At the Colorado Golf Association, there’s a longstanding saying that regularly gets repeated in early summer that the “C” in CGA actually stands for caddies. Although said slightly tongue-in-cheek, it does hold merit because we believe caddying is a conduit between golf and growth. Each year, the Colorado Golf Association and Colorado Golf Foundation support an annual Caddie Summit designed to provide a forum for 21 caddie clubs across the state to discuss best practices and share insight to promote and encourage youth caddying initiatives with one another. Through grant contributions, the Colorado Golf Foundation provides funding to these clubs who completed over 19,000 youth caddie loops in 2023. This impact certainly speaks for itself but doesn’t tell the whole story.
Through work started in 2012 with the inaugural chapter of the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy, the Colorado Golf Association has grown its individual impact to youth caddying to five chapters statewide with over 130 participants in 2024, including 52 Evans Scholarship recipients since its inception. Also, as part of this work, the Colorado Golf Foundation has extended its outreach to include the First Tee Green Valley Ranch Caddie Program into its grantmaking profile. These chapters alone account for nearly 20 percent of all youth caddie loops in Colorado annually.
Although this success is tremendous, the bigger impact involves the growth of the most important people who make these respective programs go: the caddies themselves. What they gain through their experience is second-to-none … And below are a few of those caddie stories in their own words.
LAUREN KACHEL
Caddie Club: Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy
School & Grade: Incoming Freshmen, CU-Boulder
College & Career Aspirations: Integrative Physiology with plans to attend medical school
Impact Statement: “My five years of caddying have been instrumental in my personal growth. It's taught me valuable lessons in patience, attentiveness, and effective communication; when I started, I was extremely shy, but caddying truly helped me come out of my shell. Additionally, being on the course has provided me with unique perspectives on strategy and decision-making, which I've been able to apply to various aspects of my life- especially in school.
Overall, the experience has helped me become more disciplined, adaptable, and confident in handling challenges. Some golfers say, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’, but caddying shows the opposite is true. Seeing them succeed in their goals is immensely encouraging for me and demonstrates that no matter what I think I know or how old I am, there’s always a new trick to learn in golf and in life!”
JEFFREY ARMSTRONG II
Caddie Club: Meridian Golf Club (Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy
School & Grade: 11th grade, Chaparral High School
College & Career Aspirations: Colorado State, Kansas State or Lutheran University to pursue a degree in Secondary Education
Impact Statement: “Before I started caddying, I was very anti-social and nervous around others, especially around adults. However, every golfer I went out with was extremely welcoming and friendly, which made me want to get out and learn more about not only how I can improve as a caddie, but to learn more about each individual member as well. The more I went out, the easier it became to learn more about myself and others.
Above anything else, the bonds and connections we make with people are some of the most vital decisions of our lives. While it is important to be well educated, the interactions made with your teachers, fellow students, and staff members are just as important because they make that journey towards that goal meaningful. I’ve learned it's not necessarily about the money or grades you make, but more about the hands you shake along the way.”
JR MARTINEZ
Caddie Club: Green Valley Ranch Golf Club
School & Grade: 11th grade, Prairie View High School
College & Career Aspirations: CU Boulder with plans to open his own business in the automotive industry
Impact Statement: “Caddying has helped me gain social skills that I can use in my everyday life; how to talk to people and how to establish relationships with the golfers. Caddying has helped give me confidence in myself by knowing how to read the greens and getting accurate yardages, which have also helped my golf game as well. The biggest lesson I have learned from caddying is definitely patience. It takes a lot of patience while helping out the golfers. Patience is not something I had coming into being a caddie, but it is definitely a lesson that I have learned over time. Caddying has helped me be more patient in my life which has helped with school and sports, and will help in the future.”