Very cool that there’s an event on that tour in your area, and even cooler that you volunteered and got to interact so closely with those players. I can’t imagine having such a chance so quickly at a bigger (ie, televised) tour event.

What’s interesting is that anyone who watches The Golf Channel and who’s seen Big Break shows would probably recognize as many players on that tour as at an LPGA or Nationwide event. Looking at the results, I see that Kim Welch and Ashley Prange had really good rounds on Sunday, not so much for Bri Vega and Susan Choi…

The way I got involved was by checking the tournament Web site (linked through duramedfuturestour.com) continually until they put up the call for volunteers, about two months before the tournament. It seems they don’t usually fill all the available positions so you’re virtually assured of getting the job you want.

I found I got really involved with my golfers, even though they won’t talk much, cheering good shots and the occasional fist-bump for a great putt. Anyway, if you love watching golf and have participated enough that you understand “pace of play,” I don’t think it gets any better than this.

starting the fourth paragraph of my very detailed response, it disappeared. CG, I’ll respond in a day or so, when I stop being irritated.

CG, you are not far wrong on how it works, with some variations.

On Day One, two of my players had their father’s carrying their bags (more on that later). On Day Two, one father was carrying the bag. And on Day Three, one player had a professional caddy. That simplified things considerably.

The general flow was after each player had hit her tee shot, I’d drive to the nearest ball and wait for that golfer to arrive. She’d pick one, two or three clubs from her bag, then I’d go to the next ball and wait for the player to hit her shot. She would then grab one, two or three clubs and I’d go back to the first golfer who was already moving to where her second shot landed. If I’d had a third golfer, the same situation would have applied. It only takes a hole or two to get into the flow.

Basically, think about playing a round where it’s cart path only and your ball is across the fairway—you grab a handful of clubs and walk to your ball, hoping you have the correct one. The difference is that on this tour, every golfer without someone on their bag goes through that on every shot of every tournament all season long. No wonder they say a good caddy can take several strokes off any given round.

Anyway, of the three father/caddies I had, two were supportive of their daughters but basically let them play their game. The third felt obligated to comment on about every shot. I wanted to strangle him. The girl is still on the Tour so it will be interesting to see if the old man continues to act the way he did last year.

Since the event near you is limited field, I don’t know if the situation will be the same. For golfer’s view I’d suggest reading http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/CollegeCorner.asp. About halfway down there’s a question about caddies. Volunteering for the FUTURES Tour was one of the most fun things I did last summer—I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.

Most of the golfers use carry bags anyway, and they’re young and strong. I think they’d probably throw the clubs on their backs and go for a walk.