Damon Eyes Masters

By John Craig

SCHENECTADY – While eyes of the golf world are on Augusta National this week, a certain pair of eyes at Schenectady Muni sees the Masters Tournament through green jacket-colored glasses.

“I do know the golf course in and out,” said Brian Damon, the Head Pro at Schenectady Municipal Golf course. “The two things that impress upon me the most: you can put the ball in position on 14 green so you could not three-putt; number 10 is absolutely tough. The terrain is much more downhill there than on TV.”

Damon spent 1989-92 at then-Augusta College in Augusta, GA as a walk-on member of the school’s golf team. It’s now called Augusta State.

“As a member of the golf team we were caddies at Augusta,” Damon said. “Every time was the best time. You never got sick of it.”

Damon was born in North Albany and grew up in Schenectady and Saratoga Counties. Ever since he can remember, he’s been enamored and fascinated with Augusta National and the Masters. “So was my boss, [former Schenectady Head Pro] Bobby Haggerty,” Damon said.

Damon made it his mission to get there. He applied for and got into school and even before the first semester started, he channeled his admittedly nervous energy and drove down to make sure he was there for the start of golf practice.

“I was a little bit avante guard then,” Damon remembers. “I drove down in my blue Dodge Colt and stayed at the Masters Inn the night before the team meeting and tryouts.”

CADDY SCHOOL

This was Division I golf and while Damon was an “accomplished amateur” even he didn’t realized till getting there just how much time and effort was needed to not only make the team, but stay on a team ranked around 35th nationally, as Damon recalls.

At Augusta National, the team members went to caddy school, learning how to rake bunkers, where to walk, where to stand – all the specific rules about caddying at the world’s most famous golf course.
He remembers working in Georgia as a paralegal for a lawyer named Terrence P. Leiden, who specialized in Chapter 7 and bankruptcy law. Damon found it funny that he was dealing with money trouble cases at one end of the spectrum and golfers with memberships to one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, Augusta National, where he wound up caddying about three dozen rounds.

“It was not easy as the traditional caddies were selected first,” Damon said. “There was definitely a ranking system. The team members weren’t able to get out as frequently as your traditional, established caddies.

“If I didn’t get out by 9:00-9:30AM, I packed it in and went back to campus.”
While there, he wore the traditional white jumpsuit and recalls that the members would accept his advice, “more or less” on reading the greens.

“I don’t caddy much these days but when I do I just have a knack of what the club the person hits,” Damon said.

One other fond memory of Georgia was when the spring semester was over in May he would travel up the highway about two hours for the Charlie Yates Golf School.

PLAYING INFREQUENCY

Another perk is that he got to play the par-3 course, which is seen on the Wednesday before the Masters Tournament is played each year. As for the big course: “I played a hole or two. I never qualified enough times in a single season [as a caddy] to play on caddy day.

“Our golf coach could have easily arranged for us to play but he used his status for himself rather than the team.”

Damon recalls that other schools have readily played Augusta National including Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Clemson, but not Augusta College. Now, Augusta State falls under the University of Georgia Umbrella – similar to the SUNY system.

“I’ve always loved Augusta,” Damon said. “I’ve always liked [nearby] Aiken, SC,” said Damon, which he likens to Saratoga Springs.

“I don’t regret my days at Augusta College,” Damon said. “I loved every momemt there but I would have chosen a Division II school and then tried to get [to Augusta].

“Division I is a full-time job….it was a lot of work,” he said. “I would have done it differently but no regrets.”

MASTERS WEEK

Damon remembers a “close encounter” with six-time Masters Champion Jack Nicklaus near one a lavatory during Masters Week. Pleasantries were exchanged, Damon said.

One night at a game arcade off site of Augusta National, Damon said he played ping-pong with Payne Stewart.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Damon said. “He was a really good guy….I challenged him to a game to 15. I forget the score but it was in the neighborhood of 15-6.”

Stewart won.

“Practice rounds there are unbelievable,” Damon said. “The players are very engaging and very nice.”

As a teacher and pro now, Damon knows how to observe. He advises anyone who’s going to the Masters to invest in some small chairs. You can set your chair at the spot you want to be, wander around for two hours, come back, and no one’s touched your chair, he said.

“Masters veterans probably own a couple dozen and stake them there,” he said.

His favorite spot was a tree along the famed par-3 16th green.

“I love to lean against it behind the green and watch,” he said. Those eyes have seen a lot for being only 39 years old.

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