Not all Crooked Stick caddies are teenagers, however. There are roughly 70 caddies in the Crooked Stick program, with some being in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Before caddies are allowed to walk on the golf course, they must go through a training program. “Being a caddie is more than just carrying a golf,” says Luke Blank, the caddie manager at Crooked Stick. “We teach them how to be comfortable with the clientele, where to stand on the golf course, and how and when to speak with adults.” Two of Crooked Stick’s caddies, Matt Alley, 43, and Emerson Bostic, 19, both enjoy sports and love being around a golf environment. Alley has been a caddie at Crooked Stick for 13 years. It fits nicely with his full-time job teaching math at St. Michael-St. Gabriel School, in Brownsburg. “I usually caddie five rounds a week during the summer,” says Alley, an eight-handicap golfer himself. His motivation for being a caddie is simple. “I needed something to do as a break from teaching school and I like golf.” With his experience, he knows the course well. “I know this place well, I know the yardages, and I know these greens,” notes Alley, who estimates that he has caddied Crooked Stick for at least 1,500 rounds. Another benefit of being a caddie at Crooked Stick is that you get to meet some interesting people. “I have caddied for baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, a singer for the country band Rascal Flats, and former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.” Bostic, who is a finance major at Purdue University, has learned a few life lessons from the golfers at Crooked Stick. By walking alongside golfers at Crooked Stick, many of whom are successful businessmen, he has learned a few things about golf and life which are not taught in school. “I’ve learned how to communicate with different types of people,” states Bostic, who ran cross country, played basketball, and played tennis in high school. “I’ve learned a few social skills and I’ve learned a great deal about golf. I’ve also met lots of business mentors in my major.”
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