It was somewhere on the long ribbon of asphalt that connects Benton Harbor, Michigan, with Des Moines, Iowa, that the stark reality of the past year – and more specifically, the tragic news of Grayson Murray’s death only days earlier – hit home with Kip Henley last week.
The veteran caddie was driving to the next tournament with his new boss, PGA Tour Champions rookie Heath Slocum, when the memories that he and Murray shared and the emotional scars that ensued from their fractured relationship came flooding back.
“Heath and I were in the car driving and I started reflecting,” Henley said. “I got a little emotional thinking this was exactly what me and Grayson used to do. We drove everywhere and had some amazing talks on those trips. We called it ‘driving private.’ That’s when it really hit me that he’s no longer here.”
Henley had a front-row seat in 2023 for a resurgent year in which Murray regained full status on the PGA Tour and, more importantly, found peace and purpose in life beyond the golf course. They won in their first Korn Ferry Tour event last May, then backed that up with another victory in September. Throw in a pair of top-10s on the PGA Tour, and their partnership appeared to be bearing fruit.
People don’t understand the complete role of a caddie,” Henley said. “Grayson would listen to me. He wouldn't always say I was right, but he was always willing to discuss ways to get better. On the golf course, he could be 25 handfuls. But away from the game, he was thoughtful. He made me feel like I was part of his team.”
But that ended without warning in December when Murray decided to let Henley go as his caddie. The news came as a shock after Henley had spent an extended time with Murray in Sea Island, Georgia, only weeks earlier.
“... part of me felt like I helped him screw the wheels back on, to deal with his demons while reaching his golf potential.“
Kip Henley
“Grayson told me last summer that he would give me $10,000 if I lost 20 pounds during the offseason,” Henley said. “I told him, ‘You're fixin’ to lose 10 grand, dude. I'll cut a leg off if I have to.’ I had just weighed that morning and had hit my goal, and I knew he would have paid me. I hadn't been off the scale for a minute when he called me and told me he's going a different direction.”
Murray’s decision to turn to Jay Green floored Henley, who won four times with Brian Gay during a 10-year stretch and once with Austin Cook on the PGA Tour plus another victory with Vijay Singh on the Champions circuit.
“We're starting a brand-new season with full status, and I know he’s going to win in no time,” said Henley, a frequent winner in the Tennessee PGA Section who made nine starts on the PGA Tour and 22 on the developmental tour over the years. “It was hard not to be somewhat bitter, thinking that I had helped him rebuild his career. Let’s be honest: Grayson won because he can hit a 5-iron 225 yards dead straight every single time. But part of me felt like I helped him screw the wheels back on, to deal with his demons while reaching his golf potential. I had been telling him we were going to win and be in the next Masters.”
Henley’s prediction became a reality when Murray won the Sony Open only a few weeks later as Henley watched from his home in Tennessee.
“When he won the very next event at Sony with me sitting on the couch, it was the most painful thing ever,” Henley said.
They crossed paths the next week at the American Express tournament where Henley was looping for Scott Gutschewski. An emotional exchange in the parking lot between Henley and Green led to a series of heated texts between Murray and his former caddie. It was the last time they communicated.
Finding new professional life with Slocum has been cathartic for Henley in moving past his disappointment. But hearing the news of Murray’s death last weekend came as a shock, filling him with sorrow and compassion.
“We were riding to scoring after our round and one of the caddies on the driving range screamed, ‘Kip, did you hear that Grayson’s dead?’ It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was riding with Greg Chalmers, and he put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. It was just devastating. A million emotions went through me in two seconds.”
Henley has been forced to sort through his emotions and process the May 25 death of the 30-year-old Murray, which his parents and investigators acknowledged was by suicide. The end result is one of regret over their unresolved differences.
“I’m not one to dwell on something, but there’s a piece of me that'll always be sad that I didn't mend the fences between us,” Henley. “I'm not blaming myself, but there’s still sadness I didn’t do my part. The worst part is his beautiful family who loved that kid like crazy will have to live with his actions forever.”
Paul Payne is a freelance writer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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Top: The late Grayson Murray won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Simmons Bank Open in September with Kip Henley on the bag.
Courtesy Kip Henley