Lauren “Lulu” Buggie ’25 is genuinely one of a kind. She is the lone female caddy on staff at the Canoebrook Country Club in Summit, NJ. Buggie is well-qualified for the role as an experienced competitive golf player who has competed in New Jersey PGA and American Junior Golf Association Tournaments. She is also captain of the Oak Knoll Varsity Golf Team.

“Caddying for women golfers at Canoebrook has been a great experience for me,” Buggie explained. “I started caddying when I was a freshman during summers. It was a way to spend my summer not only playing my tournaments but also being on the course differently.”

Buggie quickly explains there is so much more to being a caddy than carrying a golf bag.

“You’re doing a ton of the work, especially for these women who sometimes play at a super competitive level. I can explain to them what I’d do in certain scenarios. I can learn from them also. It’s like that study method: when you explain something to your friend, you learn it better yourself.”

While Buggie doesn’t plan to pursue Division level golf in college, she does plan to continue to play on a club level and for fitness and recreation. She even compared the skills involved in golfing with many of her academic passions, such as math, economics, critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic thinking.

Touching on what it is like to be the solo female caddy in a sport so often perceived as male-dominated, she said, “Being the sole female caddy has been a struggle for me,” she related. “I’m very outgoing, and being in a scenario where I’m the only girl has made it a mental journey. But I realized that I am just as good as the boys, if not better. Now I also teach girls golf lessons. I want to ensure girls are empowered from the start; they are just as good as the boys. Gender is not a thing in golf.”

Buggie is a shining example of how young women are inspired to discover and develop the best parts of themselves in our single-sex Upper School as they set high educational goals, break gender barriers, and emerge as leaders.