Q&A with this month’s #PlattProfile, AJ Jennings
AJ Jennings, a Psychology major and Music minor at Dickinson College, is a longtime caddie at Coatesville Country Club. He reflects on how his mom helped him find his first caddie job, how the role helped him overcome shyness, and how the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship made college a reality. Read more!
(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)
Q: How old are you?
A: I am 21. I will be 22 in a month.
Q: What school are you currently attending?
A: I go to Dickinson College.
Q: When do you graduate?
A: I graduate this May.
Q: What is your major?
A: I am majoring in Psychology with a music minor.
Q: How did you decide on that major and minor?
A: Originally I was law and policy and realized I didn’t really know much about our government. I took one psych class and thought it was pretty cool. Music, I took a guitar class in high school. I decided to continue that. One of my professors told me, “You have enough credits,” so I ended up getting the minor.
Q: Do you participate in any school activities or clubs?
A: I used to play football and run track at Dickinson. After last year, I stopped.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: I enjoy listening to music and I enjoy caddying. I think I’ll save golfing for when I retire.
Q: What golf club do you caddie at?
A: Coatesville Country Club.
Q: How long have you been caddying?
A: I believe this will be my eighth year. I started when I was 14.
Q: How did you get into caddying?
A: Mostly from my mom. She found the job for me, she needed me to work. My friends would always want to do things, and she told me I needed to get a job if I wanted to go out. Somehow my mom found Whitford Country Club. He brought me in, trained me, and then brought me over to Coatesville to help train caddies.
Q: What is your favorite thing about caddying?
A: Interacting and talking with the people I caddy for. I used to be very, very shy. I didn’t get promoted for the first four years I caddied because I didn’t talk really. But once I opened up, it opened up experiences for me.
Q: How did you hear about the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship?
A: I heard about it through Roderick at Whitford. He was telling me about it, and it really sounded great!
Q: What are your long-term goals? Think 5 to 10 years
A: My goal is to start working in residential remodeling and helping my friend and sister in real estate. Also, purchase my first car or apartment.
Q: What is something that happened to you while caddying that you will never forget?
A: I remember I was once practicing how to juggle, and the golfers remembered and would find balls on the course to give me so I could juggle. They loved it.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self?
A: I would tell myself that you gotta be more open, allow yourself to be expressive. The more you decide to be quiet, the less you can get exposure to new experiences or connections. So be open and willing to try new things.
Q: How has J. Wood Platt changed your life?
A: Platt has made it so I could get a college-level education. My friends are from all over the world, which has opened my eyes to the greater world because Platt gave me the ability to truly go to college instead of settling for trade school or anything else.
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 caddies financially, J. Wood Platt’s EMPOWER program strengthens scholarship investment dollars by providing caddies with exceptional benefits and leadership training through access to the wide network of J. Wood Platt donors and alumni. To date, more than 4,200 young men and women have received $29 million in aid from the Trust.
