Scott Martin's Page - August-September 2006 - Archives
Last updated on Friday November 24, 2006

 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 9-17-06

Even though the results needed to make the cut weren't there, it was a
good to get back with Notah Begay III again. His ball striking wasn't
that bad and we ended up missing the cut by one shot. A few weak shots
cost him. Nothing too errant but enough to cost him a shot at playing
on the weekend. Coming down the stretch on Friday, he gave himself a
few chances. The one shot that really was the difference was his tee
shot on 13, which found the water hazard down the right side of the
fairway. He made a good par on 14 then hit a good shot into 15 to give
him a birdie chance. No such luck.

After hitting a good tee shot on the par-5 16th, he had 265 to the
hole. He hit a great 3-wood to within 20 feet and made the putt for an
eagle 3. We were within a shot of the cut. A good tee shot on the par-3
17th put him within 20 feet but he missed the putt. Another solid tee
shot on 18 left him 190 yards from the hole . He hit 5-iron to 18 feet
but his putt burnt the edge of the hole and we were done for the week.
We had dinner after the round and he was in a pretty good frame of mind
even though he missed by a shot. We really did have a pretty good week
but weren't rewarded for our efforts.

Notah came into town Tuesday night and wasn't in the pro-am on
Wednesday. He had never played at the Lumber 84 so that meant playing
Thursday would be the first time he saw the course. It was up to me to
"guide" him around the course, especially for the first round. I had
been there a couple of times so it wasn't too bad getting him around.
The biggest challenge for him was the pace and slope of the greens. His
inexperience on the greens cost him a couple of shots, especially on
Thursday, where he three-putted twice.

All in all, it was a good week for us getting back together. I am very
excited to be working with him again. It will be great to see him get
back on track with his game. He is great guy to work for and,
honestly, there is nobody else I would like to caddy for. If only he
can get some of the magic back.

Seeing as though Notah is a native American, he sometimes has a few
local native Americans following him during a round. There were two
guys folowing us and Notah always makes sure to let them know he sees
them. After one of the holes on Friday, Notah dug a couple of balls out
of the bag and gave them to them as souvenirs. The two guys followed us
all day. At the end of the round the two guys were waiting for Notah to
get their caps autographed. I had taken off my caddy bib to keep seeing
as though this is the last year for the Lumber 84. I like to save some
of my bibs from events I like. When I saw the two guys, I took the bib
out of my bag and handed it to one of them. He was really happy. When
Notah came out of the scoring trailer, he made a point of going to see
them and introduce himself. They all had a chat and Notah signed their
hats and the bib I had given them. It was great to see Notah interact
with them. It never fails. If there are native Americans there, Notah
will always make a point of making them feel welcome. The guy is a
class act.

Notah flew into San Antonio Saturday. We'll play a practice round early
Monday and again on Tuesday. Honestly, I can't wait to see him and get
back to work. After San Antonio the schedule is up in the air. We might
get into the Southern Farm Bureau in Jackson, Mississippi but we'll
only find out at the end of the San Antonio week. If we don't get in
there, it will be off to the Nationwide Tour to finish off the season.
I have to tell you, I can't wait to got to Spain for European Tour
Q-School the first 2 weeks in November.

Chicago, Ill. 9-12-06

I have to apologize for taking so long to send an update. It sure has
been a while. I'm in Chicago waiting to get onto a flight to
Pittsburgh. I'm on my way to the Lumber 84 an hour south of Pittsburgh.
Not that this is earth-shattering news but I decided to make a change
of bosses after getting an interesting offer from Notah Begay III.

The last event I caddied in was in Reno, where Mark Brooks made the
cut. So our career together started by making a cut and finished the
same way. As you know, not a whole lot went on between those two
events. My wife, Sunny, had been on me to make a move and find someone
new to caddy for. Seeing as though it's quite difficult to find a bag
on tour these days, I was very hesitant to quit without having a new
job to got to. Notah took care of that.

I have worked for Notah in the past and he is, easily, the most
demanding player I have ever worked for. There is a lot of pressure to
be extremely prepared for an event. There is no one else like him on
tour. It's too bad his game isn't where it has been in the past (he is
a 4-time winner on tour) but he assured me that his game is on track
and he is confidant that good things are not far off. There is no doubt
that Notah makes any caddy who works for him a better caddy. You've got
to be on your toes with this guy. He expects a lot of himself and
whoever is on the bag. Before I left Austin, Tx yesterday, he left me a
message that he would see me Wednesday for a practice session. His last
words were, "You better be ready." It can sound a little harsh to some
guys but seeing as though I've worked for him before, I know exactly
where he's coming from. I can't wait to go into battle with this guy.

There will be no more spending days in the Callaway trailer for me.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the Callaway reps, it
will be good to be on the course or range getting ready for a
tournament instead of building endless amounts of drivers every week.
After I spoke to Mark to let him know I was making a change, I felt a
huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm really looking forward to a
new start with Notah.

When Notah called me a couple of weeks ago to offer me a job, he told
me what the schedule would be. Initially, we were supposed to go to
Boise, Idaho for a Nationwide Tour event. He ended up getting a spot at
the Lumber 84 after a number of players withdrew. Better a PGA event,
for sure. We'll divide our time between the two tours to finish off the
season. It looks as though we'll play the next 3 on tour and finish off
with a couple on the Nationwide event. Initially, I was hesitant to
accept the job because I didn't want to go back to the Nationwide Tour.
I've been on tour for 7 years and going back to the Nationwide felt
like a huge step backwards. When I told Sunny how I felt she said, "How
do you think Notah feels after being a multiple winner on the PGA
Tour?" No more needed to be said. After that comment from my wife, I
called Notah right away to accept his offer.

There was another interesting part to his offer. He is going to try to
qualify for the European Tour in November. He offered me an all expenses
paid trip to Spain for two weeks to help him qualify. How could I not
accept that? There is only one hitch. Sunny and I have to got to my
first green card interview on October 5th. If my application is
accepted, I can travel freely and would be able to got to Spain with
Notah. My immigration attorney assures me that it should be
problem-free.

I'm just about to board my flight so I'll sign off for now. I'm totally
excited to be working for Notah again. I know it will be a grind but
we're both ready to work hard to make good things happen.
Chicago, Il. 8-15-06

Once again, today's weather couldn't have been better for golf. I went
to Medinah CC at 8:00am Tuesday and had a quick look around for Mark.
We had played telephone tag the night before so I wasn't sure what time
he would get there. We finally spoke around nine and he told me he
would be at the course at 1:30pm. That gave me the time to go and walk
the back 9 of the course, which I had never seen. It was as nice or
even nicer than the front 9. A couple of big holes but I don't find the
course to be extremely difficult. It's one of the nicest conditioned
tracks I have seen in a while.

Mark showed up as scheduled and we made our way over to the Callaway
trailer to start building a new arsenal of drivers. It was somewhat of
a light day, only four new ones. Of course they all had different
shafts, head weights, swing weights, weights and even some of the
weights had weights. To see the look in his eye as he's making these
things. He's totally obsessed. After a couple of hours building and
hitting on the range, we made our way to the 1st tee to play a few
holes. He hit it pretty well as we made our way around a few holes. We
played 1,2,5,6,10,11,12,13, hit a few drives on 14 and finished it off
with hitting the approach shot into 18. Apparently, we're playing all
18 holes on Wednesday.

But to start off Wednesday, Mark will be building a new set of irons.
Back in May, Mark tested a new iron that Callaway was designing. Well,
it came out this week as a prototype and all the Callaway staff players
are having a new set built. Mark's were ready for today but after using
a couple of them in today's practice round, he decided to go with a
different shaft. So that's what we'll be doing first thing Wednesday.

Mark timed the end of today's practice round so he could go directly to
the past Champion's dinner at the clubhouse, which started at 7:30.
It's an annual event held for the former winners of the PGA
Championship. Seeing as though Mark came to the course directly from
the airport, he didn't have time to unpack. There he was in the parking
lot of the club, digging his sports coat, shirt, tie, pants and shoes
out of his luggage. He asked me " Are these too wrinkled?" I thought
they might have been but as any good caddy would say," No, they look
fine."

Speaking of past champions, we're paired with a couple of them this
week. Two of my all-time favorites, Nick Price and Paul Azinger. Aside
from the two players being great guys, they both have good guys on the
bag as well. It will be a fun sixsome for the first two rounds.

Chicago, Il. 8-14-06

What a great way to spend a late afternoon . I arrived in Chicago
around noon and went to the course to register. There are always a few
more restrictions at a major and there is always new ID cards that are
required. I stayed for only 45 minutes or so and then went to check in
at my hotel for the week. I ended up back at Medinah CC around 4:15 and
went to walk the front 9. The shadows were getting long and the course
is in beautiful shape. The fairways are pretty tight and there is some
good rough. Nothing crazy, but it was there. The fairways are some of
the nicest I have ever seen. Absolutely perfect. I was somewhat
surprised by how small the greens are. They seemed to be in good
condition but they were already pretty marked up from the day's play.
The greens were also pretty firm under foot. It's just my type of
course. Tree lined with rolling fairways. It will be a great course to
watch on TV as well. It's going to be fun getting out there to caddy at
this course just outside of Chicago. Every week I get to caddy on the
PGA Tour is a blast but there is nothing like a major championship.

I left Denver at 6 o'clock Sunday morning and started to make my way
towards Chicago, not really knowing where I would stop along the way.
There is usually an adventure, big or small, to be found on a
1000-mile, 15-hour trip. I had some good tunes on to start the trip,
one of my favourite artists these days, David Gray. As I rolled out of
Denver the sun was just starting to come up. It was a great way to
start the day. Just east of Denver is nothing but farm land forever.
It's a beautiful, relaxing drive the whole way. The only real detour I
made was in a town called Gothenberg, Nebraska. It was the site of one
of the earliest Pony Express stops. I followed the signs through
Gothenberg and made my way to a small log cabin sitting in the middle
of a park. As it turns out, it was not the original sight of the
building. It had been moved into town some time ago. It was interesting
to check out the interior, which had been made into a small museum. Not
the highlight of some of my recent travels, but it was interesting just
the same. I drove through Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, then Des Moines,
Iowa and onto Moline, Illinois, where I spent the night. I drove the
final 2 1/2 hours this morning. A really good drive, all in all.

Last week was not much different than any of the last few weeks it
seems. Mark arrived in Denver Wednesday night so we had no time to
practice. We played Thursday's round without delay because our tee time
was in the morning. When we play in Denver, there is often a delay in
the afternoon because of lightning. That's exactly what happened to us
on Friday. We played only 13 holes because of a quick, hard thunder
shower and were supposed to resume our round at 7:30 Saturday morning.
After making a birdie on #8 Friday afternoon, the horn blew to stop
play because of a thunder shower approaching. At that point Mark had
gotten to 1 point and had a shot to make the cut. As it turns out, at
the time he needed 5 more point to make the cut. With 10 holes to play,
including two par-5's, there was a good chance he would play on the
weekend. But once the delay was over that all changed. He bogeyed 9, 10
and 11 to shoot himself out of any chance of making the cut. Possible
to make it but not probable. He then made a par on #12. All hell broke
loose on 13 tee. Mark hit last and his drive went 20 yards right of the
fairway. In a fit of rage, he destroyed the wooden tee marker with a
quick swing of the driver. Unfortunately, it was one of his nicest
swings of the day. I walked off the tee a few yards ahead of him and
the next thing I heard was the driver shaft being snapped and the head
being tossed into the woods. By the time he got to the ball, all that
was left was a 2-foot piece of shaft with a grip on it. He hit his
second shot well left of the green, chipped up to 15 feet and marked
his ball. A few moments later the tour officials blew the horn to stop
play due to darkness. As we made our way to the vans that would bring
us back to the clubhouse, the walking scorer in our group came up to me
and handed me the driver head that Mark had throw in the woods. As it
turns out, he went into the bushes to retrieve the head for Mark.
Initially, I took it from him but when we got back to the clubhouse, I
took him aside where Mark couldn't see and I gave him the driver head.
" Get yourself a shaft and you've got a tour used club." He was totally
excited about getting it back. More than Mark would be, I'm sure.

As I was sitting at the clubhouse at 6:30 Saturday morning waiting for
Mark to arrive, my phone rang. It was Mark. He had decided that going
back to play 5 holes wasn't worth it. He had scheduled a 9:30am flight
and was on his way home for the weekend. He said he'd see me around 1
o'clock today (Monday). He called me at the course today at 12:30 and
said he'd see me Tuesday. Apparently, he's arriving tonight (Monday).
It's a major, he'll be here Tuesday, for sure. I think. I hope!

As it turns out, the golf was pretty exciting Sunday afternoon with
Dean Wilson getting his first PGA Tour victory after beating Tom Lehman
in a 2-hole playoff. It would have been exciting to see Lehman win. He
is this year's US Team Ryder Cup captain and he would have actually
made his own team had he won! But that didn't happen with Wilson
winning. I have a couple of interesting caddy stories concerning this
past weekend. As I have said before, whenever a caddy takes a week off,
quits a job or gets fired, the player will often have a good week. Tom
Lehman's long-time caddy, Andrew Martinez took the week off last week
and Lehman almost won. Still, 2nd place would have been a nice
percentage check. Earlier this year, Dean Wilson's caddy, Jim McKay
(aka Elvis) decided to take a real job at home back in Australia and
Wilson goes on to win an event this year. I wonder how Elvis likes the
new job Down Under. Two weeks ago caddy Mark Chaney, quit Steve Flesch
to look for a new job which ended up being Bo Van Pelt. Flesch finishes
3rd or 4th in Denver and Chaney misses out on a decent percentage
check. The moral of the story to all you caddies out there: DON'T TAKE
ANY TIME OFF, OR ELSE!!!

My roomie last week, Dave Bernards, had a good run going in Denver with
his player, Jeff Gove. Only a handful of points off the lead going into
Sunday, I was pulling for them big time. Aside from wanting a good
friend to win, I knew I would get a little windfall from it if Gove
could pull it off and capture a title. There is an unwritten rule
amongst caddies. If two caddies are rooming together and one of them
wins, the winning caddy has to pay for the hotel for the week. So as I
listened to the PGA Tour Network on my satellite radio Sunday
afternoon, I was one of Gove's biggest fans. Even though Jeff couldn't
pull it off, he had a good week and moved himself that much closer to
retaining his playing privileges for the 2007 season.

In case I don't write again before it all starts, I want to wish all
the participants in this year's Wyder Cup good luck. Have a great time
and may the best team win.
 

Denver, Co. 8-11-06

I'm looking at the leader board for the PGA Tour this week in Denver
before I head off to the course for this afternoon's round. Wow. The
leader is at 16 points and Mark Brooks played OK yesterday and had 0
points after one day. It will be a tough one today just to make the
cut.

Mark arrived Wednesday evening so we had exactly,,,,,,,,,,,,,no time to
get ready for the tournament. I know he has played here dozens of times
but arriving Wednesday night will not produce positive results. Even
though I have been coming here for 7 years and know the course quite
well, I spent a few hours out on the course Tuesday and Wednesday
double-checking the yardage book. A couple on minor changes but nothing
serious. I'm continuing to be as prepared as can be hoping that things
will turn around. I enjoy working for Mark but we both need things to
turn for the better. The last major of the year, The PGA Championship
at Medinah in Chicago, is next week. Mark won the PGA back in 1996 so
we're both hoping for a little god fortune next week.

We have a good pairing this week. Retief Goosen is always fun to watch.
Man, can this guy bomb it. On the par-5 14th hole, he outdrove Mark by
98 yards! Mark laid up short of a water hazard with a 7-iron and Goosen
hit a 5-iron over the green!. He could have hit a 6-iron into the green
and we laid up with a 7! Some serious power. The other player in our
group is Ben Crane. Known as one of the slowest players to ever play on
the tour, he is a great guy to spend a few hours with. Very polite and
friendly, but agonizingly slow at times. And real slow the rest of the
time.

Hopefully, Mark can pull a rabbit out of the hat this afternoon and
shoot a low score. I'll get an update to you soon.
 

Denver, Co. 8-7-06

A quick update on things from the last couple of days. The drive from
Flint, Michigan to Denver with my buddy, Dave Bernards, went great.
After Dave finished his round with Jeff Gove, we were on the road by
1:30 pm. By 8am local time in Denver, we were in town and off to one of
the best breakfast restaurants on tour, Pete's Kitchen. We were checked
into our hotel by 10 and asleep by 10:30. We made it here non-stop, a
1300-mile, 20 hour drive. It was as good as I thought it would be. What
a great way to see the country.

How about Tiger? Fifty PGA Tour victories by age 30. He is 21-0 when
going into the final round with a 2-shot or more lead. That's victory
number 111 for his caddy, Steve Williams. Is that amazing or what?

With 2Mo resident Rick Debonis on the bag, Tom Stankowski finished in
4th place in the Montreal Open of the Canadian Tour event held in Mirabel
last week. Rick got to see some good golf with Stankowski shooting 4 rounds
in the 60's. Great job, Rick. Apparently, Stankowski asked Rick if he would go
to the next event in London, Ontario. Rick had to let Tom know that his
wife would kill him if he did.
 

Auburn Hills, Michigan 8-6-06

It's a gorgeous morning and will be a great day for Tiger to win his
50th PGA Tour event at Warwick Hills this afternoon. I really hope I'm
not jinxing him by jumping the gun but he seems almost unbeatable the
way he's playing. And he's not even hitting it that well off the tee.
But he's so rounded as a player that other parts of his game will save
him when he gets in trouble. Whether it's his wedge game or his
putting, there is always some part of his game that will save the day.
That's not to mention his mental approach or his conditioning. He is
probably the best, if not the best of all time, when it comes to mental
toughness. His focus and commitment is like no-one else. He's simply
the best.

As for his conditioning, I got to see it up close earlier this week.
This guy is built like a linebacker. Matt Hauser, who caddies for JJ
Henry and is a buddy of mine, brought back a couple of British Open
flags for me. JJ qualified for the British after he won his first PGA
Tour event in Hartford a few weeks back. Since they were going, I asked
Matt if he could get me a couple of flags. Two weeks after the British
Open, the tour always comes here, to Michigan and Tiger always plays
because it is a Buick event, one of his main sponsors. This year, as
well as last year, I waited for Tiger in the parking lot, knowing he
would be there bright and early for the first tee time in the Wednesday
Pro-Am. I didn't have to be at the course to meet Mark until noon but I
wanted to ask Tiger to sign the flags before he had to deal with
everything else he deals with when he's at the course.

As usual, whenever I ask Tiger to sign something I get little nervous.
Or a lot nervous. I don't want be pushy and always ask but he is a huge
part of golf history and I love being able to collect flags from his
major victories. He will, some day, break Jack Nicklaus' record of 19
majors and having these autographed flags are great keepsakes. I feel
very fortunate to be in a position where I can actually ask and get his
signature on flags. My heart was pumping pretty good when he pulled
into his parking spot. He got out of his car with his caddy, Steve
Williams and was changing his shoes in the parking lot. Within 30
seconds of him getting out of his car, one of the guys who works in the
caddy trailer went up to Tiger with three flags for him to sign. Tiger
didn't hesitate, 1, 2, 3. All done. After he changed his shoes it was
time for me to make my move. He was walking towards the clubhouse and
had a quick chat with one of his good buddies, John Cook. I was
stalking him and it was time to move in for the kill. "Tiger,
congratulations on your win at the British. You were awesome." A quick
handshake and a "Thanks" from The Chosen One. My heart rate was at LEAST
125. "Would you mind signing these for me? I'd really appreciate it." I
had a Sharpie ready for him to use but he whipped one out of his back
pocket faster than Billy the Kid. 1, 2. All done. It was that easy. I
had thought of something to say to him. I wanted to tell him how
special I think he is. I realize it sounds corny. But I am a BIG fan of
Tiger. Being able to be around him and the tour at this time is special
and it's really because of him. I know there are really great players
on tour right now. But Tiger is the man. I felt for him when his Dad
passed away. I felt for him even more when he won the British Open and
cried like a baby in Steve Williams' and his wife's arms. I cried right
along with him. It was a beautiful thing to see such a tough competitor
not be afraid to show who he is. As Tiger walked away I felt I was
missing my chance to say something. "Hey Tiger." He turned back and
looked at me. "Thanks for being you." He just smiled one of those big
grins, turned and walked away. As I said, as corny as it sounds, I'm
really glad that I took the opportunity to tell him what I did.

Something else happened this week that I would like to share. Ricky
Debonis, a native of Laval but now a long-time 2Mo resident, gave me a
call this week. Rick caddied at Laval-sur-le-lac for years as a kid
growing up and that is where we first met. We still keep in touch from
time to time. Rick called me to let me know that the Canadian Tour had
a stop this week in the Montreal area, at the Quatre Domaines in Mirabel.
We put our heads together and tried to find someone who I might know on
that tour who would be playing in the Montreal event and would need a
caddy. I know that most players on the Canadian Tour don't travel with
fulltime caddies because there is very little money to be made. Most
players hire a local caddy for the week. Rick and I went over the list
and we came up with only two players that I knew a bit. Stephen
Gangluff and Tom Stankowski.

Stephen had played on the PGA Tour about three years ago and I got to
meet him and chat a few times. He wouldn't know me from Adam right now.
The only way I know Tom Stankowski's name is because his brother, Paul,
plays on the PGA Tour and is one of the nicest guys out here. I called
a caddy that I know who used to work for Stephen and told him my story.
A buddy in Montreal wants to caddy at the event in Montreal. Would you
call Gangluff to see if he needed a caddy for the week? The guy told me
that he doesn't speak to Gangluff much but he would try to call him.
Stephen would be a good bag for the week. As it turned out, he was
leading the tour in birdies and was second on the money list. I then
called Tim Mork who now caddies mostly for Brett Quigley and at times,
schedule permitting, Paul Stankowski. I told him what was up and would
he please call Paul to call his brother to call Tim to call me to call
Rick to see if he could work for the week. It didn't seem too
complicated.

A couple of days later, still no calls from anyone. Rick and I knew he
would get a bag but it would have been fun to help set him up with a
player before the tournament. On Tuesday night, Rick Debonis gives me a
call. He tells me a great story. That morning, he decides to go to the
tournament sight and walk the course to get a feel for it. On the first
tee, Rick meets two of the players playing in the event, who are
carrying their own bags. On the PGA Tour, a player cannot play a round
of golf without a caddy. Not even a practice round. On the Canadian
Tour, players can carry their own bags for practice rounds to save a
little of money. But they have to have a caddy for the tournament. On
the Canadian Tour in the past, players could carry their own bags
Thursday and Friday but had to have a caddy for the weekend if they
made the cut. That is the way it was in my first pro event, The Quebec
Open at Dorval. Here's a scenario. Two player room together for the
week. One misses the cut and the other makes the cut. The player who
misses the cut caddies for his roommate for the weekend. In that event
at Dorval back in '96 the winner of the event carried his own bag
Thursday and Friday. He was paired with Quebec player Remi Bouchard.
Bouchard missed the cut so the other player asked Bouchard's caddy of
he would caddy for the weekend. They went on to win the event. So the
kid gets Bouchard for the week and misses the cut. His playing partner
asks him to caddy and he ends up winning the tournament. That player
was Chris DiMarco.

Back to Rick. Rick starts to walk the first hole and halfway down the
fairway one of the players introduces himself. Tom Stankowski. Total
fluke. He explained the story that a friend of his caddies on tour and
was trying to hook him up with him for the week. A long shot but we had
to try. Tom had never heard from Paul about the caddy looking for work.
Their meeting was strictly coincidental. Rick walked with them for the
front nine, taking pins and helping out a bit. Not carrying the bag but
just giving them a hand. Rick told the guys that he had to leave after
nine holes to bring his son to hockey practice. Before he left, Tom
offered him the job for the week. Great! Rick was excited and gave me a
call to let me know what happened. That afternoon I decided to go see a
movie. My phone is on vibrate and it goes off in the theater. It's the
caddy I know who was going to call Stephen Gangluff. Gangluff had
called and he would be happy to have Rick work for the week. OH, oh. A
dilemma. Rick had a job and here was the guy who was second on the money
list offering him a job. I called Rick after the movie to let him know
what was up. Once you're committed it's not good to change. I called
the caddy back and told him that Gangluff would have to keep looking
for a caddy. Rick called me last night (Saturday) with an update.
Stankowski was tied for 10th place going into Sunday's final round and
Rick was having the time of his life. Tom has Rick involved. He's using
the yardage book and reading putts. I told Rick that he better be
careful. The way things had unfolded the last week, he might find
himself on the PGA Tour before he knew it.

Today, I'm getting to do one of my favorite things on tour. I'm going
on a long drive, which I love. Today my roommate is at the course
caddying for Jeff Gove. I'm picking him up right after the round, which
will be about 2 pm and we're driving to the next event which is in
Denver, 1300 miles away. That's about a 20-hour drive. We might stop
tonight but we'll probably drive straight through, taking turns behind
the wheel. I know it's a long haul but I enjoy it. Obviously, most guys
will fly and rent cars but I've decided to save on a flight and car
rental and drive my own car. One of the highlights for me will be to
drive through Iowa and Nebraska and see all the cornfields. They look
beautiful at sunrise. Then it will be through Omaha and into the
prairies. It's a long, gradual climb into Denver and the foothills of
the Rockies. Tonight we'll see the sunset and tomorrow we'll see the
sunrise while driving. I can't wait.
 

Grand Rapids, Mich. 7-30-06

Surprise, surprise! I have some catching up to do. The last time I wrote,
Mark Brooks was in first place after the first round at the BC Open.
Even though he couldn't play well enough in the final round to win, he
managed to finish tied for 15th place. Definitely a disappointment but
things were headed in the right direction. I have to admit that after
the third round at the BC Open when Mark was in 2nd place heading into
the last round I was somewhat of a head case for a good part of the
evening. After Mark and I had a chat on the phone that Saturday night,
I felt totally relieved and wanted no less than for him to win. He went
over Saturday's round shot by shot. He didn't need to tell me that I
had my job back the following week, even though I was feeling insecure
about him keeping me on. We talked about the upcoming schedule, which
is always a good sign.

I had a good week at home that week. I got to spend time with Sunny and
the kids and got to do some "family stuff". One of the highlights of
the week was when Sunny had to work late and I ended up taking my
stepson, Dehler, who is 13 years old and one of my stepdaughters,
Jayde, who is 11, to the driving range for a couple of hours. We had a
good time. The range is called "Islands" because of the floating greens
on a man-made pond. Dehler, who is a sportsaholic, has recently taken
up and fallen in love with golf. I couldn't be happier. It's funny to
see him hitting balls. He actually has a pretty good swing but the
glove he wears is one of Mark's gloves and it's about four times too
big. But I'm not going to tell him. He loves it. He's off to golf camp
tomorrow (Monday) and he should pick up some great pointers during his
week there.

During my last weekend at home I rode my motorcycle up to Monterrey for
a couple of days of motorcycle races at world-famous Laguna Seca
Raceway. It was the second year in a row that I have gone to that race.
Last year Sunny and I rode up there together for the races and then a
6-day, 1500-mile ride throughout California. Now THAT was a great
holiday. But this year I made the trek alone. There was no 6-day,
1500-mile trip this year though. Instead it was a 6 1/2 hour, 400-mile
ride back right after the races finished on Sunday afternoon. After not
riding my bike much for the last 6 months, my ass was KILLING me after
that ride. Actually, it wasn't killing me, it was numb! My legs were
killing me!

The weekend I was up in Monterrey was the weekend of the BC Open.
Knowing Mark was in 20th place after Fridays' round made watching
Saturday's ride up to Laguna Seca enjoyable. Honestly, it would have
been tough had he been near the top or at the top of the board that
day. When I made it up to Monterrey late Saturday afternoon, I called
Sunny after checking into one of the local hotels. I hadn't brought my
computer with me so I was going to have her check the scores to see
where Mark stood. Neither one of us felt very good after we found out
that Mark appeared to on the verge of possibly winning the event. My
caddy career flashed before my eyes. I had sacrificed a lot and worked
my butt off to try to be as successful a caddy that I could be. I had
had a couple of close calls over the years but this was as close as I
had ever been. Could I have possibly taken off a week that my player
would win? It happens. Long-time veteran caddy, Pete Bender who caddies
for Aaron Baddeley, took the week off earlier this year and Aaron went
on to win at Hilton Head. Chris Mazziotti got fired by Kirk Triplett
and Triplett won the following week in Tucson. I thought I would be
another unfortunate stat.

Fortunately for me, Mark and I had a good chat that night, as I said
earlier. He put my mind at ease about my job security and I would loved
to have seen him win. Missing out on a 50 or $60,000 payday would have
been hard to swallow but I'm sure it would have made some good reading!
The last 15 or 16 months have been pretty tough career-wise. Having to
deal with missing out on that much money would have been a challenge.
There are no confirmed stories but it is rumoured that some players
have still compensated their full-time caddies in situations such as
these. Probably not a full percentage payday but enough to keep the
caddy happy.

Mark and I hooked up again last week in Milwaukee but, unfortunately,
the results from the previous week were just that. He didn't hit the
ball that well most of the week and struggled with the putter. These
guys don't have to hit the ball great every time in order to be
successful. If they are rolling the ball well they can still score
great. A combination of bad ball striking and bad putting means loading
the trunk on Friday. And this week's early trunk loading wasn't
pleasant. Mark slammed stuff around and wasn't saying a word. I
understand his frustrations after the good week he had the previous
week. I'll tell you, I feel like I'm walking on pins and needles. He
has a good week with a part-time caddy on the bag and misses the cut
when I'm back at work. Man, this is a strange career sometimes. All I
can do is grind away and hope things eventually turn around. I still
wouldn't want to do anything else. This is it for me. If I can be
really successful, fine. If not, that's fine as well. I think that just
being on tour is a huge success just the same.

 

I enclosed a photo this time. During the tournament in Hartford I had a
chance to see someone from home and make a new friend, all in the same
day. Paul Goyetche's brother, Mike, was down from 2Mo for his annual
pilgrimage to Connecticut and a friend of the guys from 2Mo was there
as well. Randy Emerson participates in the annual Wyder Cup golf
tournament for the US side. I believe Randy lives in the Boston area
and he was in the Hartford area on business and got to come to the golf one afternoon. It was great to have them there rooting us on. After the round we went out to dinner and had a good time. In the photo is Mike, myself and Randy. It was fun to have them around. Randy and Mike are two of the nicest guys you'll meet and it was good to spend some time with them. Thanks for coming guys!