Ronan Mulholland ‘s EMPOWER Leadership Award Speech from the 2025 Caddie Brunch
Good Morning everyone – I hope everyone’s holiday season is going well. It’s great to be here with you all today and to celebrate all of the achievements of J Wood Platt. I’m very grateful to have been at this event for the past four years and it’s a true honor to not just be a part of this great organization as a Platt caddie but also to have the privilege of standing here and speaking to you all today.
It really is such a full circle moment for me right now as it feels like yesterday when I was sitting in this exact room after finishing my first semester at Temple University trying to find a familiar face. Lucky enough I grew up caddying at Rolling Green and we have always had a relatively strong presence at these events so that helped out a little. That brings me to a quick story I’d like to share that truly speaks to the opportunity of being a Platt scholar and attending these events. So at my first Platt brunch four years ago, after I finished making my rounds with the Rolling Green guys that I knew, I sat down at my table and introduced myself to those around me. One of those people was Steve Torbeck and I’m not sure if he is here today but our brief conversation is a great example of how opportunistic these events can be. I got talking to him and told him that I just started my finance degree at Temple and sure enough he casually tells me he’s been working at Goldman Sachs for 30 years. Now originally I was like wow what a coincidence, but four years later I now know this is simply just the power of the Platt universe. So sure enough we talked for a little bit and I’m sure I rattled off some stupid questions about his career as a first semester freshman that thought he had it all figured out. Soon enough the event came to a close and I was walking out and telling some rolling green guys about the cool guy I met but realized I never got his contact information. A couple months went past and I became more curious about my career at school and knew I wanted to figure out how to reach out and speak with Steve again. Luckily, a LinkedIn message caught his attention. We chatted a couple times and one of the first things he told me was that I was the first kid to not ask for a business card so that was a quick learning lesson for me. Nonetheless he always made himself available to chat with me and offered insightful advice on where I was in life. I think we went a year or so without speaking and I was in the process of searching for an internship for my junior year summer and I figured I’d reach out again to see if he could help point me in the right direction. Once again we got talking on the phone and right before the call ended he was like hey i’m actually playing at rolling green this weekend, would you be able to come out and caddie? Obviously that was an easy yes for me and led to further conversation where Steve offered more advice about where I was as a student and what may be best for me. Some of that included his thoughts about experiencing finance in New York and sure enough a couple months later I landed a summer internship on Wall Street. All in all I think this is such a good representation of the opportunity Platt gives outside of just the financial aid but also all of the events that they host that can truly lead to so many other things.
Before I wrap up here there are many people who have helped me to get to this point that I owe thanks to. Starting with Chris Hoyle and Freddy Heller who always looked out for me at Rolling Green and gave a kid the size of the golf bag itself a chance to caddie almost nine years ago now. There have also been some great fellow caddies along the way, two of which being Double D and Yoan – They both always helped me how to navigate getting involved with Platt and Double even showed me some things Not to do as a caddie. And lastly my parents and family who have always been a great support system throughout this great journey.
Thanks you to everyone for attending today and Merry Christmas
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 288 Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust
The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust was created in 1958 and is the charitable arm of GAP (Golf Association of Philadelphia). The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust’s mission is to financially aid and empower qualified caddies and those working in golf operations in the pursuit of higher education. Along with aiding Scholars financially, J. Wood Platt’s EMPOWER program strengthens scholarship investment dollars by providing Platt Scholars with exceptional benefits and leadership training through access to the wide network of J. Wood Platt donors and alumni. To date, more than 4,000 young men and women have received $30 million in aid from the Trust.
