Ashes to Water to Eternal Life on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass

It was a simple ceremony. After all is said and done in our life what do we want four months after we have passed? For family and friends to gather and celebrate one’s life?

That’s exactly what happened Monday evening on the island green of the par-three 17th hole at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

The ashes went into the water as surely as Dave “Duffy” Lemon looked down upon his family and friends from his perch up in Heaven.

“Duffy” a.k.a. the “Reptile” or simply “Reppy” caddied for John Mahaffey when he won the 1978 PGA Championship. He was a regular guy that grew up in Chicago and caddied on the PGA TOUR for 27 years.

He always had a story to tell about life on the tour caddying for the likes of John Daly before he won at Crooked Stick. Dave “Reppy” Lemon, a.k.a. “a really nice guy” died at the age of 54 due to complications of kidney failure and diabetes.

The enthusiastic Chicago sports fan liked his caddie nickname “Reptile.” There were a lot of Dave’s out there caddying on tour and the nickname made him unique so people could remember him. Even back then in the early '80s the world of marketing impacted the caddies.

He received the nickname playing a little golf up in Hilton Head with some tour caddy buddies. He wasn’t that good so his golf ball was always out past the outskirts of the fairway in the friendly confines of the swamp and jungle where the reptiles live. Hence Duffy being appointed the “Reptile.”

On the hole where Sean O’Hair threw up and lost THE PLAYERS Championship to Phil Mickelson as did Paul Goydos last year in the playoff to Sergio Garcia. For all the drama and world prestige the hole has been come to be known for there was simply love and harmony on a calm and peaceful evening in the memory of a dear departed brother and friend.

With the host of the affair wearing a Chicago Cubs hat the ranks of caddies gathered in Reppy’s honor included the likes of Bucky, Jelly, Mr. Clean and Big E among others. The president of the caddy association recalled a similar ceremony for “The Russian” about eight years ago.

The gathering of 50 or so folks wavered between laughs and tears as a few stories were told and heads bowed to give “Reppy” one final blessing. For a bunch of professional caddies it took quite some time to discern the direction of the gentle breeze so that the ashes would respectfully find water and not land.

Though he wanted to be in the lake surrounding the green one friend blurted out that “come morning when they turn on the water system Reppy will be all over the golf course.”    

Everyone wishes their conversation with “Reppy” could continue on into the season of life. Maybe it will. That’s the funny thing about the game of golf—it is never what you expect and usually it is what you least expect. Maybe the conversation will continue though it will be others doing the talking for him.

Golfers and caddies bring a special type of friendship and bond to each other. Maybe it’s the fact that the game is difficult to excel at and humbles you and your playing partners in a way that only brings you closer together. I think professional players and caddies take it to a higher standard of being.

Where else can you see a player lose the game and a lot of money and then genuinely take his hat off, congratulate and shake the hand of the person who defeated his hopes and dreams?

“Reppy” is certainly one of the good guys that have left us behind only to make us more thankful for the gift of life. On a beautiful evening while paying our respects no one was thinking about how difficult the 17th island green is but how beautiful a place it is to be alive, breathing and crying while laughing at the same time with family and friends.

At a time when some are questioning if the coming of new quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears is heaven-sent, Reppy is certainly smiling down upon us from above.

God Bless the Chicago Bears and God Bless Dave “Reppy” Lemon.

And to the field of 144 golfers playing the par-three 17th hole this week- good luck!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, FL near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]