November 26, 2007
To Jeff Brown, TeachingKidsBusiness.com
From John Dormann, Head Coach San Jose State Women’s Golf
Dear Jeff,
There are many avenues and backgrounds that professional caddies come from. Some are groomed from their early years carrying bags at country clubs; many are good players that want to continue their love of the game and some just luck into it. I belong to the latter group. My wife, Dana Dormann, qualified for the LPGA tour in 1991 and I decided that I wanted to travel with her on the tour. A few months into our first season I was hired by Meg Mallon to be her caddy. Dana and I felt this was the best situation for us both personally and financially. As it turned out we were very right.
Two weeks after beginning with Meg she won the LPGA Championship with a final hole birdie. Two weeks later she won the Women’s Open at Colonial. All of a sudden I experienced two tremendous thrills within a month. I knew I had pretty good job security and a wonderful person to work for. Over the next six seasons Meg and I traveled the world together as she competed in various events. Those seven years were a period of time where I learned a great deal about golf, loyalty, consistency, dedication, patience and an appreciation for working in an incredibly competitive and yet friendly environment.
The life of professional caddy has many nuances to it. From the outside most people just see the golf. What they fail to realize is that being a caddy is about developing relationships. Whether you are working for a tour player or a weekend country club player the job of the caddy is to make sure that their golfer is comfortable both physically and mentally. The key to implementing this idea is to understand that every player is different. Some golfers want their caddy to be very involved in the decision making process on the course. Some prefer that the caddy be more of an emotional supporter providing encouragement throughout the round. Some players want their caddy to be a friend while others want them to be subservient. It is the ability of the caddy to figure out quickly and accurately what their player wants and needs that is most important. A caddy will become successful when they are willing to put their own ego aside and do what ever the player needs.
Loyalty, consistency and reliability are critical to being successful as a caddy and in life. It is all too common for a caddy to proclaim after their player has a great round, “we played great today” and when the player has a bad round pronounce, “She didn't play well today”. Those statements are made by a caddy that is not loyal to their player and does not understand the dynamic between player and caddy. The player always shoots the score. No caddy has ever hit a shot that helped a player win a tournament. The caddy is there to assist in any way possible for their player to either win a tournament or enjoy their round.
Being a caddy allows you to meet people from all walks of life. There are tremendous opportunities to be found in meeting these people. You never know when the person’s bag you are carrying might turn out to be your future boss. I have been in the company of many famous and wealthy people because of caddying in Pro-Am’s. I have been on the course with Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Bench, the CEO of JC Penny, politicians and many other influential people. You can also learn a great deal from these highly successful people just by spending a few hours on the golf course with them. Being a caddy is a great way to meet people.
Most importantly being a caddy gave me the training, knowledge and experience I needed in order to become a college golf coach. I am currently in my ninth year as a golf coach at San Jose State University in California. I truly enjoy imparting all that I learned on tour to my players. I still get to use my caddy skills coaching them in tournaments and I get to do it outside in the fresh air.
There is much to learn to become a good caddy and there is much to learn from being a caddy.
John Dormann
Head Coach
San Jose State University
Women’s Golf
