Scott Martin's Page - October-November 2006 - Archives
Last updated on Tuesday January 09, 2007

 

Melbourne, Australia 11-20-06

I have to apologize for not sending more updates than I have. While in Sydney, I didn't have access to my own computer and could only get online using local internet cafes. Unfortunately, they were only open until 6:00pm. By the time my days were done, the cafes were closed. There is a wide selection of cafes in Melbourne so hopefully, I can write a little more this week.

Last week's Australian Open was a good event to caddy in. Peter hit the ball quite well but he certainly struggled on the greens. He had me helping him read most of the putts during the week and I was in on every read for Saturday and Sunday's rounds. The putts just didn't drop. We had our share of misreads but everyone goes through that. A few too many of the putts weren't hit on line and that is what really cost us a shot at winning. Peter was 8 shots off the pace when all was said and done and I can tell you, it wouldn't be hard to think back on 2 putts that were missed each day. Take Sunday's round. Peter pulled his birdie putt from 3 feet on the first hole and 3-putted the par 3, 3rd hole. There's two missed putts right there. Do that for four rounds and you're 8 shots off the pace.

Another reason we didn't finish better than 14th place was that we had bad finishes almost every round. On Thursday for example, we had a double bogey, bogey finish. On Sunday we bogeyed #15 and #16. A 3-putt on 15 and a bogey on the par 5, 16th hole really took the wind out of his sails. Those two holes were the difference from a top-10 finish to where finished in a tie for 14th.

Peter is definitely a really good player. His ball striking is a solid as I've seen from players I've worked for in the past. He works hard and puts plenty of time in on the range. He works out in the gym regularly and is dedicated in all aspects of preparation for a tournament. I feel good about the direction his game is headed right now and I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to work for him. He never directs any blame towards me, which is nice. Some players use their caddies as punching bags but not this guy.

I found out last week in Sydney just how respected Peter is in Australia. He treats everyone with respect. Players, fans and marshals alike. At the same time, people treated me really well just because I caddy for him.

Peter did mention a few times last week that these events in Australia are preparation for the 2007 PGA Tour season. Don't get me wrong. He certainly wants to play well in his home country. But after struggling for most of 2006, he finds himself just recently getting his game together. The timing couldn't be better. I would like nothing more than to have a good season starting in Hawaii in January.

This week's event is the Australian Masters. I have yet to see the golf course but I will for the first time Tuesday when we play in the pro-am. Once again, one of his playing partners will be Australian musician Jimmy Barnes and two of his band mates from a group called Cold Chisel. To finish off the day and evening, we'll be going with Jimmy Tuesday night to see him in concert not far from Melbourne. I'm really looking forward to the show.

As I have said, Peter is playing well and if the putting can come together, good things are bound to happen. I'm looking forward to this week's event which is another of Australia's major golf events.

I have a funny story from last week's event. As I told you last week, I roomed with Geoff Ogilvy' caddy, Squirrel. This guy is hilarious and it comes off even funnier for me seeing as though he's from England and has a British accent. He tells a great story. After Friday's round, Squirrel was walking back to our hotel, which was a 30 minute walk from the Royal Sydney Golf Club. He came across a mother and her young son, who had spent the day at the tournament. Squirrel chatted with them a bit and noticed that the little guy had Geoff Ogilvy's autograph on his cap. He said to the kid, "I see you have Geoff Ogilvy's autograph on your cap." The kid proudly said yes. Now I have to tell you, Squirrel carries a few extra pounds but nothing too bad. He then said to the kid, "What do you think of his caddy? Pretty handsome chap, isn't he?" The mother then piped up, "What, the fat one?" It was only then that the mother realized who she was talking to.
 

Sydney, Australia 11-15-06

It's been a good week up until now for my first trip to caddy in Australia. I left Los Angeles last Friday night for the 14 hour non-stop flight to Sydney. Thankfully, I slept for 8 straight hours during the flight. It went a lot easier than I thought it would. Fourteen hours on plane can get a little long, to say the least.

My roommate this week, Alistair "Squirrel" Matheson, who caddies for Aussie and US Open winner Geoff Ogilvie, had made reservations for us beforehand. After leaving LA on Friday night, it was Sunday morning when I arrived here in Sydney. My time clock was all screwed up but after checking into our hotel, I managed to stay up before trying to have nap around 4pm. I had set my alarm for 7pm but I slept right through it and woke up at midnight! Seeing as though there are only 5 channels on the TV in our room, I soon found myself trying to get back to sleep. I eventually dozed off and was awake again by 4am. Here it is Wednesday and I'm finally back on a real time schedule.

I met Peter Lonard out at Royal Sydney Golf Course at 9:00 o'clock Monday morning. He had planned on playing an 18-hole practice round but by the time we got to the 7th hole, dark clouds rolled in and we were called off the course because of lightning in the area. That was it for our practice round. Peter brought me to his condo in downtown Sydney, right on Sydney Harbor with a front row view of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This was prime real estate. A beautiful building with one of the best views anywhere. Sydney is a really nice city. I travelled throughout Australia back in 1991 for 6 weeks and always remembered it being a great place and it still is.

On the PGA Tour, the pro-ams are on Wednesday but here in Australia, they are played on Tuesday. Peter had three of his buddies play with him in the pro-am this week and we all had a good time. It was an all-star lineup in our group. Peter's best buddy over here is a musician named Jimmy Barnes. The best way to describe Jimmy is that he is Australia's version of Bruce Springsteen. He's a huge star and has been in the music industry for years. Also in our group was a guy named George Gregan. He is the captain of Australia's National Rugby team. A super nice guy who plays in one of the world's toughest sports. This guy could flat out play golf. The final player in the foursome was 2-time US Open Tennis and Wimbledon Champion, Patrick Rafter. Playing off a 4 handicap this guy could get around the course with ease. Seeing as though all these guys are big names in Australia, we had a good sized gallery follow us for the day. During the pro-am the galleries were allowed to follow the group right out in the fairway. Peter played quite well shooting 5 or 6 under par. He was really loose and had a good time playing with his buddies. As a group they shot -15 but finished in 2nd place in the pro-am. The whole round was a blast. Jimmy, George and Patrick are all really good guys and I had a good time being with them for the day.

Thursday, we tee off at 1:00 pm with Aussies Paul Gow and Peter Senior. Peter Lonard and Paul Gow are good friends as well so it will be good to be paired with him this week. There are some good Aussies in the field this week so it should make for a good event. Geoff Ogilvie, Adam Scott, Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby and Greg Norman are some of the locals to play here in Sydney.

I want to give you a Notah Begay update. Notah is in Spain trying to qualify for the European Tour this week. Last week he managed to squeakthrough 2nd stage by picking up the last spot for finals in an 8-man playoff. He was the last qualifier to get through. After 4 rounds of the 6-round finals this week, he finds himself in 4th place after shooting a 4th round 67. Send this guy some good vibes. As I've said in the past, he's the classiest guy I've met in golf and I wish for nothing but the best for him.

It would be good to see Peter have a good week this week. His confidence is right up there and he has had success playing these Australian events. His ball striking is good and his short game and putting are on track. All the makings for a positive week.

Palm Harbor, Fla. 10-29-06

This will be a quick update seeing as though I'm about to hit the road. Before today's round, Peter Lonard told me that after the 4th round he would tell me what his decision was concerning him hiring me or not. "That's unless you want to know now." Of course I did. "If you want it, the job is yours." I was really relieved to hear those words. It made for a great day. I'll be going to Australia in a couple of weeks to work for him in a couple of tournaments there. He even offered to pay for my flight there.

In the meantime, I'll be leaving in the next few minutes to drive to 2Mo. Seeing as though I now have my green card and will have a California driver's license, I cannot register my Canadian car in California. I'll be coming home to try to sell it in the next week if I can. For anyone who's interested, it's a 2003 Volks Jetta in great shape. It's never seen a snowflake.

The last couple of weeks I have received a number of emails from people wishing me all the best trying to get the Lonard job. Thanks everyone. For those of you who play, I'll be dropping by the Wednesday night dart league at the Tartan this week. I can't wait to come home and spend time with family and friends.

Palm Harbor, Fla. 10-26-06

Today I got to see a good player hit some good shots. Man, was it fun. Once again, we worked well together and created a number of good chances. There were 4 or 5 holes that birdie putts were no more than 10 feet. A couple of misreads and a couple of mishit attempts. But we're playing on Bermuda greens and so it was giving alot of players and caddies a hard time.

Fifteen minutes ago, there were a total of 4 caddies sitting in my hotel room watching college football and the World Series. We were all talking about the difficulty of reading these greens. I've heard alot of talk about it all week long. After the round, Peter mentioned that he thought we did a good job reading the greens but that he was having a hard time making a good stroke. He putts with a long putter and he has a tendancy to pull some of them. It was a really good ball-striking day though. The shot of the day was on #17, a 225 yard par 3. It was our 8th hole of the day. He hit a 5 iron, which flew 212 yards and rolled to within 3 inches of the hole. Tap-in birdie. The hole before, is one of the touhgest holes we play all year. He birdied that as well. But after back-to-back birdies, he 3-putted from 20 feet. It took the wind out of his sails for a couple of holes.

He grinded away and made a couple of good up and downs to save par. When it was all said and done it turned out to be a positive day for everyone involved. Peter has a driver he likes and his confidence is showing in other parts of his game. I'm very comfortable helping him make decisions and his trust in me seems to build every round. Honestly, I'd have to say we have a good thing going. If he doesn't offer me the job, I'll be stumped.

It'll be good to get back out there tomorrow morning. I love the late-early tee time. An afternoon tee time on Thursday followed by a Friday morning tee time is great to keep a little momentum going. If you have an early-late draw, you have to wait at least 24 hours to play again. Today we were on the putting green practicing after today's round just as the sun was setting and it was getting a little dark. Tomorrow we get back out there just as the sun is coming up. It seems quick.

Well, I'll know either tomrrow evening or Sunday night whether I have this job or not. I'll give it my best shot and see what happens.

Palm Harbor, Fla. 10-24-06

We played a 9 hole practice round today after spending a couple of hours on the range trying new drivers. I didn't know this before I worked for Peter last week but he has been struggling to find a driver that he likes. It's not a Mark Brooks struggle to find a new driver but he has tried a few the last couple of weeks. There were no less that eight drivers waiting for him to hit on the range this morning. It was quickly narrowed down to 3 and he eventually brought two out onto the course. There was a clear winner so he's starting the week with a good one.

Still no word on any decision he might have made concerning a new caddy although I got a good vote of confidence from one of the Taylor Made reps today. Seeing as though he plays Taylor Made equipment and lives in Orlando, Peter had the three Taylor Made guys stay at his house for the week last week. One of them told me today that Peter had some good things to say about how we worked together last week. He told me he thinks I'll get the job. He also said that he thinks Peter will ask me to go to Australia where the Australian Tour holds three events in four weeks in November and December. The 4th week the tour goes to New Zealand for an event. Back in the fall of '04, Peter played those events and won three in a row! The following year he won at Hilton Head. So needless to say, there are a few other things to be excited about if I can be lucky enough to land the job.

I'm looking forward to our pairing this week. We've got Mark Calcavecchia, a guy who I love to watch crush the ball, and Jason Bohn, one of the nicest guys in the game. Jason's caddy, Billy Spencer, is a fellow Canadian from Toronto. Should be a good pairing.
 

Palm Harbor, Fla. 10-22-06

Missing the cut with Peter Lonard wasn't what I was hoping for last week. A really good finish wasn't even necessary but a solid four days would have been what the doctor ordered for the first of my two weeks with the Aussie.

After the round Friday, Peter went to the locker room to pick up the things he had left in his locker. I went to the parking lot to drop off his clubs at his truck. When Peter came out we had a little chat about the week. He made a comment that he didn't hit his irons all that well for the two rounds so that made it tough to score well. As I was saying after Thursday's round, even when he hit the greens, he wasn't that close to the hole. Although on 1, 10 and 14 on Friday, he hit three wedges to within 2 feet.

Aside from those three holes, he didn't hit it all that well. There was some good golf at times though. He hit his driver well and he was pleased about that. He has some good touch with his game. What I like is that he can hit the little shot. He'll choke down and/or hit a 3/4 shot. A lot of players are
1-dimensional or have limits on their touch. Peter has good hands. For example, he'll hit a little 6 instead of a hard 7. He has good control. I call it having a good arsenal when a player has a few shots with each club.

In the parking lot he said he was very pleased with the way we worked together. That was good to hear but I'd love to hear more than that. Like, "The job is yours." Honestly, I wish I could have done a better job on the greens. I didn't do a bad job but I wish it could have been really good job. But in my own defence, reading Bermuda greens is tough. There can be alot of grain that can effect the break quite a bit. Players that grew up or live in Texas, Florida or any other state that has Bermuda greens, have a big advantage. Disney's winner, Joe Durant, plays most of his golf in Alabama where there is mostly Bermuda grass. Peter nor I grew up in an environment that had Bermuda grass so it can be difficult to get the hang of.

The rest of our first week together was good. We had some good laughs and communicated well. We were on the same page with club selection for the most part. There were a couple that I didn't necessarily agree with but that happens. A caddy has to know his player pretty well before he can really speak his mind. This weekend as I was watching the golf on television, I heard Nick Faldo describe how he liked his caddy. If you are 100% sure that he was making a mistake, speak your mind. Otherwise, don't put a negative thought or doubt in his head. Simple enough.

This week is a great event. The Copperhead course at Innisbruck is one of the most under-rated courses on tour. It's a good, hard track. I really like coming here for this tournament. So it was nice to hear Peter Lonard say last week that this one of his favorite courses he plays.
 

Orlando, Fla. 10-19-06

I thought things went pretty well for Peter Lonard and myself for our
first round of my "tryout". He had me quite involved in most aspects of
his game. That being doing all the yardages because he doesn't carry a
book, club selection and reading putts. I've never considered myself a
great green reader although a couple of players in the past have said I
do a good job on the greens. Most caddies don't read greens on tour.
But I thought I did fine in that department so it gives me confidence
going into tomorrow.

Not that he made any putts today, beside the one on #4, our 13th hole
of the day. The rest of the card had 17 pars. How about Justin Rose
shooting 12 under par!? He certainly got everyone's attention. Peter
actually didn't play too bad. He just never gave himself enough close
putts. Most of his shots were outside 20 feet. But tomorrow we play the
easier of the two courses. The cut could be as low as -6 so Peter will
need to shoot -5 if that's the case.

He has a couple of interesting personal characteristics. No less that 5
times today, he apologized for missing a putt or hitting a mediocre
shot. He loves to crack jokes out there but it's just his way of
keeping himself loose, watching the other guys in the group have a good
chuckle. I do enjoy working for him and would like to get the job. He
has hinted a few things that it sounds like I'll get it but I don't
know for sure. I guess I'll have to wait and see until after Tampa next
week.

We had a good pairing today with John Senden. He doesn't have a whole
lot to say out there but Peter got him laughing pretty good a couple of
times today. Man, can Senden hammer it. On the 13th hole, a short par
4, he drove the green and made the eagle putt. It was about a 320 yard,
accurate drive The guys on the green in the group in front of us
weren't too happy though. One of them yelled out "FORE!" with him arms
waving in the air. Sorry.

We were also paired with a couple af amateurs today. One of them, Brett
from Michigan, has a handicap of one. He could play. He made a few
birdies. Although some of the amateur tees are 50-75 yards closer on
some holes. Peter's partner was an older guy named JJ. I'm not sure
where he was from but his caddy was from Orlando and caddied at one of
the local country clubs where JJ is a member. Apparently, JJ flies into
town a couple of times a week on his private jet and plays a round of
golf. I thought Peter did a good deed today following our round. He
asked JJ, if he would like a 5-minute lesson. He took him over to the
range and gave him a quick lesson. I thought that was a good move.

I've got another caddy story. I wrote a story back in March about a
caddy named Mike Kerrick. Mike is originally from New Brunswick but has
now caddied and lived in the US for the last 25 or 30 years. I told you
that Mike worked for Tom Kite for 22 years. After being let go by Kite
back in '02 or '03, Kerrick worked and had success with some of the
better young players in the game. He caddied for Jonathan Byrd when
Byrd won his first event on the PGA Tour. Not long after, Byrd let him
go. He then worked for Mark Hensby. A short time after Hensby won his
first tour event, he also let Kerrick go. This year he has worked for
JB Holmes. Holmes won his first event this year in Phoenix with Mike
caddying for him. It wasn't long after that that I wrote a story about
Kerrick being fired after these young players won their first events
with the veteran Kerrick on the job.

Sure enough, he got fired again. JB Holmes let him go last week. Byrd,
Hensby and now Holmes. All within the last 3 or 4 years. Guess who he's
caddying for now. Mark Hensby! He's had a pretty lousy year and
obviously hopes he can find a little magic with Kerrick working for him
again. As fun as it is out on tour, you never know what's going to
happen. Job security? Never.

Orlando, Fla. 10-22-06

I flew into Jacksonville Sunday and drove down to Orlando Monday
morning. I checked into my hotel and headed over to the course with my
roommate, Chris Mazziotti (Jeff Overton's caddy) to walk one of the two
courses we play this week. We play a Pro-Am format here at Disney.
Every pro has an amateur for the first 2 days. Another thing this week
is that a pro can request to play with one of his buddies from the
tour. For example, Peter Lonard will play with friend and fellow
Australian, John Senden, winner of this year's John Deere Classic.
Amateurs will not play on the weekend.

As I was walking the course today, I got a call from Peter. He wanted
to know something about our tee times. He also told me that he had his
wisdom teeth removed today. He said the pain wasn't bad at the time but
he was curious to see how it would be once the medication wore off.
Let's hope he isn't in too much pain for the tournament. At this point
in time there isn't much to report on. I just wanted to touch base and
to say that I'll keep you posted on how things unfold this week.

An interesting story from last week. I've written in the past about
what can happen to a player if his regular caddy takes the week off.
Sure enough, Troy Matteson's caddy took the week off last week. And
what happens? Matteson wins! I'm telling you, it never fails. It's
funny. After Mazziotti and I walked the course today, we were waiting
for the shuttle to take us back to the caddy parking lot. Seeing as
though it was later in the day, there wasn't a shuttle in sight. Who
gave us a ride back to the parking lot? Troy Metteson's fulltime caddy,
Josh. Not one word was said about his player winning without him. That
was a $72,000 holiday. Ten percent of Matteson's winning cheque. Ouch!

Another caddy story. Steve Duplantis, who now works for Daniel Chopra,
had himself a good week in Vegas, finishing in 2nd place. Duplantis has
a reputation of being a notorious party animal. I've heard some great
stories about him over the years. His partying ways have cost him some
jobs over the years. But everyone knows he's a great caddy. A lot of
players wouldn't hire him because of his off-course ways. Yesterday,
he almost won with Chopra which would give him at least one victory
with 4 different players. That's no easy feat. For years he worked for
Jim Furyk and won multiple times all over the world. His nickname at
the time was "Asbestos" because he was fire-proof. Furyk wouldn't fire
him no matter how much he partied and showed up late or even missed tee
times. After years of putting up with him, Furyk finally let him go.

A couple of years later he caddied for Rich Beem, who won his first
tour event in Washington, DC. A book entitled Blood Sweat and Tees was
written about their exploits on and off the course.

A few years later he caddied for Tommy Armour III, who won his first
event in years at the Texas Open in 2004.

Don't forget, in between these events, years went by as Duplantis
caddied for a ton of different players. Now he has Chopra and he came
close again in Vegas. It's no fluke these guys play well with him on
the bag. He can caddy his ass off and party like a champ off the
course. Did I mention that he's a Canadian?

I hope he never reads this story but I want to share it with you.
Apparantly Duplantis has been married a number of times. His last time,
which I believe was his third, was a couple of years ago. I,
personally, haven't seen her since. But before the wedding, he called
Billy Carluuci, Jeff Brehaut's caddy, and asked him if he would come to
the wedding. Billy told him, "Steve, I can't make it. But I promise to
got to the next one."

Los Angeles, Ca. 10-5-06

Good, no great, news today. After a 20-minute interview this morning
for Sunny and I, I was granted a 2-year green card to reside and work in
the US. It was an overwhelming relief to be granted that greencard
today. Sunny was right. It was hassle-free and no problem. I was
worried about a few things but those topics were never brought up by my
interviewer. Within the next three weeks, my greencard will arrive and
that will also give me permission to travel outside of the country as
well. Seeing as though I haven't been able to go to Canada for the last
14 months, it won't be too long before I make my way back to Two
Mountains to see family and friends.

I really have to thank a few people for their endless support with this
whole process. If I leave anybody out, I apologize. It's not that I
don't think of everyone. Paul Goyetche, Mike McKeown, Brian Rose, Rick
Debonis, Gary MacMillan, Randy Emerson, Marc Dore, Tom Derouin, Danny
Gagnon, Mike Goyetche and of course, my family. Whether it has been
being supportive while caddying or with my immigration interview, those
people, as well as a lot of others, have written regularly with words of
encouragement. Thanks a lot everyone.

I couldn't help but check the scores today for the PGA Tour event in
Greensboro, NC. Peter Lonard started off struggling early in the round
but ended up bouncing back strong to finish at -1 after the first round.
Not that -1 is near the top but it was a good rebound after a rough
start. Brent Geiberger and a couple of others shot a whopping 8 under
par! Geiberger has had somewhat of a rough year so far but he won the
event in Greensboro back in 2004. Obviously, he has a good feeling
going back to a course that he has won on. It's amazing what a mind
game golf can be, even for the top players in the world. Players can
return to events and courses that they have had success at and play
well enough to contend even though they have been struggling.

Back to Lonard and the mind game I'm going through. A buddy of mine,
Steve Hulka, is working for Peter this week. He's my competition for
the Lonard job. I don't want to wish them any ill will together but at
the same time, if Peter plays well with the guy, Steve could end up
with the job. But I want Peter to play well enough that he is on
somewhat of a roll when I get my shot in a couple of weeks. Honestly, I
hope they have a good week together. When I get my opportunity, I'll do
my best and see how it unfolds.

I have one more person to thank for his help last week in Jackson,
Mississippi. A few years ago I met a volunteer working the driving
range. Trent would always make sure that I had golf balls and drinks on
the range. He's always good for a laugh and is sure to remind me that
if I "went down" he had my back. Meaning that if I couldn't caddy he
would fill in for me. It's been a bit of a joke between us for the last
three or so years. But really Trent, thanks a lot for all the help for
Notah and I last week. I'm looking forward to coming back next year.

Jacksonville, Fla. 10-3-06

After finishing our final round on Sunday, I left Jackson, Mississippi
and drove 600 miles to Jacksonville, arriving Monday afternoon. I
stayed at a friend's condo for the night and am about to board a
flight to Los Angeles. I have to admit, I'm a nervous wreck. My
greencard interview is on Thursday. That will ultimately determine my
status in the US. They'll stamp my passport with a 2-year temporary
visa or they'll give me a month to leave the country. Not that having
to come back to 2Mo is a bad thing but there is a lot at stake besides
that.

First and foremost, there is my wife, Sunny and my 4 step kids. I would
be shattererd to have to leave them behind and not be able to come back
to the US to live with them. Then there are all the great friends that
I have made on tour, in California and other parts of the country.
Maybe I'm being paranoid about the whole thing. But after being down
here for the last few years it would be tough to adjust to a "normal"
life again. I'm a very lucky guy to have had the opportunity to caddy
down here. I can only hope it continues.

My time spent with Notah Begay III was, once again, a great experience.
He is my all-time favorite boss. A classy guy who plays with alot of
desire and determination. I've never been around another player like
him. As I wrote to him yesterday, I hope our career paths cross again
sometime down the road. He did ask me to caddy for him for one more
event on the Nationwide Tour but it is the same week as the Disney
Classic in Orlando. Peter Lonard gave me a second week for my "tryout"
and it is the week of Disney. Notah told me that he would like me to
continue on with him but he understands the business aspect of my
decision to go with Lonard.

My mind is totally pre-occupied with my thoughts of the greencard
interview. It's making it difficult to focus on writing today. All I
can say is, please keep your fingers crossed for me and send me some
good vibes. I will write later this week to inform you as to what went
on in the interview. Take care.