Brennans Caddy Report from the PGA Championship

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:16:18

Caddying 36 holes this past Sunday at the International in Colorado was a challenge. Castle Pines GC is probably one of the toughest courses to walk on Tour and add the heat and high elevation and my legs were a little sore Sunday night. It was good to see Mike play well last week and give himself lots of opportunities for birdies. If a few putts could have went in we would have been right in the hunt on Sunday.

Sunday night I was having dinner with my good friend Mark Chaney at Earls, a great Canadian restaurant in Denver when Retief Goosen and his caddy, Colin came in and treated us all to dinner and drinks. It was a class move by the International Champion!

Monday was a travel day and a long one as flights were cancelled because of storms in the Newark, New Jersey area. We didn't arrive until around 4:00 and only had time to walk 9 holes at Baltusrol GC before dark.

Being a member of the PGA of America, I find it very embarrasing how we are treated at this event as caddies. We have a 15 minute walk from the parking lot located behind the 15th green to the clubhouse and the caddy hospitality tent is located in the bag room in the rear of the clubhouse with the most simple amenities. I find it amazing that most tournaments are trying to accomodate us more yet the major championships are among the worst. With all the years of planning that goes into this PGA Championship you would think the caddies would receive a little more respect when it comes to parking and food.

Now back to the positive stuff and the golf course which is a classic. I think that some of the modern desingers should take a walk around this course and get an idea of what a great course should look like. I realize that it takes years for a course to mature but the routing and style of Baltusrol is fantastic!

The condition is unbelievable. The fairways are very tightly mown and are not overly tight for a major championship. The rough is going to be penal as it is early in the week and should get thicker as the week goes on. The greens have potential to be very fast but are not overly severe like Pinehurst or Augusta. There are some subtle slopes but they are very playable for a major championship.

The fourth hole is a great par 3 that is a long iron all over water. The greens slopes from back to front. If you are over the green it will make for a tough up and down for par. Number 3 is going to be very tough hole this week! The rest of the front nine is just a great solid nine holes.

The back nine has some great holes. The best hole in my mind is the 17th, a 650 yard par 5 that I will bet no one will reach in two! I cannot remember a par 5 in any tournament where it has not been reached by someone in the field, but I think it will happen this week. The 18th is a reachable par 5 where there will be a lot of birdies. It is not very ofter that you see back to back par 5's as finishing holes.

One thing that they have done at Baltusrol GC is lenghten a lot of holes and it plays to a par 70 at 7400 yards. I would like to see the courses stay the same length and narrow the fairways in the driving areas. This would put more emphasis on driving it straight and not give the long hitters a bigger advantage.

I know that Mike is focused and wants to have a good week to gain some momentum going into the Canadian Open and the Presidents Cup and has been working very hard to accomplish that.

My prediction for the winning score is 6-under par.

Thanks for reading.
Brennan