Official Caddying Story: Stephen Malbon
Stephen Malbon. Photo credit: @ogwilliet.
Stephen Malbon is the founder of Malbon Golf, along with his wife, Erica. Established in 2017, Malbon Golf has taken the sport by storm, enjoying collaborations with the likes of Nike, Polo, and Callaway. With store locations in Los Angeles and Seoul, South Korea, the brand has garnered fans in Steph Curry, Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, ScHoolboyQ, just to name a few. It has been featured extensively in not only golf media outlets but also GQ, Vogue, the New York Times, and many more. Malbon speaks passionately about his love of the game and their place in its evolution.
At which golf course did you first caddy and how old were you when you started?
Atlanta National in Alpharetta, Georgia, I caddied for three years straight and five years overall around my early 20s. The last two years were more part-time after I’d started some businesses. I made decent money. Sometimes, I'd do two loops a day and get in really good shape. When you’re carrying two bags, one guy hits a hook, and the other hits a slice. Zigzagging for seven miles, it was like “let’s go!”
Why were you compelled to become a caddy?
Cash, I needed to make money. But the deeper story is that I grew up on a hog farm in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We skateboarded, surfed, went dove hunting, went duck hunting, and rode four wheelers. It was madness. Then, my family sold the farm and joined some country clubs, which introduced me to golf.
When I was 12 years old, I got a job at a local public course named Hell’s Point Golf Club. This gave me a chance to hit balls and practice all the time. I was the youngest guy there and wanted to play with the older guys. I knew that the better I got, the more that older people would invite me to play. Having also played tennis, I molded my swing after Ivan Lendl’s crosscourt backhand winner. Before long, the members and assistant pros would include me in their games. I won some junior club championships and stuff like that, having such an advantage over the uptight private club kids since I’d played so much muni golf with normal people. From age 12 to 16, I played a lot. But that changed when cars and girls were introduced into the equation. I didn’t want to hit bunker shots for six hours a day; I wanted to surf, skate, and fuck off.
I fucked off so much that I dropped out of high school and moved to Colorado, first to Georgetown and then to Breckenridge. Seeing that there wasn’t much of a career path for me there and needing to learn a trade, I decided to attend The Art Institute of Atlanta. My family wasn’t too happy with me, so I needed to put myself through school. Since I’d grown up around golf, caddying was the best way for me to make a living. I knew not only what a caddy needed to do but even more about how to provide great service. I’d drive out to the parking lot and pick up the member in a golf cart, having everything ready to go for him upon arrival. We’d become fast friends, and I’d always ask about his family. We were a team, and I knew the difference would be $300 if we won versus only $100 if we lost. Caddying for people playing for a lot of money is the most fun job I ever had!
Through caddying, I also got way better at golf, especially the mental side of the game. Watching these guys and just being invested in the loop, it was a partnership. So if an opponent hits his approach into a bunker and my guy is all adrenalin-ed up about to hit a 7-iron, I’d say, “Sir, please hit the 8-iron to the front of the green and two-putt up the hill. He’s not going to get up and down from there.” I knew that the last thing we wanted was to smoke the 7-iron deep, hit the backside of the green, and wind up in the pine straw with an impossible up and down. They’d listen and do it.
Take us through your first day on the job, who was your first loop?
The caddie master was named Coach. I met him. We got along great. Since I’d been a member at private clubs but worked at public courses growing, I understood both sides of it. Coach gave me a caddy suit and informed me that there was a free lunch, with evidently great burgers. I went and grabbed some food and waited for a little bit. Then, he shouts out, “Malbon you ready?” He tells me to go and meet so and so on the range. I grab my wet towel. I walk up to the gentleman and say, “Sir, let’s kick some fucking ass. What’s the match?” That was it!
I became a regular caddy in a very famous group called “The Boys.” They’d play every day at noon, with 8-12 guys all in one group. The liquor cart stayed with them the entire time. There were a couple of bookies in the group who would take any bet, and I mean any bet. There were also lawyers, doctors, and businessmen, just a great bunch of derelicts who all wanted to gamble. They played big, like starting at $2K per hole and having it double every hole thereafter. Then, they might go in and play cards for a couple hundred grand. On a given day, my guy might lose $60K on the golf course but then go win $220K later on in poker. The bookies were really something. If it was too hot to play on a certain day, they might play each other for $100K on just the 18th hole. We’re talking six figures on a single hole.
It was great because as a caddy you’re really in it. One or two of them liked me, so they’d want me out there, instead of taking a risk with some caddy they didn’t like. So I was always rushing from school to get my free lunch and then heading straight out to see my boy who's already chipping. Knowing if I don't show up, he doesn’t have a chance!
What was the biggest mistake that you made during your caddying career?
The biggest mistake was not cheating for the member on my first loop! Not sure if anybody else is talking about this in these things, but that’s what’s real. All of the caddies cheated in that game; they were all in on it. I got told what to do by the other caddy on day one. He said, “If I was you, I’d stop leaving your guy behind trees. Go ahead and kick the ball four feet because we don’t want to see your guy miserable, fucking hacking it through woods.” But there was a code to it, and the caddies monitored each other. If I give his guy one, he’s gonna give me one. All the members knew what we were doing. You gave the guy a good lie if he’s in the rough. You make at least 3 times more money when your player won. What am I going to do? I can’t be the moral guy and say to myself, “Oh, I can’t cheat.” Fuck it. Because the other guys were already doing it, I had to cheat, or I’d never win.
What did you most enjoy about caddying?
The pressure. The action. Reading the putt in big moments and telling your guy to split the lip, don’t play it outside the hole. Maybe he hits a perfect putt but it lips out. Whether he makes it or misses it, being in it, I loved all of that.
Tell us about some of the people for whom you caddied, did any of them contribute to your career in a meaningful way?
Sure, there was this one guy, Mike, but really, I learned from all of them. I’d just listen to them talk about business, dealing with kids, and dealing with their wives. Caddying is such a live situation. Everything on the golf course is so open. The golfers didn’t care what we heard. Even though I’d started a media company three years into caddying and also started a magazine, I didn’t tell any of them about it, kept it all separate. If there was any business discussed from my end, it was some members asking me for that good hydro weed, so I was getting that kind bud from the hippies and bringing it back to certain guys. That was interesting.
What was the biggest lesson that you learned from caddying that helped you succeed as you progressed in life?
More than anything, it was how to handle yourself in high profile situations. You’ve got two millionaires almost fist fighting on a hole, trying to decide if the one guy made a 7 or a 6 because there are thousands of dollars at stake. I learned about staying calm in high pressure situations.
What does it mean to “invest in golf,” a common slogan for your company?
“Invest in golf” came off of an old Masters Tournament ticket. If you invest in golf, it does good things for you, your family, and your acquaintanceships. You’re out there rubbing shoulders. I’m a classic example. I was living in LA and didn’t have anyone to golf with, so I’d hit the municipal as much as I could. Then, we start this golf thing. A year or two later, I’m playing LACC, Bel-Air, and Riviera, every good course there is, somehow.
Sure, I may show up to the first tee in baggy pants, and some CEO looks down at you. Then, you stripe a laser 4-iron 240 yards down the middle, knock a gap wedge to eight feet, and make the putt for birdie, while he’s over there making double. It’s like who's your boy now? If you’re really good at golf, you’re their hero, so it levels the playing field so to speak. But you have to invest the time to get good.
“Invest in golf” expresses that the game is not only for me but for my whole family. We’ve tried to teach that to younger people who don’t yet play the game. Pharell (Williams) and I were going to kick off a caddy leadership program back in Virginia as part of the Something In The Water Festival, but unfortunately, the event was cancelled this year due to coronavirus. But stay tuned...
If you could nominate one former caddy who went on to enjoy success, whose Official Caddying Story would you like to hear?
Max Adler over at Golf Digest, he’s like 34 years old and the greatest dude ever. He grew up caddying in Connecticut and really gets it. We have to keep it fresh, things like putting ScHoolboy Q and Phil (Mickelson) on a cover together. It’s great for golf that a guy like Max is being groomed to take over.
