How amateur golfers choose their pro in the Dick's Open Pro-Am
In between trays of frozen Miami Vices, smoked old fashions and lobster-roll sliders displayed on the 1st tee in En-Joie Golf Club sat orange and black hightop tables with numbers ranging from one to 50. Tuesday night, clusters of men gathered in groups around each table, hunched over their bourbon s'mores pudding cups and half-finished drinks as they scrolled through their phones and a yellow and green paper.
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They have to pick one name that's left on the board. But who?
Do they go with Derek Sanders or Boo Weekley? John Daly was an option moments ago, but one of the groups ahead already nabbed the two-time major champion and all-around folk hero for Wednesday.
Time's ticking down. Only a handful of seconds left before the buzzer.
It's all fun and games for everyone playing. The Dick's Open Pro-Am rounds are how amateur golfers get their chances to interact with the professionals and help donate to charity.
More: What to know for the PGA Tour Champions Dick's Open
For some golfers, this particular Pro-Am is a yearly event. As soon as the tournament dates are announced, they're booking flights, hotels and lining up tickets. They try to pick a new pro golfer to play with every year.
Boo Weekley of the United States plays his shot on the third hole during the first round of the Chubb Classic 2025 at Tiburon Golf Club on February 14, 2025 in Naples, Florida.
For others, this is a once-in-a-lifetime day. It's their chance to potentially play with a favorite golfer, maybe even pick up some new tips on their swing.
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But while it is all fun and games, the draw party is serious business.
'We were Googling as soon as they handed these out to us just to figure out who we had as our big names,' one amateur golfer, Kevin Dutkowsky, said while gesturing to his green paper littered with pencil markings. 'As the names were picked, we obviously had to go down our list, but they're all so accomplished that it's pretty easy to find someone every year.'
Dutkowsky said the Dick's Open has become a reunion for his extended family. He flies in from Tampa Bay to Endicott, which is where he grew up. Dutkowsky is playing in the Pro-Am on both days, teeing off alongside Soren Kjeldsen on Wednesday and Neal Lancaster on Thursday.
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While some people like the Dutkowskys may have relied on some Googling and a bit of personal experience for their selection strategy, other golfers were looking for someone with personality on the course — or even off the course, too.
One group, led by Bradley Cook, went as far to use AI to make a decision for who would be the best professional with which to spend 18 holes.
Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark tees off at the Genesis Championship 2024 at Jack Nicklaus GC Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
'By about the 20th slot, we took a picture of what was left on the board, sent it through ChatGPT with certain criteria,' Cook said, 'which required an engaging professional who has won two PGA events, enjoys giving basic swing and other analysis and would be most likely to have a beer at the bar with us afterwards.'
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This is Cook's fourth year participating in the Pro-Am, and he brought along his wife and kids to enjoy the experience as well.
'It's amazing, it's a generational experience for us,' Cook said. 'It started with my grandfather and now our kids, and hopefully the kids get to play in it in a few years.'
Cook ended up selecting Australian golfer John Senden for a Wednesday afternoon tee time.
John Senden putts toward the second hole during the first round of the Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club on Thursday in Akron. (Photo: Jeff Lange/Akron Beacon Journal)
Cook's friend, TJ Carden, played in a separate party for his first-ever Pro-Am. He worked as a caddy for his grandfather, who played at the golf course, and got a chance to play with a pro through his company, United Health Services (UHS).
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Carden's colleagues were the ones to pick his golfing pro, John Rollins. They did most of the research ahead of time and came in with a list of names to select.
To Carden, this experience is as close to a dream as it gets. He's known the sport his entire life, and though he claims he doesn't have the best swing around, just watching Rollins up close up counts as something Carden won't forget.
'This Pro-Am, the Dick's Open, is absolutely a bucket list item for me,' he said. 'I'm just going to soak in the whole thing.'
So with their finished glasses in hand and the knowledge of who their golfing partner will be for the day, the groups slowly marched toward the exit. The next time they'll be here, they'll be living and breathing the experience of their makeshift strategies becoming a reality.
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Whether they implemented the potential tips from their pros or end up sharing a meal with them after, well, that will be determined on the course.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: How amateur golfers choose their pro in the Dick's Open Pro-Am
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