Beyond the Thursday-to-Sunday tournament action where PGA pros play for millions of dollars, the Tour and host courses have multiple pro-ams during every tournament week that raise nearly as much money for great causes both locally and for other PGA Tour-related charities.

The money is raised thanks to generous sponsors and individuals who donate to have their foursome play with tour players under tournament conditions — from “members” tees. Just like the pros, part of the experience is getting to have a caddie during the round. Many of the ams bring friends to carry the bag to be a part of the “inside the ropes” experience, but most people get an assigned looper at the course, meaning a lot of opportunity for locals looking to caddie to get in on the action.

Since the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & CC is a local event for me, I lined up like so many at the crack of dawn (actually way before dawn) to take part in the tradition of hanging out in the caddie shack and waiting for my loop. I did this once before during the 2012 Canadian Open and had a great grouping with Johnny Vegas, who has gone on to win the event multiple times — I’m not saying I helped contribute to future wins, but I can’t prove I didn’t either.

This year was another fantastic time with J.J. Spaun on the back and David Lingmerth on the front. Watching them make their way around the famed Harry Colt design, a course that I have played on multiple occasions and enjoy to no end, is something to be seen. The reason we had two pros is that the PGA Tour has adopted the LPGA Tour model of having the pros split the 9s to get more involved and then get the rest and practice needed during the week – many rounds can top 5.5 hours for pace of play because of the number of players.

Now when I say I arrived early, I mean it. I got to the course around 4:30 am (3:30 wake up call) to sign up and wait with the other caddies — a mix of young and old. Once I got my bag for the day, the tournament did a great job setting us up with a bib and towels, but I did bring a few things to make my job easier including a large umbrella and my range finder. I also decided to wear my rain gear and waterproof golf shoes since being on the course early means very wet grass, and Hamilton G & CC is hilly, plus the forecast was not promising.

For any hardcore golf fan, being a caddie inside the ropes of a PGA Tour Pro-Am is an experience that is hard to pass up. The tour caddies are always very helpful, and the players always very gracious. The motto of “keep up and shut up” is still in effect, but everyone is there to have a good time in a relaxed environment. However, you can’t forget that you have a job to do and help make your player’s day one to remember with their pro — it’s not about you.

The experience as a whole is much like any you would expect from the PGA Tour and the partners involved (in this case, Golf Canada) — first class all the way! Amateur players are treated like pros from start to finish with access to the range and putting green along with side their grouped professionals, which means caddies too — a nice way to spend a bit of time on the other side of the ropes.

Beyond being great hosts to their groups, the pros use this time on the course to work out lines, figure out strategy, and get some practice in around the greens for the tournament. One of the most impressive things to watch for a whole round is how precise they are with their yardages and lines when talking with their caddie — yes they miss shots but often not by much. Notes are taken on all the shots and possible pin positions are checked and double checked.

Since Hamilton is such a positional course, watching these guys hit to yardages to give themselves full shots into greens is a learning experience. Every time I leave the course after watching pros, I feel like I have a better understanding of how to actually think around a golf course. One hole to pay attention to this week is 11, a down to fairway, up to green par 4 that generally plays into the wind. It’s a tight fairway, and with a big right-to-left shot from the tee the hole can be shortened immensely. The line is over the left trees but it’s still as tough mid to “longer” iron (approach will probably average around 185 yards) into a larger sloped green.

As caddies, we were also well taken care of with all the snacks you can eat, lunch on the course, and general admission pass to take in the action on Sunday. The other part about being a caddie is you do get paid for the effort. It’s not a lot, more of token, alongside the already stated perks (and for the sake of this piece I donated my $25 back to Golf Canada to be used to fund junior programs).

The reality is that still a job, and you have to work. Amateurs pack their bags for all scenarios including rain, and in today’s case we had two rain delays that set us back by quite some time. It was wet; it was a lot of walking; it was making sure someone else had a great time playing golf…and it was awesome!

As a golfer and someone with a deep passion for the game, being a small part of making another golfer’s experience first class is something I truly enjoy doing when I get the opportunity. To be able to do that inside the ropes of a PGA Tour event walking with professionals and seeing every shot they hit along the way was utterly priceless.

If you have ever been curious to be a part of an event beyond marshaling a hole or being a spotter, and if you can handle walking a 7,200-plus yard golf course while carrying a fully stocked bag, caddying is something I can’t recommend enough. Take the time to call the course a couple of weeks in advance, and generally, you will get some helpful information on how to register.

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you Wayne and his team at Hamilton Golf & CC, the PGA Tour staff on site, and Golf Canada for the opportunity.