Four hours lugging your husband’s golf bag, you just have to feel like it

She is only 1.59 meters tall, but Daniëlle Huizing-Leeman throws the 20 kilo heavy golf bag over her slender shoulders with ease. The wife of Prof Daan Huizing has been his regular caddy for a few weeks now. During the Dutch Open in Cromvoirt, which started on Thursday, Huizing-Leeman apparently has no problem with the weight of the immense bag. It has fourteen clubs, lots of water, bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, cashew nuts, a protein shake and rain gear.

Outside the golf world, professional golfers are sometimes viewed with pity as they use their wives as ‘bag carriers’, while they themselves walk unencumbered on the grass course. Still, Huizing-Leeman (32) says she receives only positive reactions to her decision to quit her job at PricewaterhouseCoopers in favor of a role as a caddy. ‘A lot of people think it’s cool. Physically it is quite a challenge. A round takes about 4.5 hours and I soon cover 11.12 kilometers with that tour bag on my shoulders. At first I thought the bag was frighteningly big, I just barely got over it’, says Huizing-Leeman with a smile.

After her first tournament as a caddy early this month, she had significant pressure sores on her shoulders and blisters on her feet. “But I’m in good shape and it’s doable.”

The lugging of caddies – in wind and weather and at extremely high temperatures – raises the question of why professional golf should not use wheeled aids such as a trolley or buggy. Huizing-Leeman points out that the measure is mainly motivated by the protection of the track. In addition, caddies are faster and easier at the teeing place by carrying the bag. The professional appearance also plays a role.

Practicing in the living room

Huizing-Leeman has a handful of female colleagues in the European circuit who also assist their husbands ‘on the bag’. A Dutch lady who preceded her two years ago is Sanne van Driel-Sijben. In the corona year 2020, she was the caddy of her husband Darius van Driel for about ten tournaments. ‘At first I thought it was terrifying’, she recalls. ‘Where should I put that bag? What should I do with such a flag? For my first tournament, we practiced at home in the living room with the mat as the green. Darius explained when to grab the flag and where to stand.’

The main reason that Huizing (31) and Van Driel (32) chose their wives as caddy was that they were looking for a buddy in the job. A trusted person who mainly did not interfere with the tactical game. ‘My main task is to provide some light-heartedness and relaxation’, says Huizing-Leeman, himself a former golfer at national level.

On the Bernardus golf course in Cromvoirt it was clear to see that there is a cheerful interaction between the spouses. No top athlete can be focused for hours on end. I can tell right away in Daan’s face when he’s tense. Then I ask, for example, how our dogs would be at home.’

Daan and Daniëlle Huizing have made the agreement not to chat when they are close to the ball. The border is fifteen meters. ‘Then the office doors open. After the ball has been hit and the club is in the bag, the office closes again’, says Huizing-Leeman.

Van Driel-Sijben also says that she especially had added value on a mental level during competitions. ‘I knew exactly when I could say something. When we walked to the next hole, I often took the tension off and started talking about a nice restaurant in the area.’ Due to the corona pandemic and the uncertain consequences for the playing calendar, Van Driel-Sijben stopped cadding for her husband after six months. ‘We lived from corona bubble to corona bubble, the fun was gone.’

Inexperienced

Former prof Robert-Jan Derksen is not in favor of appointing an inexperienced person as a caddy. “The caddy is arguably the most important member of a player’s squad. He is the only one who can still exert influence on the track,” says the two-time winner on the European Tour. ‘Experienced tour caddies have insight, know the lanes well, calculate distances, can assess the wind and know better than anyone what it takes to perform under pressure and win. The more professional you approach it, the better the results I think.’

Huizing-Leeman thinks it is a missed opportunity that so few wives are active as caddy. “All the men on the international circuit can play golf insanely well. It is precisely the mental aspect that can be decisive at tense moments. And who better to estimate what a man needs than his own wife?’

Van Driel-Sijben also thinks that women can indeed have added value as caddy. She points to a good example of two weeks ago in Belgium. The regular caddy of the Englishman Sam Horsfield was unable to attend, so he asked his new girlfriend as a caddy. He promptly won his biggest tournament in two years. On the other hand, she states that a professional caddy can certainly make a difference for many players. “I think that can give you one or two strokes per round. But it’s so personal. As a player you shouldn’t be annoyed by a caddy who gives a tip at the last minute.’

Derksen remains skeptical about the collaboration between golfer and woman: ‘I definitely believe in the feel-good factor. As a player you spend about ten hours a day with your caddy, that should click. But for a professional it is his job. A corporate executive doesn’t take his wife to work every day, does he?’