Editors note: If you are an LPGA fan and haven’t caught up with the LPGA On The Tee Podcast, you are missing out on the fun. Host Bret Lasky teams up with co-host Amy Rogers and longtime golf writer, Ron Sirak to bring you news and interviews with players and personalities from the world of women’s golf.
In this episode Bret chats with Michelle Wie’s caddie, Matthew Galloway a few weeks after Michelle holed a 36-foot putt from off the green on the final hole to win the HSBC Women’s World Championship at the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
https://soundcloud.com/lpga-audio/wies-caddie-matthew-galloway
Link to LPGA On The Tee Podcast Audio & Article
Bret Lasky: Alright, this is going to be really cool! We have Matthew Galloway, who is the caddie for Michelle Wie. We’ve interviewed countless athletes at this point, and media members, but we haven’t had a caddie on, and I thought, well, let’s get Matthew in here and Dwayne Smart was actually the one that sort of made this connection. So first of all, thanks for doing this.
Matthew Galloway: No problem!
Bret Lasky: And let’s start at the beginning of, I guess you and Michelle, I mean the simple question like how’d you guys meet and how did you become a caddie?
Matthew Galloway: I mean I’d been working out here for like 2 years prior and it’s this organic, I mean this is what it was like being in the right place, right time. I guess and this, I had just got another job working for another player, and I guess she had just, you know, was looking for a caddie and I just, I knew some of her friends and I just kind of put my name in there and then it just kind of happened and we met at coffee shop, an Acai Shop in Australia, actually.
That Australian Open in 2017. And then she’s like, hey, we were talked about some stuff and then I’m going to play in Singapore last second would you like to come and do this. So I was like, yeah, sure, why not? And then end up having a really good week in Singapore last year, and then just kind of, you want to do this? I’m saying, sure, then I’m still here.
Bret Lasky: So it is almost like a 9-5 job, right? Like a lawyer or a doctor or whatever, like there’s an interview process, right. It sounds like you guys got together at a coffee shop, you’ve kind of figured out, you talked through things, and is that kind of just how it works?
Matthew Galloway: Well, everybody’s different and so I wouldn’t say it’s like a regimented interview process, it’s not like a typical, like you know I don’t have a resume. I mean this is kind of like word of mouth, almost. Word of mouth, and like recommendations from friends, other players or other caddies and step in and say hey, it’s just kind of like you got to keep your ears open all the time if you’re looking for something and then some things come available and then sometimes the timing really works, and here I am. I’ll look at the draw even sometimes.
Bret Lasky: Yeah, I know. It is interesting in that way that kind of, you know, you guys met and it’s worked out, you obviously won this year. Let’s go there, to the win, to the putt. Let’s go to the putt, I mean that’s a fascinating story from her perspective, from your perspective, when you guys walk up to the ball or walk up from the fairway to the ball, what’s the conversation like, what’s going on in your head? What’s going on in her head?
Matthew Galloway: Well, that was a fun day. I mean I don’t know I forget how many shots we were back going in the last round probably 5, I don’t know. It’s one of those places like Singapore is one of those courses where you’re just like, you got to shoot like 5-under to keep up. So it’s like a good start to season, she’s playing well and then things kind of just take off, making all these birdies and like, I don’t even – it wasn’t until like we turn around and like going down 13, make this birdie and I kind of saw the score and I was like, hmm, this might get a little interesting, but you think the girls behind you are going to just because there’s a couple of par 5s, a couple of easy holes, short holes, they had a tee up on 14, which made it drivable, and then you just kind of thought one of the girls was going to go nuts and it was just going to like, it wasn’t going to be like, I remember because; in 2017 where we had a two shot lead in the last day and then Inbee shot like 63, typical Inbee stuff makes 30 footers everywhere and it’s game over.
And so I just kind of thought that was going to happen, and then all of a sudden you know, we birdie 13, 14 and I was like, we’re tied and turn on 16 par-5, have a putt for birdie and just kind of lipped it out, but 17 was pretty much the way the pin was. For us, it was like not a chance to make birdie because there’s water left and you just can’t even mess with it. But 18, I was just like if we just make par and get into 16 and see what happens, maybe playoff, maybe not, it’s still a good week, but obviously you want to birdie the last hole to put yourself in position and she wants to make birdie at 17, ran this 40-footer at that. And talk about the other putts, like the par putt she made in 17, I mean the style points go for the putt on 18. I mean that’s 7, 8-footer she made far in 17 is sneaky way more important, and she doesn’t make that putt, 18 doesn’t even matter. So, that was a pretty huge deal to make that putt, I mean that was a solid par save. And then 18 we’re in the rough left and that weird Asian grass, you just don’t know if it’s going to fly or not and then just short the green
And it was one of those things like let’s just get – I want to say let’s get par and get out of here and just try to see if there is a playoff, don’t make a bogey here and really shoot yourself out of it, but she kind of likes those longer putts, she’ll read it. It’s always like half-half or whatever. it’s kind of a funny story because I was kind of an idiot. I said something really stupid and she makes fun of me about it to this day.
Bret Lasky: What did you say?
Matthew Galloway: There were symbols of the greens here, I’m using my hands in a podcast, no one is seeing this. The green’s higher than the front of the greens as I go is like a false front there and putt breaks differently going up a false front and on top and kind of goes back the other way and so there’s this old hole cut on the green like you know, where the hole was previously and it was kind of a reference point and I was kind of, I guess how this hole holds it right? I was just kind of like – she says freaking out, but she’s probably telling a little more of a story and I probably was on that I can be honest, but I was legitimately not like asking myself as a higher low and she looked at me like I’m asking you dude, like you figure it out. I think and that, in turn, helped her figure it out and we both decided it was kind of right of it and then the rest is history.
Bret Lasky: And everybody sees the fist pump. Like what’s going through your head? when you see that ball go in and, holy cow…
Matthew Galloway: Yeah, I can’t use the language on the podcast.
Bret Lasky: Oh, you can.
[Laughter]
Matthew Galloway: That definitely like, it was like Oh my God, you just made that, and I was like, this is pretty cool. The funny thing about is that something was going on and like the hospitality tent, like some dude like in a golf cart and there’s this loud bang, like right when she hits the putt and I try to turn there and look at it and then I look back at things as It tracks home!
What just happened? You’re just like, well, I mean we’re just going to post 17 under and hope something that just like that and all the madness happens from there.
Bret Lasky: Yeah! That’s probably like a moment that you know I’d imagine that she’ll never forget, but you also, what is that like?
Matthew Galloway: Oh, for sure! This woman is a Cadillac. So I mean that was pretty fun, it’s one of those things you’re super stoked on it that you realize like this is all over, like nobody is going to birdie 18 and like we’re going to stay in focus mode for being ready for playoffs and doing the little things, you got to take care of the like, you know, get her to the putting green and all the people just kind of thinking my way how do I her get around all these people and being in the mode. It was a fun day.
Bret Lasky: Yeah, that’s a really cool moment. And it’s funny you bring up like kind of maneuvering around people. I mean you probably more than anybody had to kind of figure that out around here. Obviously, Michelle is one of the most popular people on the LPGA and I was like, for example, I’m thinking like I was at the Bank of Hope Founder Cup, and I think it was like that group when it was like you guys maybe Brittany Lincicome and who were you playing with? You probably don’t remember.
Matthew Galloway: I don’t remember
Bret Lasky: but anyway, so just like a big crowd and like around the scoring tent, just a massive crowd, like Jerry Foltz was there getting ready to interview. We (LPGA) were getting ready to interview her. What is that like for the caddie when there are all these people just around?
Matthew Galloway: You get used to it because like or as she’s been doing this forever, so she’s totally sitting like you just asked me to start getting used to it. It’s just like you just kind of process it, you need to give her a sharpie. I used to get a little freaked out with the cameras and stuff and it doesn’t bother her one bit, like unless someone’s really doing something stupid or making some noise and you start yelling at people and it works out.
Bret Lasky: Because; I mean you have to obviously take care of her, but she’s so used to it like you said its second nature.
Matthew Galloway: Yeah for sure!
Bret Lasky: Yeah! The other thing I’m curious about is the conversation on the golf course. I think fans in general, like all people, want it, like what are these caddies talking to their players about?
Matthew Galloway: Useless stuff – all useless information.
Bret Lasky: Nothing?
Matthew Galloway: No, it’s just I mean if you think of that, you do the math like we’re out there for what, four to five plus hours, and like it takes what. If you really think about it like a minute and a half, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, maybe 4 minutes discussing a shot, so say an average of 70 shots in a round. You do the math, it’s basically an hour and a half of conversation. So there’s a lot of other time to just like talk about other stuff. I mean there’s always a part of our jobs, like when she’s pissed or something like I just got to get out of the way. So, use fun to talk about whatever’s going on, like you know, sometimes the most bizarre stuff and it’s just having a conversation, to just kind of stay somewhat involved out there, just to not be focused on golf all the time, you know, let’s have some fun too.
Bret Lasky: Is there something that she and you like or like you have a favorite TV show or a movie or like?
Matthew Galloway: She just likes watching a lot dark weird stuff on Netflix, like horror stuff, I always say I don’t understand why you watch all that, but we’ll talk about stuff like that or just like life or like current events. I don’t know, it’s not like we’re having like some philosophical discussion
Bret Lasky: It’s not a political discussion.
Matthew Galloway: No, I mean similar taste some stuff and we’re going to talk and you get a good pairing, you get some good banter with the other caddies, other players. It’s always nice to like have a great pairing like this week Jess Korda. It’s going to be like I like the caddies, I like the players, it’s a good looking Thursday, Friday group. You get excited when you see a good group.
Bret Lasky: Okay! So then like, okay, so that’s like the fairway stuff like. But once you get to the golf course, can you take us through like when you get to the golf park and then if Michelle’s in front or Michelle is behind, like how does that conversation work?
Matthew Galloway: Every player does it differently. They have a system of how they’ve kind of process shots. It’s kind of like hey we want to land the ball like, wait where you want to land the ball? All right, we land here, X on the green, or X in the fairway. Mostly green, and then you say, well how far is that playing right now? You’ve got wind, you’ve got weather, you’ve got lines, you’ve got all kinds of other factors and you kind of go through the checklist and figure it out. You kind of land on what is playing and turns into like what a hit and then it’s kind of like that. Every player has got a system and that’s kind of the way that works, and you just kind of talk your way through it and sometimes you’re right, and sometimes you’re wrong. [Laughter]
Bret Lasky: Yeah! So, you’re giving her the yardage.
Matthew Galloway: Yeah, she’s like, yeah, we’re both doing it together.
Bret Lasky: Yeah, you are doing it together.
Matthew Galloway: She’s a Stanford grad but she’s not perfect.
Bret Lasky: So, you guys get the yardage, you get the club and you know, obviously she hits and then on the greens, she pulls you in for the longer putts, you said, is that right?
Matthew Galloway: No, it’s like there are some weeks where it’s like come over here and look at this every now and then, more than often than others and there are some weeks where it’s just like, you just look up, you’re around to be available and then if she asks a question, you’ve got an answer for it, but you just kind of get out of the way like when they’ve got it.
Bret Lasky: Yeah! So, how long does it take to get comfortable with a player? Every player is probably different, but how long did it take you?
Matthew Galloway: I learned something new every single day, as I always figuring something else out and you never figured anybody out and there’s always something you think you got to figure it out and then they change your mind completely about what they’re doing, but it developed naturally in a way that it didn’t take long. It wasn’t like I was like, man, this is hard and uncomfortable. That’s just like a weird synergy to make the way the relationship works. It’s such a bizarre, relationship in a way, so it’s like, it just kind of works, it didn’t take forever.
Bret Lasky: Yeah! What’s life like out here, like for you, because I mean for everybody out here, it’s different, right? for the players, for the caddies, for people that work for the tour. Everybody is different. What’s life like out on the LPGA Tour for you?
Matthew Galloway: Well, it’s fun. I wouldn’t really do it if I didn’t like being out here. It’s like you get this traveling circus, right? So you get like the whole, if you think about all the moving parts to get to town each week or like the media, the players’, the caddies, it’s you know, 300, 400 plus people that kind of come to town every single week. But I mean, especially when we’re going at the same places over and over, the summer schedule it’s just like you kind of develop like, hey, I like to go eat here, I like to stay at this hotel. It gets turns into a bit of like a system. I know I can’t sit behind a desk, I could never do that.
Bret Lasky: Do you like being on the road?
Matthew Galloway: Oh yeah! I enjoy it. I mean, yeah, you miss people at home. So, that’s a hard time, hard thing sometimes. Like, I mean I just did that west coast stretch. I didn’t go home before Hawaii. I went to actually just hung out in Hawaii for a week before that. So, it’s like I was gone for 7 weeks, I’ve been home 7 weeks. You get home and the off weeks and you’re just like, how will I sit on a couch and do nothing?
Bret Lasky: I mean how was the Symetra Tour for 4 years before this and you know, that’s like, like week to week. What becomes the hardest thing about a week to week?
Matthew Galloway: Sometimes you just want to go eat that, like that nice Mexican restaurant at home and you haven’t been there in 7 weeks and you’re craving. It’s just the comforts of home really. It’s like everyone looks at it like I’ll have such a cool job. You get to go all these places and yeah, I love that part. It’s fun going to towns. I love fun going to cool cities, fun seeing new places and redevelop the camaraderie of friends. There’s a certain couple of guys that I stay with every single week and so you are like you’ve developed really good friendships with those people and so it’s always like a band of brothers out there in a way with the caddies, but like you know there’s times where you sit in that airport and you had that delay and you’re just like, what the hell am I doing out here? And it’s like that’s the guy that gets a little, like it’ll get to 7 weeks in a row, like dragging your stuff everywhere. Every airport and rental car center is this and the other, it gets to you sometimes. There was a point it was like, I want to be home.
Bret Lasky: Yeah! How does your work was improving as a caddie? Because; I’m thinking about myself like I want to be better at podcasting, I want to be better at my job, everybody right at their job. You want to be the best caddie, I would imagine, right, like how do you improve is it just reps and practice or is there a way to really become like the best caddie on the LPGA?
Matthew Galloway: I definitely wouldn’t say I’m even close to being the best one out here, but like there’s a lot of guys I look up to, like there are guys that have been out here for years and you kind of like, you know, listen to them talk about stuff, you kind of ask them random questions. A lot of it was observation for me when I first started. I remember like my second week out, I was walking, we’re in Lake Merced, I was like walking the golf course and I see Jason Hamilton who’s working for Lydia and he’s obviously like done a lot of great things for Yanni, and Lydia and he’s he’s, a super cool guy, super good caddie. I was just kind of watching right then and just kind of like observing.
There are other guys, ten or so other older guys I kind of look up to and I’m always trying to pick their brain, like you just kind of listen and observe what they do and just try to pick up things along the way or you know, learn about. I just spent 3 hours on the phone with this guy in Dallas, Scott Fawcett talking about strategy stuff. This guy, he’s a mathematician. He’s like a complete nerd about golf, stats, and strategies. The guy is like a math genius, so it’s like had some long talks about them and it’s something I’m trying to like learn more about and maybe in something that might be used in a week to employ and figure stuff out. So, it’s like if you’re always trying to find a way to learn more about golf in a way and then kind of just figure out a way to be better for yourself to read putts better. To Michelle, it’s hard like she can’t like just go read a book. So, it’s just kind of like you got to you have your own way of figuring out I guess.
Bret Lasky: I asked because I think like sometimes I feel like, you know, obviously in the golf industry, people know the importance of a caddie, but I think outside of the golf industry people might think, oh, you know, well these guys just carry the bags and you know, but I mean this is your job, this is your livelihood, and I would imagine that my job, my livelihood, I want to be really good so that I can become more and more successful and get more opportunities, and like it’s the same thing with you guys, right? Like you want to get better because you want to be more successful and that leads to better opportunities and all that sort of thing right?
Matthew Galloway: Oh yeah for sure! I mean you watch it and now it’s, take the caddies on the LPGA Tour. There’s a lot of guys that either played at some high level and some kind of tour and now have all this planning experience and they were starting to work out there and caddie, and it’s that mindsets and they’re playing for ton of money out there, and those guys are making a great living and that’s all great for them. And then the same thing out here is you get a lot of guys that are like, it’s not just like the traveling circus anymore, about the counties that are like living out their cars and like it’s a serious job and you’ve got to take it seriously and be careful about what you’re doing and kind of behave yourself a little bit, and like take care of your body so your back doesn’t go out. I mean you got to just do all that and then just kind of learn how to do better.
Bret Lasky: I think that’s good because, I think again, like the outside perception out of the golf industry is that, but that’s not the reality. I mean, you guys are serious workers, you know, you’re here all day. What time did you get here? For example
Matthew Galloway: Today wasn’t an easy day. Like say, we had and 8:10, we’re doing the 9 and 9 (Pro-Am) program, which was a brilliant thing. I want to hug whoever maybe came up with that idea I love the 9-hole program. So we were at 810, you know, it’s obviously not great weather today, so we get out here. How many hours out here? Woke up at 6 this morning and then at here 7 and then we go play, not that whole program. We’re coming back and she putts a little bit and we go along, and I was out of here by noon, that’s a great day, if you get out here before like 2, that’s a great day.
Bret Lasky: But normally, what’s a normal day?
Matthew Galloway: Normal Day – it’s all based on a schedule like you know, a normal week could be you arrive on Sunday, Monday and then you got to walk the golf course, so there’s that, if we’re going to play 9-holes, we’ll go play 9 and then Michelle will go practice for a little bit and then I might need to go check some more stuff on the golf course. So I might need to go back there and walk 9 more holes and check some more stuff. And so there are days that you’re out here all day, like just sunup to sundown, and there are some days that you get out of here at noon and those were the great days when you enjoy your afternoons off.
Bret Lasky: Do you think about – this is probably a hard question to ask you because obviously, you know, you have a boss and that’s Michelle Wie. Do you think about like what you ultimately want to do? Like, I don’t know, like 15 years down the road, like where does Matthew Galloway want to be? Do you think about that stuff?
Matthew Galloway: You always have like an arc in mind of where you want to do and you know– it’s hard. Yeah, stuff in the back of your head. I mean you can’t physically caddie forever, and I mean sometimes you know, we’ve got to go start a life and you know, traveling with kids is hard sometimes and like I don’t have to deal with that yet, but it’s just like, it’s not easy. So, there are questions you got to ask yourself but haven’t got there yet. So I think I got some more years in me.
Bret Lasky: I want to ask you about your personal arc too because you play golf, you were on the Big Break Mexico College golf, pro golf. Tell me about those years in sort of how you – tell me about those years and then I guess the part B is how you made the transition from golf to caddie?
Matthew Galloway: The joke is one of my other caddie friends. I forgot who said it or where we were at. Some young kid asked us, oh man, that’s cool, your caddies., how do you become a caddie? This guy just goes. It’s been a lot of their life decisions and I mean, it’s funny, but I mean I haven’t say I made a bad about their life decisions, but it was this more of like an unfortunate series of circumstances. I was playing professionally in Canada in like 2014, 2013, 2014 and I was playing on the many tours before that playing in college before this was like an arc of that, like I’m dreaming of being LPGA Tour that where I’m going and getting there in a slow way, and then I had some sponsors and this guy backed out on me last minute and so I didn’t really have a ton of money, and then I was working. I work at the winners of this club in Florida called Streamsong Resort and so is there, and then I got a call from another friend of mine that worked in LPGA Tour and say, hey, I worked for this girl in Ocala, she needs a caddie, can you come? You want to go start working for her, try it out for a couple of weeks.
And I was like, ‘’Yeah, maybe’’ and then he was like, I really think you should do it because the summer is kind of slow in Streamsong sometimes, and I was like, that’d be an interesting episode. So I went and tried doing 3 weeks of this in 2015. It was fine and I was like, I like being out here and like being in the mix. I was kind of way in the hole, do I still want to play, but there’s a whole like, you know, need to make some money too and have some kind of a steady income versus then go tee it up a mini-tour event and try to pay for your rent, and pretty stressful sometimes.
And then did that for 3 weeks and that thing didn’t work out just because we’re here nor there, and then by the time I was already after 3 weeks made some relationships with people and all of a sudden you got another call to go work for someone else, and then also needs us out here, and you kind of like make the decision to say hey, you know, identify with this, like it’s steady work, it’s some good money at times when things are going good. And then, I kind of like came to grips of what my decision was and I wouldn’t have become a caddie, and so it’s like, alright, I feel like; there’s a – I don’t say need from me, but like I feel like there’s a role I can fill and there’s a need for me. So, I can feel like there’s something I’m good at and let’s do it and so I’m here out here now.
Bret Lasky: Do you miss playing?
Matthew Galloway: There are times where like especially when you watch your buddies that you played with having success in the web or have, you know now getting PGA Tour cards and you don’t miss the grind of like practicing for 12 hours a day and some other stuff [crosstalk]. And the same thing to travel, like driving everywhere and I mean I still do that now, the travel I guess, but like oh that stuff and the stress of like, you play as directly tied to like, paying rent sometimes which is not fun, but Like you still have stressed like a caddie like you want to like, you kind of like there’s only so much you can do. So, it’s like; you can’t beat yourself up over it and it’s a little more study. It took me like maybe a year to come to grips with it, but I’m fully vested, I’m feeling like, hey, this is what I’m going to do something like try to become the best caddie I can be. How good can I get? Well, I’ll see, but I don’t know.
Bret Lasky: Is it stressful on the golf course for you too?
Matthew Galloway: Yeah, there’s a time where it’s like things aren’t going well and you’re just like thinking it’s yeah, there’s a lot of things that go through your head. Like, is this me? Well, am I doing wrong? How can I say something stupid here? Oh, I should have pitched you wedge instead of the 9-iron there and you always beat yourself up a little bit over it, but you can’t live in the past.
Bret Lasky: Yeah, because; I guess ultimately, she’s hitting the shots but you’re so much a part of it, you know every player that does like these posts round interviews, you always hear, Oh, you know, me and my caddie had a great day, like…
Matthew Galloway: I mean that’s for sure like
Bret Lasky: They’re hitting the shots
Matthew Galloway: I’m not going to take credit for the great shots. No, of course, I guess we take all the blame for the bad ones, but like, that’s fine. I’d rather her beat me up than beat herself up, but it’s like there’s some stress and you know, a secondary stuff.
Bret Lasky: This question might be difficult too, but I’m going to ask you and maybe we could figure out a way sort of zigzag our way around this if that makes any sense. But like the finances of being a caddie is always like an interesting thing I think for people. And obviously, I’m not asking like how much Michelle paid you like that. Of course, and that’s not fair because you don’t ask me how much the LPGA paid me, right?
Matthew Galloway: It’s always funny because people come up and one that’s like the first question they asked her. How much money do you make?
Bret Lasky: Well, then ask them how much money did you guess?
Matthew Galloway: I always turn it down and they get the point and they back off,
Bret Lasky: Exactly! And I have no interest in knowing that kind of thing, but just like, I don’t know, how do we zigzag around this too like, what is the life like? I mean obviously, it’s stressful because you know, people know, like if the girls missed the cut, they don’t make any money, right? Like we know that but we also know like, there’s likely some sort of salary for you guys but like I don’t know how to ask this question.
Matthew Galloway: I mean I give it to you in the most bare-bones way without revealing any numbers at all. Like this basically, there’s the standard like there’s not like a standard. It’s not like there’s like I can go saying like this girl only paid you this and it’s kind of like you’re a contractor. We all negotiate on our own and so if we’re not comfortable making that then you don’t do it, and so there’s, you can’t like. But it’s basically just like a weekly type salary, there are other structures out there but for the most part, the majority it was a weekly salary of X to X and then you know, a percentage, and that’s been, you know, you can do enough research, Google caddie rates and pay, pretty much funny, it’s over like in a way in different articles is kind of been documented. So, it’s pretty clear that way, and there are other things they get involved in international travel every now and then, but I mean it’s pretty straightforward. Everyone’s kind of like making different things. That’s the way it is.
Bret Lasky: And of course, you know, like people have seen, like you said, like the 10% to 7% to 5%, like stuff like that. I think it’s out there, the international travel I think is, you know, kind of another interesting thing that people can kind of look up, you know if the player gets a stipend and maybe they take care of the caddie or however it works?
Matthew Galloway: It kind of like between you and your player and if it works out, it works out.
Bret Lasky: And it’s so much of, I guess your financial success in a way is tied to performance
In a way, if the player has a massive year that helps a caddie.
Matthew Galloway: That’s about all I reveal there, I cannot go deep into it, and it’s if you play well, you get rewarded. The same thing is just like me playing the mini-tours stuff. Like there’s like a little more flatline baseline. I think you kind of going to make something but like, yeah, it’s all right.
Bret Lasky: I like when people come up to you that I think that’s the best player.
Matthew Galloway: They just say I might, I just kind of throw right back at them and say oh, okay.
Bret Lasky: because it’s so true. Like nobody comes up to me and its like, how much is the LPGA paying me? How about Streamsong? Tell me about that you still, you know, in the season or no?
Matthew Galloway: Well [inaudible 55:46] it’s like nonexistent. I mean, you basically get like December, January off. When I first started out in this kind of work off weeks stress time when I was home, but now it’s just like I’m just so beat up, I just want to sit at home, maybe play a little golf myself, but I don’t really do any work there and this is basic in the winter, like so it’s kind of scaled back a lot than I used to do.
Bret Lasky: Yeah! Do you have a favorite golf course out here on the LPGA?
Matthew Galloway: You know this one, Kingsville a sneaky good, and I was really excited about Wilshire Country Club and it was a great place. And you got to say thanks to Todd Keefer, general manager, for making sure we get access to that place because I’m kind of a golf course architecture dork, and I know too much. Unfortunately, I don’t get the play many great courses out there, and I think there’s ample opportunity all across the country because the girls only hit it so far so we can play any golf course.
I mean the men are running out of places to play because; they hit it miles and that’s not the case for us and so there’s always opportunities to go, like kind of I think that’s what she did, they kind of saw their selves as a club. I’m probably guessing here a little bit, but you know Riviera and Bel-Air, it is good to get Wilshire out there and get it on TV, and it looked there was a great golf course. I love that like Lake Merced. And this one’s great, you know, KPMG always picks great golf courses that not hold new Women’s LPGA Championship. They’ve done an awesome job with that. I always based on people ask you, what’s your favorite place? I always based it on the golf course.
Bret Lasky: Interesting! That’s a good list!
Matthew Galloway: Yeah! Actually Atlantic city as much that’s one of those places where I don’t love the town, but the golf course is awesome like it’s a Donald Ross and just really cool. You got to hit a lot of different shots, all your clubs get used and you’ve kind of got to think your way Around.
Bret Lasky: Couple of questions. The US Open is going to be coming up is a major week. I know for players, you know, you hear them talk about, well we know it’s a major week, it’s different, blah, blah, blah. Is a major week at all different for you?
Matthew Galloway: Yeah, you just want to make sure all you’re ducks in a row, like use the US open changes every year, so it’s always a new golf course. So you kind of got to you know it’s my job to kind of figure stuff out and be ready on Monday when we play practice and say like, Hey, I think we need to hit this here and you do some, you know, you look at stuff and Google it before the event and tried to scout out a little bit and try to have some kind of plan and obviously you get that money and might completely change. But based on condition what’s going on, it’s mere, just more important, it’s bigger than in the air, so you get fired up for it, but you also got to kind of like it’s just another week just to go through your teams and be prepared and hopefully it goes well.
Bret Lasky: Yeah! So you do some like Google or stuff?
Matthew Galloway: Yeah! There are some study and some guy, there wasn’t a lot, a couple of players. I mean I feel like last week everyone went down there and played, but there’s a lot of people that got there early and check stuff out if you can and then not a big fan of it but if you want to go, you go but we don’t do it, so that’s fine with me. Yeah!
Bret Lasky: And then lastly, have you caddied for guys before?
Matthew Galloway: My first ever caddie experience, I worked for Lee Jansen for a second and he was like, he was a good friend of mine and it was like he’s way of kind of helping me out, you know financially, making little money, caddie a little bit, so I went on the PGA Tour for a little bit in like 2012.
Bret Lasky: Okay! I guess I’ll ask. What’s the difference between caddying for Lee Jansen and Michelle Wie?
Matthew Galloway: It’s like personalities, like the personality changes. I mean obviously, the men hit it farther. Michelle hits it quite far, but like you know, it’s there just that to add. Everyone’s going to be different and even like it’d be guy-to-guy is going to be different. So, it’s the same thing; it’s just they just hit it farther.
END
Link to LPGA On The Tee Podcast Audio & Article
