One day it dawned on longtime local golf professional Brandon Rogers that “there’s not a singe kid in Arizona who is getting introduced to the game of golf by caddying first.”
“I thought we had to change that, so in 2015 we started a youth-based caddie system at Desert Forest Golf Club. We never had a caddie program before, and I said, ‘let’s do this for the right reasons.’”
To help grow the game, they chose kids instead of professionals, and the membership backed it. In fact, it was their idea. Members from places across the country like Chicago grew up caddying as kids. It’s the way they learned to play and appreciate the game. This type of support led to 3,000 rounds caddied over seven years at Desert Forest. What’s more, three caddies in the program earned Evans Scholarships, a 100-year-old, full-housing and tuition scholarships for caddies who caddied throughout high school.
With designs to expand, Rogers went on to found the Arizona Caddie and Leadership Academy at Papago Golf Course to carry the future of the game in Arizona forward, one bag at a time.
While he admits “not everyone is going to get that scholarship,” every caddie will learn the game of golf as well as all of the life lessons it teaches along the way. At the Arizona Caddie and Leadership Academy, it means “training young people to caddie; coaching each young person to become an elite version of themselves; and growing the number of Evans Scholars in Arizona.”
Listen to the podcast to learn about this inspiring program and how you can get involved.
