Getting in the Loop

What did you do on your summer vacation? Schoolchildren have had to answer this question since the gutta-percha replaced the feathery. I’ll bet even Old Tom Morris had to write an essay on this subject when he returned from summer holiday as a lad in St. Andrews.

Here in Colorado a group of 8th and 9th graders will have a lot to say (and even more to show) after their 10-week summer break. They are the lucky, hardworking participants in the Colorado Golf Association’s Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy.

Founded in 2012 at the CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course, The Solich Caddie and Leadership Academy began with a vision to create opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills and enhance character through a foundation built around caddying. The program took shape under the guidance of the CGA with early investment from brothers Duffy and George Solich—two Evans Scholar alumni who wanted to give back.

Fast forward five years, the program has doubled in participants at CommonGround, with a second chapter added in 2015 at Meridian Golf Club. Boys and girls (target ages of 14-15) are identified based on their financial need, strong academics, work ethic and character. Once selected, caddies are put through an orientation process followed by basic caddie training. Academy caddies are required to caddie a minimum of six to eight rounds every two weeks, attend weekly leadership training, volunteer for CGA community outreach programs and complete a weekly work log.

If caddies meet these requirements, they receive an educational grant of $200 ($400 per month, total of $1,200 over the course of the summer). CommonGround makes available (at no cost to the golfer) six days a week from late May through mid-August. Golfers may request one in advance but caddies are available on a stand-by basis. Following the completion of this two-year program, the Academy places caddies into an existing and successful caddie program at Denver Metro Area course.

Two current Solich caddies who have felt the deep impact of this program are siblings, Rico and Eliannah, a freshman and sophomore respectively, at Regis Jesuit High School. Both learned about the program while attending Aurora Academy—an Aurora Public School located across the street from CommonGround. They both shared how the program has helped them on the course and in the classroom.

“Caddying has taught me how to work in a group by supporting the other caddies in the group,” notes Eliannah, whose exposure to golf inspired her to take it up. She began playing after her first summer as a caddie and made the varsity golf team as a freshman at Regis.

This summer, her brother Rico will become the first Solich Caddie to move from the Academy to Castle Pines Golf Club—a jump that’s akin to shifting from single-A ball to the major leagues. But Rico has received nothing but support from his fellow caddies at Castle Pines. “All of them have gone out of their way to help me learn and see me succeed,” he reports.

The Solich Academy plans to grow and increase the number of caddies moving into other caddie clubs and, as a byproduct, produce more applicants for the coveted Evans Scholarship administered by the Western Golf Association. To date, nine Solich Academy graduates have gone on to receive the Evans Scholarship at the University of Colorado.

Based on current trends, roughly 10 percent of Solich caddies will receive the Evans Scholarship, but 100 percent will benefit from a summer spent on the golf course and the many life lessons that come with it. At the top of that list is the best life-skill in the world, a first job! Oh, and a pretty good topic for an essay.

Ed Mate is executive director of the Colorado Golf Association.

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Dream Golf for Kids’ Dreams

Support the Solich Caddie and Leadership Academy by participating in the Bandon Dunes Dream Golf Vacation Raffle. Thanks to a generous donation from Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, the nation’s premier “walking only” golf destination, golfers purchasing a $20 raffle ticket are eligible to win a trip for two that includes a three-night stay at Bandon’s “Chrome Lofts” as well as six rounds of golf with caddies at any of their six exclusive courses—plus $1,000 toward food and transportation. The timing coincides with the return of United Airlines’ non-stop service between Denver and North Bend, Oregon. What could be better than supporting Colorado caddies by entering to win 108 holes of golf at world-famous Bandon Dunes? Purchase raffle tickets at CommonGround Golf Course or online at coloradogolf.org. Winner will be selected August 2.

This article appears in the July 2016 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer.

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