Brooke Henderson, the teen-turned two-time Canadian Women’s Open winner, shares why a summer polishing clubs prepped her for a long game in golf.Photo Illustration by The Globe and Mail. Sources: Taylormade, Getty Images
As an aspiring golfer, Brooke Henderson spent so much time at Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club that she thought she might as well work there and collect an hourly wage. The Ontario teen-turned two-time Canadian Women’s Open winner shared why a summer polishing clubs prepped her for a long game in golf.
I started working very early, maybe Grade 7 and definitely during middle school, because I wanted to work and enjoyed it. I mean, getting a pay cheque was also really fun, but I was already a golfer then — just amateur and junior — and hanging out at the golf course all the time anyways. I figured I might as well get paid.
This was at the Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club, where I spent time with the workers and got to know everybody really well. I don’t even remember how I transitioned from hanging out to official employment; I probably asked if they had any availability and went wherever they told me. I started like all newbies out on the range but quickly moved up to the bag shop.
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I would usually practise during the day and then start my shift around 4 or 5 p.m. It was always dependent on what was going on that day, but I’d work until at least 8 o’clock, maybe later. After golfing all day too, that’s a lot, but it wasn’t at all strenuous. I wore my own clothes – golf clothes and a collared shirt and basically I’d be hanging out in the bag shop listening to music on the radio until members came in when they finished their rounds. They’d drop their clubs off at my shop to clean, shine and store them away for the next day.
I’d see the other people I worked with just wipe the clubs really quick. Sure, at first glance, they looked clean enough but really, they were still a little dirty. Because I actually played golf, I know how important it is to have a clean club and make sure all the grooves were all the way clean. I’d fill the sink with soap and water, scrub them with a brush and then use a golf tee afterwards to really get in the grooves. Then I’d rinse and wipe them with a towel and polish, too. I’d spend at least a few minutes on each and the clubs I cleaned were sparkling afterwards.
I don’t remember what I got paid but it couldn’t have been much more than minimum wage. Occasionally, members would notice my efforts and give me 20 bucks. Even better, they’d say “Go have lunch. It’s on me.” That was really sweet and I still remember those members. Now that I’m on that side, I try to be that member for other people.
Growing up, I was always pretty shy, so the job was also a great way for me to work on people skills and build confidence and then relationships. Once I wasn’t so nervous to talk, I got to be good friends with a lot of the Smiths Falls members. Some of them still come to watch me play in tournaments now. Others hired me to teach golf lessons to their kids, specifically these two little girls who I got to teach. They were really young, but so was I, so we were all really learning together. Now, I teach a lot of clinics and lessons, so it was good for me to start teaching that young.
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I guess I was pretty good at it, because soon I started caddying for my sister, Brittany. She’s my caddie now when I’m on tour, so we have lots of practice working together in pressure-filled situations. We’ve long figured out how the other works in tough situations and being on both sides gave me a great perspective that really helped my own game. We’ve both been in both roles, so I feel like we have a bit of an advantage and definitely a great perspective. When I’ve missed the green and I’m thinking, “I’m for sure gonna make a bogey,” I try to talk to myself like I’d talk to her. Since I would believe in her to do it, I should probably believe that same amount in myself.
I’m really grateful for where I am now and glad I worked in various parts of a golf course. I learned little things along the way from each role and got to learn the golf world from different angles.
As told to Rosemary Counter