A Tradition Worth Carrying
Written by Aidan Lavin, 2026 P.J. Boatwright Intern
CLIFTON, N.J. - The bibs, floppy bucket hats, long compression sleeves and sunglasses to protect themselves from the beating sun as they trudge through each round with bags on their shoulders; caddies look like an organized unit. To most, they are simply course advisors, quietly helping players navigate each round. But their story goes far beyond the golf course.
At Upper Montclair Country Club, brothers Ricardo and Carlos Rodriguez grew up in what was more than just a group of caddies; it was their family.
For Ricardo, a junior at Rutgers University studying mechanical engineering and Carlos, a senior studying information technology at Montclair State University, it was almost a sure thing that they would end up on the course, sporting the blue bibs with white cursive that reads “UMCC” on the front, just as their grandfather, father and uncles do.
“All my family was here, so there was always a great inspiration to not only go to work, but to basically go to a family gathering every time you get a loop,” said Ricardo. “I see my grandpa in front of me, I see my uncles to my left, my dad’s on my right, my brother's behind me. It's always great seeing family [at Upper Montclair].”
While the benefits of working with your loved ones were always apparent, the Rodriguez brothers came to find other aspects of caddying to be crucial to their development as they overcame different challenges that came with the job.
From the get-go, their wise father, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, made it a point to inform them that the job would not always be easy, but they should never give up. That sentiment has stayed with them through fairways, into classrooms and at their places of work.
Carlos was tested almost immediately as a caddie but did not waver and took his dad’s words to heart. Beginning his caddying career during the first COVID summer in 2020, many players were cautious about being around others. Finding a loop was not easy, but Carlos found perseverance through the struggles.
Rather than being discouraged by a lack of work or a bad read early on, Carlos was determined to get better. His studious nature led him to buy a greens book and roll golf balls along the greens to better understand how to best help Upper Montclair members and guests.
As Carlos used caddying as a means to mature and gain confidence through high school, Ricardo’s teenage years and caddying almost went hand in hand.
He started carrying bags at 14 years old and relied upon his brother’s experience to help him improve as a caddie. Carlos and Ricardo attributed effort, grit and persistence to improving both on and off the golf course.
The mistakes turned into celebrations whenever the brothers helped a member knock in a putt, earning them respect within what they described as “an awesome member community.”
Continuous loops over the years made them recognized around the Club and by the New Jersey Caddie Scholarship Foundation. As Caddie Scholarship Foundation recipients, the brothers earned financial support and, almost as importantly, peace of mind as they navigated through college.
“I pay out of pocket and I would caddy just to get to university,” said Carlos. “The scholarship helped me out a lot, because if I do miss a loop, I'm not too worried about it, because I have scholarship to fall back on... Sometimes it gets tight, but the scholarship does give me a little relief. I'm not too stressed, and I'm very grateful for that.”
With time and mind freed by the Caddie Scholarship, the brothers have already accomplished great things during their collegiate tenures. Both studying in STEM, they found that achieving high grade point averages was only possible with the additional study time the scholarship inherently granted them.
Through excellent academic marks, they landed leadership roles at school and internships in their fields of interest. Carlos found his passion for coding and developing websites while at Montclair State, which led to receiving a full-time offer at Langan Engineering after previously interning with the company. Ricardo lived in Delaware for the summer as he interned with Exelon as a gas engineer intern and, during the school year, serves as the president of Rutgers’ Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
As they close in on their degrees, they have even bigger dreams post-graduation, just as their grandfather, Jose Vincente Rodriguez Chilet, did when he first arrived in the United States.
“The first day [our grandfather] came here, still in the taxi, he asked the cab driver to drop him off to a country club, since he got into caddying when he was over in Peru,” said Ricardo. “The fact that everything just worked out in a way where golf has always been in our lives and given us so many opportunities, I'm forever indebted to the game of golf for everything that it’s taught me. All those early mornings, all the time with my family- it's something that I would never trade anything in the world for. I'm very appreciative of the game.”
Given their time spent on the course with high-level professionals in various occupations, their grandfather’s immigration story from Peru or watching their dad and uncles create prosperous lives for themselves and their families, Carlos and Ricardo have gained the belief that they can achieve whatever they put their minds to.
“I'm proud of the opportunities that I've taken. It's a value that my parents have instilled in both me and Carlos: never leave an opportunity untaken and never see a door as being closed. Always go for it,” said Ricardo. “We’re both very hard workers and I'm very proud of the values that my family instilled in me.”
Ricardo hopes to soon enter the realm of product engineering and design, specifically at Apple, and Carlos dreams of creating networks and servers for companies to ensure smooth operations. Both brothers, who once played Brawl Stars at the caddie shack to kill time, are now determined to make a real-world impact.
“I miss those days,” joked Carlos, “because back then all we had to do was just wait and just get a loop together, hopefully, or get a loop at all. I'm just glad I got to spend that time with my brother.”
“Nowadays, I think about those moments [on the course] when [Carlos] has always been there for me; that's all I can ever ask for,” said Ricardo.
While they often struggle to wrap their heads around the reality they are building for themselves, they always do so with humility, recognizing all the people who helped them along the way and the possibilities provided to them through the game of golf.
Their family, of course, along with the Upper Montclair Country Club community, the Rodriguez brothers believe, is as big a part of their journey as any.
“As second-generation immigrants, we are living a dream where, through our grandparents and parents, we've had a great foundation. That's thanks to golf. We are very blessed and very grateful,” said Ricardo.
The people, the bonds, the inside jokes and the quality time. That’s what is not seen beyond bibs and the greens.
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