The Looper and the Wasp
The Looper and the Wasp
An encounter with a predatory insect is emblematic of how I need to improve.
Last week, while standing in the eighth fairway of the Alaqua Country Club during our second round, I fell. Like, completely wiped out on my butt fell.
Alyaa had just hit her second shot short of the green, and was standing about 10 feet in front of me when I saw her swatting at a wasp.
It refused to leave her alone, and she slowly backed towards me. The wasp followed, and as the noble caddie, I decided to take action.
I whipped the golf towel off of my shoulder and snapped it at the moving wasp. Unfortunately, the wasp was a little too speedy for me. I tried to follow it, but ended up doing a 180. My new waterproof OnClouds were not waterproof enough for this slide, as I completely lost my footing and slammed to the ground with Alyaa’s golf bag on my shoulders.
I knew it looked bad when everyone in the group asked me if I was ok.
I had the right idea in the situation, but just couldn’t execute.
I had a couple of moments like this throughout the week; moments where I slipped up as I learned the dynamics of caddying, specifically for Alyaa and more generally in a professional golf event.
1. I might’ve been a little too positive
I try my best to be a generally positive person. One of my favorite sayings is, “It’s a Great Day To Be A Tar Heel,” no matter how horrible my day actually is.
Last week, after a bad hole, I would often remark “we’re good” or “we’re going to be alright” when taking the putter from Alyaa. It wasn’t until we debriefed that I realized that it was not the right thing to say.
“We’re good” has nothing to do with the potential for a birdie on the next hole and has everything to do with the mind. We work as a team, but I don’t need to tell her how to think.
Alyaa is a professional athlete; she has the headspace she knows how to operate in. My goal is to not disrupt from that and do everything I can to let her be completely in control of her mental game.
The saying “less is more” is my friend.
2. My situational awareness must be 100%, 100% of the time
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again and again: there’s a reason these women play golf for a living. Their games are so finely-tuned and their consistency is absurd.
That means, though, that any distraction can completely mess up a swing.
A couple of times last week, Alyaa had to remind me that I was in a player’s field of vision, or that my shadow was even in a field of vision. Quite honestly, at those moments, I didn’t even realize that I was in a position to be distracting.
I felt bad, especially because I tried to be so cognizant at all times.
From my small fidgets to incorrectly putting a club in the wrong pocket of the bag, my actions can have a negative impact on how my (or any) player performs. I’ve got to always remember that at this level of golf, it’s about the little things and how they affect a player’s game.
3. Don’t overfill the golf bag’s pockets
I learned this the hard way. I was trying to put my sunscreen and 32 oz Nalgene back into Alyaa’s bag after she finished her putting practice, and I snapped the pocket’s zipper clean off.
It was humbling to slowly glance up at Alyaa as I realized what I had done. Alyaa was nice enough to say that it wasn’t a big deal, but it’s a bad look to break the golf bag during your fourth day on the job.
The bag did break two other times while I was carrying it, the same strap tore on both Friday and Saturday. I’d like to say it wasn’t entirely my fault, considering it’s an older bag, but it still was not the best feeling to hear “riiiiiiip” as I walked between holes.
New week, new opportunity
With Alyaa’s feedback and some advice from a caddie friend, I know that this week I’ll be more aware of my surroundings, more real with my words, and keep my thoughts concise as we take on the Inova Mission Hills Resort & Club Championship.
Weather-permitting, Alyaa, Gigi Stoll, and Selena Costabile will be hitting their first-round tee shots at 8:25 am ET this morning. Tomorrow, their shots will be in the air starting at 1:25 pm ET off of the 10th tee.
Here’s the link to the live leaderboard: Inova Mission Hills Resort & Club Championship.
As always, I will try to post updates on my Looper’s Line Instagram account.
The Epson Tour’s Twitter and Instagram are active as well.
We’ll see how this goes. I’ll have more for you next week.
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.
Special thanks to Bethany Phillis for serving as my creative project mentor. Additional thanks to Caroline Maness for designing Looper’s Line’s logo.