The PGA Tour’s website contains biographical information about each player. Tiger Woods’ personal profile is 157 words long, without counting his numerous awards and wins.
Click on “Reid Martin” to continue.
Age: 31. Born: July 14, 1991. Plays in Kirkland Washington.
That’s it. Some of the information provided is incorrect. Martin, who is from Columbus, plays at NorthStar Golf Club Sunbury. His bio is a bit like Morse Code without dots.
Turned pro
Birthplace (-).
College (-)
Played events (-)
Official money (-)
Tour, you’re no longer welcome. It’s time for Mr. Dash.
Martin’s current situation must be addressed before we go into his past. Former caddie for the men’s and woman’s professional tours, Martin teed off in his first PGA Tour tournament as a golfer on Thursday at the John Deere classic in Silvis. Martin has been carrying the bag for others for nearly 10 years. Now he is swinging his own club.
Swinging the club well is important. The native of Mukilteo in Washington shot a 10-under par 62 in his first “Monday qualification” attempt earlier this week to earn one out of four “extras’ spots in the John Deere Field.
Martin’s serendipity was not even finishing first in the Monday qualifier. Last Thursday, Martin’s 3-foot par putt was barely able to make it into the cup when he needed to pre-qualify the Monday qualifier.
Martin told reporters on Wednesday that if the 3-footer lipped out, he would not qualify for Monday’s qualifier. He also wouldn’t be able to shoot 62. “I finished the round, and it was pretty surreal.”
Shoot 62 in Monday Qualifier. @RMart91 was a caddie on the TOUR and @LPGA before committing fully to his game.
Today he shot 10 under and will tee off this week @JDClassic. pic.twitter.com/71mmw9mM28
— PGA TOUR July 3, 2020
Martin’s journey is unreal. From a highly regarded high school golfer to a so-so college golfer, to an assistant pro on a Florida course, to a nine month stint in Europe caddying for a good friend, and then to Mark Hubbard, the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry, and PGA tours. Martin finally switched to women’s’ golf in 2021. He caddied for Ryann O’Toole for one year, before he tired of traveling.
He said he took the nine-month break because he was mentally tired and needed to refresh himself. The caddie’s life can mean working for more than a week without a single day off when your boss makes four or five consecutive cuts.
Reid lived in Ponte Vedra Beach (Florida). Sarah Phillips was his fiancee and she lived in Columbus. He chose the sea, sand, and sunshine over all else.
“I thought, ‘Why don’t you just move there?'” he said about his decision to leave Florida and go to the Arch City. “I got out of the city in 48 hours.”
Phillips knew what his future held, even though Martin didn’t. She encouraged him, this time to play golf.
He said that he had played 140 rounds in 165 days after joining NorthStar, which was in spring 2022.
He made many birdies and friends during that stretch. The golf and social gatherings prompted a new thought: Why not give professional-level golf another shot?
He said, “Sarah, after we returned from the Daytona 500, started drafting things to other people. She sold shares of me and sponsorships of me.” “We did this and received amazing feedback. We got almost everything that we asked for. This has taken the burden off my shoulders, so Sarah (Phillips, who works at Worthington Industries), is no longer funding everything.”
Be careful before you sign up for the deal. The spigot will shut off eventually if your “stock” tanked after repeatedly failing to qualify for tournaments. This is why the John Deere Classic has such a huge impact. It shows that the fruits of their trust in Martin are ripening.
Martin, then, is Columbus’ Michael Block. The club pro, who became famous in May for his 15th place finish at the PGA Championship, was a Columbus native. Block was already known as a great amateur golfer in California. Martin was only known as a caddie and an average college golfer at Central Florida.
Imagine how other caddies reacted when he appeared on the John Deere practice range. They were shocked to see the looper in golf spikes and dress pants suddenly transform into a long-hitting golfer.
He said, “Funny how a few of these caddies asked me who I caddied for this week.” “We laughed about it.”
Martin believes that everyone has treated him as if he is a true member of the community.
He said: “I’m sure they know that I can play well.” “I also want to win.”
After shooting a 1-over-par round of 72 in his opening round at TPC Deere Run on Thursday, he is outside the top 70 for Friday’s cut. Why not aim higher? You cannot achieve anything if you do not believe that you can. Martin’s experience as a caddie on the Tour gives him a unique perspective that he will use to his advantage.
I’ve always been talented. “I never had the golf intelligence I have now,” he said. It’s fortunate that I was a golf caddie because I am able to pick apart the course by myself. After all, I’ve been doing that for so long it’s become almost second nature to me to perform a pre-shot ritual where I am calculating the shot. When I play in tournaments, the caddie’s brain is on display.
Martin will have his Columbus friend Gavin Pulliam with him this week, just in case. Pulliam is a bartender who works at NorthStar and has also caddied for Scioto Village and Muirfield Village. He has the low-key personality Martin needs.
Martin said, “I had to teach him some things but he is eager to learn.” “I also had to learn something from someone. “As long as I have the right work ethic – and I can calculate my yardage myself – then I don’t think there is a problem.”
How could he have done it? Martin is living his dream. Martin’s job is to play golf. For once, he doesn’t have to clean clubs.
