THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 14, 1995 TAG: 9507140567
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
PGA Tour caddie Fred Sanders has more tales to tell and opinions to render than a golf ball has dimples. Lucky for us, he's gotten the chance.
Sanders' column, ``Caddies Not Allowed,'' debuted last week on GolfWeb. If the 30-something Kentuckian's first effort is any indication, that's a port on the Internet PC par-busters should start checking on a regular basis.
The title is drawn from a sign on the pro shop door of a recent PGA Tour stop. It's symbolic of the second-class citizenship Sanders says caddies still endure.
``People look at us like they did 50 years ago,'' he says.
Sanders calls the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic one of his favorite stops and lauds the heapin' helpin' of Southern hospitality Kingsmill offers. But in six visits here, he has never seen the inside of the players' locker room.
``I couldn't tell you a thing about the upstairs,'' he said. ``Never been anywhere but downstairs. Some places, they give you dirty looks when you go into a locker room to take down your player's bag.''
Most of Sanders' future observations will be drawn from his experiences carrying for Russ Cochran, Ian Baker-Finch, Kenny Perry, John Cook, Jay Don Blake and others.
While he grew up with some of them in Paducah, Ky., and calls all of them friends, Sanders will get into the ups and downs of tour life, feelings be hanged.
Exhibit A: Sanders caddied for Cochran at the 1991 Western Open, notable because his man trailed Greg Norman by five strokes with eight holes left and vaulted The Shark and Fred Couples to win.
``I could win the Masters, Open or PGA,'' Sanders says, ``and that'll still be my best memory ever. Being a part of your friend's first PGA Tour victory will never be equaled. Thanks, Lefty.''
Sanders labels Cochran, who shot par-71 Thursday at the Anheuser-Busch Classic, ``the best iron player I've ever seen.''
But ...
``He just wasn't a very good putter or chipper and he didn't care about learning. He was satisfied with being good enough to earn a living out here.''
Sanders, a former scratch player who was an assistant club pro in Kentucky, says Blake, his current employer, ``has so much talent, and is so nice, he's the guy I most want to work for.''
But ...
``If he just put some effort into it, he'd win a couple of tournaments. He's one of the all-time best putters. He'd rather be drag-racing.''
Blake shot a 73 Thursday.
Baker-Finch, a former British Open champion with whom Sanders has agreed to enter a business deal, ``has a great short game.''
But ...
``He can't hit the fairway with anything - anything,'' Sanders claimed. ``I could put a 4-iron in his hand and he'd hit it left.''
Though he won't name names, Sanders once worked for a player who must have mistaken him for a psychic.
``After he hit a shot out of bounds one time,'' Sanders says, ``he glared at me and said, `Didn't you feel like I was going to hit it out of bounds? The next time, stop me!' ''
One of the perks Sanders likes best about his job is the chance to travel the world. Except for one trip to Japan.
``I had a player who one day didn't want to make a cut in Japan,'' he recalls. ``He starts asking, `How far is it to the bunker?' And he'd hit it in there, then try to get up and down. He didn't like Japan.''
Later that day, they were on the same flight back to the States.
``There's a lot of guys I think just come out here long enough to make their $200,000, $300,000, $400,000,'' he says. ``Once they get to that part, they're off.''
Scared of success. Scared to put everything they have into the game. The same can't be said of Sanders. In February, he broke up with the woman he hoped to marry because she asked him to quit.
``That's going to be one of my `Caddies Not Allowed' because I wasn't allowed in her life because I am a caddie,'' he said. ``I figured marriage was 50-50. I didn't ask her to quit or change any of her jobs. This is something I really love doing. But she wanted somebody there all the time.
``Sure, I have regrets. The worst part is losing her as a friend.''
Sanders admits most players refuse to use their caddie for anything more than carrying the bag and being a cheerleader. He especially cringes when he sees a young player walking around with an equally inexperienced caddie.
``They have no clue,'' he says. ``They play too aggressive, they don't know where they're going, they don't know anything about the golf course. They'd really be helped by a good caddie.''
Although he earned more than $100,000 his best season, Sanders enjoys a caddie's bohemian lifestyle. The car he drives most is a Toyota with 250,000 miles on it.
``My quest is to drive it down the 17-mile stretch at Pebble Beach right when it hits 300,000,'' he says. ``Then I'll just let it keep going, take it right over a cliff and into the ocean.''
He'll find that caddies aren't allowed there, either. But it'll make a great column. by CNB