“C” Stands for Caddie…

C ss for Caddie
DIALED IN: Ed Mate, executive director of the Colorado Golf Association, works with an aspiring caddie. The CGA has made training programs for youngsters hoping to learn the craft a central part of its mission. Besides scholarship opportunities, trainees also learn how to interact and converse with others. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF COLORADO GOLF ASSOCIATION

…That’s good enough for me!

By Erin Gangloff, Managing Director of Programs, CGA

THE “C” IN CGA doesn’t only represent Colorado—it also stands for Caddies. The Colorado Golf Association has held caddies in high esteem since an early partnership with the Western Golf Association and the establishment of the Eisenhower-Evans Scholar House at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Over the years, that dedication to caddie programs has become a pillar of the CGA’s mission.

The CGA hosts an annual Caddie Summit with caddie clubs from across the state; in March, more than 18 clubs participated. The primary purpose of the Summit is to share ideas and best practices focusing on youth-based caddie programs.

These 18 clubs are giving 430 young men and women the opportunity to caddie. For many, it’s not only their first exposure to the game of golf, but also their first job. The experience of caddying teaches valuable lessons of hard work, self-reliance and perhaps, most importantly, how to carry on a conversation over four hours with that odd species better known as “an adult!”

It can also be a path to a college scholarship and a means of supporting their families financially.

So, what happens when a pandemic strikes right before the summer caddie season? On May 1st, the CGA hosted a special COVID-19 Caddie Summit to address the unique challenges brought on by social distancing and other health requirements we now face. All caddie clubs in attendance received information from the Western Golf Association on strategies for different forms of caddying that have been developed to protect both caddies and players.

For many programs, such as the Colorado Golf Association’s Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course, a new form of caddying known as “Forward Caddying” will be used as an alternative to bag carrying. Caddies will be armed with a rake, range finder and facial masks and will walk with the group to provide yardages, repair divots and ball marks, rake bunkers and otherwise assist the group and care for the course during the round—all while maintaining a safe distance with no direct contact with a player’s equipment.

“I believe this way of caddying might open people’s eyes to the value of a caddie without being intimidated with a one-on-one caddie,” said Ed Mate, CGA Executive Director.

Other clubs will be doing hole-specific caddying, where caddies will be assigned to a hole with defined duties such as providing yardages, bunker raking, ball spotting and attending to players on the putting green. This will be the method used at the new Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy.

“The Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy fully anticipates, and is looking forward to, implementing (hole specific) caddying to a large extent for the 2020 golf season,” said program director Mark Keibel. “That method will bring many benefits to the Academy kids and the Broadmoor as it will get the Academy kids familiar with their responsibilities and it will help the Broadmoor immensely with pace of play.”

After months of Zoom and video learning, there has never been a more important time to provide young people with the opportunity to get outside for fresh air and exercise. Equally important, caddying will provide the opportunity to earn money at a time when many of the minimum-wage summer jobs traditionally filled by teens have evaporated.

Those who have experienced taking a caddie can attest that nothing beats the conversations held with a young caddie during a round of golf. If you want to experience playing with a caddie, the CGA has recruited another great stable of caddies at our Academy chapters at CommonGround Golf Course, Meridian Golf Club and in Grand Junction at Tiara Rado and Lincoln Park Golf Courses.

This summer, the CGA will hold its annual fundraiser for its caddie and junior golf programs through its Dream Golf Vacation Raffle. Prizes include six Grand Prize Stay-and-Play packages to courses, including Bandon Dunes, Whistling Straits, Sand Valley and Teeth of the Dog. In addition to supporting junior golf programs in Colorado, a portion of this year’s proceeds will also be directed to Colorado’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Learn more at coloradogolf.org.


This article was also featured in the June 2020 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer.

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

Follow us on TwitterFacebook and Instagram.

GET COLORADO GOLF NEWS DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX