Sean Russell on picking up the bag with Jess Baker as she transitioned from amateur golf to being a professional
I know you’re retired…” read the message. “Let’s talk,” read my reply. After all, it’s not often a former Women’s Amateur champion asks you to caddy for them, is it?
So, nine holes and one chat later, a very retired tour caddy became a semi-retired one. I think I just knew.
So, for the first time in a good few years, I spent a fair bit of 2024 on planes, in hotels, walking golf courses, killing time, doing the pins at night… All of which I’d sworn blind I would never do again!
But you know what, I really enjoyed it. Maybe not so much the travelling, but being alongside such a prodigious talent and playing a part in Jess’ transition from amateur golf to being a pro with a category on the Ladies European Tour was pretty cool. It was also bloody rewarding – I’d forgotten what it was like to be 100% invested in someone you’re caddying for and really care how they do.
Caddy/player relationships take time to establish, and ours was no different. It’s about finding what works best, especially when you’re under pressure, and also learning when things don’t go well. We did both and by the time we got to Q School in Morocco it was all pretty seamless. We had a way of working that worked for both of us – yardage, wind, what is it playing first, then where we wanted to land it, followed by the club. We repeated this routine before every shot, allowing Jess to hit each one with 100% commitment. I knew when to say things, and when to keep my mouth very much shut.
However, those bits aren’t my main takeaway from a summer back on the bag. Instead, it’s remembering how different professional golf is from any other sport in the world. In most professional sports, the coach is king, but in golf they are not. As a footballer, the manager is appraising you every day. If you under-perform, they’ll give you the hairdryer treatment, substitute you, drop you, or even sell you. There’s none of that in professional golf. There’s no manager, coach or selector waiting for you at the end of the round wanting a debrief like you’ve had since county junior level, and no teammates like you’ve had in college or when playing for England – how you perform is your responsibility, your business, and the only person you have to answer to is the person you see in the bathroom mirror… and that can take some getting used to.
All of this can make the world of professional golf a lonely old place, especially when your game isn’t there, you’ve shot 79 in the first round, and you’re in some far-flung expensive place that you can’t easily get home from.
Thankfully, none of that applied to Jess in 2024. As you’ll read in Jess’ cover interview, ultimately, we didn’t get the full LET card I was hired to help her get. Until that happens, my return to being a fully retired tour caddy is kind of on hold.
