Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021 - 25

CADDIE CORNER
Caddying Bounces Back
Post COVID-19 Restrictions
I
t takes a " village " to run a successful caddie program, requiring
buy-in from all levels of a club. With a decline in both
caddie rounds and Evans Scholars finalists this past year, there
was work to be done at the club level to restore Minnesota's rich
caddie tradition. Begun last winter, the work was spearheaded
by club staff, members and caddies at all 20 MGA caddie clubs
in the state. As of mid-summer, caddie
rounds were already ahead of total caddie
rounds for all of 2020 (COVID-19
restrictions hit caddie programs below
the belt).
The recent growth in caddie loops
has been possible because of individuals
like Joe Komarek, a new Western
Golf Association director at Golden
Valley Country Club. Golden Valley is
historically a top club in the state for the
Evans Scholars, with eight current Evans
Scholars and 49 Alumni since 1960. The
caddie program at Golden Valley saw a
severe decline in 2020 due to COVID19.
This is where Joe Komarek stepped
in and made a difference. Komarek has
a history serving and growing struggling
organizations, especially investing
passionately into youth programs and
sports coaching.
" I found an organization in the
Evans Scholars that believes in hard
work, commitment, showing up, being
accountable,
personal growth and
responsibility. That is so refreshing to
me because they are the high character
values that we taught in the Wayzata
baseball program, " Komarek said.
Driven by his passion, he's transformed
the caddie program back into
* BY JACK MENDESH *
encourages others to follow the same game plan. Golden Valley
has more than 40 caddies getting regular loops, and the club has
posted five-fold more loops than all last year.
Minnesota Valley Country Club took a fresh approach to their
caddie recruiting. Previously, the Bloomington club trained up to
100 caddies per summer to only retain 20 caddies by the end of
the year, leaving parents and caddies dissatisfied.
This season, the caddie program
manager, Jason Gill, with assistance from
several dedicated members, interviewed
each caddie that applied for the position
to find 25 caddies that would be the right
fit for the program.
Northland Country Club has totally
revamped their caddie program under
new head golf professional Connor
Bergman. He was previously an assistant
at Interlachen Country Club and
has taken a similar approach to how
Interlachen runs their program.
" By updating our rates, this led us to
" I found an organization
in the Evans Scholars that
believes in hard work,
commitment, showing up,
being accountable, personal
growth and responsibility.
That is so refreshing to
me because they are the
high character values that
we taught in the Wayzata
baseball program. "
-Joe Komarek
one of the top programs in the state.
" We have had buy-in from our golf
shop and head pro, Henry Orme, our board of directors, and most
importantly, we have focused on the caddie experience. I want to
make sure that our caddies are not second-class citizens and bring
tremendous value to the member experience. And of course, we
will work hard and have fun while listening to our caddies' needs. "
He believes this recipe has made the resurgence possible and
attract higher-achieving young people to
our program. When we raise our rates,
the service levels and expectations must
grow with that. Noah Schottenbauer, our
caddie manager, has done a tremendous
job training our caddie team members, "
Bergman said.
Finally, thanks to one of its members,
Elk River Golf Club has recently started
a successful caddie program. Adam
Sharratt built the program from scratch,
taking a grass-roots approach by focusing
on recruiting local high-school golfers
who enjoy the game of golf.
Supporting a caddie program is no
gimme: the hallmarks of a successful club
caddie program include an individual
staffer or member whose passion carries
the program from concept to reality, a flexible approach, and " it
takes a village " to ensure the caddie candidate pool and demand
for loops is sustainable from season to season.
Jack Mendesh is the MGA's caddie program manager, and can be
reached at caddie@mngolf.org.
mngolf.org
Fall 2021 MINNESOTAGOLFER
25
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2021

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