Page 28 - Westchester Magazine - 2020 Golf Guide

PROFILES | Caddies Westchester
Caddies
HelpYou MasterYour Game
When it comes to the brain game, two heads are definitely better than one.
And that’s what a caddie is — another brain to improve your golf decisions. By Declan Russell
Your caddie is an essential partner who does a lot more than lug your clubs around the course. They not only tell you how far to the hit the ball, but where, at what trajectory, and why. They read the line of your putts by the contour of the green but also by the grain of the grass and by the tendencies of your putting style (do you die it into the hole or jam it in at top speed?).
Perhaps most important, your caddie is your coach, your cheer- leader, your companion, and your shrink, ready to boost your spirits after you dump a ball into the drink or slap you a high-five when you drain a putt to win your match.
To get the most out of your caddie’s assistance, keep a few things in mind:
• Your caddie will offer distance information and targets but usually not suggest which club you should hit unless they have worked with you before and know your game.
• Knowing the greens is only part of the equation for reading a putt. How hard you stroke the putt will affect the line the ball follows, so let your caddie know your intentions and preferences.
• Your caddie will often walk ahead of you, especially when you’re teeing off, in order to both spot where your ball lands and to be ready with the information you need to hit your next shot.
It should go without saying, but remember that your caddie can give you advice but can’t hit the ball for you. Good players give their caddies plenty of credit for success, but only jerks blame them for failure.
Anthony Contey
Quaker Ridge GC
Caddying is sort of a family business for Anthony Contey, whose father, Frank, was caddie manager of the Tuxedo Club for 25 years before retiring and turning to looping at Quaker Ridge on weekends. “My dad brought me here in 2017,” Anthony says, “and I went full-time in 2018. I like being out- side and meeting new people.”
Anthony hopes to qualify for a Westchester Caddie Scholarship, to study business and economics in college. “Studying business is easy for me,” he explains. “One thing always connects to another. Golf kind of works the same way: If you hit a bad drive, your second shot is affected.”
Frank observes that, for now at least, Anthony prefers looping to study- ing. “Every morning he caddies, he gets up and is ready to go. School days, I have to drag him out of bed.”
26 GOLF 2020 www.westchestermagazine.com Photos by John Fortunato