Given the recent growth of Latinas’ participation in golf and the industry as a whole, it is not unusual to have eight Hispanic players at an LPGA Tour event. The three Latina caddies at this week’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G however, is clearly a first.

“It is a new world for me. I am here to support Robbie on her first year on tour. This is her one big shot at it, so we prepared as much as we could,” said Amanda Reyes-Martin, caddie and partner of Italian Roberta Liti.

Reyes-Martin, born and raised in Cuba until she was 12 years old, relocated with her family to Canada, studied to be an architect, and ended up as a project manager in Sarasota, Florida, where she met Liti. “I would be at work with my three screens and then there would be a fourth one just with the leaderboard up there,” said Reyes-Martin, who transitioned from the blueprints to the yardage books.

Laura Gonzalez Escallon, born in Colombia and raised in Belgium since she was 10, went from having someone carry the bag for her to carrying the bag for other players. “I never thought I was going to end up being a caddie on tour,” said Gonzalez Escallon, who is caddying for two-time major champion Brittany Lincicome at the Walmart.

Gonzalez Escallon had a notable amateur and professional career, which included a win at the 2008 Girls Amateur Championship, being the 2011-12 Big Ten Golfer of the Year with Purdue University, and earning two victories on the Epson Tour, until a wrist injury and painfully slow recovery process kept her away from competition.

“I realized I did not want to play anymore, and I really like being able to apply everything I did as a player to help another player,” said Gonzalez Escallon.

The third Latina carrying a bag at the Walmart, Paraguayan Milagros Chaves, caddied for the first time for her friend and countrywoman Sofia Garcia at the 2023 LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakelei in Hawaii.

 “We had a great time with that first experience,” said Chaves, who was Garcia’s roommate and co-competitor for many years on the Paraguayan national team and the Epson Tour.

“I really like caddying, and it is an option I would like to explore,” added Chaves, after an uneventful season on the Epson Tour and Q-School. “The advantage for women caddies is that we have a similar game, and I can offer my perspective as a player.”

Chaves, Gonzalez Escallon and Reyes-Martin are part of a group of around a dozen women and a dozen Spanish-speaking caddies working for LPGA Tour players this week. It is a sharp contrast with the men’s equivalent, with three or four Hispanic or women caddies in any regular week on the PGA TOUR.

“They have been very welcoming from the very beginning. There are quite a few Latino caddies out here and there’s this kind of different camaraderie,” said Reyes-Martin. “I am trying to absorb everything I can from the guys and the ladies on the bag.”

Gonzalez Escallon said the other caddies were a little confused at the beginning because they did not know whether she was going to get back to playing. “Since I made the decision to caddie full time, they have been really kind,” she explained.

“Now I have to analyze the courses I have played for a different point of view. It is easy to recall where you should land the ball, but I don’t remember where not to go, and I find that very important,” added Gonzalez Escallon about her new duties and mindset.

“Sometimes I look at the greens as paraboloids and I can use my knowledge of geometries and topography. There is a lot of transferable skills. I have also learned a lot of patience to see things her way and just helping in any way I can,” said Reyes-Martin about the technical and psychological demands of her new job.

For Chaves, strategy and encouragement are also the key combination for a great caddie. “After a week of caddying, I realize a lot of new things about strategy. Supporting my player also shows me that I should treat myself as a player with the same kindness.”

Experimenting on the LPGA Tour from the other side of the bag has also reaffirmed the three Latina golf esquires’ love for the game.

“These are all women just giving their whole to thrive and write history. I love that,” said Reyes-Martin.