(Featured photo is courtesy of Old Barnwell)
AIKEN – Nick Schreiber learned a lot about life and business on the golf course as a teen.
“I think the third or fourth person I caddied for was a guy named Chris Galvin. He was the CEO of Motorola when Motorola was like Apple,” said Schreiber, the founder and owner of Old Barnwell, Aiken’s newest golf club that opened in September. “The idea to be introduced to someone like that and have the opportunity to have conversations with them really stuck with me. And you multiply that story many times over if you caddie a few years, you can get introduced to some people who can really change your life.”
Schreiber started caddying in his early teens. One of eight children, he said he needed to have summer jobs as a teen. Those jobs included washing dishes as well as caddying at a golf club near Chicago.
When Schreiber opened Old Barnwell, he wanted to give area teens that same experience as well as the possibility of becoming an Evans scholar, a program through the Evans Scholar Foundation that provides full scholarship tuition and housing to golf caddies.
“We are mission-focused,” he said. “The mission is at the forefront of everything we do.”
And to build a caddie program, Schreiber said they went with an organization that knows about building youth caddies.
“If your car is broken, you call a mechanic; if you want to have a youth caddie program, you call the Evans Scholars Foundation,” he said.
More than 20 area high school students are learning the job of being a caddie at Old Barnwell and gaining the needed experience to put on that scholarship application.
Mason Poole, a 15-year-old Aiken homeschooler, has been at the club since it opened.
Mason started playing golf in his backyard and is a team captain. He learned about Old Barnwell through First Tee.
He took the caddie job “so I can learn more about golf and potentially get a scholarship,” he said.
But he’s gained other valuable experience.
“It’s taught me how to interact with different people,” he said.
And golfers have come from a wide array of backgrounds.
“One guy from South Carolina hunts and fishes, and one guy was from New York and you can’t understand what they are saying,” he said.
The most interesting person he’s caddied for so far has been a Hall of Fame pitcher.
While Mason may see one thing from his experience so far, Schreiber has seen something else.
“I’ve seen a change in Mason,” he said. “He was my caddie opening day. He knew golf, but the confidence and his ability to talk with members has grown.”
Schreiber said that interest in the caddie program has exceeded his early expectations.
“We have 22 caddies. It’s mind boggling to me. I was thinking if we had eight to 10 that would be really something,” he said.
Students come from all across Aiken County including Aiken, North Augusta, Montmorenci and Williston.
Hailey O’Neal , a 15-year-old Williston-Elko High School student, said she was also drawn in by the possibility of a scholarship.
She doesn’t know much about golf, but she’s eager to learn. And she’s enjoying meeting the golfers.
“I like that it exposes me to different people from all over,” she said. “It shows me different ways of living life. It shows me different opportunities.”
Old Barnwell’s Youth Caddie program is one of several community programs offered at the club, which will have three courses when it’s complete. The first 18-hole course planned for the 575 acres in Aiken opened earlier this year. A kid’s course is also scheduled for the site, and in 2027, The Gilroy course will open.
Other programs include a maintenance apprenticeship, a partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and kids’ clinics.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here. Broad Street Beat is a column highlighting area music.
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