Interview with Russ Holden, Caddy For A Cure

Left to Right: Sgt Butterworth, Chris Holden, Jack Nicklaus, and Caddy For A Cure inspiration, Christian

Interview With Russ Holden CEO & Founder, Caddy For A Cure

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Russ Holden CEO & Founder, Caddy For A Cure. He is a 26 year PGA of America member. Long time coach and caddy for Masters Champion Bernhard Langer.

The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
I started playing golf very young being introduced by my Dad. I hated it. I learned to like it when I was 14 and won a Junior Tournament and got a trophy bigger than I was. I was hooked.

What is your current home course?
TPC Eagle Trace.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Being the Caddy Captain of the European Ryder Cup Team in 2004. It was tough putting a whipping on the United States considering I am American through and through....but, Bernhard was deserving of a win and being a pal I wanted to help my boss get his victory. Hal Sutton was totally out captained.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
We don't like, we don't like....SLOW PLAY.

What is your favorite golf destination?
No even close laddie, Scotland the Brave!

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Cypress Point. Played all the others.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Augusta National. That must be a pretty much "duh" answer.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Stroke and distance for OB. Stupid rule when you can hit it in the hazard the same 250 yards away and get to drop there...

Dream foursome (living)?
Wife, Son, and Daughter. Pretty simple.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Dad, Jack, Best friend, and my Son. Guess we would have to play five or ask Jack to leave.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Drive.

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round - had 13 HIO no big deal.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Twilight hands down.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
You can talk to a fade but a hook doesn't listen

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
The world is our urinal.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
If it is a Tiger Stadium dog, put me in.

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand. The call me Rommel

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking....duh, I was a caddy!

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid. Like steroids, until there is a rule against them, I am using them.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Par 5 hands down.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
I actually prefer playing in pants.

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Jack Nicklaus. He is a friend to Caddy For A Cure and helps out every year. Great guy.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
All you need is love and the Beatles.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
How much you want to play for?

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flopper

17) Lay up OR gamble?
We did not come here to lay up.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
36 holes in four hours is my dream.

Article Tags: Interview with Russ Holden, Caddy For A Cure

Revised: 08/03/2011 - Article Viewed 28,767 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.