SPORTS

Caddying pays off for Newman Catholic student

Tim Johnson
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Sam 
Losinski

WAUSAU - Sam Losinski might be a good source for golfers who want to know the key to a successful round at the Wausau Country Club.

The Newman Catholic senior has been a caddie at the 6,388-yard, par-71 course since he was 14 years old and logged nearly 100 rounds over the past three summers.

“It depends on the golfer, but I will get asked for my opinion on (a club) or a shot (placement),” Losinski said. “It does happen.”

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Losinski is proficient in more than pin placement, speed of greens and how weather conditions might affect a golfer’s shot. Besides his course work, there is his coursework — he holds a 3.9 grade point average at Newman Catholic, scored a 29 on his ACT and is considering a major in engineering as he heads to the University of Wisconsin in the fall.

He heads to Madison as one of 17 Wisconsin high school students who were awarded the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship this winter. Losinski was selected after the final round of interviews by Evans Scholar Foundation members at the Westmoor County Club in Brookfield.

“I was at a podium (in the front of the room) getting interviewed by about 50 members of the Evans committee,” Losinski said. “It was about 10 to 15 minutes of me answering questions and I knew a few of the members (in the room), so that was kind of nice. One of the first questions was a super-complicated physics one, but it was asked as a joke. It helped me relax a bit, but (the interview) was still really nerve-wracking.”

Amateur golfer Charles "Chick" Evans Jr.  started the caddie scholarship program in the 1930s. An estimated 270 caddies across the country are expected to be awarded the Evans Scholarship this year. Scholarship funds come primarily from Western Golf Association Par Club members across the country.

The scholarship recipients were selected based upon four selection criteria — strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and character. Losinski received the scholarship two years after his brother, Joe, received the same honor.

"He's kind o f the one who got me into (caddying)," Losinski said of Joe, who is a student at the University of Wisconsin. "When I found out I got (the scholarship), it was really exciting and a big weight off my shoulders. This is something that I have been working on for about the last four years."

Loskinski and his brother became caddies after responding to a newspaper advertisement for the Wausau Country Club four years ago.

"I kind of followed my brother into it and started caddying every Wednesday and Saturday," said Losinski, who is a member of the Newman Catholic boys golf team this spring. "But I've always been interested in golf for as long as I can remember —ever since I saw Tiger Woods on TV when I was about 3 years old and asked my dad who that was.

"There is just something about the sport — the simplicity of getting a tiny golf ball from point A to point B on the course and that intrigues me," Losinski said. "That is what has kept me at (the game)."

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or twjohnson@gannett.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11