Alexander Checks In With First Diary Installment From Barbados
Thursday, December 7, 2006 | Men's Golf
Editor's note: Buddy Alexander, who is the men's golf coach at the University of Florida, is caddying for one of his former players, Camilo Villegas, as he represents Colombia in the World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup this week. Alexander will be writing about the experience daily for PGATOUR.com. This is his first installment.
It is a little different working for Camilo this week. Obviously, he played for me for four years. While he was at Florida, I tried to make him a better player, and he certainly had the kind of commitment it takes to excel. Now that he's playing professional golf, there's not much for me to teach him anymore. Maybe a few life lessons here and there, but he knows what he is doing. Carrying his bag this week is going to be fun for me, though. I'll get to see first-hand how much he's progressed as a player and as a person.
I caddied for Mike Donald at THE PLAYERS Championship years ago. He played for me at Georgia Southern and is a good friend. But just like golf at this level is more sophisticated, caddying is a little more sophisticated, too. The expectations are a little different. It's a busy job. There's a lot to do. The practice rounds are the least enjoyable part of it. You're hitting extra shots, extra chips, extra putts and trying to figure out the lay of the land. Once you get to the competition, now you've only got one ball -- even thought it's a little more important one -- and one yardage to get. Add in the weather we had today, and the variables increase. You have to hold the umbrella and keep the towel dry. At the sixth hole, the wind was blowing about 50 or 60 miles an hour. I was trying to keep the clubs dry, and he could hardly hold the umbrella steady. Fortunately, though, the rain came and went. It wasn't like we got a little soaked and we stayed soaked all day. And they are kind enough to have plenty of towels for us.
People who don't really understand the game probably have a lack of respect for what the caddies do and how hard the job is. If a spectator ever took the time to watch the caddy and see all that he doing out there, he or she would probably be amazed. It's a little like playing chess -- you're always thinking a move or two ahead. You are thinking about what you need to do next, and about staying within protocol.
And I can tell you without any hesitation that Camilo did not ask me to do a lot of the things that he would expect of his real caddy. They are a team, and they've been doing this a long time. I didn't chart the course nearly as well as his normal guy would have. For example, there are some sprinklers out here that are hard to define. I'll bet you the professional caddies were out on the golf course and getting those exact spots. But I am not getting paid this week to do that. In fact, I'm not getting paid at all. But when you do anything in life to the N-th degree like the pros have to do, their caddies had better be prepared.
This whole thing evolved because my wife, Joan, who is a PGA TOUR media official, was working the Barbados World Cup and asked me if I wanted to go with her. She said, you know, Camilo might get to play. I got to thinking about it and decided to ask him if I could caddy for him if he got in the field. I like the beach, but I can get stir crazy sitting there for seven days. I watch golf for a living so for me just going to a tournament isn't all that entertaining. As a caddy, though, you're part of the mix. So that's kind of the way it materialized. At the end of the week, there may be one or two things I see that I can suggest to him -- and it that happens, it will be a win-win for all of us. But it won't be the expertise of the caddy!
