Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2022 - 31

CADDIE CORNER
Paying It Forward
I
t's par for the course in the Minnesota Evans Scholar program
that " it only takes one caring adult to change a young
person's life and make a difference in the world. " This has
been proven countless times at caddie programs across the
state, and particularly at the Elk River Golf Club, thanks to
Adam Sharratt. Sharratt, who grew up caddying at Oak Ridge
Country Club in Hopkins and has been a youth hockey coach
in Elk River for the past 14 years, is a member at Elk River GC
and cares deeply about helping youth, which is why he launched
a caddie program at the semi-private club in 2018.
" The thought of starting the program was to take one of the
best experiences I had as a kid (caddieing) and connect the
membership at the club with the youth of the community. I
knew about the Evans Scholarship but had no idea how the caddie
program would be received. " Sharratt said.
As it turns out, many of the members had caddied when
they were younger and saw the potential of the program. This
Spring, seven members took time out of their days to meet the
caddies, offer genuine advice and help with training, which
was an encouraging change from four years ago when Sharratt
trained the caddies himself. Another 10 members are committed
to being Caddie Ambassadors, who are expected to take caddies
as often as possible, spread the word of the caddie program,
and mentor the youth caddies. There has been a lot of progress
in the caddie program over the last four years due to the commitment
from the membership and youth of Elk River.
The ultimate goal of starting the caddie program is to have as
many Elk River youth community members receive the Evans
Scholarship as possible but more broadly, Sharratt wanted to
strengthen the bond between the club and the community by
giving caddies the opportunity to interact with leaders in the
community. The new class of caddies this year is heavily made
up of youth golfers who play multiple sports in Elk River and
is as diverse as the program has ever been. They make it a goal
to recruit 15 female caddies each year and are on track to meet
that objective.
" All in all, our program directly resembles the values and
demographics of our community, " Sharratt adds.
Since the program was started, they have amassed 500 youth
caddie loops. This year alone, their goal is to have 500 caddie loops,
a goal they believe is attainable as they are opening the caddie program
to the public, whereas in years past it was only available to the
membership. Sharratt believes that by opening the caddie program
to public play, the caddies will be exposed to more caddie opportunities
and people within the community. While the numeric goal is
500 loops, there are other success factors.
" Just to look out at the course on a weekend afternoon and
see the red bibs walking the course, seeing 20-30 caddies carrying
bags in a tournament or seeing a group of eight walk up the
18th hole makes this program a success. Metrics can be put in
place to measure success of the program, but in our eyes, you
can just look out and see it, " Sharratt explained.
Jack Mendesh is the MGA's caddie development manager, and can be
reached at caddie@mngolf.org.
mngolf.org
Summer 2022 MINNESOTAGOLFER
31
* BY JACK MENDESH *
Sharratt playing a round of golf
with a caddie at Elk River GC.
" All in all, our program directly
resembles the values and
demographics of our community. "
-Adam Sharratt
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2022
