Most LPGA professionals tour with their own caddie every week, someone they trust to give them yardage, select clubs, read putts. However, not every player does that. Some of them depend on a local caddie every week.
Imagine being a random Rogers resident thrown out at the NWA Championship carrying a bag for a complete stranger with thousands of dollars on the line.
“You try not to get in their way, get behind them in their line or they have to ask you to move,” said David Phillips, local caddie.
“It's getting easier, but it is yea worried about making mistakes,” said Charlie Wagner, local caddie.
Charlie Wagner is going on his sixth year caddying at the NWA Championship. Every year he gets somebody new, and each experience is more unique than the last.
“I had a girl five years ago and I said 'what do you need me to do' and she said 'show up shut up and keep up' and she smiled, but that's basically what I do,” Wagner said.
Professional caddies can oftentimes shave a few strokes off their player's round, but these guys are not pros. So their biggest accomplishment is not looking like a fool.
“There's been some caddies who made mistakes that cost players two strokes, riding in a cart during a round which is illegal. Raking a sand trap when they're not completely out of it. There's been a few instances,” Wagner said.