Caddie’s Wind Check Leads to Heartbreak at U.S. Junior Amateur
Banks Steele has been disqualified from the 77th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship after his caddie twice measured wind direction by tossing his hat in the air, violating Rule 4.3a(2).
The 17-year-old from Lancaster, South Carolina had imagined his first U.S. Junior Amateur appearance going quite differently.
“I had dreamed up the scenario many times,” Steele said Wednesday evening, a day after his disqualification. “But obviously, that took more than just an average turn; it was a complete 180.”
The USGA confirmed to GolfChannel.com that the disqualification came after Steele’s local caddie, hired for the week, violated Rule 4.3a(2). The rule prohibits players or their caddies from using “an artificial object to get wind-related information” – including something as simple as tossing a hat to check wind direction.
Steele, who only began competitive golf two years ago after giving up travel soccer, doesn’t blame his caddie for the mistake.
“I definitely do not want to blame my caddie whatsoever,” Steele explained. “Everyone makes mistakes, everything happens for a reason. He had no intention of doing anything wrong or breaking any rules. It was just an unfortunate result.”
The drama unfolded during Steele’s second round at Trinity Forest. After opening with a 6-over 76 at Brook Hollow, he was fighting to make the cut when officials first spotted the violation on the sixth hole.
Steele had just hit his approach to 5 feet when he noticed his caddie speaking with an official. After missing his birdie putt, Steele was informed of the violation and assessed a two-shot penalty. Undeterred, he told his caddie, “Well, looks like we’re going to have to make two more birdies than we thought.”
But after completing his ninth hole, officials called Steele aside again. They’d discovered the caddie had also used his hat to check wind on the fifth hole. Multiple infractions meant automatic disqualification.
“I tried to handle it the best way I could,” said Steele, who sits at 9-over when his tournament ended. His only frustration? Not learning about both violations simultaneously. “We learn then, that’s the first instance, we get the penalty, and then I still get to finish out my U.S. Junior experience.”
This isn’t the first time caddie rule violations have impacted USGA amateur championships. At the 2020 U.S. Amateur, Argentina’s Segundo Oliva Pinto lost a crucial hole in his Round-of-16 match after his caddie touched sand in a bunker. In 2018, Akshay Bhatia had a hole taken away in a similar situation and eventually lost his match.
For Steele, the disqualification is particularly tough considering his rapid rise in golf. He didn’t play his first tournament until summer 2022, after quitting soccer following a national tournament with Charlotte Soccer Academy. Before that, he’d squeeze golf rounds between soccer commitments after being introduced to the game by church friends.
His progress has been remarkable. He won the HV3 Invitational, hosted by Harold Varner III, earlier this year and survived a 7-for-3 playoff to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur. Several college coaches were following his play in Dallas, suggesting his Division I prospects remain strong despite the setback.
Steele initially worried about how the “DQ” next to his name would look, especially since he’d never even received a penalty before. His caddie was so devastated he asked not to be paid, but the Steeles insisted – “That would not have been right,” Steele said.
Before parting ways, Steele and his caddie came to an agreement: “This is just going to make my story that much better.”
“I’m just going to use this as pure motivation to keep going while understanding that golf is a tough game with a lot of different rules,” Steele said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again, but I can’t worry about it.
“I’m going to be back at practice tomorrow, trying to get better.”
