When I arrived at the second hole of Thursday’s Cologuard Classic’s pro-am, I had dreams of lugging Joe Durant’s golf clubs all along the Omni Tucson National Resort course.
His real caddy, Brian Sullivan, needed about 30 seconds to size me up and determine that, no, that wasn’t going to be the case.
For one, Durant’s bag weighs more than 50 pounds. Worse, it’s not evenly weighted.
Over the next three holes, Sullivan carried the clubs while I talked to Durant — the real pro in our pro-am group — about his routine. He stuck to his regular routine, flying into Tucson on Tuesday to get ready to play.
“I like this course,” he said. “It has a traditional look and you’ve got to put the ball in the right spot. Iron play is important here.”
My first hole with Durant — the par-5, 535-yard No. 2 — served as my introduction to caddying. Sullivan pulled yellow golf balls from the bag and we were off. Sullivan cracked that the yellow balls “went further” than the white ones during testing. As I was to find out shortly, part of the caddy’s job is keeping his pro loose.
“We have a comfort level,” Durant said. “Sullivan’s even-keeled, whether it’s going good or bad. And that’s an important quality to have because lots of weeks I don’t play well; there are a lot more losses than Ws.
“Even when I’m playing well, I have to control my emotions. I can get too amped up. I have to breathe slower. A good caddy helps you stay in your routine.”
As Sullivan carried the bag — he’s right, the weight balance is tricky — I could tell he felt bad for me. He handed me a 3 wood to give to Durant for his second shot, 249 yards away from the pin.
Durant hit it squarely, placing the yellow ball just inches off the green.
“Sully” said I was 1 for 1. He handed me the putter and the towel. After Durant marked his ball, I washed the ball on the wet end of the towel and dried it on the other.
Durant asked me what I thought of his putt. I squatted near the mark to check the lie and helped him line up the putt: right to left, a little inside for the birdie.
My first hole as a fill-in caddy was a birdie.
Durant hit his next tee shot down the middle, and settled for a par after I helped him line up the putt.
On my last hole, we pulled out an 8 iron for the tee shot on the par-3, 170-yard No. 4. Durant’s approach shot landed on the green and set him up for another birdie. I pulled the flag out of the cup and held it.
Durant and I joked about my caddying gig following Friday’s first round. Durant played the three holes the same — birdie, par, birdie — as he did in our time together.
Durant said he expected more out of his regular caddy.
“I was almost going to fire Sully at that point,” he said.
