Inside the Ropes at Crooked Stick 

        Sunday -     Jerry and I left for Indiana for the 2009 U.S. Senior Open! We arrived at the airport and were greeted by the enthusiastic USGA reps. They took us to the rental car area and gave us a 2010 Lexus SUV complimentary for the week, with the GPS already programmed to the hotel, golf course and downtown area. We went straight to Crooked Stick clubhouse where we had lunch. Then I had to get my caddie credentials by registering my name as well as Jerry's, got my official caddie card, instructions and rules. We also  received our passes that guaranteed us access anywhere on the golf course, including breakfast and lunch at the clubhouse. Jerry hit the driving range and then we went immediately to play a practice round of the front 9 holes with Mo Guttman from Florida. All I can say is, the course is very very tough with its narrow fairways, small greens, and a thick deep rough. The course is also long, about 7,360 yards.

          Monday -    We arrived at Crooked Stick at 6:30am, had breakfast, and Jerry hit the driving range at 7:30am. We played a practice round of 18 holes with Mo Guttman. We played the front 9, and this was our first time seeing the back 9. I thought the front 9 was hard, the back nine was even harder. Narrower, longer, and extremely tricky greens. After the round we had lunch, went back to the range to hit more balls for two hours. I met the author of the “Crooked Stick Country Club” book, that each player was presented with when they got there which was signed by Pete Dye and his wife.

          Tuesday - Again we arrived at 6:30am to eat breakfast, and to start hitting balls at the range at 7:30am. We started our practice round playing with Larry Laoretti, the 1992 U.S. Senior open champion. He had a cigar in his mouth throughout the entire round, even while he was playing! His son caddied for him, and he was very nice. It was just Jerry and Larry, and they were having great conversation about the champions tour, it was extremely relaxed. When we started the back 9 we were joined by Mike Borich of Utah and Bernard Langer champion of the 1993 masters, and number one senior player. After Bernard Langer joined our group, the crowd followed us. A very trim and fit Bernard Langer was very methodical about the way he approached the game. Off the tee, the approach shot, and especially on the green, I find the way he approached the game fascinating. He hit a decent tee shot, his approach shot is very precise. On the green he was always pacing and charting. He was also quite funny and very nice. I had my hat signed by both Larry Laoretti and Bernard Langer.

          Wednesday - Another 6:30am breakfast and hitting balls at the driving range. We played our practice round with Mo Guttman, Danny Green an amateur, and Bernard Langer who took a liking to Jerry. Again we had a following crowd. Jerry and Langer had played in the 1996 Masters together, so they had remembered each other. Danny Green had beaten Jerry in the 1999 USGA Mid-Amateur, they knew each other very well and there was a lot of joking around and fun on the course. The course was tough and long, with lots of water-everybody was having trouble. Lunch followed, along with more balls at the driving range. I met a lot of the people around at the range who were members of the club and volunteers for this event. I schmoozed with some of them, and they gave me information about the course as to wind pattern, what is normal, and what is not. While Jerry was hitting balls he sent me to one of the trailers to check and see if we could re-grip his clubs. As I was waiting in line at the trailer the guy in front of me turned around I realized it was Tom Watson! I was so starstruck I couldn't really think and I didn't have a pen or my hat with me. I was very disappointed because one of my goals for the trip was to get his autograph. After he left I turned around to go back to the range I wound up walking straight into Loren Roberts the winner of the British Senior Open from the week before. I still didn't have my hat or pen so the only thing I managed to say to him was, “congratulations” and he said “thank you very much” and that was it. I was so mad that I didn't manage to get the autographs of two of the plays that I admired most. On Wednesday night we went to Ruth Christie the steakhouse for dinner with our two greatest fans from Connecticut that came to cheer Jerry on. We also saw Bernard Langer there and he turned to Jerry and said, “I'll see you on Sunday,” we all thought that was a good omen and quite a compliment coming from the best player on the senior tour.

          Based on the last three days, I was very surprised at how normal and relaxed all of the players were. I noticed when I caddie for Jerry in the sectionals it's actually a lot more tense and unfriendly. I found it interesting, I don't know whether the friendlier atmosphere is because the players are older or maybe just more confident in their games. I was also surprised that everybody was signing so many autographs during the practice rounds.

           Thursday - Day 1 of the U.S. Senior open. Tee time 7:55am - When we first got to the course we checked in, and I got my gold caddie bib; as everyone knows my favorite color is white, yellow or gold so that was perfect for me! We were at the range at 7:00am. We played with Mike Barge from Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota and Bert Atkinson an amateur from Charleston. I was very excited and also nervous for Jerry. We were the second group out on the course so it was early and the course was dewy, meaning there would not be much roll on the ball. Surprisingly there were still a lot of people on the course and especially on the first tee. On the first tee we got the pin position sheet, I gave Jerry the Three Iron, and then Jerry was announced over the loud speaker, “From Westport, Connecticut, Jerry Courville!" Here we go!. Jerry hit his tee shot, and it was on the fairway, phew! What a first shot! It's an exhausting 18 holes.

          I was told there were 30,000 people on the course, and I pretty much kept my head down and carried the bag, but I could hear everyone around me. Every now and then someone would shout “Go Connecticut!” and I would give them the thumbs up, but other than that I tried not to get too distracted by the crowd and do my job as caddie. We finished our round at 12:30pm and ESPN starts at 1:30 so we were not on TV, but Jerry did get interviewed and it was posted online on the U.S. Senior Open website.

On the first day Jerry scored:

           Friday - Day 2 of the U.S. Senior Open. Tee time 1:10pm - This was the day we had to make sure we made the cut to continue the tournament. We had to hit balls at 12pm and had to eat at 11am. We hoped that the people at home would be able to see us on TV because of our later start time. The reason the timing was terrible, though, was because we were hungry while we were on the course, and the round was slow. The group in front of us was having a lot of trouble, so they were put on the clock and we were constantly waiting for them. We started this round on the back 9 and played with Bert Atkinson and Mike Barge again. The crowd was just as big and we heard someone say “Stay strong Jerry!”. This was the last day that the crowd got to see all 156 players before the cut. I was very conscious about making sure Jerry would make the cut. I was constantly looking at the scoreboard; Jerry didn't know what the cut was but I did. Pin placement was very tough, and everybody was scrambling to make par. After the round Mike Barge had not made the cut, we weren't sure if Atkinson would make it, but we were sure Jerry had already made the cut. At that time the cut was +3, and Jerry was even after the two days. I was relieved and thrilled; we had met another goal!

          Saturday - Day 3 of the U.S. Senior Open. Tee time 11:10am. - We made the cut, phew! It was moving day, time to move up the ladder. We had our breakfast and the clubhouse was a lot quieter. Only 65 of the original 156 players made the cut.  The staff at the clubhouse was so nice and gave us the USGA VIP treatment because we had done so well. Jerry was nervous while he was hitting balls; he realized he was really big time now. I was also nervous and trying to make sure our outfits were coordinated and in-sync for the TV cameras. NBC was recording that day. We played with Ian Woosnam, and his caddie Kevin. Kevin was from Liverpool so I fit right in! It was very relaxed pairings, Ian was as tall as I am and I noticed he had small feet. Kevin was charming and we hit it off. Both Jerry and Ian play at a very fast pace, so they worked well as a twosome. They had met and played together at the Masters during the par 3 tournament. Jerry had a double bogey on the second hole so we worked hard the rest of the day to make sure we would not make any more mistakes. Pin placement was the hardest so far. The crowd was even bigger and louder. Although I did not tell Jerry at the time I was hoping to have him finish top 15 so that he would be invited back next year. We didn't play that well but we managed to keep it together, and looked forward to playing and doing better the next day. Ian and Jerry finished the round scoring the exact same thing.

           Sunday - Final day of the U.S. Senior open. Tee time 10:10am  - We got lucky and played with Ian Woosnam again. I told Jerry "let's not play defensive golf, let’s just go out and have fun." It was a relaxing round with five birdies after 9; Jerry was on fire.  We were reading the putts very well, and I liked to think to myself that I was responsible for the good round. We were -4 going into 18, when Jerry made a bogey on the last hole, and we came in to find out that was an $8,000 putt. We had seven birdies that day and finished three under par for the day and -1 for the tournament. I was very happy for Jerry, and he was proud of himself. He played better than many big players like Tom Watson and Hale Irwin. We had lunch, watched the rest of the tournament on TV, and then headed for the airport.  

          I was told that 150 thousand tickets were sold at forty to fifty dollars a pop, and thirty-thousand people were at the golf course each day for the tournament. As you can imagine this was nerve-wracking, I have caddied before but never in a tournament of this scale. Jerry signed autographs every day after the practice rounds and continued to do so after the tournament days, so many people wanted his autograph.  Everyone knew Jerry from his Mid-Amateur, which he had played at Crooked Stick twenty years ago in 1989, and had his signature on the wall from that time.