Jeff Hamley, ’08, turns passion into profession as PGA Tour caddie – SRU News

Turning dreams into reality is no easy task, especially if you want to make it at the most prestigious level of professional golf: the PGA Tour. Every year, only 100 tour cards are given to players and their caddies. But Jeff Hamley achieved just that.

Hamley, a 2008 Slippery Rock University graduate with a degree in marketing, left behind a successful career as a talent recruiter to caddie for Andrew Novak, PGA Tour golfer and 2025 Zurich Classic winner.

Hamley followed a long trajectory of learning what it takes to get to the Tour to reach his dream profession. The role of the caddie can go beyond carrying clubs and replacing divots. Caddies are golfers’ strategic partners providing advice on yardages, club selection and reading greens. The profession can be financially rewarding with caddies earning a base weekly salary, along with a percentage of the golfer’s winnings for a tournament.

Love of Golf and Competition

Hamley first developed a love for golf at a young age, when he often played with his family. His first caddie experience was in the eighth grade, helping one of his friends in a state-level youth golf tournament.

“It was always in the back of my mind; a cornerstone of our family was the game of golf,” Hamley said. “Even as a little kid, I just loved what the game of golf brought to our family. None of us were really good – we just loved the comradery, the principles and being outdoors.”

But a love for the game of golf was only one part of the equation to convince Hamley to pursue a career caddying at the Tour level. When he was recruited by Matt Thompson, SRU Hall of Fame coach, to play soccer at SRU, Hamley’s passion for competition flourished.

“My love for competition really grew by playing soccer at SRU,” said Hamley, an Erie native and graduate of Cathedral Prep high school. “Soccer brought a love of competition at a high level that gave me the feeling that I could, in the present, handle the biggest tournament in golf and at the same time enjoy what the sport brings to us all.”

Shot to Go Pro

A mere nine days after graduating from SRU, Hamley joined the workforce in 2008 as a recruiter for Aerotek, a company specializing in staffing and service solutions. Hamley climbed the ranks over the course of 10 years to reach an operations manager position. Unknown to Hamley at the time, that part of his career was coming to come to end.

At a lunch-time meeting, Hamley was asked a rather simple question by a customer about what his true passion was and where he wanted to take his career.

“I really want to caddie on the PGA Tour,” Hamley told the customer.  

Then she asked him, “What have you done to take that step?”

“That was a defining moment for me,” Hamley said. “It was a simple, but profound moment. I thought, ‘I have to do something about it if I want my dream to materialize.’”

Shortly after, Hamley developed a loose connection to the professional world of golf. In fact, his connection was not direct, it was through his handyman who knew someone else caddying on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour.

After thinking about the reality of becoming a caddie and texting back and forth with his connection for a couple of months, Hamley learned having a full-time job was a non-starter. He had to fully commit if he wanted to have a chance to go pro.

After six long months of deliberation, Hamley’s office career came to an unexpected end when he received a phone call from Colton Heisey, a caddie on the Korn Ferry Tour who he had been texting back and forth with.

“I got a call from Colton and he said, ‘Jeff, if you can be in the Bahamas in 24 hours I have a job for you this week,’” Hamley said. “It was an offer I couldn’t refuse; this was my chance.”

Playing the Long Game

After Hamley came back from caddying for Andrew Novak at the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, Hamley fell in love with the idea of becoming a professional caddie. He came up with a full-fledged plan with his wife and put in a month’s notice to leave his job at Aerotek.

“In hindsight, I don’t know if I would do that again in the moment,” Hamley said. “It might have been a little irresponsible financially, but I had all the belief in the world I wasn’t going to let it fail and I would rely on the principles I picked up at Aerotek and Slippery Rock University on how to work hard, act and treat people.”

About a month later, Hamley was officially hired by Andrew Novak to caddie in San Antonio in the Valero Texas Open in April 2019. This was the beginning of their now seven-year partnership.

“Who knows where this career would have went if Andrew wasn’t as gracious and loyal enough to let me grow with him,” Hamley said. “Andrew believed in me and probably had plenty of times he could’ve fired me.”

From left, Jeff Hamley and Andrew Novak walk a fairway at this year’s U.S. Open at the Oakmont Country Club next to caddie Harry Diamond and Rory McIlroy. Hamley and Novak placed 42nd in the tournament.

Life on Tour as a Caddie

On average, a professional golf player might be swinging a club for 10 minutes in a four-hour round. That is where the caddie comes in. Most of Hamley’s work is on the mental side of the game.

“How much a caddie helps is one of the most subjective things in sports, most of my work is on the psychological side trying to help him be in the best place mentally to play golf,” he said. “I know Andrew is one of the best players in the world, so I have to be cautious on where I inject my opinion.”

To assist Novak on the mental side of the game, the duo agreed on a timeframe for Hamley to give his opinion of merely five to seven seconds when assessing a shot.

“I am constantly balancing how I communicate with Andrew, and communication is key in sports, business and life. I cannot stress that enough,” Hamley said.

Within a year of the duo forming, Novak and Hamley won the LECOM Suncoast Classic in 2020. A short time later, Novak earned his Tour card for the 2021-22 season, and now sits at No. 31 in the world golf rankings. Novak teamed up with Ben Griffin in April to earn their first career PGA Tour titles in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, an alternate-shot and four-ball format competition.

“It was awesome to see Andrew play on that stage and lift that trophy, especially after falling to second on a playoff hole to Justin Thoms in Harbour Town just a week before,” Hamley said. “He has such a great attitude. How you process failure makes all the difference moving forward.”

What’s Next?

Hamley will return with Novak on the Tour in January at the Tournament of Champions in Maui, but the pair is still considering some play throughout the fall.

Hamley’s chances of making it to the pinnacle of golf competitions was slim, but he persevered, backed by a combination of luck and theskills he gained over the years and careful planning. But most importantly, it was Hamley’s willingness to find his passion – and chase it relentlessly.

“At the end of the day, it’s acknowledging where your passion lies and taking steps to achieve that,” Hamley said. “If you don’t take a step to achieve that passion or dream it will never happen. Step one is acknowledging your goal or passion, and step two is action. No matter how small that second step is, you need to be moving in the right direction to achieve your dream.”