My Golf Source
Attention Golf Enthusiasts! Level up your golf game with hosts Darren Penquite and Noah Horstman, PGA as they keep you up to date on the latest trends, equipment, training aids and more. Learn tips and tricks from PGA Professionals to lower your score and grow your love for the game of golf.
My Golf Source
From Bandon Dunes To Palm Springs: The Hidden Life Of A Luxury Club Caddy
We shift from fall travel plans and Golf Garage updates to a deep dive on the craft of caddying with guest Corey Maranau, exploring service, psychology, and how small habits change scores. We share stories from Bandon Dunes to Palm Springs, plus practical tips for firm greens and faster speed.
• redefining vacation mindset and why environment shapes play
• operations update on the Golf Garage and a point of sale change
• new program Bourbon and Bombs for speed gains and community
• mental triggers, light drinks, and routine cues that free the swing
• what a good caddy does beyond numbers and green reads
• Corey’s path from Bandon Dunes to desert private clubs
• double-bagging mechanics, caddy games, and daily grind
• service excellence lessons from Madison Club and how we apply them
• who actually breaks 90 at elite clubs and why fun still wins
• Muni Madness under the lights and the joy of fast group play
• firm desert greens prep and landing spot strategy
• coaching boundaries, common amateur faults, and actionable fixes
• integrity in golf, dealing with tantrums, and earning trust
• favorite courses, bucket lists, and friendly program rivalries
“Darren, next week, I think we got Don Law off his cruise, but I’m on vacation. So we’re going to be the week following. We got to get Don out there and we’re going to get going on the National Youth Player Development Award winner.”
Welcome to the My Golf Source Podcast. Welcome to My Golf Source. What? One week, two weeks out from Thanksgiving. Yes, sir. You ready? Beautiful fall. I'm ready. Are you? Nope.
SPEAKER_02:I'm ready for vacation. Where are you going? Mehco. That's right. Yes. Uh everyone asks me this question, and I always know where you can't pronounce the name of the city. Yeah, one of the two. All I can think of is between Cancun and Tulum. And then I finally realize it's Riviera Maya and it's an all-inclusive resort. But the coolest thing about it is I haven't had a vacation in 15 years. What do you consider a vacation?
SPEAKER_03:Um I was about to say no wife and kids and going out of town. Um, but no, that's not true because often vacation requires a wife and kids' presence with you too.
SPEAKER_02:Probably a smart move if you want to keep the wife and kids.
SPEAKER_03:You went to Ohio. Where where were you a few weeks ago?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, Arizona with the team? No, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_03:That wasn't a family. Texas? Where where were you? You were somewhere in the southeast, weren't you?
SPEAKER_02:I was all over the place. But I guess what I'm getting at is defining a vacation for everybody is different. So we go to uh Michigan in December, which number one, Michigan in December is um great to see family, but it's also in a house in negative weather. So you can only family obligation. Yeah, it's it's a little more family obligation, great way to put it. And it love the family, so it's so fun. And then at the end, you're like, man, I wish we could have been outside more, right? That's all that's what it comes down to. And then you've got the um these awesome member trips where it's like, oh man, I'm going to the Dominican or I'm going to a really nice golf course like a pebble beach, and you go do that, and it was great, but you had to, yeah, you had to be on. You you had to make all the reservations, you had to do all the logistics, you had to write. Don't you have to do that for your own vacations anyway? You do, but unless you're no a horseman and you hire a travel agent. Yeah. No, I did it all. No, my wife helped. Hey, uh, so with that being said. I go to Santa Barbara tomorrow morning. Is that a vacation?
SPEAKER_03:No, it's work. However, it's Santa Barbara. What do I want to do in Santa Barbara? Golf. Play golf. It is gonna be horrific weather the whole time I'm oh no.
SPEAKER_02:What else is there to do? A golf garage down there? I wish. Yeah. We got to talk about it. Yeah, let's get one down there. Hey, so I think what I'm getting at with this vacation thought process is it's our vacation and there are no plans. We know we're gonna go scuba diving at some point. Or not scuba diving, uh snorkeling, I'm afraid of it. My vacation, damn it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, you're not gonna do anything about it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and there's an island we might go to. And I will love it. And I might play golf if I want to, but I'm not bringing clubs. There's no expectation. Yeah, I will. And I'll shoot underpine. I know you will. It's the game. PGA of Mexico is there or something. Really? I don't know. I looked it up, it was something. PGA Latino, I don't know. Interested, intrigued. There's some nice nice horses there from what I hear. Yeah, we'll see. There's sea turtles and stuff too.
SPEAKER_03:So the only place in Mexico I've ever been in is uh Mazatlan. How was that? Amazing. Yeah. What what do you do? Um swim, hang out on the beach, drink a lot of tequila. What side of what side of Mexico's Mazat?
SPEAKER_02:Okay. So yeah, this is first time crossing the border. Oh, nice. That's awesome. Is it on but it's not in the Baja, it's on the actual mainland. It's on the mainland. Yeah. That's pretty cool. Well, you know what's really crazy too? I was looking at weather, and we've had really, really nice weather the last couple days, but windy, you know, in the upper 60s, low 70s. 70 my rule is about wind. Hit it low.
SPEAKER_03:If it's strong enough to blow the ball off of your tee, I ain't playing. Yeah, no joke.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so then it gets down to almost like high of 50 when we leave. So I have a feeling the golf garage is gonna be blowing up right when I'm gone. Yeah, which is totally fine. We've got awesome staff here. And uh I don't know if I you know, we've talked about it. We have a new operations manager here. Brittany. Brittany. She's super cool, super cool, makes great old fashioned, smokes it if you want it. Okay, yeah. Big ice cubes. She already made some uh changes to the bar area and trying to make us more efficient. There you go. Yeah, well, you need that in your life. You do. Yeah, I do. Man, just gotta keep me in check. Yeah, we were doing an organizational chart today, and you know, I know that you have another podcast too, and you guys talk about things um business-wise, but you know, business and golf go hand in hand, not only because people do business on the golf course or in the golf garage, but just man, like trying to figure out how to run a golf garage, and there are there's nothing like this in the world to like call somebody and ask them what they're doing is super tough because there's no software out there that'll do what we want it to do. And I'm going through a point of sale change right now, and um a POS change. POS and we know what that stands for. Yes. And the one that we currently have has just been overpromise, under deliver, overpromise, under deliver. And the worst thing about it is when you actually have a problem, they don't pick up the phone. They don't pick it up, and it'll be two days. They are so I had an issue with um some bank stuff. Like that's really important. And they even said, hey, if it's bank stuff, we'll get right back to you same day. It was three days later. I'm like, okay, well, it doesn't seem like you guys care too much. So so unfortunately, kind of part of the personal direction. January 1st. So if they're listening, January 1st. I don't get it. You know what? And I don't mention names or no, I don't get too bitter too often, obviously. I love coaching golf and I love like serving people, but this is one of those things where it's like, man, this is gonna be super fun trying to put every piece of the puzzle back together. No, it's cool.
SPEAKER_03:I was out working today and I had to swing by and pick up some paperwork at a job I was at for a client. So I called the client, I said, Hey, I'm on my way down to your office with the paperwork. And he's all oh well, I'm I'm I'm just I just left the office. I'm like, damn you. Why why you gotta do that? He's all leave it at the front desk. I said, Where are you going? He said, Golf garage. I'm like, so am I. We'll just meet there. I'm not going to your office.
SPEAKER_02:What are the odds? So that's awesome. You know what's cool? We're starting to get into a lot more programming. I got the 365-day plan down this Friday. We're we're doing a new thing called bourbon and bombs.
SPEAKER_03:I just saw that and I'm so bummed I'm not gonna be here for it. Wish you were gonna be here. So we uh because that's right up my alley.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, we just wanted a small, intimate group, and what we're gonna do is uh Matt and I are gonna assess them and we're gonna put them through the ringer on the assessment, but immediately give them actionable steps to hit it farther. I bet you we get somebody that's at 10 to 15 yards further in less than an hour. And then at the end, little social activity where they're gonna get a flight of bourbon and we get to drink that together and talk a little bit about it. And you have a backwards, my friend. You gotta do that before the assessment. It just depends on if you're nervous or not, you know. So I want to make sure that we get them that distance. How about this one? I had a a student in Ohio that um came to me probably his 10th instructor, maybe even more. Um, you know, well off family, could go to whoever he wanted to, had definitely had a pretty good resume of coaches that he had seen. And we'll never forget it. And he just was like, I just want to get better, I want to shave three shots. He's like a 14-year-old.
SPEAKER_03:What was his name that we talked to last week?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, are you talking about uh New York? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, what a what about it? He said that he he had he had given lessons to a guy who had had a hundred lessons before. Oh, and the and the old coach said, Well, you're gonna have to get worse before you get better. Let's get your money back.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, no joke. No, this is different. So this has to do with drinking. So I I figured you're oh, eyes went up. No, so he would play golf, and when he played golf, he would drink with his buddies. And um, when he'd come into a lesson, he would come in and be completely sober, and then he would have a drink after and start playing golf. And so I started talking to him about it, and I and you could tell that he was frustrated in the lessons. We had about three lessons before I said, Hey, look, I know that you have a couple drinks out there with your buddies. Why are you learning without having a couple drinks in your system before you play?
SPEAKER_03:That's the last thing that a drunk needs to be told is have another drink.
SPEAKER_02:I never said that you did. So the greatest thing about this was he looks at me and said, That's a great call.
SPEAKER_03:Like he literally give me a drink of that idea.
SPEAKER_02:So so then he goes down to the bar right then, because we're at the private club, brings a drink back and starts playing. He immediately relaxes, immediately hits it better. Like everything was in his head about this is how he does it, right? So that you know, something about the chemistry, right? So then I'll never forget it too, was after that, because he was relaxed, I could actually enjoy the lesson. And the next lesson he comes in, he wasn't hitting it well, he wasn't hitting it well. And I was like, What are you good at all the time? And he's like, Oh, putting. Nobody can beat me at putting. Like, okay. So I watched him putt, and his left foot, right before he pulled the trigger, his toe would go up. And I had never seen that happen with anybody before, not like that. It was like his trigger to pull the to to go. And I was like, Hey, did you know that your toe moves when you putt? He's like, Yeah. I was like, Well, in your full swing, do you know that your toe doesn't move before you hit? He's like, No. It's like you're gonna start moving your toe before you hit. Instantly he started striping it because it got him into emotion and it was his trigger. Golf is a funny mental game. Well, what other triggers are out there, like waggling your butt, right? Waggling the club. For him, it was waggling his toe, and I just thought that was a pattern.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I'm just uh I blink real hard before.
SPEAKER_02:There you go. So between drinking and wiggling his toe, he became a really good golfer and he shaved three shots.
SPEAKER_03:I knew a guy who insists on clearing his throat before he swings. You? No.
SPEAKER_02:You're legitimately that's a thing?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah. And he lit he literally cleared his throat every time right before he swung. Did everybody around him noticed it but him?
SPEAKER_02:I have a question for you. So how important do you think it is to have a caddy on the back?
SPEAKER_03:Oh man. Well, to have fun? No. To have more fun? 100%. Well, and and and if you if you want to shoot a better score, look, it just makes sense that having an expert there to kind of help you along the way and and and and lie to your face and make you feel good about yourself is always a good thing. That's half the battle, right? It is. You know what? And a good caddy will always lie to you and say, what a great shot. Man, I've caddied a little bit and it's hard work. Another thing a good caddy will do is when you're 150 yards out, he'll tell you you're 190 yards out to get you to pick the right club because he knows nobody hits it as far as they say they need to go.
SPEAKER_02:Man, with that being said, we have to welcome our guest to the show, professional caddy Corey Maranau.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome to the show. You guys can't be giving away our tricks like that. What are we doing here?
SPEAKER_03:Hey, it's just general observation.
SPEAKER_02:That's all. Oh my gosh. You know what's cool about Corey? He's a golf garage member, baby.
SPEAKER_03:Two months out of the year, he's a golf garage member. And what's even cooler about Corey is I barely knew this guy last year, and he came down, went out of his way on his way down to Palm Springs, and met us in Santa Barbara for a round of golf at Sandpiper, and it was just a killer experience, even though we didn't quite get to finish because it got dark.
SPEAKER_01:Such a fun round, though.
SPEAKER_02:So I was just gonna ask you. So was it though? I mean, you gotta was was Darren uh keeping his composure out on the golf course?
SPEAKER_01:You know, you gotta put up with a few things with this guy, but in general, I would say we had a good time.
SPEAKER_03:It applies to caddies too. They can't talk, they can't talk about their patience in the golf course.
SPEAKER_02:I love that. So, Corey, you've been at a couple different golf courses in your career. Can you kind of just kind of walk us through where you started in caddying and and then how you got to the the private club that you're at now?
SPEAKER_01:Uh yeah. So I started out at Bandon Dunes golf course after college. It's not a bad place to be. Yeah, I kind of just threw my degree to the side and decided that I was gonna stick with golf and try to get better and keep keep going, keep playing.
SPEAKER_03:That's why he's not married. There is a reason. Maybe more than one. I love it. I don't know a wife that would say, okay, throw away your college education to play golf.
SPEAKER_02:Oh man, how many years were you at Bandon? I was five summers. Oh man. So did you get out right away or did you have to sit the ride the pine for a while? How'd that go?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I definitely had to grind a little bit, no doubt. Yeah. And we got enough work to make money and pay the bills, but it wasn't like we're stacking a lot of cash when you first get there. But then once you get in with the caddy master and whatnot, and they start trusting your work and you start working with caddies who have been there for 10, 12 years, and then they kind of reference you and kind of puts you onto other jobs and whatnot. And once you get into that, then it really starts piling up, and then you have almost too much work to where you have to turn down requests and all that type of stuff.
SPEAKER_02:How do you feel about double bagging?
SPEAKER_01:It's so much better than single bagging. What? Yes. Wow.
SPEAKER_02:Is it because your your shoulders are level or is it? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Our legs are all fine. We know we go, we play, we caddy 36 and then go play nine afterwards. That makes sense. It's easier. It's way more about having the back steady than the weight.
SPEAKER_03:It's easier to carry two big buckets of water than one. Yeah. No doubt.
SPEAKER_01:Uh-huh. Same idea.
SPEAKER_02:Hey, so how well do you know Shu?
SPEAKER_01:Uh very well.
SPEAKER_02:So I will tell you that um one of my college teammates was one of Shu's original 10. Really? Yeah. His name's Dave Bloomquist and still really good friends. He lives in Vegas now. But uh every time I go to Bandon, I take a picture with Shue and send it to Dave, and then vice versa. We've FaceTime before. That guy is just legendary.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, he's one of the main guys that helped me get down to the desert in the first place. Oh, is that right? So yeah, I got to Rolling Hills in the first uh was my first spot outside of Bandon, which was a Jason McClay kid remodel. So that's how I found out about it because obviously the first Bandadunes course is my kid. It's in um LA area, Pallas Verdes. Oh, yeah. Up on the hill above LA.
SPEAKER_02:Is that public or private? It's private.
SPEAKER_01:It's another yeah, fairly nice private club. And uh it was amazing there. We were actually like the first three or four caddies. We all came from Bandon, me, me and three buddies, basically.
SPEAKER_02:And we kind of was that opening a few years back.
SPEAKER_01:Oh man, I wish I it was a remodel. So it had already been, and then they got a lot more land, made a big clubhouse. It was like a rock quarry area, and they turned it into like a link style course with like backstops and side stops, and it used to be just like a normal, straight up kind of country club, shorter freelanced.
SPEAKER_02:Some big money games out there.
SPEAKER_01:It's a lot different than any other courses in the area for sure.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, that's awesome. And then where do you go to after that?
SPEAKER_01:Uh then from there I ended up down at the hideaway, and I've been there now for what, five winters, and then I kind of jump around to other clubs in the area whenever they need you as well. That's a nice thing. All the member guests kind of gather all the caddies from the area.
SPEAKER_03:And so there's such a big, you know, more golf courses per capita than anywhere else.
SPEAKER_01:Something like 250. I don't know the exact numbers, but yeah, it's something incredible.
SPEAKER_03:Are are there just for some inside knowledge, are there a lot of common ownership groups between them or are they all separate, doing their own thing and competing?
SPEAKER_01:I'm sure it's a little of both, and I'm not too into the business aspect of any of it. That's too much. Yeah. I'm I'm more just work for the individuals and you know they call you, or I have one caddy master and he'll assign you loops as well. But other than that, I'm not too into how all the how they're intertwined and whatnot.
SPEAKER_03:How many NDAs have you had to sign?
SPEAKER_01:Um actually zero.
SPEAKER_03:Really?
SPEAKER_02:Oh, pair game we can ask anything and everything. All right. I'm not gonna say I'm gonna be able to do that. Are we ready? You have the 20 questions.
SPEAKER_01:I will lose a lot of reputation if I do any of that stuff.
SPEAKER_03:I'm thinking through a lot of them right now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I've signed plenty in my own brain, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_03:You've signed plenty with a handshake.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. I love it. So the hideaway is a phenomenal club, and I know a few members down there too. And the old general manager from Rogue Valley Country Club used to be down there. Um it's kind of like the sister club to Madison Club, too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's literally right next door. It's one block over.
SPEAKER_02:Have you gotten a chance to play Madison?
SPEAKER_01:Yep. I one of the guys that I worked for in the member guest brought me out for a couple practice rounds to learn the course before I worked for him. What was your favorite food? Oh man. Did you have you have to pick one? I know. You can't pick one. Their sliders at the turn are delicious.
SPEAKER_02:The Kobe beef slider. So good. Did you get an ice cream sandwich?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I skipped out.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, I was good that day. Dude, honestly, one of my favorite things when I went and it was early on um the when Casamigos was still part of the ownership group. And I don't know if they are now, but man, that Casamigos slushy machine, do they still have it's amazing. The margarita machine. Yeah, two dacky and margarita. They got like three different flavors now.
SPEAKER_03:You get like a quarter of an ounce of tequila per pint.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know what it is, but all I know is I was a happy boy when I was hitting the drive on 18. And the ladies there will talk more for you if you need a little more. It's not quite. Yeah. Yeah. Basically, the top shelf is available at your discretion at any time at that golf course. You just open, you just open it and do your thing. Just like it is at the golf garage. Yeah, exactly. I love that. There's the analogy, right? You know what though? The Madison Club service is what I strive to be every day. So quick story on that, and you know it. But drive in, there's no sign, at least there wasn't when I came in. You go in, this little pebble drive that's phenomenal. It's like out of uh, I don't know, dude, somewhere in Europe. And armed guard, we had a dog. The dude took a mirror around my car and said, do not turn off this road, go straight until the very end, and you will run into the clubhouse.
SPEAKER_01:That's a little different than the caddy entrance.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah. I bet. I bet. He said, literally, do not turn off. That's how he said it to me. It was very stern. I'm like, okay. So I get there and we had two attendants at the door. Uh, one came to my front and one came to the back. And I had, I think I've said this story on on this air before, but I had a full load because we were in San Diego at the time. So the car was just destroyed. I'm like, this is embarrassing, but took the bag, took it, greeted me by name because they knew from the security, then you go inside. No, it was so cool because everyone greeted you by name and you got walked in because you weren't a member. So how many guests are being you know playing there that day? And the best thing I would that anyone ever said to me was I'd say it was a half hour after I walked through the clubhouse. I go into the golf shop and the buyer there says, uh, good morning, Mr. Horseman. What can I help you find today? And I was like, Oh, yeah, I'm buying like eight things. Like, I mean, just to have somebody ask you in a way that doesn't allow you to say no, I mean, that's like caddying, right? Like, I mean, you're in it to make money because that's your job, and you're in it for relationships and you're in it for all these cool things because it's a great, it's just a cool experience. But like, you know, what are the like there's gotta be some go-tos for you as a caddy that you're like, hey, I'm gonna bet the guy and you know, the other caddy on, you know, my guy behind the scenes, or I'm gonna like, how do I I know this guy, and there's some ways I can get more tips, or like, I mean, is is that kind of a thing?
SPEAKER_01:Uh yeah, one of the main games we play is the last ball in the hole. So actually, I sorry, the opposite of that. The first ball in the hole. First ball. Okay. So if if someone lags one up there and someone gives it to them and they don't tap it in, that doesn't count. It's gotta actually go in the hole.
SPEAKER_02:And you can't encourage it if you can't say anything.
SPEAKER_01:So it's all about them whether they give gimme's or not, or if they have to make a bit long putt. So it's it has almost nothing to do with their skill level. What if they give it but they tap it in? Uh it's fine, that counts. It's dude.
SPEAKER_02:So so it's you can totally be like, hey, tap it in, okay? I'll give you a little cut on the side. Big time.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I would totally say that.
SPEAKER_03:It's only six inches. You got this, just tap it in for good feelings.
SPEAKER_01:Yep, and technically the rule is you can't talk to them other than that kind of encouragement. Well, make that make that for good luck or whatever. Or you love that sound, tap that in, you know. Yeah, but you can't say it like that. We're actually betting on it in the background, you know. So it's a pretty funny.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah. It's game, it's helpful.
SPEAKER_02:Man, that's cool. Well, so how many loops are you out there now? I mean, you said winners and you know, at hideaway. So are you getting out every day? Are you trying to grind it through the season? What do you what do you like to do for you?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I like to play golf. So if I have a day off, I just go play. Um, I'm not too worried about it. But if I was worried about playing every day, I could contact other caddy masters around and get more work when it's not at our course. But I bet I work five to six days a week.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Most of the year, yeah. That's good, man. I love hearing that. It's super fun. What's your favorite thing about caddy?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's I it's gotta be the relationships. Yeah. And just learning about the world and learning where everyone comes from. Because especially at Bandon, you caddy for people. I mean, it's amazing how many other countries even come to Oregon to play golf. It it's kind of mind blowing.
SPEAKER_03:How many days a week do you do two rounds?
SPEAKER_01:Um, right now, not so many because there's not as much daylight down south.
SPEAKER_03:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So we'll probably have maybe I don't know, one a week at most, probably something like that. But we'll but at Band at Bandon, it's uh just a grind. So yeah, whatever your group comes like, so you get assigned to a group, and if your group comes in and plays eight rounds in four days, then you're going with them the whole time.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, so you're but they could have six holes every single day.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but they could come in and play one round every day, and then you can go in and try to pick up a second in the background.
SPEAKER_03:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:That's pretty exciting. So have you obviously you're good at building relationships, right? You don't get to a club like Hideaway without that and Bandon and all that. That's so, so exciting. Um, but have you ever been asked to like fly private or anything crazy like, hey, fly to my other club and you're gonna caddy for me in this or that?
SPEAKER_01:Uh a couple stories, yes.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:Pretty fun. Uh yeah, it's it's it's fun, but you also have to keep yourself in the world that you're in. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03:Anyway what was that? Any you can mention?
SPEAKER_01:Uh yeah. I I mean I got I got flown out to Vegas and got to play Shadow Creek a couple times from one of the Rolling Hill members, and that was just mind-blowing. You know, staying in the nice hotel way up top. I think it was the MGM hotel that we stayed in and got to go see like a couple of different plays or whatnot. The and then yeah, got to play those two courses and play or Shadow Creek twice. The the second round was just myself and a caddy from Bandon that I knew. His name's Andre.
SPEAKER_03:Have you ever tried to sell it to your client? Say, hey, I've never played this course before. You flew me out here to caddy for you. I need to go have a practice round so I know what to tell you.
SPEAKER_01:There is a skill to that for sure. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:No doubt. How about East Coast? Have you gotten out there yet?
SPEAKER_01:Uh I not even a little bit. No, I went out for in high school just to like see the sites, like Washington DC on a school trip, but I haven't been.
SPEAKER_02:You have any eligibility left for college?
SPEAKER_01:Um, no. I played all four years.
SPEAKER_02:Man. Where'd you play at?
SPEAKER_01:Uh Pacific University. Yeah. Up up in Forest Grove. That's right. West of Portland. Yep.
SPEAKER_02:You knew that, right? Yeah. Kakula too, right? No, Kakula was Willamette. Yeah. Oh, he was the enemy. I was I was his golf coach for a couple years up there. It was a it was definitely funny when you're uh in the same conference, but uh Kakula was a stud muffin. Did you guys play the same time?
SPEAKER_01:Uh not quite. We might have played a couple. I was 20 um 17.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's right. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so we might have played a little bit, but we never played in the same group or anything. I when I got in, I was like a like four or five player. So I'm sure he was the top the whole way through. He's he's a stud.
SPEAKER_02:He was uh he was number one, definitely. So in your heart.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Tell me this, because I I mean I think I kind of know the answer to it, but I just wanted to be encouraging to anybody listening to this podcast. Out at some of these prestigious clubs, what percentage of the golfers that you caddy for can break 90? I love that question.
SPEAKER_01:Um maybe 10%? What percentage can break 90%? Maybe 20 at some courses. I mean it related to Yeah, it's it's a lot of older golfers, and you know, they're playing the up T's, so then they have a pretty good chance or whatnot.
SPEAKER_03:So if you're still that golfer who's shooting 105, 110, don't let it don't let your inability to play golf scare you from playing a beautiful golf.
SPEAKER_01:No, you can still have so much fun out there. And I I would argue that the people that's laughed at. Yeah, and I would argue that the people that shoot over 100 have a lot more fun than the people who shoot two or three under a lot of the times that I caddy for, you know. A lot of the times it's a lot more fun to shoot for four people at a bachelor party or to caddy for four people at a bachelor party than it is to caddy for a big money match, you know.
SPEAKER_02:How about how about this? How many people between you know that you're caddying for are playing premium golf balls like pro v1, tp five, or they do they know what they need to play? Or do they go by the case?
SPEAKER_01:I'd say like Gauzer and Hideaway, it's probably 80% are good. But there's also always those people that just don't care at all and will grab a sleeve of top flights and not know the difference, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Probably the fun ones that throw the snakes out at your legs. Yeah, they can probably see those as well.
SPEAKER_03:What pond on what hole on what course would be the best one to go on to find premium golf balls?
SPEAKER_01:Man, left side of Bandon on those cliffs. There's a couple spots you can kind of jump off. And once again, this was five years ago. I don't even the gorse. The wind direction problems. The gorse might have overgrown now. I don't know, but there were some good spots off those cliffsides there.
SPEAKER_02:That's awesome. Where do you get where do you find the best caddy game in the country?
SPEAKER_01:Uh it's tough to beat Palm Springs. Yeah. I mean, and I don't know about the country because I'm not I haven't been everywhere, but out of the three that I've seen, and I mean Bandit has a ton of good players too, but Palm Springs has a lot of have you played under the lights?
SPEAKER_02:Uh a lot, yes.
SPEAKER_01:Uh Muni Madness with Schuster, so much fun.
SPEAKER_02:Did I tell you about my experience there?
SPEAKER_01:Uh no.
SPEAKER_02:So I've had one experience under the lights with my buddy Brian Trowbridge. Um, he was my assistant at Willamette, and that's where we met. He would then was the officiant at our wedding. So we we go way back. He comes down, we stay with Colin Tucker, who's at Vintage Club. Yep. So we're I know him as well. So C Tuck met us out there, and uh I'll never forget it because you pay in, didn't know what to expect. First hole, it is ripping left to right, probably sustained 35 that day.
SPEAKER_01:And those winds get crazy out there, and there's not a whole lot to stomp them in that that area. They're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02:I had knocked down eight iron from whatever 110 yards or whatever that hole was to 15 feet. And I was second to last to putt. So nobody was razzing me too much because I'm new guy on the block. Drain it. Right. So keep going. My buddy on the back. Oh, and this was carryover, by the way. Like nobody had gotten skin or like uh the honey a hole in one pot in like I don't know, a month. So they added money to it. Yep. Trowbridge knocks it in the hole on like the 12th hole for a hole in one.
SPEAKER_01:That is huge.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. And then he gets another skin down the road. So one, the hole one, holds up, he gets hole in one and a skin. We come out, and only one other guy made money, and we're together, so we're flashing all this cash for the picture with Schuster. And uh, dude, we basically got booed off stage at that night because everyone was so mad. The new guys on the block came in. And I mean, there's guys from junior golf I played with in Oregon that were down there that were pros, and I mean a lot of caddies, obviously, and just you know, just the standards. But it it is such a cool experience. If you have not done Muni under the lights, that is like a bucket list for a golfer.
SPEAKER_01:No doubt, especially on those Muni Madness nights when you play as all one big group. Huge.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so then we went back around and did the the one big group. That was so much fun.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, what two rules, no, no practice swings and no posing. Yes. You just get up there, hit a shot, get out of the way, and then out of the group of 20. It's yeah, it's one of the best, most enjoyable like golf experiences.
SPEAKER_02:And then the lights go off. Yeah, and it's and it's like, oh, time to go in. Right at 10 o'clock. Yeah, bang. So much fun, man.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, swing your driver, you're watching it go, and the lights go off. You're like, oh.
SPEAKER_02:Uh huh. Yeah, it is a blast. And I mean, just golf down there is pure too. Um, have you played vintage? Uh, I have not got out there yet. No, all right. That'll be something that we'll have to do.
SPEAKER_01:I'm gonna it's on the list for sure.
SPEAKER_02:I'm going down to Ironwood December 17th to play in the Taylor May TP classic. Um, never played Ironwood, heard it's a good track.
SPEAKER_01:I've been out there once. What do you think? I love the track, it was awesome, but the greens were incredibly firm.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, what do I have to do to get ready for that? I've only got a month after vacation.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, I just work on that landing spot because you're gonna have to land on the front edge of the green. If it's if it's anything like I think it was probably three years ago that I played it.
SPEAKER_02:How are the fairways pretty pretty wide open?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about. Is it a true desert course or is it more Yeah, if you missed big, then you're in the rocks or whatnot. But you don't have that problem. We'll be all right. We'll be all right.
SPEAKER_03:When when you're caddying, do you often give like coaching tips?
SPEAKER_01:It all depends on the person.
SPEAKER_03:To people.
SPEAKER_01:And that's something that I that's something that I really have learned is the most important part about caddying, is letting them come to you. Right. And because when I first started, I treated myself as the expert because I kind of was compared to the people that I was caddying for.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_01:But then once you like pretend like they're the pro and then have them ask you a question eventually and then answer it correctly, then they kind of move towards your direction and want more from you kind of deal.
SPEAKER_03:What's the most what's the most common mistake you see in amateur golfers?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, definitely just the over-the-top move from baseball, yes. The uh hardcore slice that I'll I'll second that. Yes, I I think what 80% of new golfers have that miss in general. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02:So here's a question for you. Like caddying, right? Let's say you can do it till you're 50. Maybe. Like, how long do you want a caddy for? And what's your what's your goal? Do you have do you have like a a dream job? Is there something you want? Like, what are you looking at right now?
SPEAKER_03:There'll be a four caddy in a cart, right? Right. There you go.
SPEAKER_02:You can just do that.
SPEAKER_01:You could be shoo. Yeah, and just keep doing it. Um I I really want to start a family. And I want to get back to the valley here. And because I the community here is just special to me, especially because growing up here and all my friends are here and whatnot. And so that's kind of my plans in the next few years to save up enough to get back here. I literally have no idea what I want to do though.
SPEAKER_02:Would uh the golf industry still keep you in the loop? Is that what you're looking for?
SPEAKER_01:Or are you looking at like I'm well open to it, but I'm also open to other things too.
SPEAKER_02:Cool. What's your degree in?
SPEAKER_01:Uh biology.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I could always go back to the school as well, but I was pretty schooled out after the four years, so I don't know if that's a in the cards or not.
SPEAKER_02:And you're you're crater grad, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. 2013. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:You and Matt Preston.
SPEAKER_01:Matt was one year older than me. Yep.
SPEAKER_03:It's pretty good. I'm gonna ask another question about caddying because I'm so intrigued by the people who you get to meet every day while you're doing your job. Golf, as we all know and believe, is a game of integrity. Do you still believe that?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, well, to its core, yes. Do people play with integrity? No.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. Is is there anyone, and and I do not want you to mention any names or even allude to who it may be, but have you played with anybody who might be well known or powerful? Um who you were just very disappointed in their demeanor, integrity?
SPEAKER_01:Uh yes, for sure. Okay. But there's also a lot more that I've been impressed with, I would say in the game of golf. And especially because I think the game of golf, if you if you don't play with integrity, the only people that will play with you are the other people that don't play with integrity. So then you kind of get into the groups that you know have the same values in that on that aspect of the game.
SPEAKER_03:It's gonna be a rough day when you see who's on your list of clients and you're like, oh.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It's gonna be a long day. And some of them are fun. Like some of them are great people. They will just kick the ball out of the rough without people knowing. Or you know, or if someone says, Yeah, you got a five there, right? And they actually made a six, they'll just go, Oh yeah, five. There's 20 bucks. You didn't see that. Yeah. So there's definitely a little bit of that out there as well.
SPEAKER_03:Corey, what's what's your favorite course you've ever played? Ever?
SPEAKER_01:I think it's probably La Iguana in Costa Rica. It was amazing.
SPEAKER_02:Never heard of that.
SPEAKER_01:It was real it's like through a rainforest, there's iguanas everywhere. Oh cool. Like it was just a it was like playing in like Jurassic Park.
SPEAKER_02:So we had that in Hawaii. We have that in Brookings.
SPEAKER_01:And I haven't I haven't played any golf in Hawaii besides like one little nine-hole public course.
SPEAKER_02:No, it was exactly like that, minus the iguanas, but it Jurassic Park was literally filmed over the ridge. So cool. And it looked, and you're just like, this is so freaky. Where are the dinosaurs coming out? And it so it was ranked when it opened, I I can't remember. I think it shut down actually. It was ranked the toughest course in the world when it opened.
SPEAKER_01:That's yeah, and I can imagine. I mean, yeah, if you if you miss the fairway, the ball is not findable.
SPEAKER_03:In the jungle. I I will put Salmon Renan Brookings up in that category. I would agree 100%.
SPEAKER_02:It's gotten better, though, I've heard. I played it the year it opened. I lost two balls.
SPEAKER_03:It's narrow. And if you're not on the fairway, you're not finding your ball.
SPEAKER_02:Let's go play there. We're reciprocals with them. Let's go. It's got to be the most targeted ball.
SPEAKER_03:I have to go to Costco and buy Kirkland balls. Let's go over there before I play Ironwood. I want to go over there and play there. Let's do it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a beautiful course. It's fun, but it's like a rainforest.
SPEAKER_01:I love the layout. Yeah. It's tight. It's just a lot of four irons off the T. I had one of my if you're not.
SPEAKER_03:I actually had my only Eagle on that course. Oh wow. No, I actually I've had two. Two Eagles. One of them was on that course. And it was a par five, you know, in theory you should lay up before the first creek, but I challenged it, I got over. And then in second, you know, your second shot you should lay up before the second creek. And I challenged it, I got over. I was green, I was pin high just off of the green and chipped it in from there. So I I it was I don't remember what hole it was, but it was a par five along the long windy road that comes in. And you have to hit over two creeks on the fairway.
SPEAKER_01:Moments you'll never forget.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So, Corey, like, if somebody wanted to hire you to be a caddy, obviously you're with a club, but like, let's just say somebody randomly said, Man, I want you to caddy for me. What are you gonna charge them if you just have to drive a mile?
SPEAKER_01:What's your what's your just for like a one-day rate?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, one day rate. What's that look like for you?
SPEAKER_01:Um, well, if I'm taking off work, I make about$300 a day at work. So it'd probably have to be compared to that or a little higher, I would think.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:And it probably depends on the person too. I mean, I've taken days off work to go caddy for free for friends and tournaments, you know. I just a little different as well.
SPEAKER_02:And that's a really good deal. I mean, if you think of it like, so as a pro, I can make money. If I have a caddy that legitimately understands me and can stay out of my way when I need them to stay out of my way, but but doesn't stay out of my way when they know I need my help, right? Or need my help, need help, that's important. And so if we go to tour caddy in for a minute, that's a different animal, different beast altogether. However, it's not that different. You're dealing with different personality traits every day and all those things. So, like, how do you become a tour caddy?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I think it's more of who you know and actually wanting to do it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Because it's definitely a grind. You gotta go because you're not gonna start in a bag that makes money.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So you gotta have a couple years that um you're grinding to build your reputation on the course, and you gotta try to help that person get better in their career kind of deal. Even if they don't win tournaments. If if they go from like taking a hundred a hundredth place to fortieth place while you're on the bag, that's a resume builder.
SPEAKER_03:Who do you think's more appreciative of caddies in general? Is it the completely inexperienced golfer who shoots in the hundreds or is it the scratch golfer?
SPEAKER_01:I think it is more determined on who you are as a person than anything else. I think you can have both of those people be very, very appreciative of your work and you can have both those people not really care at all.
SPEAKER_03:And I'm sure the more experienced golfers tend to lean on you a little bit more as far as well, it all depends on the most experienced ones, though.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah, because some of them they have their shot shape and they're gonna hit that no matter what. So you just give them a number and they play their shot, you know. So but some other people are like one, like I caddied for um KJ Choi.
SPEAKER_03:Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And for I think it was like seven or eight holes, and he would have me drop every shot. Like, hey, what's the perfect shot to hit here? So I'd say, you know, land landed at 143 with a three-yard draw. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, and and it was incredible how well he could shape the ball to land on the spot. It was it was like playing video game golf with an actual human.
SPEAKER_03:What's the most meaningful story you've had in all your caddying career?
SPEAKER_01:That is a very tough question.
SPEAKER_03:You don't have to answer that.
SPEAKER_01:I don't know if I have the answer in my head right now. What about give me a second? Let's go back to that at the end. I'll think about it.
SPEAKER_03:What about one from last year? Or this last season? Because you're on break now.
SPEAKER_01:Um, well, I did I cadied for I'm not gonna give names, but for a for a high up actor, and everyone would know his name. Um, and it was incredible how much he treated me like a human. That's cool. And like how I was his equal the whole time. And it was just mind-opening to me that not all the people from Hollywood are like above us, I guess. Or don't they don't believe that they're above us kind of idea? Yeah, you know, and it was really, really cool too. Just because it was just me and him for the first nine, and then we joined up for the group. So it was literally just me and him, and we had awesome conversations. I helped out his game, he was super receptive to like critiques and whatnot. It was it was a ton of fun.
SPEAKER_03:Super cool.
SPEAKER_02:So I've heard stories because you just said treated you like your equal, where at certain golf courses, if someone has the occasional uh putter throw or club throw, the caddy will leave the club, right? Because it's like, hey, I'm not gonna go be your, you know what. So if that's the case at the hideaway or a private, what's the policy there? Is that a the same policy? Is it a different thing? How do you treat that?
SPEAKER_01:There's not an actual policy for it, but that that is my policy. Yeah, yeah. You throw it, you go get it. Yeah, I mean, I don't put up with that shit, you know. And yeah, if it comes, if it comes close to hitting me, I'm gonna say something. You know, like that's not okay with me. Here's your bag, sir.
SPEAKER_02:Have a nice day. Better luck next door. We're gonna box.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. We work for enough good people that we kind of don't have to put up with that stuff too much.
SPEAKER_02:You know, it's funny because I think also you're you're you are dealing with the clubs you've worked at, the policies are great. It's like you just treat everybody nicely, right? That's our our role here, and that's what I took from Madison Club. I mean, the only real thing is to be nice. So I sat with one of their founding founding members going back to that, and uh, we had breakfast together, which was really dumb considering how much food's out on the golf course. And they gave me a stack of pancakes that were as big as my head. But uh he told me that. He's like, hey, the rule here is to be nice, and I was like, he's like, it pertains to everything. I'm like, yeah, I guess if you drive in a bunker, that's not being nice, is it? So it's the same thing. Like we at golf garage have the be nice, you know, thought process with 42 pages on how to be nice.
SPEAKER_03:You could just say don't be an a-hole.
SPEAKER_02:That's I could. We could have shirts that say that.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah, it's copyright that one of the one of the funniest shirts I've ever seen is at um the Fat Irish Kitchen in Brookings. All the bartenders wear shirts that say don't finger your couple.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_03:That is funny. I love it. I love it. And of course, one day I picked up my pint beer glass. You did it. You did it. All the beer spelled out all over the place. It was a disaster. Never been there, but it sounds fun. Oh, it was a it was a blast. That was that was probably in the top ten most embarrassing moments of my life. I think we got a couple final questions for core. What's your bucket list course?
SPEAKER_01:Oh I mean, I guess does on everyone's, that's for sure.
SPEAKER_03:I got you're wearing the hat right now.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I got to go there a couple years ago and to see it in person. Really? It was so much different than it looks like on TV.
SPEAKER_03:You got to walk it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. I went to what two practice rounds and the part three contest.
SPEAKER_03:Did you get to hit it, hit any balls?
SPEAKER_01:No, no, it was just all spectating. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:That's super cool though. I mean, it's it's very hard to, you know, even see that course in person.
SPEAKER_01:No doubt. Yeah. And then I gotta get out to some of the Montana Mountain courses too. Oh, I'm gonna go with you. I haven't been out to any of those yet.
SPEAKER_03:And so you spend a lot of time in Cordelane. Have you played Cordelane Resort?
SPEAKER_01:Uh yeah, quite a few times. Uh huh.
SPEAKER_03:I played it once. And that that was a how do you compare that? Is it is that like is that the best course in that area, or are there some private clubs that are you think top it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, there's definitely some private clubs that are like technically better, but I think like um what like greens keeping wise and conditions-wise, it's hard to compete with that place. Like they do a really good job. The greens are always amazing, the fairways are always pure.
SPEAKER_03:Um, but like And the iconic island green is something everybody, whether you know it's courtalane resort or not, you've seen that green.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it's it's definitely a fun shot to hit, especially. I mean, if it's blowing when if it's windy, it's intimidating.
SPEAKER_03:Our caddy when when I played that said, All right, we we do give some grace on this. Everybody gets two shots if you don't make it to the make it to the green. That's called a tip. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So last time we played it, I was playing with one of the members from Gazer. He invited me out there and he hit two balls off the dock on the right that just one hopped off in the water and then hold out the third. That's cool.
SPEAKER_03:That's really cool.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so hey, I think what we got to do is Pacific University versus Linfield. I got some friends like so Trow Bridge, that was our efficient, went to Linfield, Jeff Dunn. Get those two guys, you and I, Pacific, a couple other guys, and we go get it and we go play. And we could even maybe get Kakula out there and get some Wellama guys too. We could do a little uh three-way action.
SPEAKER_01:That would be a ton of fun.
SPEAKER_02:Let's get let's do like the old school uh the team game. We get five from each one, count four, just like what we used to do. Yeah, just like girl tournaments. Yeah, I want to go one.
SPEAKER_03:Good luck to them. And so the three of us are competing against each other tonight. In what? Men's league. Let's go.
SPEAKER_02:Men's league. It's just league. We've had ladies in it. Who are you? What lady?
SPEAKER_03:Go ahead and see.
SPEAKER_02:Jessica's played.
SPEAKER_03:No.
SPEAKER_02:Oh yeah. Oh yeah. She's allowed. Okay. Ladies are welcome, sir. I haven't seen that. It's all good. It's all good.
SPEAKER_03:So, what does golf stand for?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
unknown:Huh?
SPEAKER_02:That. That?
SPEAKER_03:Okay. On that note, hopefully, we're going to maintain first.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:That's going to be tough. You got some competition.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. He's going to go shoot 65 now because he's mad. I mean, come on, let's go. Corey, thanks for being on the show, man. Go, boxers. Appreciate you. Appreciate you guys having me. Darren, next week, I think uh we got Don Law off his cruise, but I'm on vacation. So we're going to be the week following. We got to get Don out there and we're going to get going on the uh National Youth Player Development Award winner.
SPEAKER_03:Maybe Corey will sit in for you next week.
SPEAKER_02:That would be good. Go for it. Sir. Until next week, take care.
