Grey Bruce Golf News

Two Days with The Great One

Local pro caddies for Wayne Gretzky

By STEVE HARRON Grey-Bruce Golf

When Steve Coffey's friend Mark Shortt called to ask him if he would caddy for Wayne Gretzky in the local Nationwide Tour stop, he was skeptical.

"I thought it was some kind of joke. I called him back three times to make sure he wasn't pulling my leg," Coffey said. "It was something so unbelievable that I had to check it out."

The former head pro at Owen Sound Golf and Country Club and current investment account executive at CarruthersNicol Insurance and Investments said Shortt told him Gretzky needed a caddy because his regular guy had qualified for the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Shortt was already involved in the Nationwide event as a caddy for his friend John Mowatt, who was playing with Gretzky for the first two days. With Gretzky's regular caddy unavailable, Mowatt called Shortt to see if he could find a local replacement.

Coffey was thrilled to accept the job of carrying the bag for the all-time NHL points leader, even though he had trouble concentrating on his work after getting the call.

With an 8:06 a.m. tee time at the Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay, Coffey set two alarms the night before but still only managed to get two or three hours of sleep.

But he was wide awake when he met up with Gretzky at the Raven and began his two unforgettable days with the Phoenix Coyotes coach.

"It was pretty spectacular. It was something I never thought I would get an opportunity to do."

But it was not without some pressure as Gretzky takes his golf game seriously.

"It was quite nerve-wracking to try to make sure I picked the right club, gave him the right yardage and read the putts properly. There was a lot of pressure on me that way," Coffey said.

"He was more serious than I thought. Although he cards to about an 18 handicap he probably works on being a 10 or a single digit. He's very competitive about his shots, almost to the point where I thought he was too hard on himself. I think that's probably just his whole make-up from being the best in hockey and he's trying to be one of the best in golf."

Despite his competitiveness, Gretzky displayed a good sense of humour, Coffey said.

On the 15th hole, Coffey misread a putt and Gretzky said "I'm only paying you for 14 holes."

Coffey, making note of how Gretzky's erratic shots had forced him to walk much further than normal, responded by saying "That's OK, I've already walked 22 holes." His comment got a big laugh from the whole group.

One other time, Gretzky asked him for the yardage on the shot and he gave him a full explanation of how he calculated it. "He said 'don't give me an algebra lesson, just give me a number.'"

When they were on the 15th tee at The Georgian Bay Club, Gretzky walked over to talk to former NBA star Charles Barkley, known for his unorthodox swing, who was playing a nearby hole. Upon his return he said "Nike pays Charles $1 million a year not to use their clubs."

While Gretzky was pretty focused on his golf game, Coffey did get to chat with him a fair amount over the two days.

Coffey, who played Junior C hockey for the Mount Forest Patriots and a few Junior B games with Listowel Cyclones, purposely tried to stay away from discussing hockey, figuring Gretzky gets enough of that already. Instead, they talked about their families and how much golf Gretzky gets to play.

Coffey was amazed at the number of times Gretzky interacted with the crowd during his rounds. "I've never seen anyone sign so many autographs. He was telling me yesterday (Saturday) that he had signed 1,500 signatures by then."

"He's certainly great with the young people in particular. He goes out of his way to get the kids autographs first over any of the adults. He really looks after them."

Coffey had lunch with Wayne and Janet on Thursday and Wayne and other members of his entourage on Friday.

Gretzky let his son Ty, who had his own caddy, play for him on Saturday and Jim Jerome, who manages the gretzky.com website, was on the bag Sunday so Coffey's official duties ended Friday night.

Before they parted, they talked about possibly getting together when the Coyotes are in Toronto to the play the Maple Leafs, next May when Coffey attends a conference in Phoenix or next year when the Nationwide event returns to the area.

Whether they get together again or not, Coffey said his two days with The Great One were amazing. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it's certainly one that I will never forget."