This article was written by a guest contributor, John Trompeter, the owner/operator of ComForCare of Wheaton, IL.
When King Henry V wanted to rouse his troops in a spirit of brotherhood, he called out that famous line, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Shakespeare’s lofty verse doesn’t tell the whole story of my teenage experience working as a fresh-eyed caddy at the Butterfield Country Club in Oak Brook. We caddies worked, debated, and horsed around together in a fraternity of sorts—but I must admit that at times it was more like the flick Caddy Shack.
Caddying was the norm for me growing up. In a family of six boys and three girls, a steady summer job was essential for general expenses, to buy a car, and to save for college. And we made pocketfuls of money. Fifty to sixty hours a week didn’t seem long with the fresh air, exercise, and interaction with the other guys.
Ask anyone today, and they will tell you that caddying is a business school for kids. It was more than just handing the right club to a member or estimating the yardage to the hole. From the time I was 13, I learned to deal with different personalities, both among the guys as well as the club’s members. We saw both the lowlives of society and those who were stellar. We learned subtle skills, such as how to be respectful to the members, how to speak appropriately, and how to manage oneself.
The days were often slow, and so the caddies would go to a hidden-away area to a mini golf course built into the dirt called The Ruts. We would play for a buck or a dime a hole. And the competition extended to the points we earned with each game we caddied, which were posted on a wall at the end of the week.
I didn’t realize it, but the skills gained on the links became the building blocks of my work today as a home care administrator.
Every summer ended in the Caddy Banquet for the sixty to eighty of us. In my first year I finished as Top B Caddy: the boy who gained the most points for a first-year caddy. To my glee, my prize was a brand-new golf bag.
Working as a caddie was the most enjoyable job I ever had. I appreciate today the friendships and camaraderie that were formed on the greens that endure to this day.
By John Trompeter Owner/Operator, ComForCare of Wheaton