When his good friend Carri Wood is struggling on the LPGA Tour, Jason Caron is there to provide encouragement.
“I remember one time she told me, ‘I just can’t get over the hump,’ ” said Caron. “I told her to look at it this way: How many women play golf for a living in the world? Maybe 300? And you’re one of those 300. You’ve got to be damn good.” It’s that same can-do attitude that spurred this pair, who led Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School to a state boys golf championship, to return to Cape Cod and launch a fund-raising effort for junior golfers.
Caron and Wood, both 38 years old, are the second wave of former Dolphin players to make a splash in pro golf. They were preceded by Jim Hallet and Sally Quinlan at D-Y about a decade earlier, and as Caron says, “If you look at the history of D-Y, you have the four of us, all of whom have played at the best level you can play in golf. That’s pretty amazing, coming from a tiny town on Cape Cod.”
Hallet burst onto the national scene at the 1983 Masters, where he briefly led the tournament in the second round as an amateur. He went on to win more than $1.1 million in six seasons on the PGA Tour, twice losing in sudden-death playoffs.
Quinlan was runner-up in the 1983 US Women’s Amateur, and played six full seasons on the LPGA Tour, winning one tournament and in her best season placing 23rd on the money list.
Caron graduated from Charleston Southern University in 1994, and has played professionally ever since. He twice qualified for his PGA Tour card (2000 and 2003) and has a career-best 15th-place finish at the 2003 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He also tied for 30th at the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black, and he has 20 top-10 finishes on the Nationwide Tour, with more than $1 million in combined earnings on the two tours.
Wood was a three-time All-American at Mississippi State, and was the runner-up in the 1991 US Amateur Public Links event. Wood, who has also competed on the Asian Tour and the LPGA Futures Tour, has won more than $500,000 on the LPGA Tour, with her best finish a tie for third in the 2007 Jamie Farr Classic.
We spoke with Caron and Wood at Cummaquid Golf Club, two days before their second annual fund-raising tournament, the Cape Pros Challenge Supporting Cape Juniors.
GOCC: Where did the idea for this tournament begin?
CW: Jason probably spurred it on more than I did. We just felt like we should do something to give back to the community. We were supported a lot here when we were growing up, and so many professional golfers have their own charity.
JC: I always told Coach [D-Y golf coach Bob Hamilton] that I wanted to give back. So if there was a kid who was underprivileged who needed clubs, I would send him clubs. I helped out the golf team a little bit with some equipment and some clothing, but we wanted to do more. I bumped into Coach one day and said we’ve got to do this now. So Carri came over, we drank some wine, we talked about the event and wrote some stuff down. Pretty soon it was on.
GOCC: Wine can be a great motivator.
JC: It sure can (laughs). Like I was telling my brother [Nathan], I would get on a plane and start writing stuff down, mapping the thing out. But it shouldn’t be just about Carri and I, it should be about the Cape pros. We wouldn’t be where we are without those pros. Walter Hewins, Bob Miller, Jon Kan, Jack Bohman, Jay Haberl, these guys shared their knowledge and gave us the opportunity to play. I remember guys like Phil Chagnon [of Chagnon Insurance] always being involved, too. As far as this event, though, Coach Hamilton runs it. He takes care of everything while Carri and I are away. And we’ve got a good group of pros involved in it, like Pat Fannon and Mike Ghelfi.
GOCC: This year you added another beneficiary to the event.
JC: We talked about helping somebody else out, and the committee came up with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. As soon as we chose them, we ran into people who have been affected by the disease… Coach Hamilton’s wife passed away from brain cancer. Carri knows a woman, Susan Curtis, who runs Jocelyn Lonen Winery [in Napa Valley, Calif.] and her husband passed away from brain cancer. She runs a tournament that Carri and I will be involved with in October, called Golf & Grapes.
GOCC: Would you say that your success, and that of Jim and Sally before you, is a testament to the junior golf programs and all the good golf courses?
CW: Absolutely. None of us grew up at private clubs. We were all public golf course rats. I worked at the course so I could have a chance to practice and play.
GOCC: What triggered your interest in golf?
JC: It’s funny – I just saw Mark Woods walk by; he and I used to live down the street from each other. I’m a year older than him and my brother Nathan is just a half a year younger than Mark. So we were like three brothers really. We started getting into golf, partly through my dad, and before long we would always be at the golf course. We got our junior membership for $50 or $75, and we could only play after 1 o’clock. So we would be the first ones in the ball rack at Bass River every single day at 1 o’clock. We would bring a shag bag and we’d hide it in the trees, and go play, and then we would go hit the shag balls. We would be out there all day; that’s what I remember, being there all day long.
And then there was Jim Hallet, of course. My dad’s a plumber and Jim’s dad Ollie sold plumbing supplies – so I’ve known the Hallets since I was little. Jimmy would come home from the tour and we’d play a few holes with him, or else he’d say, ‘I’m going down to practice, so why don’t you meet me down there.’ Jimmy would tell us, ‘Make 10 putts from 5 feet and I’ll give you a new golf ball.’ So we’d grind it out…. and that’s how we got into the game.
CW: I’m not like Jason; I didn’t come from a family that plays golf. I more or less fell into it. I guess I watched Sally Quinlan play a little bit, but I didn’t have a father or a brother who played. Bob Miller is the one who first taught me to play. I worked at the course and that’s how I started playing … I had no desire to play for a living. I worked on the grounds crew for six years and I worked on Blue Rock’s driving range, shagging balls all day; I made $40 or $50 a day.
GOCC: So you were a self-starter…. You didn’t have someone introduce you to the game.
CW: No. My stepdad [the late John O’Connell] was the superintendent at Blue Rock, so that’s how I got the job, but he didn’t even play. When I hit balls on the range, Bob would come over and help me out from time to time, and Kevin Carey was working there at the time, so he would give me a few tips, and so would Fred Ghioto. I just picked it up from there.
GOCC: So you both had access to the golf courses.
JC: We did back then. But when you go to Bass River and Bayberry Hills and Blue Rock now, you don’t see as many kids. There was a bunch of us who were always there. You go there now and you don’t see that.
CW: I think kids are finding other things to do after school besides play sports – like computers, Internet. The scholarships that we’re offering are for a male and a female who want to stay involved in golf. And we’re finding that we’re not getting many applicants. If we don’t start to get more interest from the public courses, we’ll try to draw from private clubs. Hopefully, the announcement of the first scholarship winners is going to spearhead a little more interest.
JC: If someone wants to stay involved in golf, wants to go to school to learn how to be a club pro, for example, we want to help them out. We’ve got two really good recipients this year… they could become touring pros like we are, or they could be like [Cummaquid head pro] Steve Spencer. And then you have a guy like Jack Bohman who was in the business, but has gone on to be a success in a different field. You can have so many connections through the game of golf, and it will always be there.
GOCC: As a result of this event, do you have a sense of how strong the junior program is on the Cape?
JC: We’re going to find out. This year, we’re going to have four free clinics around the Cape for high school kids only, run by Pat Fannon [of Blue Rock] and we’re going to see who’s out there. And if only five kids show up, then we’re going to make an adjustment. What we’re hoping to do is give them a chance to progress – eventually, maybe we can give a membership at a club to somebody who’s in need.
GOCC: Do you think it’s harder for a kid to get on Bayberry Hills or Bass River now than when you were a kid?
JC: I would say yes, because it seems like it’s more about the bottom line than about letting people play golf. And I know they need the cart revenue, but the game of golf is about putting your bag over your shoulder and walking. If you’re privileged enough to be able to get out and play golf with your son or daughter, walk! Don’t jump into a cart. Golf is about being next to them and talking while you’re walking for nine holes. We were over at Blue Rock the other day and we saw more carts there… Are you kidding me – carts at Blue Rock?
CW: My stepdad would roll over in his grave if he saw carts on Blue Rock. Point in hand, I just had US Open qualifying on Monday for 36 holes, and I carried my own bag.
GOCC: The event is off to a promising start.
JC: Last year was our initial year, so this year we give our first scholarships – $2,500 apiece for the two recipients. This year, there are 34 teams playing, along with 22 pros. Last year, I’m not kidding, I think we filled the final tee time on Wednesday afternoon, and the event was two days later. This year we were filled up four weeks before the event. Our hope is that by Year 4 or Year 5 that people will be asking when this event is so they can be sure to be there.
CW: We’re thinking that eventually we could do a double-shotgun, morning and afternoon. Last year we had 36 teams, this year we have 34; we’re hoping that we can do 25 teams in the morning, and 25 in the afternoon. We play enough of these outings that we know you don’t want to be out there for six hours.
GOCC: Speaking of golf in general, what is your status?
CW: I’m on the non-exempt list, which is based on the top 125 from last year. And unfortunately, I missed the first three cuts of the year, so when they reshuffled the priority list, I went further down the list. Ultimately, it’s up to me – I’ve played well some weeks and missed the cut; I’ve played badly some weeks and missed the cut. With as few events as we have scheduled now, every week is a full-strength field. At the Corning, N.Y., event this year, we had 49 of the top 50 in the world rankings. So you can’t go out and shoot 2-over and expect to make the cut – we’ve had record low cut scores this year.
GOCC: Probably 99.9 percent of golfers in the world would give anything to play as well as you two have. There’s not that much difference between someone of your caliber and those players who year-in and year-out are in the top 50 on the tour. What keeps you going? Is it the knowledge that you could be there but for one good break or one hot streak?
JC: You know you can do it because you’ve done it already. I’ve played well, I’ve lost in playoffs on the Nationwide Tour, I’ve finished 15th on the PGA Tour… I’ve played in US Opens, I’ve gone through Q-School and made it – twice. There’s not much I haven’t done except win a golf tournament. And now I’m more experienced – I’m not the young guy anymore. But I’m not going to throw my dream away.
GOCC: Is there something that’s in your way, a facet of your game that you feel is holding you back?
JC: I’ve always been a crooked driver of the ball. My length was decent but I was in the woods, or the rough… I got that straightened out; now I can honestly say that my ball-striking is pretty good. And I never worry about my putting. If I putted badly today I would say, ‘I don’t care, tomorrow I’ll putt great.’
GOCC: What’s your status on the Nationwide Tour?
JC: I have conditional status through a medical exemption. I hurt my little finger last year, so they gave me nine events to make $45,000 this year. I’ve only played in one event. The event I did get in, I made the cut, and I hope to be playing these next few weeks.
GOCC: How about you, Carrie?
CW: I’ve had some shoulder problems, but I’ve had a cortisone shot and I’m OK. For me, I’m not the longest hitter on Tour, and the courses are starting to play longer and longer – I think they’re catering to the Michelle Wies and the girls who can hit it 270, and I can’t hit it 270. I’m not saying I can’t play with them, but it’s a big difference when you’ve got to hit 5-wood in and someone else is hitting 7-iron. The margin for error does get a little tougher.
JC: (laughing): If I could hit it as straight as her, I’d be retired already.
CW: The Open is playing at 6,700 yards this year, Springfield was at 6,650, and so you’re starting to get some long courses for me. I think it’s confidence for me right now. I probably need to give Bob Rotella a call; When you start missing cuts, it does play with your head a little bit. You get times where you say maybe I should do something different, but that’s just golf.
GOCC: So both of you work with [sports psychologist] Dr. Bob Rotella to some degree?
CW: I’ve been to him. I haven’t worked with him too much. He doesn’t come out on our tour that much.
JC: He doesn’t come out on the Nationwide Tour either, actually, but I’ve become really good friends with him over the years. As far as players, I’m really good friends with Brett Quigley. We play a lot of golf together, and I see what Brett does, and he’s had a very nice career, and I don’t see myself as that far behind him. He’s always encouraging me, ‘Come on, let’s go… these guys are giving away a lot of money. You’re right there – let’s get it done!’”.
When his good friend Carri Wood is struggling on the LPGA Tour, Jason Caron is there to provide encouragement.
JC: I always told Coach [D-Y golf coach Bob Hamilton] that I wanted to give back. So if there was a kid who was underprivileged who needed clubs, I would send him clubs. I helped out the golf team a little bit with some equipment and some clothing, but we wanted to do more. I bumped into Coach one day and said we’ve got to do this now. So Carri came over, we drank some wine, we talked about the event and wrote some stuff down. Pretty soon it was on.
JC: We did back then. But when you go to Bass River and Bayberry Hills and Blue Rock now, you don’t see as many kids. There was a bunch of us who were always there. You go there now and you don’t see that.
GOCC: Speaking of golf in general, what is your status?