Through much of the year and much of their lives, the caddies of Oakmont Country Club walk up and down the course guiding the members and guests of the club. They learn the intricacies of the course and the specifics of how to play it well — or try to. They know if you are coming in on the 18th hole and have 125 yards to the pin, it’s going to play like 135 yards, depending on the wind.
So, when the U.S. Open comes to their course and most of the competing golfers bring their own caddies, these men scramble to find jobs around the course, trying to capitalize on their knowledge of Oakmont.
A group of about 20 caddies will help behind the scenes of the Fox broadcast, and one will fill his usual role of caddie, Craig Huffman, 48, will be caddying in the tournament.
“We do know a lot about what’s going on at Oakmont, but, at the same time, it’s kind of a nice way to reward some of the people that have been pretty loyal and been there a few years,” said Dan Reuter, a retired school teacher and Oakmont caddie. “They have some jobs that really fit what we do on an everyday basis.”
Reuter, 66, will be one of those working with Fox. He has been at Oakmont since 1989, caddying as a summer job to gain some additional money when he wasn’t teaching at O’Hara Elementary School. But since retiring from teaching in 2011, it has become more or less a full-time job.
“My wife was a stay-at-home mom, and just caddying put groceries on the table in the summer,” he said. “Then, as the kids got older, it helped pay for college, and now it’s going into the retirement fund.”
The caddies helping Fox will have various jobs, but all will be utilizing their knowledge of the course. Some will be camped out at par 3s and radioing reads and yardages up to the booth. Others will be following certain groups and providing info on things such as club selection. Those not selected will take vacations or try to find work elsewhere.
But Huffman, known as “Slope” for the slant of his nose rather than his knowledge of the greens, has been assigned to caddie for Derek Bard, a senior at Virginia who turned 21 Tuesday.
Huffman took another winding road to the U.S. Open. He worked as a golf sales rep through much of his 30s. Then, he tried pharmaceutical sales, but that didn’t work, either.
“I hated every day of my life,” Huffman said. “Kept getting laid off and I said, ‘I need a lifestyle change.’ ”
Twelve years ago, through his experiences in the golf industry as a sales rep and caddie, the opportunity came up at Oakmont. Now, he’s guiding a golfer at the Open. Huffman and Bard have been communicating constantly for the two months before the Open. Huffman said he has become like a big brother to Bard. They met in late May when Bard played his first round at Oakmont.
A lot of people, Huffman said, come up to the first tee at Oakmont with their knees shaking. They are nervous thinking of all the history and significance of the course. But Bard went up and drove the ball deep over the hill of the first fairway, and it became clear to Huffman that it was going to be a good day.
“The young guns are not afraid,” he said. “They are not nervous. They just hit that ball so hard and so far.”
While the caddies working at the U.S. Open, like Huffman and Reuter, have jobs to do, there’s no denying the journeyman who finally found a home and the retired school teacher will have moments where they stop and look around. It’s the U.S. Open, and Reuter said it’s a heck of a lot better being inside the ropes than in the stands.
“There’s no place like Oakmont,” he said. “Every year, we see some of the best amateurs and professionals in the world come by to play, and it’s amazing.”
Brody Miller: bmiller@post-gazette.com and Twitter @byBrodyMiller.
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