and she played a practice round. On Monday morning we teed it up in the qualifier and she played really well. Caddying on Turtle Bay’s Palmer course was a new experience. Unlike the Bay Course at Kapalua Resort which I know very well, this was a course I had only played once. So now I needed to rely on the yardage book which created lots more to do and think about. At the end of the day Angela had shot one under and was the second qualifier for the week. Fantastic, I get to keep working.

A word about the yardage books. For most of the tour events the professionals and caddies are provided a detailed yardage book ($20 per book). These are yardage books that have a significant amount of information that we can all benefit from in our everyday rounds. The yardages are marked to the front of the greens and then you use the pin sheets to determine the distances to the pins. The greens are detailed with the false fronts, ridges and low/high spots as well as on some of the longer holes there are layup distances. Lots of information that you then supplement with how you want to play the hole which includes where you want to land your approach shots based on hole positions, fairways that kick left or right and hazards that come into play at specific distances.

Tuesday morning was a practice day including lots of time on the practice green and then nine holes. The time at the practice green is the time you get to relax as a caddie. Sit back and just watch the players as they work on the green. For many of the professional caddies they talk with each other as you would expect and being the first full field event of the year there were lots of greatings between players , tour officials and caddies. I enjoyed having the time to take it in and was glad to be able to say hello to the few players that I had gotten to know the previous October during the Aloha Team Classic - 2008 .


On Wednesday we drove down to Schoefield Barracks and Angela played in a Pro/Am to benefit returning soldiers from Iraq put together by a couple of the LPGA players (Amy Reed and Kate Golden). It was a fun day and not tough since they were all on carts. It is fun to watch Angela interacting with the amateur participants who represented businesses as well as the military. Each were made to feel special as she paid attention to them and as a team they played well. Everyone had a great morning.

The afternoon took us back to Turtle bay where there was time spent on the short game. The Pro/Am was in process on the course so no time for a practice round. Late in the afternoon, after the pro/am, I was able to get out to walk the back nine to become more familiar with the course. I enjoyed being on the course as the day came to an end and had a chance to check out some of the greens. Having walked many PGA events as a spectator I have always enjoyed walking the course backwards. You get to see the course from a different perspective as you think about the best way to approach each hole.

Thursday morning started with a warm-up on the range and practice green. Then it was off to play. By now we have a comfortable routine. We both calculate the distances and then we compare the numbers. As Angela says two heads are better than one. During the practice rounds as well as during the actual the tournament rounds I am tracking each shot with the club struck, the distance to the front of the green and the results if at the green. It is also important to note the wind especially this week at Turtle Bay. I also keep track of any comments that Angela makes about the shot and the results for future reference. And if I hear “Note to Self” then I know she really wants to hear that the next time we play that particular hole.

By the way the information tracking is only one aspect of the job. Let’s not forget that you have to keep up. When the player gets to their ball the clubs and caddie need to be there with the information and clean clubs ready to go. Then when you get to the green the caddy needs to clean the ball after the player has marked it, assist with any reads if the player asks and don’t forget the flag stick. For me this was initially the tricky part. The goal is for the flag to be in the hands of the caddie of the player that takes the last putt. This means the caddies have to work together and you will see the flag move from caddie to caddie. And did I forget to mention that if it is raining (or starts to rain like it did on the 4th green) then you need to cover the clubs as they cannot get wet, get the players rain gear as desired and assist with the umbrella. Never a dull moment.

Thursday’s round was interesting. Windy and wet during the morning made for a tough round. Angela played well and found herself in good shape after round one (1 under). Felt pretty good about the day from my standpoint. Not too many mistakes though I am continuing to learn every time I am out on the course. Not only what I need to do, but what Angela prefers. It is really important for the caddie to understand their player’s preferences. In Angela’s case that means never pointing out the hazards. She wants to remain focused on where to hit the ball, not where not to hit. (good lesson for us amateurs to think about) Positive thoughts only.

One of my mistakes included forgetting this simple rule. Unfortunately during the qualifier on Monday while playing the 9th (mid length par 5) the tee shot was pushed a little right towards the water hazard. Prior to leaving the tee I started to reach into the bag for another ball and she quickly told me not to do that. No bad vibes allowed as she planned on walking up and finding the ball that I thought might be in the water. Unfortunately it was wet, but she hit a great recovery shot, super chip and sank the putt to still make par. Positive thoughts!

There are a few simple rules that I decided to follow on my own. No extra balls in my pockets so there is no way I can make the mistake of giving her a different ball after cleaning it on the green. That would be a bad move. Likewise I turn off (completely) my cell phone and empty my pockets of anything that can make any noise (no coins). Also I am very careful about never walking close to her ball for concern about touching her ball which as her caddie would cost her a stroke. I am also very, very careful when looking for a ball in tall grass or a hazard for the same reason. Interestingly if you touch another players ball no foul, but ours would be costly.

And let’s not forget that while on the tee, in the fairway and around the green you must always be aware of the other players. Don’t want to stand in their line or cause any distraction for them. For the most part I have found the other players and their caddies we have played with to be very enjoyable. They understand the effort being made and appreciate that I have not done this a lot. The caddies in particular have really helped a great deal and watching the good ones work has been the easiest way to learn the best way to do things.

Friday we played our second round of the tournament in the afternoon. Well as we walked down the 10th fairway (our first hole of the day) the sky opened up. Have you ever seen horizontal rain? The winds were running a steady 35 to 40 mph with higher gusts and the rain would just start hitting you from the side. This continued for the entire round. Rain for 10 or 15 minutes and then stop for 20. Then start up again. Rain gear on and off, umbrella held horizontally to try to keep dry and don’t forget to keep the clubs dry. Some of the worse weather I have ever seen on the course, but at least it was not cold.

Unfortunately the scores went up along with the wind speed. As the caddie there is not much you can do other than keeping up and provide as much support as possible. It is hard to know what to say or not to say under these tough conditions. There is no question this is an area where having a full time caddie helps the player as they will know each other better.

Well we did not make the cut, but considering the conditions I was really proud of Angela’s play. But even more important is her great attitude. No complaints about getting the worse of the weather, but just excited to have the opportunity to play. We stayed around for the final round on Saturday to walk with Anna Grezbien (another player who had played in the Aloha Team Classic last October) who had made the cut and then the three of us headed back to Maui.

The next evening we all participated in a cocktail reception held by Beyond the Rainbow Foundation to introduce the grant recipients from the Aloha Team Classic . Angela was also introduced as the LPGA tour professional spokesperson for the Foundation during the evening and she shared her thoughts with the attendees about the work that the Foundation is doing “Helping Maui’s youth realize the promise of their future!”. (A short video about the evening. )

The next day the three of us played the Plantation Course and a great week comes to an end as Angela heads home and I go back to playing my own ball.







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To follow the experience as it continues be sure to follow this blog as future chapters will be posted soon. You will be able to read about the what it was like working with Angela during the US Open qualifier, working a Futures event, more about what the caddie is expected to do and much more.

They call this a living?

A special message – They call this a living?

Forgive me for taking a break from my story to share the following with you. I would like to start by stating that these are my opinions and I have not had any discussions with any of the players or tour officials regarding this. It is very hard for the ladies on the LPGA and the Duramed Futures tours to make a living. Let me give you an idea of what they are dealing with.

144 players teed it up in Mason, Ohio at the Futures event recently. Each player paid $500 entry fee to play in the event. For many the week included one or two practice rounds, a Pro/Am round and three days of tournament play assuming you made the cut. Tie for 11th and you win $1,727 while a tie for 36th place and the player takes home approximately $825. (This event paid 84 players that made the cut – top 70 and ties.) After the entry fee a profit of $825 to $1,225 and that does not take into account transportation to Mason, rental cars, a place to sleep and food during the week. Yes some of the players take advantage of hosted housing with some local families and there is some occasional food on the course during the Pro/Am or in the player’s lounge.

In any case how can a player make a living this way? Sure if you win a tournament you can make a few dollars, but if you don’t make the cut you make nothing. And don’t think that it is much easier for the players on the LPGA tour. Yes their purses are healthier, but as you move down the money list you will see how quickly it becomes a struggle. This will become even more of a problem as the LPGA tour is losing more and more events due to the lack of sponsors. And if a player is not fully exempt the opportunity to get into an event is limited to trying to qualify for one of two spots on Monday since most all the exempt players are trying to play all of the events.

So if you enjoy watching the ladies play and want to help, what can you do? First of all if you live in a town where an event (LPGA or Futures) is scheduled, contact the event committee and volunteer to host a player in your home. Believe me you will have a great time and the players will appreciate the support. Secondly if you can help financially support a player, check out the player biographies on both the LPGA.COM and FUTURESTOUR.COM and find a young player from your area to support. If you have difficulty contacting them, try contacting an event where they are playing to leave them a message (see the tournament sites for player lists) or feel free to contact me and I will try to assist.

Lastly if you are not comfortable contacting the players directly I have set up an account where I will deposit any funds received to be distributed to assist young players that are trying to make it on tour based on a need basis. We will acknowledge those providing funds (unless you request not to be listed) with a list to each player that receives funds and will provide everyone with an electronic newsletter to keep you updated as to how our players are doing. 100% of all funds received will be distributed to help the players chase their dream. This is not a charitable contribution, but I will assure you that all funds will be used to help the players and that no one will profit from this effort other than the players. If you have any questions or have any ideas on how we can help the players please contact me by email katz@kapalua-dream.com .

So if you love the game as much as I do and would like to help, send what you can (no amount is too small) and let’s see what we can do to help these great ladies. I realize this is a different approach, but if we don’t do something we won’t have the opportunity to watch “These Girls Rock” in the future.

Stuart Katz
100 Ridge Road
Lahaina, HI 96761

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To follow the experience as it continues be sure to follow this blog as future chapters will be posted soon. You will be able to read about the first full tournament that I caddied, what it was like working with Angela during the US Open qualifier, what the caddie is expected to do and much more.

Chapter One - How It All Began

So how does a 60 year old retired guy end up as a caddie for a 29 year old LPGA touring professional?

Well it is a bit of a story so why don’t I start at the beginning.

Chapter One – How it all began

When my wife and I moved to Maui from Chicago in 2004 we wanted to give something back to our new community. We were blessed being able to move to paradise and we wanted to contribute so we formed Beyond the Rainbow Foundation who’s focus is “Helping Maui’s youth realize the promise of their future!”. Rather than providing services it was determined that the Foundation could do the most good by supporting existing youth based agencies across the island with money and resources, so we began searching for ways to raise money.

From our research and our love for golf came the idea of holding a special event that would bring visitors and part time residents to Maui in October for three days of world class golf and special evening events. Ultimately we hope to bring hundreds of participants to the Valley Isle for the Aloha Team Classic each October to raise money to help Maui youth.

As an all volunteer organization we are extremely proud of the effort that has allowed us to hold this event for the past three years. Over $45,000 has been raised and granted to agencies across the island. Likewise we have grown our number of participants each year even with the demise of two airlines, oil prices driving plane tickets sky high and the economy tanking last year. With over 65% of the participants coming back each year we know that we have developed an experience that provides the participants a great time.

So what does this have to do with the LPGA players? Well last year we provided housing to 12 players during the Kapalua LPGA Classic, which was held the week before our event, and 8 of the players stayed to play in a special “Play with the Pros” day that we added to the Aloha Team Classic last year to attract more participants. In the process of making arrangements we communicated with a number of the players and two players asked if we knew anyone that could caddie for them during the Kapalua LPGA Classic. We had one of our volunteer’s husband (Ken) that caddied for Carin Koch for the week and I guess it worked out okay as she played well and was in the last group on Sunday. Ken will tell you that it was a great experience as well as being a lot of work.

The other player was Angela Jerman, a player that was coming over to qualify for the Kapalua LPGA Classic and then stay for our event. I met Angela for the first time late on Monday afternoon after she had traveled from Atlanta to Maui. We had talked about trying to get a few holes in that afternoon, but after a day of travel there was no way. We made arrangements to meet at 6:00am on Tuesday as she was scheduled to tee off in the qualifier at 7:00am on Kapalua Resort’s Bay Course and then sent her off to relax and get some sleep.

The next morning we headed to the range in the dark (there were portable lights on the range) and at 7:00am we walked to the first tee. She had never seen the course let alone played a practice round, so as we stood on the tee she asked “so what is this about”? I guess it helps that the Bay Course is one of two courses here at Kapalua Resort, our home club, and I have played it many, many times. I told her it was an up-hill, par 5 and asked her how far she would hit her driver. She said 240 and I responded take it at the left edge of the trap on the right and turn it 10 yards left. Up she walked and hit it 240 at the left edge and turned it left 10 yards and away we went.

We had a good day and for my first time as a caddie since carrying my Dad’s clubs 46 years earlier I guess I did not mess up too badly. Luckily one of the other caddies we were playing with was a long time professional caddie and he helped me a lot. Likewise when you have someone as relaxed as Angela is on the course it really makes a big difference. I quickly got an appreciation for how good the girls are and how much there is to what their caddies do for them.

The round went well, but the putts did not go down. Turned out that we missed getting into the playoff for the second qualifier spot by one stroke. I still feel badly about the read on 17. Got the line okay, but forgot to mention it was down grain and downhill even though it actually looks a little up hill. Putting in Maui can be that way since you are on the side of mountains.

Looking back on my first day on the course as a caddie I realized how quickly it went, how tired I was (those tour bags are heavy) and how much I have to learn about the game. Working with a professional and seeing how she approaches her day on the course left me with a new appreciation for the game overall as well as new thoughts on how I should approach my own game.

We spent some time on Wednesday at the short game practice area and Thursday morning waiting to see if Angela would get into the tournament as an alternate. She was the next to be called, but never was. Over the weekend we played the Plantation course together and she spent time relaxing and enjoying Kapalua Resort. The next week she participated in our charity event the Aloha Team Classic and we said goodbye after the reception on Tuesday night.
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To follow the experience as it continues be sure to follow this blog as future chapters will be posted soon. You will be able to read about the first full tournament that I caddied, what it was like working with Angela during the US Open qualifier, what the caddie is expected to do and much more.

I would also direct your attention to a special posting that I have added to this blog called "How do they call this a living?" This posting is out of sequence from a timing point of view, but due to the important message I hope you will take a moment to read it.