RIP Lance Ten Broeck

[Jim O’Kane]

Not GCA, and not sure if tolerated (please remove if need be), but I wanted to give a little public condolence, respect and spirit to one of the good guys that flew under the radar a bit to most folks.

Lance and his brother Rick were very well known around the Chicago area and well respected for their games.

I'd like to share a brief story about Lance.  I did not know the guy--I wish I did. He as about 12 years older than me, but I think, from the little I know, we were cut from the same cloth, more or less.

I remember being at the IL State Amateur in Peoria. I was a sophomore in HS. I wasn't playing particularly well. My scores started dipping into the 80's. I was frustrated. I didn't want to go.

I remember being on the range. A few slots down this guy was hitting balls and they were just hissing off the club face. I asked the guy next to me who that was. It was Lance. Now I finally knew what the guy looked like.

But that swing, man. It was like velvet. So, natural. It was pretty. It was fluid.

I scrapped all these things I had been working on trying to fix my game. I had just under 2 hours until my tee time, to fix it.

I thought I'd try to imitate his swing. I slowed it down a little, stood up a little more, then just tried to give it a smooth, rhythmic cadence.

I shot 73 that day.

That was before he was crowned Last Call Lance, the gypsy travel from tour to tour, the incredible feat of caddying and playing in the same tournament, and the Parnevik, Els, etc. days.

He was one of the good ones.

Even though it's not GCA...I thought he should be mentioned here, and kind of surprised not to see anyone else mentioning it.

Much love and respect to his family and friends.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/pga/2023/05/01/pga-player-turned-caddie-lance-ten-broeck-dead-at-67/70173145007/

[David_Tepper]

Great article. Thanks for the post and the link.

[John Blain]

Great article. Thanks for the post and the link.

I agree. Thank you for posting. There likely will never be anyone like Lance coming along anytime soon or even in our lifetime.  I can also promise you there will never, ever be anyone ever again who will caddy and play in the same PGA Tour event.
RIP Lance.

[PCCraig]

I played a couple of rounds in an Illinois state tournament with Lance 20+ years ago. I was told he was a great player but wasn't prepared for his quality of ball striking...pretty incredible. Regrettably I wasn't able to spend any time in the bar with him. Nice to read all the tributes on him the last few days.

[Joe Zucker]

Great article. Thanks for the post and the link.

I agree. Thank you for posting. There likely will never be anyone like Lance coming along anytime soon or even in our lifetime.  I can also promise you there will never, ever be anyone ever again who will caddy and play in the same PGA Tour event.
RIP Lance.

I believe Edoardo Molinari did it at the Masters, but in the reverse order. Caddied for his brother when he qualified there off his US Am win, then played subsequently. 

[Rob Marshall]

Lance did it in the same tournament not different years

[J_ Crisham]

    As a young man I caddied for Lance on occasion at Beverly. He was the best loop ever. He would come home from the tour and play casual rounds with his father Willis, brothers Ricky and Jimmy. Jimmy was arguably the best player in the family. They would beat balls on the range which we called the Hill. Lance could work a 1 iron with ease. When he was in his late 20's Lance looked like a movie star- tall , tan, with a relaxed smile. He would go around Bev which was a pretty tough track and throw up an effortless 67. The only thing you had to do was carry the bag for Lance as he knew the greens and yardages by heart.
    Fast forward 25 years and I became a member at Bev. By now Lance was pretty much caddying full time on the Tour. When he would return to Bev you would see him and Scott and Ricky play on occasion. Lance always had a smile and a minute to visit in the  Men's grill room. He was always a good guy who lived his life the way he wanted to. I will miss seeing him at Bev.

[Michael Robin]

In 1984, I was at the University of Miami, and I was headed home for spring break at the Miami Airport and there was a dude there with wavy hair and jeans wearing the exact same Ashworth stripped shirt that I was. I said “Nice Shirt” he said “I like where yours is from” which had a Riviera logo on it. His just had the Ashworth logo on it, I said “Where is yours from?” “They give me mine.” I said what’s your name, he said “Lance Ten Broeck” he put out his hand and we sat and chatted about his good play that year. My plane left first, said “Hope to see you in the winner circle soon” and went to my gate. He won the Magnolia Classic that year. Was really personable and funny to a college kid who played golf and knew who he was. RIP Lance.