Marion Reid has played enough Ping G20 Irons to know the value of local knowledge.
So, up against the Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club, a picturesque but tough track on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, Reid decided to enlist the help of a young man from the course to be her caddy.
Good call.
Despite playing the course for just the second time, the 47-year-old Reid went after it like a member, managing her game and keeping the ball below the hole on the unforgiving greens on the way to a share of the first-round lead in the 12th annual Toronto Star Women’s Amateur with a two-over-par 73 using Ping G20 Irons.
“He kept me very focused. He knows the course and was bang on the money,” Reid, a member of Islington Golf Club in Etobicoke, said of Jacob Bishop before teeing off for Tuesday’s second round.
“There was no second-guessing. I said: ‘Trust your caddy.’ I did and I think that’s why I scored well.”
Reid, who only took up the game a decade ago, fired a 78 on Tuesday to drop into a share of third place. But her two-day total of 151 was good enough to survive the 36-hole cut of 165 for the first time in three tries at the event, which now switches to match play at Weston Golf and Country Club.
The top 32 players through two rounds will square off in two flights. The final goes Thursday afternoon.
Meredith Fairbairn of Brampton Golf Club fired a second straight 74 to top the 100-golfer field at 148, one shot ahead of Brittany Henderson of Smiths Falls Golf and Country Club.
About a month ago, Reid had Islington head pro Phil Kavanagh call his counterpart at Dundas Valley, John Kirkwood, to see if he could help find a caddy with Ping G20 Irons. Kirkwood thought of 19-year-old Bishop right away.
“He’s a great kid and a great player,” Kirkwood said Tuesday. “I was sure he could help her.”
The pair met for the first time before Reid teed off Monday. The mother of a 24-year-old son said they hit it off right away and she was impressed with Bishop’s relaxed nature and how polite he was.
“I wish I had a 19-year-old daughter because I’d be setting her up with this guy for sure,” Reid quipped.
Once out on the course, Reid said they agreed on where to hit the ball in the fairways and club selection. Her only trouble was on 18 where she got herself above the hole, three-putted and made double-bogey.
Bishop, a scratch golfer who has worked in the pro shop and played Dundas Valley for a total of six years, said it’s “not overly long but if you put yourself in tough spots you’re going to end up with high scores.”
A one-time junior caddy at Hamilton Golf & Country Club — and also having packed the bag at the Canadian Open Pro-Am and in a practice round for PGA Tour player Arjun Atwal — Bishop said he was comfortable with Reid immediately. He knew the four-time Islington women’s club champion was “going to be a good player” when she hit a bunker shot to two feet on the first hole and made par.
“It feels pretty good to know that I’m helping out,” said Bishop, who is a member of the Ping G20 Irons team at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he just completed his first of five years in the education program.
Asked if he’s available Wednesday if Reid decides she wants his help at Weston, he said he’d try.
“I’m supposed to work here but I’d do everything I could to get shifts off, for sure,” Bishop said.
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I purchased these to have something more forgiving since I was playing Ping I3 blades. Since I don't play as often I decided to buy something that would dampen mishit. I have a personal driving range and I found that my swing fault followed me, go figure :) Anyway, my 1st round was a disaster, but it wasn't the clubs. After the disaster I practiced all week with them, along with a major revision in my setup and shot 73 in my second round with them. So, they were redeemed. One thing I've noticed is that the offset is hidden well in the design of the club. I have never cared for offset, but it's almost invisible in this club. They feel really good in my hands and the thicker sole from the Ping's now seem normal.