We all have dreams growing up.
We might dream of being a doctor, a nurse, a pro athlete or a firefighter, but how many of us are willing to start at the bottom and keep working towards that dream?
This is a story about two young men, each trying to fulfill their own dream.
You will get acquainted with Chip Deason, a golf professional striving to make his way onto the PGA tour.
You will also meet Robert Peeler, a college student with an unusual goal.
I am sure you have all heard that old saying "it takes two to tango” and it is ever so true in this case.
The Blog is doing a Q and A with Robert Peeler, a young man we got to know about 7 or 8 summers ago.
The Director and The Blogette were playing a lot of golf that summer, and got acquainted with Robert and his two golfing buddies, Jamie Mabe and Daniel Hardy.
They were all members of the
Lexington High School golf team, and all 3 were about 14 years old at that time.
While playing the front nine, we would see these 3 young kids approaching fast behind us, all toting their clubs and moving at a brisk pace.
The first time this happened, they asked if they could play through.
We said “Sure guys - no problem!”
We never expected to see them again that day, and planned on continuing our round without further interruption.
When lo and behold, here they came again…on the back nine.
No need for small talk this time, we just waved them on through.
The Director spoke up and asked "How many holes today?”
The scrawniest one of the three answered, "At least 36 today, or till it gets dark…we might get in 54.”
This skinny kid weighed no more than a hundred pounds soaking wet, and the bag was nearly bigger than he was!
This was our first encounter with Robert Peeler.
We could tell that he had a future in golf - with his determined attitude, the pep in his step and his love for the game.
Just the way he carried that big bag, lined up every putt, and pulled that scorecard out reminded us of the Great Ones – Angelo Argea, Bruce Edwards, and Fluff.
Yes, this young man just might become a PGA tour caddy!!
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Robert Peeler and Chip Deason
Two regular guys on the road to a dream! |
Give us some background on yourself. What is your college major, other interests, etc.?I was born in Gaffney, SC (home of the Big Peach), and moved to Lexington at age 10. I graduated from Lexington High School in 2007 and will graduate from Clemson in TBD? (laughs)…probably next summer. I am majoring in Travel and Tourism, and enjoy being anywhere outside… the beach, lake, golf course, or the mountains. I love to travel to Clemson sporting events and just any new places. One of my goals is to visit all 50 states before I die. I also probably follow the PGA Tour, and Jonathan Byrd in particular, too extremely but I enjoy keeping up with it and feel that caddying on the PGA Tour would be a dream job.
How did you meet Chip and start caddying for him? I met Chip about three years ago when I was working as a cart-boy at the Country Club of Lexington. I had on some kind of Clemson clothing (surprise, surprise) and he took a jab at me about our recent shellacking at the hands of Alabama in the opening game of the college football season that year. I went up to the range and starting talking with him. I found out that he was a professional golfer. We starting playing some and became friends. I told him that I enjoyed caddying, and he suggested that I could caddy for him at the local Hooters Tour events in Columbia and McCormick, SC when I got the chance.
Tell about your goals as a caddy.My ultimate goal is to become a caddy on the PGA Tour, and hopefully stay there for 20-25 years. I would like to caddy in each of the 4 majors at least once – especially The Masters. I would love to be at the majors on a yearly basis. As a caddy on the PGA Tour, there are several perks. These include not only walking inside the ropes, and seeing some of the greatest courses in the world, but having the opportunity to play there as well. I would like to be able to use this position in order to knock some of the world’s greatest courses off of my lifetime play list. Ultimately, I would like to caddy for Chip on the PGA Tour. Hopefully, he can not only make it but hang around for a long while. I can also use my position as a caddy to knock out several of the states I have left to visit.
What should a person do in order to pursue this goal? Caddying is all about who you know and getting your foot in the door. The more I get to caddy for Chip, even at the Hooters Tour level, the more people I meet and the more contacts I can make in regards to the professional golf business. If you are not fortunate enough to know a PGA Tour player willing to let you carry his sticks, a good starting place is the Hooters or Nationwide Tour. There are 14 spots available for Monday qualifiers on the Nationwide Tour almost every week. That gives caddies a great opportunity to find a player who needs a caddy at least for that week. It can be a very good lifestyle but not quite as glamorous when you are starting out.
What is your experience as a caddy in the professional ranks? I have caddied several times for buddies in amateur tournaments as well most recently caddying at the South Carolina Amateur Championship at Colleton River in Bluffton. Professionally, I have caddied in three Hooters Tour Events (2010 and 2011 Woodcreek Classic, and 2011 Savannah Lakes Village Classic) and most recently in the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School at Kinderlou Forest in Valdosta, GA. I got to caddy for my favorite PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd in a practice round at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. What a great experience for me being able to caddy for my idol growing up!
Tell us about caddying for Chip. What is his best finish? Chip’s best Hooters Tour finish with me on the bag was T-11 at Woodcreek in 2010. We just recently finished T-4 at First Stage of Q-School. To his credit, Chip has 2 career Hooters Tour Victories: 2009 ComSouth Classic in Hawkinsville, GA/28 under; and 2008 Kandy Waters Golf Classic in Augusta. He has played in three PGA Tour events: 2000 Buick Challenge/Pine Mountain, GA, 2007 AT&T Classic/Atlanta, and 2009 Ginn Sur Mer Classic/Palm Coast, FL (T-54)
Do you have any funny stories you can share about your friendship or golf relationship with Chip?
Probably the funniest story about our friendship happened shortly after I met Chip. We were playing the Palmetto GC in Aiken. Chip had just finished playing in the Ginn Sur Mer Classic. We had made it to the 2nd tee, and we were discussing his tournament performance. That’s when I told Chip that he had led the field in birdies for the week with 17. At this point, Chip didn’t know that my brain is an encyclopedia of useless sports stats and knowledge. Our other 2 players knew me well and just started laughing, because of course that stat is just the kind of thing that only I would commit to memory. Chip had no idea and was like “how the hell do you know that?” before saying “I probably led the field in bogeys too!” Ever since then Chip has referred to me as the “The Stats Guy” when talking to playing partners about sports.
Also, this past week, at First Stage, each day consisted of the same routine for us. Chip always gets up 3 hours before his tee time to make sure he is not rushed. We had McDonald’s for breakfast every day. Chip had an Egg McMuffin and large orange juice, while I alternated between a Sausage McMuffin or sausage biscuit, hash browns, and orange juice every morning. Our post-round meal each day consisted of Chicken Pot Pie Soup at the Club. I didn’t know there was such a thing, but it was amazing. Then we went back to the hotel to shower off, and headed to Cracker Barrel each night. Chip got the Old Timer’s Breakfast every night, with me getting the Cracker Barrel Sampler one night and the Sunrise Breakfast Sampler the next 2 nights. We always got some type of candy afterwards. For me, that meant cinnamon drops, horehound drops, and lemonade drops in that order. Neither one of us is usually superstitious about routines like this, but it seemed to be working, so we stuck with it and it helped us move on.
What are some things that are required for caddies to do that most average golfers would not know about? What is the hardest/easiest/most fun part of the job?
You do not have be a great golfer to be a caddy. You just need to have a good understanding of the game. Being a good caddy doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes time to find out the nuances involved with caddying on a regular basis at the highest levels. Knowing when to talk and when to shut up is vital, whether your player is playing good or bad. Also, I am getting more and more accustomed to how far Chip hits the ball with each club, therefore giving me the ability to give more input as time goes on. I am fairly inexperienced as a caddy, and am using the experience with Chip to better myself moving forward.
Let’s look ahead to Second Stage… what is up next for you two?Chip got his assignment for Second Stage early this week. He is signed up for the Hombre Golf Club (Bad/Ugly) in Panama City, Florida. His high finish this week assured him of the trip to Panama City. The higher you finish in First Stage, the better chance you have of getting your preferred Second Stage site. I have a test that Thursday (Nov. 15) but I will be working with my professor to make it up either before or after the trip. As long as I can get that taken care of, I will be back on the bag at Second Stage, trying to help Chip move through to Final Stage in LaQuinta, California, and hopefully on the way to the PGA Tour.
Chip Deason Bio:
Originally from Alabama, now calls Lexington, South Carolina his home......1991 and 1992 Alabama State Junior Champion....Played at University of Alabama, and was SEC first team in 1996 and 1997.....Shot low round of 64 in the 1997 SEC Championship.....Won 1 Gateway Tour championship…….Won 2 Hooters Tour Championships, best score of 28 under at the Com South Classic in 2009.......Played in 3 PGA tour events, best finish T-54 at the Ginn Sur Mer Classic in Palm Coast, FL in 2009…..Made it to the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School in 2005.....Finished T-4 First Stage of PGA Tour Q-School…..Headed to Second Stage at Panama City, FL on Nov 15, 2011.
The Invitational Blog extends best wishes to Robert and Chip on their road to the dream.
We, along with all of our blog flollowers, will be watching your journey all the way to the PGA tour!
Go get 'em!!
