We have spent some time on these pages discussing caddies - the good ones, the bad ones - how a good caddie can make a wonderful golf experience even better, while a bad one can take away from the most special of days.
I had a great day yesterday and an even better caddie and for that I nominate GCA's own Tim Bert for "Caddie of the Year."
As many of you know, we are in the midst of a long summer of long Hikes for charity - all of this started by Jim Colton and his Hundred Hole Hikes.
Yesterday, Howard Riefs and I completed our HHH at the Kingsley Club. Last year Tim Bert completed the Hike with me (along with fellow GCAer's Andrew Lewis, Matt Schmidt, and Bill Seitz), but this year he wasn't able to commit to the Hike. As luck would have it, Tim along with Bill and Jud Tigerman, were at the club this weekend for our Member/Member. They all decided to stay an extra day to be there for the Hike - and for that I am very grateful - we had an amazing two days at a place we all love very much.
Given our tee time of 5.15a, Tim knew that getting a caddie would be tough - so he volunteered to loop for me. I anticipated it just being for the first round, but the first 18 turned in 36, then 54, 72, and you get the picture. In the end, Tim caddied for me for all 126 holes - I am just guessing but I would wager that Tim maybe the first caddie to loop for the same golfer for the entire day of a HHH...
It goes without saying that Tim was a great caddie and made my Hike all the more memorable. Tim was uniquely qualified for the task yesterday - certainly over-qualified for the man he had to loop for.
Tim won last year's HHH Ferebee Trophy - an award that goes to the hiker that goes above and beyond and best exemplifies the spirit and intent of the Hundred Hole Hike. Tim is also the author of one of the GCA's definitive threads on The Kingsley Club -
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37381.0.htmlSo, I don't think I could have had anyone better on the bag.
There are many highlights from my Hike with Tim, but perhaps my favorite was this exchange on our 115th hole of the day. By this point, I had converted over to my set of T. Stewart hickories, I had lost about five pounds, changed shirts four times, socks six times, and shoes three times. I was quickly losing interest (truthfully, already lost some interest), probably in some sort of early dehydration, and in desperate need of a shower and a beer.
Here is how our exchange went when I tried to pull a club for an approach shot...
CH: Just give me the Spade Mashie.
TB: It looks more like a Mashie to me...
CH: Spade Mashie.
TB: I like the Mashie.
I could do nothing more than laugh...
Here are some photos from a great day for a great cause with a great friend along for the walk...
From our last nine holes together, by this point I had dropped to just four clubs - back to the modern clubs as well - 4 hybrid, 6 iron, 8 iron (on Tim's insistence), and putter. By the way, he was right to bring along the 8...
Tim just before his seventh and last trek up the hill between #12 and #13
Tim snapping a quick photo of me on the tee of our 126th hole, waiting for the group in front to clear...
My second to last putt of the day - Tim pulling for me to make it...
Tim and me on the first tee at Kingsley, right before we started our 100th hole together. Note the fact that Tim caddied the entire 126 holes in pants, a cotton t-shirt under his polo, and one pair of Kentwool socks...
Finished - 126 in the books, great memories, and a lot of money for a great cause...
It is important to note - perhaps the most important thing to note - that not only did Tim carry my bag and me for the whole day - that instead of asking for a tip at the end of the seventh round, he made a great donation to the Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center on my behalf.
Tim, thanks for a great day...