Caddie League by Siddharth Naik

Golf is changing and seeing something extraordinary. 49 caddies, who are normally seen picking up bags of club golfers and braving all kinds of weather conditions through the year, were stars at a special caddie tournament. They were welcomed formally into the club with steaming hot cups of tea and biscuits. They carried golf bags and clubs, some lent to them by generous well-wishers. These ‘caddies turned golfers’ basked in the warmth of the hospitality to play Round-1 of the Caddie Golf League 2015.

Well aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course, they planned their strategies and swings well and played what is called-impressive golf. Their progress from hole to hole was also interspersed with water breaks and fresh fruits. All this attention and care surely made the players feel like regular golfers. The caddies were followed, cheered and encouraged. Patrons of the course, witnessing golfers were generous with their compliments and praise and discussed possibilities for caddies to become professional golfers. Caddies too made the most of networking with club golfers, coaches and experts present there. When the event ended with the announcement of winners and their cash awards, there was a feeling of happiness and fulfillment in both- the caddies who played and the passionate golfers who gave them this golden opportunity to play competitive golf.

Thus, what began as a maiden, unique, non profit initiative by golfers Brijesh Patel and myself, supported by Anush Iyer and Siddharth Laheri in 2014 has now progressed into a three round event to be played on three consecutive Mondays in three different golf courses in Ahmedabad. Besides the clubs, several generous, empathetic individuals are supporting this extraordinary initiative in various ways like raising funds for the cash awards, organizing the food & beverage, taking charge of photography, providing coaching assistance and monetary assistance to the unsung heroes – the Caddies!

Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Empathy is hard to outsource and automate, but it surely makes the world a better place. Daniel H. Pink