Television coverage of this week's Evian Championship has been especially notable because of the picture-postcard vistas at Evian Resort Golf Club where the par-71 course, built in hilly terrain overlooking Lake Geneva, has been bathed mainly in sunshine due to the gorgeous late summer weather in this part of France.
Spectacular though the views can be, they are not always appreciated by the caddies who certainly have their work cut out as they have to lug 35-pound golf bags up and down the side of a mountain with elevation changes of 330 feet, roughly the equivalent of a 33-story building.
For Brittany Henderson, who caddies for her sister Brooke, the geographical challenges at Evian Resort Golf Club rank as the toughest of any venue on the LPGA Tour.
"Almost every hole, there's a little bit of a change in elevation and some are pretty drastic, like hole number two, the par-three," Henderson told LPGA.com. "In addition to that, sometimes when it gets warm out and we're up here in the mountain, you see the ball flying a little further because of the elevation change too. I find like a lot of the morning rounds it doesn't really affect it but then once it warms up in the afternoon, sometimes you can get the ball flying a little bit further, so you're sort of adding and subtracting that in as well. There's just a lot of calculations to be made here."
One advantage for the caddies this week has been the superb weather, a sea change from last year's Evian Championship which ended with Anna Nordqvist emerging triumphant after a playoff in pouring rain and hail.
"Last year was very challenging for caddies," said Henderson. "When it rains, the golf bag gets water-logged and that makes it feel much heavier. Plus, there was my rain jacket, Brooke's rain jacket, all the rain pants and umbrellas in there. And just having to watch your step every time you take a step, even on the flat. Last year, I remember I was walking on 13, which is a relatively flat hole, and there was a muddy spot and I went down. I had to take a knee. So you just have to be very careful when you are walking around here. A lot of caddies slipped in the conditions here last year, including a couple of guys in my group. But it wasn't like a serious fall. Just a little slip!"
APPRECIATING THE BEAUTY
Asked whether she was ever able to appreciate the spectacular views at Evian Resort Golf Club when she was in caddying mode, Henderson replied with a grin: "We really appreciate them in the days leading up so in the practice rounds we really try to enjoy the view. Even today (during the third round) there were a few times when the sun was shining on the lake and a certain light was making a sort of a pathway. It just looked so cool and I stopped to appreciate it, but I'm not sure if Brooke did. Sometimes you just need to and it gives you really good perspective when you can just take a breath and take a minute and appreciate the beauty around you."
The only other course on the LPGA Tour that comes close to challenging Evian Resort Golf Club for caddying difficulty is Aviara Golf Club, the venue for the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California.
"Kia would definitely be the second toughest when it comes to elevation change," said Henderson. "There you're adding the ups and the downs for elevation, but you are also doing sort of the opposite of here because the ball doesn't fly there for some reason so a lot of the rounds in the morning we aren't hitting it as far as we normally do. So sometimes you are adding ten yards for an uphill shot and then you are also adding another club because the ball is just not compressing in the morning. It just adds a lot of things that you have to think about and take into consideration. And you have to do it all quickly too. You don't want to give a yardage of say 130 when really the hole is playing like 150. So you have to get that number quickly so that the player can process it - try to get a good number in her head right away."
Caddies certainly have a multi-faceted role to play out on the course where they not only act as a bag carrier but also provide yardages, help with club selection and frequently wear the hat of a sports psychologist. Often the art of good caddying hinges on knowing when to speak to the player and when to stay silent.
"I feel like any round where you have to sort of manage your player's emotions is the most difficult for a caddie," said Henderson. "A lot of the time, when they are playing well, you don't really have to do that much. But when they have a bogey or start to lose momentum is when you really have to, know when to say the right thing or just not say anything. I feel like that's the hardest job of a caddie.
"Normally I think it's easier for us as sisters and I think that I can just tell Brooke how it is and I don't have to be nervous of saying something that might upset her because at the end of the day I'm still probably going to have my job unless I make a huge mistake. So I feel like I am a little bit more free to just say, 'Turn it around,' or something maybe a little more harsh than a normal caddie would say. Because I know a lot of the time they are also trying to make sure they don't offend their players so they kind of tip-toe around them."
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