Glenmoor CC Opens the Links for Caddy Mentor Program

Between 12 and 15 local students will serve as caddies at the Canton, Ohio club for lessons in life and success.

The Caddy Mentor Program at Glenmoor Country Club in Canton, Ohio is bringing local students to the course as part of a public service project, the Canton Repository reported.

The program, run by Caring and Serving Together (CAST) of Glenmoor, put about 20 students through training, though only 12 to 15 will make the final cut. Training includes two hours of classroom time and at least one hour on the green, the Repository reported.

“It’s a community of people that recognize they’ve been blessed, and they want to share it,” said CAST’s Mike Savage, a Glenmoor member and one of the mentors of the caddy program.

“Some of these guys have much better eyesight than the old guys. You’d be surprised at how fast they learn to read a green,” added Savage.

Savage made a point of saying this is a mentor program, not a caddy program, a point with which the Canton City School Superintendent Chris Smith agrees, the Repository reported.

“This is not about having someone carry their clubs,” Smith said. “This is about a passion for them to share. It’s amazing.”

John Sypek, a member who works with CAST, said the club has an opportunity to help kids create goals and to see how members started at humble beginnings and later attained success. Sypek insists on promptness, proper grammar and presentable appearance, the Repository reported.

“We talk about goals, how they do in school, what colleges they want to go to. We learn about them and their families and we talk about ours,” Sypek said.

Savage said that golf has many character lessons and that many of those at the club grew up being caddies as well.

“Kids are getting life lessons. (They’re hearing) it’s about what you do every day, not about what is given to you every day,” Savage said.

Of course, those who participate in the program earn tips as well. Shawn Savage, the club’s Director of Golf, is watching the caddies for potential employment later, the Repository reported.

“I’m watching promptness, how they talk, how they act. Kids have an opportunity to move up,” he said.

“You can’t call up and say, ‘I want to spend four hours with the president of Aultman or the president of Diebold.”

Tags: Canton Ohio chris smith glenmoor country club john sypek mike savage shawn savage