Like many, I’ll be watching some of the world’s best golfers compete in Augusta this weekend. While names like Rahm, Scheffler, and McIlroy will be in the spotlight, it’s others on the course that I’ll be watching closely. They are the best in the world at what they do.

Behind every great player is a great caddy. Many have long-term relationships with their golfer, competing in several championships together throughout their career. 

Many professional caddies have great careers as they earn a percentage of winnings as their clients achieve their goals. 

Google will tell you that they “bring added value to the game for the golfer,” but they also:

• Help their client develop a strategy for the round
• Carry the heavy load
• Have a bag full of tools ready for any situation
• Know the distance and effort it takes to get to each target
• Check the weather and prepare for the worst
• Provide advice on each swing and know when to use each tool
• Have extensive knowledge of the game
• Have experience of the course, having played it several times before
• Know where the hazards are and how to avoid them
• Know how to help their clients out of bad situations when they land in one
• Fix divots and ball marks when they happen
• Read the green and know how to adjust

Sound familiar? 

While some agents love to be in the spotlight, we often forget that we’re not the ones buying and selling these homes. When we understand this, claims like “I sold 100 homes this year” become “I helped 100 clients buy or sell their homes this year”. 

It’s our clients who are on the mortgage, taking the risk, working long hours to make payments and fixing things when they leak.

When we step back from the tee box and solidify our role as the advisor, clients better understand that we give them the best advice we can based on our experience and all the information we had at the time. 

Let them take the credit when they come home with the green jacket, and they’ll be more likely to accept the bounces when they end up out of bounds. (How many times have you been blamed when something in their new home breaks down?)

As Realtors, we should tee this role up. Let’s build our experience, learn new strategies, acquire the best tools, embrace the newest technologies, play the course ourselves and be the best advisors we can be. 

After all, it’s not us but our clients that are swinging the club.

Enjoy the round. See you in the clubhouse.

Brin Werrett

Brin Werrett is the broker/owner at Coldwell Banker Local Realty in Regina, SK. He’s been a REALTOR® since 2008 and has volunteered time on various committees with the SRA (Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association) and local community organizations including the Regina Thunder Football Club of the Canadian Junior Football League. He opened Coldwell Banker Local Realty in October 2021.