Ohio's Golf Magazine June 2009 : Page 15

17 Questions JOHN BUCHNA, TOUR CADDIE by Eric Poklar, Ohio’s Golf Senior Writer John Buchna has been a professional caddie on the PGA and Champions Tours for 30 years, the last 26 with former Ohio State golfer Joey Sindelar. Buchna talks about his relationship with Sindelar, his biggest payday, and the nomadic life of a Tour caddie. Ohio’s Golf caught up with him following the Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury. How did you get your start as a caddie on tour? I grew up in Peoria, Illinois. I always club caddied as a kid at a course kind of like Canterbury. I just had it with the weather and everything and I took a job cooking as a short order cook at Indigo (Lakes Golf Club) in Daytona. Well, I could play golf every afternoon for free. Then I went over to Bay Hill, and I was talking to a couple of caddies. This was 30 years ago, when you could get a job. I met Lou Graham and I worked for him that week. He won the U.S. Open in 1975 at Medina. Very nice guy. He liked me. I had long hair and everything; you know how that goes, 30 years ago. And he said to me, “Would you like to do this?” I said, “Yeah.” I quit my job and I have been doing it ever since. How did you get hooked up with Joey Sindelar? It was at the Bob Hope (in 1984) and I was caddying for Ed Sneed. Joey was a rookie and I was out fore caddying with his caddie. And I said to the guy, “Hey, what are you doing?” He said he was an assistant club pro and when the weather got nice back in Ohio (continued on page 16) John Buchna Hard at Work at the Sr. PGA.JPG WWW.OHIOSGOLF.COM • JUNE 2009 15

17 Questions: John Buchna, Tour Caddie

Eric Poklar

John Buchna has been a professional caddie on the PGA and Champions Tours for 30 years, the last 26 with former Ohio State golfer Joey Sindelar. Buchna talks about his relationship with Sindelar, his biggest payday, and the nomadic life of a Tour caddie. Ohio’s Golf caught up with him following the Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury. How did you get your start as a caddie on tour? I grew up in Peoria, Illinois. I always club caddied as a kid at a course kind of like Canterbury. I just had it with the weather and everything and I took a job cooking as a short order cook at Indigo (Lakes Golf Club) in Daytona. Well, I could play golf every afternoon for free. Then I went over to Bay Hill, and I was talking to a couple of caddies. This was 30 years ago, when you could get a job. I met Lou Graham and I worked for him that week. He won the U.S. Open in 1975 at Medina. Very nice guy. He liked me. I had long hair and everything; you know how that goes, 30 years ago. And he said to me, “Would you like to do this?” I said, “Yeah.” I quit my job and I have been doing it ever since. How did you get hooked up with Joey Sindelar? It was at the Bob Hope (in 1984) and I was caddying for Ed Sneed. Joey was a rookie and I was out fore caddying with his caddie. And I said to the guy, “Hey, what are you doing?” He said he was an assistant club pro and when the weather got nice back in Ohio He was going to go back there to work as an assistant club pro. So I talked with Joey then, and when the weather broke I started with him. I have been working with him ever since. This is year 26. You have been working continually with Joey for longer than any other caddie and player. Many players change caddies about as often as they change putters. How have you been able to work together for so long? I am the longest by far. It is patience on both people’s part. Joey is a very patient guy, and we are complete opposites. It’s hard to explain, to be honest with you. We are just opposites and I guess opposites attract. I get there early and he’s always late. It’s pretty weird. At Canterbury there were a couple of times where you basically told him to change clubs. It doesn’t seem like you are afraid to tell him what to do. That is what I get paid for. I am not chicken out there. I make mistakes, too. I got my ass chewed on Friday or Saturday (at Canterbury). On the 8th hole, the dogleg left, I told him to hit a 4 iron. He hit a 4 iron and hit it right behind a tree. Everybody makes mistakes. He wasn’t real happy about that one. What is the biggest difference between the PGA Tour and Champions Tours for you? Starting on Friday, because you’ve gotta get up and go. Obviously the five majors are four rounds, but the rest are just three. Starting on Friday is strange. What is funny is that on Thursday’s round (at the Senior PGA Championship) he goes to me, “Well, it is a four day tournament, we’ve got time.” When it is a three day tournament, you have to fire at those pins and get going. These guys are pretty good out here. Do you miss being on the PGA Tour? Yes. I gotta be honest with you, it is the money. When he won Wachovia (in 2004), I made $100,000 that week. This week (at the Champions Tour’s Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa) we’re going for $1.7 million instead of $6.5 million last week in Dallas (at the PGA’s HP Byron Nelson Invitational). It is the money and the crowds. It is. Would you consider going back to the PGA Tour while Joey is still playing on the Champions Tour? No. You know what, I am 54 years old and I like my cart. It’s fun. We were at Newport Beach at the Toshiba. It’s a flat golf course and so I said I would walk. The first hole is like a 3-iron. I am walking down and he (Joey) says to me, “What are you doing?” I told him I was going to walk, it was flat, so he said, “Nah, just go take the cart.” Most of the time, if he wants to ride, I have to carry. But he walks most of the time. Do you plan to retire when Joey retires? Actually, I have never really thought about it. I thought about caddying for the kid (Jamie Sindelar, a freshman at Ohio State) when he gets good. And I think he will, too. You talked about the money you earned when Joey won at the Wachovia. It has been said that in past years Steve Williams would have be near the top of the money list if his share of Tiger’s earnings counted. Are caddies worth the money they earn on the Tour? He has never hit a shot in his life. I’ve never hit a shot out there. The player knows what he is doing. My guy would have been successful without me. Tiger Woods would be successful without him. He does a great job, you know, but we’re not hitting any shots. As far as what he makes, I have no idea. I would love to know. Steve is a good guy. He is a little pompous, but he and I have been friends. The player makes the whole deal, though. I would love to know what that guy makes. He’s got his own foundation. There are a lot of tales about the party lifestyle of some PGA Tour caddies. Is it still that way for Tour caddies, or have things changed? Nope. Not at all. That has changed. And it changed when Tiger Woods came. Because once Tiger came in, what happened was the money got so good. It used to be at the TPC in Jacksonville, people couldn’t wait to get there because you would go from Bay Hill to Jacksonville and everybody couldn’t wait to get to this place, Monkey’s Uncle, on Sunday night to party. And it is not that way anymore. It has changed. On the Champions Tour it is so much more laid back, and on the regular tour it is tougher. Players put up with that years ago, but now they don’t. What is a typical tournament day for you for the 20 or so hours you are not on the course? Is all the travel tough on your family? Watch TV, watch the Weather Channel. I try to take care of my accommodations for the following weeks. Lunch, laundry, normal stuff like everybody else does. Joey and I, we hang out, but not that much. I run around with other caddies, but things have changed so much, though. I have only been married for 5 years. I met my wife at a 30th high school reunion. She knew what she was getting into. She is very good about it. She is very, very smart when it comes to golf. What are the biggest changes you have noticed from when you started as a caddie? Everybody has these range finders and these stupid things you put on the greens. I’m old school. It is a half a club uphill. It is a half a club downhill. It has gotten way, way, way too tech in My opinion. The equipment has gotten so much better over the years. When I started working for Joey he was using a Persimmon driver, there were no metal woods or anything. We use Priceline for hotels and cars. Thirty years ago there were no cell phones or computers. What is the key to being a successful caddie? Number one is you show up on time. Number two is you don’t get mad at the guy. Hey, he is trying. He has a wife and two kids and is trying to put the kids through college and everything. You can’t get mad at him. I don’t get mad at the guy. We had a tough weekend, last weekend, a tough Sunday (at Canterbury). You can’t get pissed off at the guy. He is doing the best he can, and he is trying to make me money, too. Do you think Joey is going to win on the Champions Tour this year? No question, yes! I think he can win this week. This is the perfect golf course for him. I think he finished third or fourth last year. This is the perfect course for him. You hear these caddies say, “It fits my eye.” It does fit his eye. Joey has won seven times on the Tour. Which victory was the most memorable for you? I only missed one. I missed the BC open. I worked the first two days and then my father got sick. His father worked the last two days. Wachovia was pretty cool. I gotta say that was the best one. And then, when he won The International (in 1988), that was pretty good, too. But the Wachovia, because he was 46 years old at the time and that was special. He birdied 15, 16, 17 on Sunday and that (Quail Hollow) is a hard golf course. The place is mission impossible. A very difficult golf course. The shot he hit on 17, I kinda went, “Wow!” You live near TPC Sawgrass in Florida? Is the famous 17th hole as difficult as it seems on TV during the Players Championship? They won’t let us out there. I played with Joey there once. I rinsed it (on No. 17). How do you think I did? What’s funny is that my best friend, Pete, he plays a tournament out there in July. When you get out there, and when all the tents and everything aren’t out there it looks like the easiest hole. Then, your visual when you get the surroundings for the tournament set up, it’s wild. How often do you get to play golf? Thursday, Saturday and Sunday when I am home. I am a 14 handicap. I never play during the week. When I am at home I work at the muni one day a week, on Tuesday, tending bar. That is kinda fun because all my buddies come up there after they get done with work, and they want to know everything that is going on. Has the definitive book on the life of a PGA Tour caddie been written? Should it? No not really. Bruce Edwards had one and there is a new one out from the guy who worked for Dan Forsman, Greg Martin. I guess it is called Caddie Confidential. I would never do that myself. What do you think people would be most surprised to know about the life and job of a Tour caddie? Everybody thinks it is easy and a glamorous life. Well, guess what, it isn’t. It rained all day here yesterday. Some of those guys had to play a pro-am out there yesterday and they are out there getting wet. You can’t control Mother Nature. Everybody thinks it is so simple, and this and that. Well guess what, it isn’t. The people that have never caddied, they’ll go out there and say, “Holy smokes, there is a lot more to this than what meets the eye.”

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