Hybrid loop
Twice this winter, I have played golf in Florida. And on both occasions, I have employed what the celebrated Canadian golf writer Lorne Rubenstein and I have taken to calling a “hybrid caddie.”
That would be a looper who puts your clubs on the back of a cart and then drives said vehicle around the layout, stopping as needed to perform the usual duties of the trade, from giving yardages and handing clubs to his player to reading greens and raking bunkers.
As a result, we as golfers are able to enjoy walking a layout as well as a number of unexpected side benefits.
Such as being able to bring along an extra wind shirt or sweater vest without feeling guilty about weighing down the bag that the caddie normally would be toting. Same with one of those insulated, stainless steel water bottles that have become all the rage – and that can feel as heavy as a brick when filled. You also do not have to worry about finding a place to stash things such as your rangefinder – and then remembering to retrieve them when your round is done.
I also like that the hybrid caddie eliminates any possibility of offending a particularly persnickety looper with the size or shape of one’s golf bag and having him, or her, try to change it out, whether that actually needs to be done or not.
Then, there is the added convenience for scribes such as Lorne and I of having a convenient place to store our pens and notepads during a round. It is also easier to jot down quick impressions of a place we might be writing about while sitting down between shots as opposed to doing so while ambling down a fairway. And it makes my writing much more legible.
As golfers of a certain age, we also do not mind taking a bit of a breather during a round, especially on one of those modern courses where the distance between greens and tees can be a little long in spots.
To be clear, my preference remains to use loopers in the most traditional ways. But I do not mind being taken for a ride every now and then.
The way Lorne and I figure it, we have hybrid clubs and hybrid tees in golf. Why not hybrid caddies?
John Steinbreder
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