Since his sophomore year at Thomas Jefferson High School, Audie Dean has been in and out of the golf world. He competed in the 1974 Colorado high school state tournament, then quit playing his junior year. He picked up the game after graduating in 1976 and hustled for money before deciding to go to the University of Colorado to play.
But that ended before it started when his father died in February 1978, and Dean again quit playing because the association with golf and his dad was too difficult. Now, after working as a stockbroker, banker and assistant pro, the 50-year-old Dean is a caddie at Colorado Golf Club and qualified for this week’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor. He took time after his practice round Wednesday to talk with The Denver Post’s David Krause.
Q: Is it going to be hard not picking up your bag when you walk off a green this week?
A: Well, there are certain things I don’t like about caddying, but the good thing about caddying is that I can take off for a week or two weeks or three weeks. If you’re working at a bank, they would be like, ‘What? You want to take Monday, Wednesday and Friday off?’ You can’t do it. I want to play. That’s all I want to do. I want to live my dream, and my dream is to play golf. Not to caddie or be an assistant pro or stockbroker or banker.
Q: Being a caddie, do you look at a golf course differently?
A: I’ve caddied for about two years, and it’s helped a lot. If you’re watching groups all day long and you see players run a putt by the hole, 99 percent of the time they’re short on the putt coming back. Seeing that, I know I have to be firm with it. And being a caddie helps with course management. Bad course management kept me from being a good player for a long time. You can’t control bad shots, but you can control making bad decisions.
Q: What was it like playing your practice round with Tom Watson?
A: He’s been my idol since I was a kid. I never liked Nicklaus. I liked Hogan, and I liked Watson.
Q: Talk about going in and out of golf.
A: Right after high school, I started playing for money. I took off a year-and-a-half and didn’t go to school. I started making a lot of money, sometimes $500, $800, $1,000 a day, but that’s playing like match play. If you do poorly on a hole you pick up and go on and press (double the stakes) on the next hole. I played for money up until a couple of years ago. I decided I needed to quit doing that and had to get my mind geared toward medal play. How many good players on Tour do you know who are good at match play and medal play? Tiger is an exception; Trevino is an exception. Most guys are either medal or match. And gambling is all match play. . . . I quit playing golf two years after my dad died in February 1978 right before I was going to play on the CU golf team. It was our dream to play on the golf team. Then he died, and all of a sudden I didn’t want to play golf anymore . . . the association of golf and my dad . . .
Q: Do you think the heat and altitude will become an issue this week?
A: For the guys out of shape it will. My goal is to get through Thursday and Friday, and then I think I have a good chance to hang in there. . . . I can see shooting 64 if everything goes right.
Q: You had two sports psychologists and a golf fitness expert walking the course with you this week during practice rounds. You must be taking this thing seriously.
A: Yes, I am. But in the best way possible, having fun.
Q: With their help, what frame of mind are you trying to get into?
A: One of belief, being one with the course and nature. I want to be in a good spiritual state where things are calm and you’re confident. My goal is to be as calm and collected as possible through four rounds of golf.
David Krause: 303-954-1893 or dkrause@denverpost.com
