So Long, Farewell (For Now)
Time to go sit behind some desks in Chapel Hill!
I was built for my high school job. I was a cart guy at Kenmure Country Club in Flat Rock, NC. I picked the driving range, filled countless sand bottles, and made sure that all of the club’s golf carts were squeaky clean.
The best part of the job, though? Interacting with all of the members and becoming genuine friends with a few of them in my two years on the job. I spent countless hours joking around about rival sports teams with dozens of the members and exchanged numerous trivia questions with my friend, Mr. Buntin (I still have never been paid out for my trivia wins).
Last Tuesday, less than 36 hours after I arrived home from caddying in my last tournament of the summer, I went back to Kenmure and played golf with Mr. Buntin, Mr. Quackenbush, and Mr. Skelton. This is not an uncommon thing for me, when I’m back in Hendersonville I like to take as many chances as I can to reconnect with my older friends and enjoy the splendors of the golf course.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of eating lunch with my good friend Mr. Dodge.
It is kind of crazy, though, that I can consider myself friends with people that are triple (and some of them are even quadruple) my age. I text Mr. Buntin frequently, we still exchange trivia questions and share our takes on the current events of the day. He’s given me life advice and left me with countless stories from his past that I’ll hold in the years to come.
Without golf, I wouldn’t have these meaningful relationships.
Without golf, I wouldn’t have had this life-changing summer
Alyaa Abdulghany is currently no. 499 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.
Throughout my time carrying her bag, I was consistently in awe of the fact that I was working for one of the world’s best golfers. I saw her execute exceptionally challenging shots with a calm demeanor and intense focus.
That was cool and all, but what I am really grateful for is kindness and her mentorship as I learned the ins and outs of carrying her bag. I can confidently say we became genuine friends as the summer progressed.
We shared countless laughs on and off the golf course and conversed on so many different topics. Everything from our perspectives on politics, to stories from college, to the great books we’ve been fortunate to read.
Most importantly, though, Alyaa taught me about life.
She has one of the strongest work ethics of anyone I’ve ever seen. After our worst round together, a five-over 76 that included a number of missed putts, we headed directly to the putting green. There was no break, Alyaa immediately practiced putting for over an hour.
That single experience exemplified the power of strong discipline as well. When things don’t go your way or when you have a bad day, there’s no sense in pouting about it. There’s also no sense in blowing things up and changing everything. Alyaa worked on her same drills, and knew that one bad day wasn’t worth forgetting everything she’s known about her putting for years.
Even after great days on the course, there was always practice. Alyaa’s process is consistent, it’s taken her to this point and I know that it will take her much further. I was mesmerized by the consistency and the sheer knowledge she has about her own game.
Alyaa did tell me numerous times in the first few weeks that I didn’t have to stay while she practiced, but leaving was never an option that I considered. To her, the practice is normal, but to me, it exemplified the love that she holds for the game of golf. It’s apt for my own life.
Alyaa graduated from USC with a business degree, so she could be sitting at a desk somewhere making an exorbitant amount of money. Instead, she chooses to be in places like French Lick, Indiana and Harris, Michigan, playing for small purses and little recognition. She grinds away in (relative) obscurity, working so hard each and every day for a chance to reach the peaks of professional golf. It’s not easy, with the constant travel, long hours, poor weather, and supreme difficulty of the sport, but she loves it.
This love for the game is true for most people I met this summer
A prime example is Alex Valer, who’s currently on the bag for Gigi Stoll. Alex became my closest caddie friend. Alex taught me a lot about how to work with your player through ups and downs and demonstrated the ever-changing dynamics of caddying. He’s got a great outlook on life and truly loves what he’s doing. Despite this, Alex has had his rough patches in the game, he even took some time off before coming back on tour to caddie for Gigi in the past two years.
Yet, at the end of the day, he still remembers the supreme feeling of accomplishment and passion when he first picked up a golf club as a 13-year old skateboarder in Arizona. When his buddies took him out to the golf course on that fateful day, he thought it was stupid. Alex sat out the first few holes before finally asking for a club (Wilson driver, steel shaft) and smashing a ball right down the middle of the fairway.
Like most of us who experience that intoxicating feeling, Alex has been “addicted ever since.”
I’m sure people like Gareth Jack, Dave & Sue Warren, Joe LaCava, Richard Dodge, Ellie Slama, Peter & Juliet Watson, Bones Mackay, Lane Wilbur, Heather Lin, Erik & Gina Martin, Austin Harris, Ted Scott, Russ Woods, Rebecca Marino, and so many others around the world would say the exact same thing.
There’s just something about the perseverance this sport calls for and the sheer joy it provides that’s hard to be matched by the vast majority of things we’re so fortunate to experience as humans (like celebrating the birth of a child).
Golf is a great metaphor for life
I learned how to live this summer. I had to make my own travel plans and provide for my own food (except for when Cassie Porter’s mom thought that my egg wrap wasn’t substantial enough for a dinner). I had to make decisions on how to spend my money and where to stay and what the smartest and safest travel plans were.
I got so much better at dealing with whatever hand life dealt me.
Thunderstorms, a sketchy AirBnB after my poor planning, a raft of flight cancellations and delays along with many other situations that were just plain “bleh.”
I was able to use golf as a metaphor for situations that everyone faces on the daily. When the moment calls for execution, it’s the planning and preparation and dedication and drive that define your response to whatever challenge you face.
If I didn’t pack extra towels in a watertight bag, I was the one to blame if it rained and Alyaa’s clubs got soaked. It’s just like if I don’t study enough for an economics test, I’m the one to blame if I get a terrible grade.
It’s about controlling my emotions, allowing myself to express them when necessary but never letting them cloud my judgment or my ability to pick myself up when things don’t go my way.
I’m now much better equipped to handle life after college and understand the steps required to ensure that I set myself up for the best chance of success in the future.
I don’t know everything about life, of course, and that’s the point. Just like in golf, there’s always new lessons to learn or breaks that won’t go your way. Without them, things would be pretty darn boring.
It’s why we should prepare for anything, and do everything we can to enjoy the ride.
So, in all of this, where’s the heart of golf?
My stated goal for the summer was to search for the heart of golf, and maybe even find it.
As I went from Orlando to Lincolnton to the UP of Michigan to Scotland to French Lick (among other stops), I realized that there’s no singular “heart of golf.” It simply doesn’t exist.
There’s no unifying force that we can all coalesce around and lift up as the holy grail of the world’s collective golfing experience. We see that on a global scale with the PGA-LIV battle, and we see that at our home courses with debates on whether or not to keep the flag in the hole when putting.
That’s because everyone in the sport has their own reasons for playing. They have their own unique love for the game. They have their own passionate and unending battles with this magnificent sport.
Everyone has their own heart for golf.
Is that conclusion a little cheesy? Yes.
But is it true? I think so.
Is it why golf is so special? Absolutely.
My heart for golf, as we know, centers around the people involved in and adjacent to the sport. Golf has opened some fantastic doors for me and it made this summer one of my best.
I love this sport, and this isn’t the last you’ll be hearing from me in this space.
In the meantime, I have just one thing to say:
Thank you.
On an exciting note, my sister Jenna moves into her freshman dorm at UNC-Charlotte today. Everyone say, “congratulations, Jenna!” and if you’ve got any advice for her, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
Questions, comments, ideas, and feedback can be directed to jpatterson@unc.edu. You can find me on Twitter @JakeWPatt or my Instagram @Loopers_Line. If you really want to get to know me, check out my LinkedIn.
Thank you to Bethany Phillis for serving as my creative project mentor and to Caroline Maness for designing Looper’s Line’s logo. Additional thanks to everyone who made this summer as spectacular as it was. Y’all mean the world to me. And, I can’t thank the Morehead-Cain Foundation enough for providing me the opportunity to pursue a dream of mine.
Such a great piece man. Best of luck this year.
Great summer for you Jake!
Enjoyed all your posts.
Good luck at NC this year.
Dr Hawkins 😃