Behind the pros

June Casagrande

Keep up. Put up. Shut up. And, most important, do it on time.

That’s what being a caddy in the Toshiba Senior Classic is all

about, Chi Chi Rodriguez’s caddy, John Ray Leary, says.

At the Newport Beach Country Club this week’s, the roughly 80

caddies working will run the gamut from “lifer caddies,” who have

made it their lifetime profession, to pro golfers like Leary who

caddy as a favor to golfing greats and also to earn some precious

wisdom on the sport.

“You have to keep up while you’re out there with them on the golf

course. You have to put up with a lot of stuff out there. And you

basically keep quiet,” Leary said with a good-natured laugh and a nod

to a fellow caddy.

Caddies usually start their day early, picking up his or her golf

pro at a hotel. In Leary’s case, this usually means breakfast with

Rodriguez is at about 7 a.m. -- before heading to the golf course to

make preparations.

It’s the caddies who clean the clubs and make sure every is in

tip-top shape for the golfer.

On just about every day of the tournament, every caddy stops by

the headquarters of Joe and Marlene Ryan, volunteer caddy masters who

have been working the Toshiba Senior Classic for about five years.

“We’re here in a tent they set up for us, and basically all the

caddies have to come here for their bibs that they wear in the

tournament, and towels, and for information about when their golfer

is playing,” said Joe, who along with wife Marlene travels from

Bakersfield for the tournament each year.

Caddies like Leary, who recently qualified for and played in the

Nissan Los Angeles Open, take the job a step further.

“I help chart the grains for Chi Chi,” he said, explaining that

this means knowing which way a shot is likely to curve based on the

terrain. They even carry a yardage book, which shows such “grains”

for each hole on the country club’s course.

“Chi Chi’s comfortable with me and I learn a lot from him,” Leary

said, while on a golf cart to take some of Rodriguez’s clubs to an

equipment shed for a few technical adjustments. “I’m usually on the

other side, with my own caddy. This helps me appreciate caddies.

“A good caddy goes a long way for a good player.”