Under the Strap

This month, we released the first installment of our “Caddie Confidential” series, with monthly, inside-the-ropes perspective from dozens of Tour caddies on rotating golf topics. First up: insights from a season without galleries. In this episode of 'Under the Strap,' host T.J. Auclair welcomed veteran caddies Scott Sajtinac, Damian Lopez and Jeff Willett to go over the results. We were happy to have their colorful commentary from firsthand experiences throughout 2020. 

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In this week's 'Under the Strap' podcast, host T.J. Auclair welcomes back caddie guests Damian Lopez, Jeff Willett and Brian Reed for a 2020 Year in Review. 

One thing is certain -- 2020 was a year like no other. The guys talked about the sudden pause to the season in March to the unlikely restart in June, majors without fans, dealing with COVID-19 on a personal level, rising young stars and a whole lot more, including a look ahead to what we can expect in 2021.

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In this latest 'Under the Strap' episode, host T.J. Auclair welcomes the husband and wife team of Ben and Heidi Hulka. Ben and Heidi log more miles each year than any couple on Tour. Caddying is in Ben's blood. His father Steve recently retired (though still pops in on occasion) after a caddying career that dates back to the 1970s. In the early 2000s, Steve started Hulka Express, a service that delivers player equipment and luggage from one event to the next. That job of loading the trailer each Sunday and driving non-stop through the night to the next PGA Tour venue now belongs to Ben and Heidi, while Ben also caddies -- primarily for C.T. Pan in 2020. On this episode we hear all about how they met, their life together on the road and what that grind is like each week to race, safely, to the next Tour stop.

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In our latest 'Under the Strap' podcast, host T.J. Auclair welcomes Mark Long. Long spent several years as caddie to Fred Funk -- after being coached by Funk on the University of Maryland golf team -- before starting his successful business called Tour Sherpa, which creates the detailed yardage books and green contours books you see players and caddies using each week on the PGA Tour. We talked all about Long's business, his great run with Funk and he even shared his incredible impersonations of both Seve Ballesteros and Raymond Floyd.

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Back in June, caddie Damian Lopez was one of the first to test positive for COVID-19 when the PGA Tour restarted its season. Back then, he didn't have any symptoms. A couple of weeks back -- just before the Houston Open -- Lopez tested positive a SECOND time. This time around, there were an array of symptoms. Thankfully, he's feeling much better now and is scheduled to get back to work this week at the RSM Classic. Lopez joined us on this week's 'Under the Strap' pod to talk all about his two bouts with COVID despite never letting his guard down and explains why this is something that we all need to take more seriously at such a crucial point in this pandemic. 

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It may be seven months late due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but 2020 Masters week is finally upon us. To prepare us for the week ahead at Augusta National, we welcomed caddies Scott Sajtinac and John Wood -- veteran loopers of many, many major championships -- for a preview of what we can expect. Along with discussing how strange it will be to see Augusta National in November with no patrons, what the conditions will be like and more, we also spoke about the significance of Tiger's win in the 2019 Masters and whether or not he could shock the world and do it again.  

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In this week's episode of 'Under the Strap,' host T.J. Auclair welcomed longtime friend Scott Martin -- a caddie on the PGA Tour for over two decades before retiring last March. Martin left looping for a job in the film industry back in his home of Montreal. In this pod, he shared some incredible stories about his life as a caddie -- the highs and the lows, including an intense dust up with Vijay Singh during a tournament -- a firing that was a blessing in disguise, his love of photography, continuing to chase a dream despite racking up serious debt, being on a couple of winning bags and a lot more. You don't want to miss this one!

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NOTE: This podcast was originally recorded in April 2020. With the 2020 Masters finally around the corner, we wanted to bring it back in case you missed it the first time. In this special Masters edition 'Under The Strap' Podcast presented by The Caddie Network, TCN Director of Content T.J. Auclair is joined by three Masters-winning caddies: Joe LaCava (Fred Couples, 1992; Tiger Woods, 2019); Damon Green (Zach Johnson, 2007); and Ted Scott (Bubba Watson, 2012 & 2014). All three caddies give insight into what those Masters victories were like and the incredible experiences they had in the aftermath of the win.

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It was a long time coming, but Sei Young Kim finally won her first major championship on the LPGA in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship two weeks ago. In this week's 'Under the Strap' episode, we had a chat with Kim's caddie, Paul Fusco, who has been with her every step of the way and on the bag for all 11 of her LPGA wins. Fusco talked to us about Kim's dominating 5-stroke win at Aronimink, their unforgettable trip to the 2016 Rio Olympics, his path to becoming a caddie and more. 

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On this week's episode of "Under the Strap," T.J. Auclair welcomes TCN contributor and fantasy golf insider Brian Mull. Long before becoming a top sports writer, Mull spent several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a caddie on the PGA Tour, looping for the likes of Larry Rinker and Jerry Kelly, among others. Mull took us back to his caddying days for some great stories like the time he wound up at the home of rock star Stephen Stills (from Crosby, Stills and Nash), told us about just how crazy Tigermania was at its peak, how much his experiences as a caddie have helped in his writing and a lot more. 

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