How many teenagers have a summer job that’s worth a cool $100K+ ?
Meet Macy Hall and Owen Weisensteiner. They’re living proof
that, if you work at it, a job at your local golf course can have an
enormous payoff.
Owen and Macy are both seniors at Springs Valley — our local high school that’s a stone’s throw away from French Lick Springs Hotel — and both have been named Evans Scholars for 2023 by the Western Golf Association. The Evans Scholars Foundation rewards high schoolers with a strong caddie record, excellent academics and outstanding character with full tuition and housing scholarships.
That’s more than $125,000 over four years. The type of
scholarship kids (and parents) dream of.
It’s big, considering just 18 students in the state of
Indiana received an Evans Scholarship this year.
Even bigger, considering French Lick Resort is represented
by two Evans Scholars in the same year — just the third time that has ever
happened.
And it’s not the scholarship itself that’s been transformative.
Owen and Macy both laugh a little bit describing how caddying at The Pete Dye
Course at French Lick brought them out of their shell.
“Honestly, I was the same way,” adds Macy, who plans to
study nursing at Indiana University. “I was a pretty shy person and I’d get
really nervous talking to new people. So caddying allowed me to step out of my
comfort zone. After a couple rounds I got used to it, and it was really fun
meeting different people.”
You truly never know what each caddie shift brings and who
you might accompany on the course.
Owen has caddied for guests from Korea, India and Australia
who’ve made the trek to French Lick. Then there was the morning he showed up to
find one of his idols was tackling the Pete Dye Course.
“I got the chance to meet Carson Wentz, who is the quarterback
for my favorite NFL team. All the people at the golf course know I’m a
Washington fan because I get teased for it a lot since they’re not always the
best team. They all told me he was there, so I got a picture with him,” Owen
says. “I saw the IU coaching staff for basketball, their head coach and some of
their players were there. It was just fun to be able to see them in real life.”
“I’ve had so many different people, and I had this group of
guys that were the most outgoing people ever,” Macy recalls. “One of them
actually overswung when he was on one of the hills and he rolled down the hill.
That was probably the most memorable person I’ve had. His friends were laughing
— I didn’t know if he was OK at first — but fortunately he stood up and started
laughing.”
Macy and Owen will be caddying again at the Dye Course this
season (and Owen is also training to be a server at the West Baden Springs
Hotel restaurants), so give them a golf clap if you see them around the resort.
And for anyone with an interest in caddying — even if you
don’t have as much golf experience — our newest Evans Scholars have some
advice.
“I’d say just get up here and caddie and have fun with it,”
Macy says. “You’re going to meet all kinds of new people, you’re going to have
so much fun, and it’s worth it.”
Maybe even “full college ride” worth it.