Skye Mingming from Walnut Creek, California is a Youth on Course caddie at Contra Costa Country Club. She has been playing golf from a very young age and has quite a resume in the golf community.
"For my senior project, I hosted a golf tournament at Boundary Oak Golf Course and donated the raised profits to The First Tee of Contra Costa. I played on the Northgate High School’s Women’s Varsity Golf Team for four consecutive years and was captain for my junior and senior years. I won first team all four years and won 1st place overall at the league championship my senior year. Also, I played in many JGANC and JTNC tournaments year-round. I got a hole-in-one when I was 12 years old at The Bridges golf club!"
She started caddying with Youth on Course at the end of her senior year of high school to make money for college, and even though she's an experienced golfer, she had some reservations about what working as a caddie would be like.
"At first, I was nervous because a petite young lady like me didn’t look strong enough to carry other people’s bags. But I thought surely, I can do anything."
Putting her nerves aside, Skye was able to leverage her outgoing personality to get the most out of her experience as a YOC caddie.
"The YOC Caddie Program has impacted my life by giving me the opportunity to have a fantastic first paid-job experience. I have learned that communication is very important. Being social and communicative with others has increased my networking skills and will for sure help me in any industry in the future. But my biggest takeaway from caddying is to be patient. This is a value you learn as a golfer but I have applied it both on and off the golf course. I have had days where I wait as a standby caddie hoping for a [loop]. You never know who will pick you up. You also never know who is watching you. There are people who notice me as a standby and will pick me up to caddie for them the next time they play. Patience is key and if you wait long enough, you'll be rewarded."
Skye and Doughlass Hodge at the Ellie Mae Classic in 2019
Skye also says she has the YOC caddie program to thank for connecting her with people in her community.
"Whenever I go as a standby caddie, I meet great people in my community. I’ve met a Saint Mary’s Alumni, the high school golf coach of a rival school, the president of a school I live next to, and a chairman of Youth on Course. I’ve also got the chance to caddie for Doughlass Hodge, a Special Olympic Inductee, at the Ellie Mae Classic Celebrity Shoot-Out. The Youth on Course Caddie Program is a great way to socialize and communicate with those in your community through the game of golf."
Skye is going to be a Freshman at Saint Mary's College of California in the fall, with plans to major in Business Administration with a minor in Psychology.