Reynolds Robinson’s great Olympics adventure
By Steve Catlin · August 5, 2024
A missed cut turns into a dream experience for caddy Reynolds Robinson and his soon to be Olympic athlete son, Russell Robinson.
Both Reynolds, and his son Russell, share a common theme. They both found their current life devotion while doing something completely different. Reynolds was in the corporate world when a chance meeting at a Florida convention led him to caddying. Russell was playing football at all junior levels, and while doing track on the side purely for fitness, was recruited to take it more seriously.
Now, Reynolds is a full-time PGA Tour caddy, and Russell is an Olympian competing in the Triple Jump in Paris, representing the USA. A Caddie Network/PGA Tour Caddy, Reynolds Robinson is in his 18th season. He is well respected among his peers, seen as a friendly, hardworking caddy who is always there for his player. Someone who has seen the sport from top to bottom. Prior to becoming a professional looper, Reynolds worked in the corporate world for 13 years, as an accountant for Price Waterhouse Coopers. He knew there was another passion.
A friend of his got him into golf, and it wasn’t long before he was spending every spare moment at the course either practicing or playing. He was in Florida at a training session for his accounting job and had a chance meeting with a guy practicing for a qualifier. The man’s name was Vern Burns, and Reynolds asked him if he could caddy for him sometime.
One thing led to another, and Reynolds is in Rancho Cucamonga at a qualifier for the Korn Ferry event caddying for Vern. They didn’t qualify for that tournament, but Reynolds was bitten by the caddy bug. He spent all day at the course doing his homework and just knew that he wanted to pursue this new found love full time. Soon Reynolds and family took a leap of faith and moved to Florida to pursue his dream of being a professional caddy.
Currently working for PGA Tour player Tyler Duncan. Reynolds was in Detroit, Michigan, for the Rocket Mortgage Classic, while at the exact same time, his son, Russell Robinson, was competing in the preliminaries of Olympic trials in Eugene Oregon. His mind was on the job, but his son was trying to qualify for his first ever Olympic games in Paris, to represent the United States in Triple Jump.
Russell, the 23-year-old out of Miami University, had already competed at Nationals twice, progressing well in both indoor and outdoor Long and Triple Jumps. This year, in his third appearance, he won the Indoor Triple Jump title, and placed 2nd at the outdoor US Nationals Triple Jump leading to his qualification for the Olympic Trials in Eugene. On that Friday, as Reynolds was caddying for Tyler on their last hole, and unfortunately knew they would miss the cut, Reynolds took the opportunity to address the situation with Duncan.
“Well, there is one good thing that comes from us missing the cut”
“What’s that?” Tyler responded.
“I can go to Oregon and watch my son jump on Sunday” Reynolds shared with a smile.
The only catch was that his son was not yet through to the Finals on Sunday. So that night, Reynolds was glued to the live stream online, and in his words was “a bundle of nerves”. Russell continued his excellent form and qualified first for the Finals on Sunday. Reynolds instantly booked flights and hotels to Oregon. Reynolds chatted with his son after the Preliminaries by phone. He told him they missed the cut and that he needed to head toward Illinois for the next tournament in Moline, for the John Deere Classic.
His son was really hoping he could attend his jumps, but Reynolds decided to keep it a secret. “I told him I might have to go to Illinois early, and that I probably couldn’t make the trip all the way to Eugene”.
Russell was obviously disappointed. His Dad kept his travel plans a secret, and explained it was too far to sneak it in between tournaments. Fast forward to Sunday, on the day of the finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Reynolds was in the stands watching his son do his normal warmups.
He was practicing getting his steps ready and going over last-minute details with his coach. As Russell walked backed to his mark, Reynolds yelled out to his son … “Hey Robinson!” Russell looked over and saw his Dad in the lower stands, and his whole demeanor changed. He smiled, came over and hugged his Dad at the fence. Reynolds’s pride as a Father was impossible to miss. Reynolds knew at that moment that every effort to be there was completely worth it.
Russell started his competition with some excellent attempts in the preliminary rounds, where he advanced with the 3rd best jump. In Russell’s 4th round, he jumped 17m 1cm, which put him into 2nd place. And the dream of making a US Olympic Team was realized. Father and Son shared a warm embrace shortly after, and Reynolds was one proud Dad. His son was going to Paris to represent the United States in triple jump, doing something he loved. It was a surreal moment watching my 23-year-old kid being celebrated like that”.
Reynolds sees a correlation between his role as a caddy, and as a father to his son. “I can tell when he needs a conversation, and when I need to keep my distance,” Reynolds explained. “I try to be a positive influence on my son, and the same applies in my role as a caddy. We can advise and say what we want, but at the end of the day, the player/athlete is the one making the final decision. So I try to be as positive as possible, and trust that support helps them both perform at their best”.
Thanks to a supportive player in Tyler Duncan, Reynolds, his wife Erica, and daughter Elisha are all in Paris this week watching their son strive for an Olympic medal. A caddy never likes to take a week off ‘just in case’ he misses a good week. This is one occasion where that situation is entirely justified.
