ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Bernie Miezwa, a 70-year-old caddie at Salem Country Club from Danvers put down the bags and took a job for Fox Sports calling out what clubs players were going to hit on the 3rd hole during the first round of the U.S. Senior Open.
By BILL BROTHERTON
PEABODY – When Bernie Miezwa caddied for Susie Berdoy in the 1984 Women’s U.S. Open at Salem Country Club, little did he know that 33 years later he’d still be lugging a bag around the treasured Donald Ross-designed course.
Even in 2001, when he assisted Oregon dentist Jeff Lienasser during the USGA’s previous Senior Open at Salem, he probably envisioned that’d be it.
Yet here he is, at age 70, still left holding the bag.
Miezwa, a Salem native and former Peabody resident who now calls Danvers home, has been caddying for more than 55 years. He’s older than nearly every player in the 38th U.S. Senior Open Championship, which began yesterday.
“At my age, the hills are getting higher or my feet are getting shorter,” he said, with a grin. “At 200 pounds and 5-foot-2, I seem to be shrinking.”
In practice rounds earlier this week, the retired Sylvania employee caddied for amateur David Schmidt of Virginia and pro John Hearn of Hawaii. Yesterday afternoon, he was working as a spotter for Fox Sports, standing on the 3rd tee, compiling data on the players’ club choices on the 149-yard par-three hole.
He can still be found in Salem’s caddie barn most weekend mornings, along with another long-timer, Jimmy Byrne of Peabody.
“Way back when, I cut my eyeteeth at Kernwood. I’d walk a couple of miles from my home, wait all day, while the older kids got all the assignments. If I was lucky, I’d get a bag by day’s end. But I loved caddying right away. Why would any kid want to work in a store or flip burgers, when you could be outdoors, on a beautiful course.”
Miezwa said Salem’s caddie program is the best around, and the commitment and support from members is unprecedented. “They take it seriously. So many members at Salem caddied here growing up, and they know what a difference it can make in a young person’s life.”
Miezwa caddied every year when the LPGA’s Boston Five Classic was held at Ferncroft CC in Middleton and in subsequent years when the tourney got new sponsors and moved to courses in Canton and Agawam. He used vacation time to do this, no doubt problematic for his then-wife; they eventually divorced after 16 years of marriage. He’s been with his current girlfriend for 24 years.
The going rate when Miezwa started caddying was 75 cents to shag balls and about $2 for 18 holes. At Salem and most local courses today, caddies get $40 per bag plus tips per round. “When I got out of the Army, I started working at Sylvania in 1978. I made 80 bucks for a 40-hour week,” said Miezwa, a natural-born storyteller if ever there was one.
“I’m old school. A caddie shuts up and keeps up. Today, a caddie has to keep up with technology, but I’m spot-on when going up against a laser (to determine yardage). I won’t use them. I step off the yardage, and I’m every bit as accurate as a laser,” said Miezwa.
How much longer will Miezwa caddie? “My feet hurt. My back aches. I am feeling my age; my body’s wearing down. But you come here in May and June, early morning, birds are chirping, the grass is wet with dew, there’s no better place on earth than Salem Country Club.”
He adds: “You pay to go to a fitness center. Here, I get my exercise and I get paid to do it. You can’t beat that.”