Q&A with this month’s #PlattProfile, Mark Brennan.
Brennan speaks about his experience caddying in the 2018 BMW Championship. Read his full interview below!
(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)
Q: How old are you?
A: I am 20.
Q: What school are you currently attending?
A: West Chester University.
Q: When do you graduate?
A: I graduate next May.
Q: What is your major?
A: Accounting with a minor in business analytics.
Q: How did you decide on that major?
A: It’s just something that’s always interested me. My mom and dad both worked in similar fields.
Q: What made you want to add a minor?
A: It was a new minor and I had a couple of my business professors mention it in my classes.
Q: Do you participate in activities in school? Clubs?
A: I am in a Business Honors Society.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: I enjoy playing golf and basketball and just hanging out with friends and going to the beach sometimes.
Q: What golf club do you caddie for?
A: Aronimink Golf Club.
Q: How long have you been caddying?
A: Since I was 14, so about 6 years.
Q: How did you start caddying?
A: My mom’s boyfriend at the time actually recommended it to me because he’s a caddie master.
Q: What is your favorite thing about caddying?
A: Probably just meeting new people and learning new things whether it’s golf or outside of golf such as learning to communicate with people.
Q: How did you hear about J. Wood Platt?
A: There were a lot of J. Wood Platt caddies at Aronimink when I started caddying there. They told me about it.
Q: What are your long-term goals? Think 5 to 10 years
A: In 5 to 10 years I would like to be a certified public accountant and potentially start my own accounting firm or explore other business endeavors.
Q: What is something that happened to you while caddying that you will never forget?
A: Something that has happened to me while caddying that I will never forget has to be caddying in the 2018 BMW Championship Pro-Am at Aronimink Golf Club with one of my lifelong best friends, who also happens to be a Platt Scholar, Chris Dempsey. Being inside the ropes and being up close to professional golfers I’ve watched on TV since I was a little kid is something I think I will cherish/remember for the rest of my life.
Q: How has J. Wood Platt changed your life?
A: J. Wood Platt has changed my life unbelievably and remarkably that I will forever be grateful for. When I was younger I always wanted to go to college but the thought of student loan debt always lingered in the back of my mind. J. Wood Platt has lessened that burden while also giving me a community full of connections with not only other scholars but an abundance of successful people who were once in a similar position to me.
Q: What advice would you give your younger self as a caddie or a new caddie just starting?
A: Some advice I would give my younger self as a caddie would be to make the most out of the opportunity you’ve been given because it will not only better you as a caddie but as a person. Meeting new people and conversing with them on a daily basis can provide you with valuable wisdom and life lessons while also potentially providing you with life-altering connections.
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 3,700 young men and women have received $25 million in aid from the Trust.
