Haas Jr. hopes third time at q-school is the charm

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Jay Haas Jr. said that caddieing for brother Bill part-time this season taught him more than playing on mini-tours would have.

The first time he caddied for his little brother, Jay Haas Jr. walked away feeling like a dartboard.

He swore he would never do THAT again. Never.

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He got over it.

Haas chuckles about that one-week stint on the Nationwide Tour some six or seven years ago.

Life's funny, isn't it? And it's moving at warp speed right now.

Haas hasn't slowed down since that day a few months ago when brother Bill asked for the second time if his older brother would caddie for him for -- oh -- a week. Or two. Or four. Whatever worked. No long-term deal. No problem.

It wound up being eight weeks on the bag. A few grumbles, yes. But mostly it was smiles, nice paydays, one defining shot, a seriously great moment and a priceless education.

"Caddieing eight weeks for him was worth two years of playing on mini-tours,'' Jay said. "It's amazing what you learn. More than anything, I think players get better when their heads get better. When you start to improve is when you see things correctly.''

Perfect timing.

Today, Jay tees it up in Round 1 of the first stage of Qualifying School. Again. But this time -- his third if you're counting -- he's thinking much better, has a better perspective and a baby on the way. His wife Carolyn is due to deliver their first child Nov. 17 -- smack in the middle of q-school's second stage.

Haas didn't plan to be here either. It was a last-minute, while-he-was-caddieing decision.

"Believe it or not, the whole time I was going, I wonder if I want to play at q-school,'' he said. "I kind of made the decision when I started caddying for Bill that I wasn't going to play., I was just going to caddie for him the rest of the year, then start playing again next year.

"But pretty much every week someone asked me where I was going for q-school and I'd say, 'I don't know if I'm going.' Not one person said 'OK'. Everyone said 'Why not?'' ''

Even Bill -- his third biggest fan behind dad Jay and mom Jan -- told him he should go, but none of that sunk it. What did? He thought qualifying regulations would change this year and it was his last chance at q-school. Two days after he signed up, he found the regulations would not change a few years down the road.

The 30-year-old laughs that he lost 20 yards off the tee during his eight weeks on Bill's bag. He brought his clubs, but only played maybe four times during those few months.

Bill would need to practice after his round. His shoulder muscles would get tired carrying the bag and his swing turn wasn't as good. Travel. Any number of things got in the way. But after three solid weeks of practice, he's got all but about 5 yards back.

And then there are those priceless lessons.

"As good as Bill was playing, I got to see the top players in the world every week,'' Jay said. "It's the little things they do. You see that yeah, if you can hit that shot, you can play well. It's amazing how good their chipping is.

"I said to my dad, I can probably hit is as well as everyone out there. I'd be average or above average and I might be pretty good in putting. But chipping? I guarantee I'm worst than the worst guy on TOUR.''

Watching Bill, Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson and David Toms -- to name a few -- got him thinking better. And, to prep for this week, he got a bunker lesson from his dad, and some good practice-round work with him, too.

"We played three or four days in a row and I actually whipped him pretty good a couple of times,'' he said.

Growing up, Bill and Jay -- Jay's one year older -- would fight like brothers always do. They competed. They learned a ton about the game from their dad and great uncle Bob Goalby. But as much as they may sound alike, they're very different.

Jay is more like his mom, which is why the caddie-player relationship took a while to jell. Bill would get mad, Jay would think it was his fault. If Jay hits a bad shot, he's the one saying "my bad." Bill, not so much.

As the stint went on, Jay learned as much about himself as he did about caddieing. He admits his Achilles heel, as he puts it, is practice.

"I want to be in the game, but I don't want to practice to be in the game,'' he said. "Caddying for him definitely kicked me in the butt.""

He admits he put way too much pressure on himself at the start of the year. A new marriage and a baby on the way will do that. But the paydays he got on the bag have helped ease that burden, too.

The best moment? Watching Bill's shot out of the water on the second playoff hole at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola check up by the hole.

"I think I remember saying, 'Bill, you can hit that,' '' Jay said. "He didn't make a sound. Didn't say a word. No acknowledgment. It was like of course I can hit it. He looked at it, pulled the club out of the bag and went down there and hit it. There wasn't a whole lot to think about. Only one shot he could hit. There was zero discussion."

And the best lesson? Watching Toms.

"From how far he hits it to ... he might have one of the best short games I've ever seen,'' Jay said. "The times he played with Bill, he beat him and Bill has him by 40 yards. He has a level head.

"You know, everyone asks how's your chipping, how's your putting. It really needs to be how's your head."

He knows he needs to stop overthinking things and just follow Bill's lead -- if it's a cut shot, see it and hit it. he knows how the best think and ... it's time to put that into his game.

Jay missed advancing to the finals last year by three shots. He was in position with 12 holes to play, but a couple of three-putts cost him.

Now, he heads into this year's opening round with experience, talent and a new focus. He's seen what he needs to do, now he just has to do it -- with that baby on the way.

"I'm certainly not going to say I'm confident I'm going to get through,'' he said. "But I've played some of my best golf when I've not been that confident.''

And if the third time isn't the charm? He hopes it is, but he has options.

There's the Nationwide and the mini-tours. And a third stint on the bag.

Bill's already asked him -- if he doesn't make it through -- to caddie for him at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions next year. Jay's already said no problem.

But taking all that he's learned this year and making it to the TOUR where he could play with Bill?

Now that would be really priceless, wouldn't it?

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. Follow her on Twitter @melaniehauser.