I just returned from my fifth trip to Bandon Dunes. Three of my trips have been in the company of 60 Evans Scholars Foundation donors. Mike Keiser has hosted all of these outings and has very generously contributed free golf and lodging for each of the participants. During this three-day golfapalooza, I had occasion to reflect upon the nature of the game of golf and how it touches men of vision like Chick Evans and Mike Keiser, generations apart to make such meaningful contributions to society, stimulated primarily by a gaping heart and an understanding of the importance of helping a kid climb up a couple rungs on the ladder of life.
The Evans Scholarship has been around since the 1930's. It was Chick Evans' concept to pool money to help young caddies get a college education. The first effort was achieved by the generous donations of a handful of patrons of the game who were quite familiar with Evans. Chick, of course, was the ultimate gentleman amateur golfer, a man who competed across the pond and across the decades. He began his love affair with golf as a caddie. Over the years, the Evans Scholars Foundation has given a free college education to thousands and thousands of young boys and girls, many of whom would likely never have had the opportunity for higher education. Every single recipient of the "Evans" will tell you that opening the letter announcing the grant of the scholarship opened up the world to them and changed their lives.
Mike Keiser, as we all know, was a successful businessman in the greeting card business before he opened Bandon Dunes. But his passion for the game, like Chick Evans' was nurtured by the greatest summer job going. Mike Keiser was a caddie as a young man. He grabbed a sandwich, kissed his Mom goodbye and got on his bike and rode to the golf course in Buffalo. Mike would tell you that the lessons that he learned as a caddie stuck with him through all of his years as a businessman.
Most men in his position, after his company was sold, would buy an estate here and there, join a club or five and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Not Mike Keiser. He took his newfound passion for golf into an obsession that converted into a vision for bringing the game of links golf, in as pure a state as possible, to the United States of America. To say that he has succeeded is the apogee of understatement. Today, Bandon Dunes features five golf courses, extensive if understated lodging, terrfic food and beverage service, all in a location that is frankly unparalleled in its beauty and in its scope. And, I hasten to mention, at the height of the season, Bandon has approximately 400 caddies, because it is a walking only resort. Before even getting to his direct philanthropic leadership within the ESF, it merits mention that Mike has generously opened his resort to multiple USGA championships. This is a man who does more than provide lip service about growing the game. Bandon Dunes is an incubator for all that is good about the game of golf.
Back to the ESF. In the years that he has been active within the ESF, Mike has singlehandedly transformed the messaging of the ESF, culminating with something called the Match Play challenge. Mike and five other Evans donors contributed a total of nearly $2 million dollars and challenged the rest of the WGA directors to match that amount. "I am a caddie," is the tagline for the campaign that accompanies the Match Play challenge. The response has been overwhelming, but Mike is not satisfied. He is intimately involved in efforts to continue to expand not only the fundraising for the organization, but other ways to benefit youth short of a full tuition scholarship.
When Chick Evans died, the scholarship that bears his name was already a bit of an institution. The gift of the Evans was a big part of the creative process that led to the movie, "Caddyshack", which was based on the caddie exploits of Chicago's Murray brothers, one of whom attended college on the Evans Scholarship. But now, with the generosity and leadership of Mike Keiser, the ESF is poised to continue on its mission and educate even more caddies and help more caddies than ever before. From Chick Evans to Mike Keiser, who somehow share the same beating, philanthropic, golf-loving heart, the dream of the Evans Scholarship continues, with nearly one thousand in college today.
Thanks, Chick. Thanks, Mike.