No carts for caddies on Champions Tour meets with approval
By Bill Kwon
As part of its new fan-friendly feature, the Champions Tour has adopted a new policy on the use of golf carts. Its first implementation took place at the season-opening MasterCard Championship at the Hualalai Golf Club on the Big Island last week.
Chris Sutton
Now the tour doesn't look like a go-kart 500 with cries of "Excuse, me, cart coming through," as in years past with the golfers speeding away and forcing the gallery to run along to keep up.
Chris Sutton, who caddied for Dana Quigley, got a nice check.
But the tour won't be caddy-friendly from now on, and that's just fine with Jack Nicklaus.
Under the new cart policy, golfers are encouraged to walk, but may use a cart if desired. Their caddies, however, will not be permitted to ride at anytime during an official round, except when traveling from green to the next tee and when determined by the tournament director in specific cases.
Cart use is OK for pro-ams and practice rounds.
"This was a tour for the caddies at one time. The players gave the caddies the cart so that they can caddy for them," Nicklaus said. "Caddies are supposed to carry the bag. That's what they're supposed to do."
According to Nicklaus, you would often hear someone say, "Oh, where am I going to put my fruit? Where am I going to put my extra rain umbrella? My wife's coat? I mean, it's ridiculous. This is a golf tournament."
Added Hale Irwin: "Now it feels more like a tournament than a corporate outing."
Nicklaus wasn't the only one getting on the senior tour caddy's case.
"The major issue was that the caddies were abusing the carts," Fuzzy Zoeller said.
"I got 25 guys waiting to caddy. Now the list might get shorter," added Dana Quigley, who birdied the final hole to win the MasterCard Championship by one stroke over Larry Nelson on Sunday.
But one caddy who will always be on Quigley's A-list whenever it comes to local tournaments is Chris Sutton, a 43-year-old Maui resident who works at the Makena Resort.
Sutton toted the bag for the triumphant Quigley, who has never ridden a cart since first playing on the senior tour in 1997. It's even more remarkable considering Quigley just played in his 202nd consecutive tournament.
Sutton doesn't mind the new cart rule prohibiting the caddies to ride.
"It's good. I was kind of getting out of shape anyway," said Sutton, who received 10 percent of Quigley's $250,000 winning purse.
"He gave me a ridiculous amount. It's more than what I earn all year," said Sutton, who also had caddied for Quigley in the Turtle Bay Championship last October.
"A nice paycheck. He's deserving," Quigley said. "He was my assistant at my club in Rhode Island and a great friend over the years."
It wasn't the first time the two have hooked up. Sutton first caddied for Quigley more than 20 years ago in PGA Tour Monday qualifying at the Phoenix Open and a couple of times at the Ka'anapali Senior Classic.
They first met in Minnesota through Quigley's brother, Paul, whose son Brett plays on the PGA Tour.
Even when Sutton moved to Maui after first coming for a visit with his parents 20 years ago, they have kept in touch. Sutton worked for Quigley for three years, spending summers in New England and winters at home.
Now he's a homebody, having married Masayo Yamamoto, a guest services director at the Maui Prince Hotel, 10 years ago. They have two children, Aya, 9, and Samuel, 7.
"He hasn't asked me, but I'd love to caddy for him again at Hualalai. I'm sure I'll be caddying for him at Turtle Bay again," said Sutton, more than ready to walk than ride.
So are most of the golfers on the newly named Champions Tour, Nicklaus in particular.
"I think there's no place for (caddies who ride in carts) in the game of golf," he said. "I can see if a guy is really hurt and can't make it then it's wonderful to give him a cart and let him play. I have no problem with that. It's not for the caddies."
"I've been working on eliminating carts for 23 years," Arnold Palmer said. "If I had my way, I would eliminate them entirely on the tour. Everybody should walk."
"I was on the board that made the decision," Nelson said. "I think the new cart rule is great. Two or three years from now, you won't even notice the carts out here."
Nelson admits, though, a cart's a "good place to keep your stuff and everybody has stuff."
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
