July 3, 2024 • 8 mins
Last year, we spoke with Nick Coccaro when he played 247 holes on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick to raise money for Fold of Honor. This year, he's back and shooting for 248 holes on July 4th to raise more cash for Fold of Honor. Listen to him talk about his goal...
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
You're a news radio eight forty whaswell. It was a year ago when
we spoke to a young man whodid something pretty astounding on a golf course.
His name's Nick Cacaro, and he'sjoining us again from points unknown.
But I guess I'm guessing you mustbe near french Lick, Indiana today.
(00:21):
Yep, I'm sitting in the hRaam at the West bayin right now.
There you go, brother man.You were an intern at the Pete Dye
course at french Lick last year.Where are you now in life? I
am now an assistant golf professional atLagrange Country Club on the West side of
Chicago, basically home for me.Oh fantastic. So you've you've made it
(00:43):
back to the whole area. Soplease explain to people why you are back
in this area in french Lick todayand tomorrow. Last year, yeah,
so last year I had the opportunityand the pleasure to do a golf marathon.
I played two hundred and forty andholes. Last year, I'm the
fourth for America's two hundred and fortyseventh Birthday to raise money for Full Disvonnor's
(01:04):
Foundation, and that was a greatexperience for me. I met a lot
of really good people through it,made a lot of really nice connections,
saw the impact that it had,and I wanted to do it again this
year. I'm still young enough formy body is able to play that much
golf in one day, so Iwant to keep doing it while I can.
How old are you, Nick,I'm twenty one, twenty one years
(01:26):
old. He's going to try toknock out two hundred and forty eight holes
of golf tomorrow. So let's walkthrough how it went last year. Because
that course is challenging, it's hilly, it's all kinds of things. How
quickly did you have to race throughall those holes? And what time of
day did you start and when didyou finish? Yeah, I basically chose
(01:48):
the worst golf course in the countryto do this, so last year I
went. I started at just beforesix am and I finished just after eight
pm. So last year I gotout to a really good pace the beginning
of the morning and that really helpedme big thanks to the superintendent. He
basically let me drive wherever I wantedwith the golf cart on the course,
so that made things a lot easieron my legs and not I mean run
(02:10):
from the car path all the wayover to my ball. So what really
helped me last year though, wasgetting off to a hot start. Fortunate
last year, the weather was reallynice. Doesn't look so nice tomorrow.
But as long as they don't kickme off the course, I'm playing.
Yeah. So there's lightning, yougot to get off otherwise you're playing in
the rain, right exactly? Yep? I mean the way I see it,
(02:31):
the first responders are military service members. They've done far more for me
than I can ever get back.So this is the least that I can
do. All right. A coupleof questions I didn't ask you this last
year when we talked. Did youlose a ball or did you play the
same ball two hundred and forty sevenholes? Oh? No, No,
I lost a couple of balls.Yeah, So in order to save time,
(02:53):
If anyone's familiar with the golf course, there's a lot of heather there,
a lot of fescue, not stuffyou want to be looking at all.
So if I would hit a ballin there, I wouldn't waste time.
I just dropped, take my penaltystroke and go on. If I
remember correctly, last year, Ionly lost ten balls in the fourteen or
so rounds I played. That's crazygood. Yeah, and you're right,
(03:14):
it would take way too much time. So anyway, you worked your way
through all that and then and thenhow did you nourish yourself so that you
could go for fourteen hours? Istill don't understand it. But I barely
ate throughout the day. I atea couple of granola bars in the morning.
Last year, I had had abig sandwich after my sixth round and
(03:38):
I sat down for about ten minutesto eat that. When I got back
up, my body really tightened up. So I basically just told myself I
can't stop for the rest of theday. And I think because I was
drinking so many fluids, I wasfine, Like, I didn't really get
hungry until I stopped playing, Sothere was a big feast afterwards. I
would say, So, yeah,see, you're only last year year,
(03:58):
twenty years old. When you're doingthat, think of somebody who's sixty years
old. You talk about your bodytightening up while you ate a sandwich.
Yeah, welcome to life, buddy. Yeah yeah, Okay, So there's
there's a lot of tough shots.Did you put out on every hole or
did you just pick up if yougot it within ten feet. Oh no,
no, I put it out inevery hole, absolutely, and also
(04:21):
half the holes. I wouldn't evenuse a putter if I'd missed the green
to save time, I'd just putwith my wedge. Okay, just save
times that you'd have to grab.So, yeah, you didn't have another
human being handing you clubs doing anyof that. You did it all yourself.
Correct, that's right. Does noone love you, nick? Or
(04:41):
you're not allowed to take somebody elsealong on the cart? Oh no?
There will be people coming this year. My parents are coming as well as
my girlfriend. They'll be out here. They'll probably join me later in the
day once I'm like almost done,so they'll leave me to do all the
hard work. They'll be there forthe fun part. I can't believe that
they won't get up with you insteadn'tdo the whole thing right around. They
don't even have to get out ofthe cart. They they said they'll be
(05:02):
there for my first t shot.Then they're going to do their own thing,
So I'm not complaining. I getit. It'd be a long,
wet day for them, so Iappreciate that they're at least coming I'm curious
more than most people. I'm curiousabout this sandwich. Do you have it
planned for after the sixth round againtomorrow? You know, I'm not sure.
I think that's just gonna be agame time decision. I might just
(05:25):
have to eat as I go ratherthan sit down. Yeah. Yeah,
because this is all important that youlast through the whole day. And you're
right, rain could be a factor. Hopefully the superintendent's going to let you
take the cart onto the fairways.Yeah, you know, I major thanks
to him already. I talked tohim this afternoon. He gave me the
green lights, so big, bigthanks to him and all the staff.
(05:46):
Yeah. Well, the course atthe Peak Die of course at French Lake
is just so stunning. Anybody lovesgolf has to play there. It's just
so beautiful. You know, theangles, the death perception and some of
those holes is crazy. Just it'sstunning. I just love the course and
it's legendary around here. But Irecommend it for any golfer. But what
(06:10):
do you do tomorrow? I knowthe weather might be a little dicey.
What do you do when other peopleare playing on this course and you're racing
around? Do they just know thatyou're trying to meet a time goal,
so they just wave you through forevery shot. Yes, very fortunately the
course for myself. Fortunately the courseis a little slow tomorrow. There's only
(06:30):
I believe fifteen players playing and everyoneis made aware in the morning what I'm
doing, what I'm out there for, so they all know that I'm out
there, so as soon as theysee me, they get out of the
way immediately and I just play through. All the groups that were out there
last year were fantastic for me.They got out of the way immediately.
I didn't have to wait at allall day and that's really why I got
it done. What did they dodecorate a card up like so it looks
(06:54):
like an ambulance with the flashing lightsso they know it's you. No,
usually when you see a solo racingaround that course, no one else is
crazy enough to do it. Soall right, and then what kind of
driver do you use? I'm onteam Cowwie, I I have ai smoke.
Okay, are you hitting a threehundred yards? Yes, sir at
(07:15):
a boy that helps on that course. Yes, that's gonna help a lot,
just advance time. Okay, Well, I hope you don't get blisters.
I hope everything works out for youand you have a great day.
I'm gonna check in with you sometimeover the next day or two and find
out how it went. Okay,Yeah, that'd be great. I'd appreciate
that. Thanks for having me on. All right. Thanks. You're cracking
it at six o'clock in the morningagain tomorrow at the peat Die course.
(07:38):
Right, that's the plan. Yep, all right, brother? And how
much sleep are you planning on gettingtonight? Probably not enough. I'm gonna
try and get as much as Ican. I'll be in bed by nine
o'clock. A boy, don't don't, don't give into those twenty one year
old whims. Just have a goodmeal, go to sleep, get up,
and then you're you're rip roaring readyto go and you can have a
party tomorrow night. Yep, I'mgonna need it. Happy Birthday, America,
(08:01):
and Nick's going to make sure hecelebrates properly on all of our behalf
And you're doing it again. Yourcause is for a Full de Honor.
Foundation. Full of Honor donates moneyto kids to provide scholarships for them who
lost their parents in the line ofduty in the military and also more recently
first responders. They're great people.I'm glad you're helping folds of honor.
(08:22):
I appreciate you, Nick, andI'll check in with you here in a
day or two. Yep, thankssounds great. Okay, brother, see
you. That's Nick Cacarro. Heis an assistant now at a golf course
in the Chicago Land area, buthe was working here last year when he
decided, on America's two hundred andforty seventh birthday, excuse me to play
two hundred and forty seven holes ofgolf during Independence Day, and he's going
(08:45):
to kick it up to two hundredand forty eight tomorrow. We'll see how
well it works out for him.Coming right back on news radio eight forty whas
You're a news radio eight forty whaswell. It was a year ago when
we spoke to a young man whodid something pretty astounding on a golf course.
His name's Nick Cacaro, and he'sjoining us again from points unknown.
But I guess I'm guessing you mustbe near french Lick, Indiana today.
(00:21):
Yep, I'm sitting in the hRaam at the West bayin right now.
There you go, brother man.You were an intern at the Pete Dye
course at french Lick last year.Where are you now in life? I
am now an assistant golf professional atLagrange Country Club on the West side of
Chicago, basically home for me.Oh fantastic. So you've you've made it
(00:43):
back to the whole area. Soplease explain to people why you are back
in this area in french Lick todayand tomorrow. Last year, yeah,
so last year I had the opportunityand the pleasure to do a golf marathon.
I played two hundred and forty andholes. Last year, I'm the
fourth for America's two hundred and fortyseventh Birthday to raise money for Full Disvonnor's
(01:04):
Foundation, and that was a greatexperience for me. I met a lot
of really good people through it,made a lot of really nice connections,
saw the impact that it had,and I wanted to do it again this
year. I'm still young enough formy body is able to play that much
golf in one day, so Iwant to keep doing it while I can.
How old are you, Nick,I'm twenty one, twenty one years
(01:26):
old. He's going to try toknock out two hundred and forty eight holes
of golf tomorrow. So let's walkthrough how it went last year. Because
that course is challenging, it's hilly, it's all kinds of things. How
quickly did you have to race throughall those holes? And what time of
day did you start and when didyou finish? Yeah, I basically chose
(01:48):
the worst golf course in the countryto do this, so last year I
went. I started at just beforesix am and I finished just after eight
pm. So last year I gotout to a really good pace the beginning
of the morning and that really helpedme big thanks to the superintendent. He
basically let me drive wherever I wantedwith the golf cart on the course,
so that made things a lot easieron my legs and not I mean run
(02:10):
from the car path all the wayover to my ball. So what really
helped me last year though, wasgetting off to a hot start. Fortunate
last year, the weather was reallynice. Doesn't look so nice tomorrow.
But as long as they don't kickme off the course, I'm playing.
Yeah. So there's lightning, yougot to get off otherwise you're playing in
the rain, right exactly? Yep? I mean the way I see it,
(02:31):
the first responders are military service members. They've done far more for me
than I can ever get back.So this is the least that I can
do. All right. A coupleof questions I didn't ask you this last
year when we talked. Did youlose a ball or did you play the
same ball two hundred and forty sevenholes? Oh? No, No,
I lost a couple of balls.Yeah, So in order to save time,
(02:53):
If anyone's familiar with the golf course, there's a lot of heather there,
a lot of fescue, not stuffyou want to be looking at all.
So if I would hit a ballin there, I wouldn't waste time.
I just dropped, take my penaltystroke and go on. If I
remember correctly, last year, Ionly lost ten balls in the fourteen or
so rounds I played. That's crazygood. Yeah, and you're right,
(03:14):
it would take way too much time. So anyway, you worked your way
through all that and then and thenhow did you nourish yourself so that you
could go for fourteen hours? Istill don't understand it. But I barely
ate throughout the day. I atea couple of granola bars in the morning.
Last year, I had had abig sandwich after my sixth round and
(03:38):
I sat down for about ten minutesto eat that. When I got back
up, my body really tightened up. So I basically just told myself I
can't stop for the rest of theday. And I think because I was
drinking so many fluids, I wasfine, Like, I didn't really get
hungry until I stopped playing, Sothere was a big feast afterwards. I
would say, So, yeah,see, you're only last year year,
(03:58):
twenty years old. When you're doingthat, think of somebody who's sixty years
old. You talk about your bodytightening up while you ate a sandwich.
Yeah, welcome to life, buddy. Yeah yeah, Okay, So there's
there's a lot of tough shots.Did you put out on every hole or
did you just pick up if yougot it within ten feet. Oh no,
no, I put it out inevery hole, absolutely, and also
(04:21):
half the holes. I wouldn't evenuse a putter if I'd missed the green
to save time, I'd just putwith my wedge. Okay, just save
times that you'd have to grab.So, yeah, you didn't have another
human being handing you clubs doing anyof that. You did it all yourself.
Correct, that's right. Does noone love you, nick? Or
(04:41):
you're not allowed to take somebody elsealong on the cart? Oh no?
There will be people coming this year. My parents are coming as well as
my girlfriend. They'll be out here. They'll probably join me later in the
day once I'm like almost done,so they'll leave me to do all the
hard work. They'll be there forthe fun part. I can't believe that
they won't get up with you insteadn'tdo the whole thing right around. They
don't even have to get out ofthe cart. They they said they'll be
(05:02):
there for my first t shot.Then they're going to do their own thing,
So I'm not complaining. I getit. It'd be a long,
wet day for them, so Iappreciate that they're at least coming I'm curious
more than most people. I'm curiousabout this sandwich. Do you have it
planned for after the sixth round againtomorrow? You know, I'm not sure.
I think that's just gonna be agame time decision. I might just
(05:25):
have to eat as I go ratherthan sit down. Yeah. Yeah,
because this is all important that youlast through the whole day. And you're
right, rain could be a factor. Hopefully the superintendent's going to let you
take the cart onto the fairways.Yeah, you know, I major thanks
to him already. I talked tohim this afternoon. He gave me the
green lights, so big, bigthanks to him and all the staff.
(05:46):
Yeah. Well, the course atthe Peak Die of course at French Lake
is just so stunning. Anybody lovesgolf has to play there. It's just
so beautiful. You know, theangles, the death perception and some of
those holes is crazy. Just it'sstunning. I just love the course and
it's legendary around here. But Irecommend it for any golfer. But what
(06:10):
do you do tomorrow? I knowthe weather might be a little dicey.
What do you do when other peopleare playing on this course and you're racing
around? Do they just know thatyou're trying to meet a time goal,
so they just wave you through forevery shot. Yes, very fortunately the
course for myself. Fortunately the courseis a little slow tomorrow. There's only
(06:30):
I believe fifteen players playing and everyoneis made aware in the morning what I'm
doing, what I'm out there for, so they all know that I'm out
there, so as soon as theysee me, they get out of the
way immediately and I just play through. All the groups that were out there
last year were fantastic for me.They got out of the way immediately.
I didn't have to wait at allall day and that's really why I got
it done. What did they dodecorate a card up like so it looks
(06:54):
like an ambulance with the flashing lightsso they know it's you. No,
usually when you see a solo racingaround that course, no one else is
crazy enough to do it. Soall right, and then what kind of
driver do you use? I'm onteam Cowwie, I I have ai smoke.
Okay, are you hitting a threehundred yards? Yes, sir at
(07:15):
a boy that helps on that course. Yes, that's gonna help a lot,
just advance time. Okay, Well, I hope you don't get blisters.
I hope everything works out for youand you have a great day.
I'm gonna check in with you sometimeover the next day or two and find
out how it went. Okay,Yeah, that'd be great. I'd appreciate
that. Thanks for having me on. All right. Thanks. You're cracking
it at six o'clock in the morningagain tomorrow at the peat Die course.
(07:38):
Right, that's the plan. Yep, all right, brother? And how
much sleep are you planning on gettingtonight? Probably not enough. I'm gonna
try and get as much as Ican. I'll be in bed by nine
o'clock. A boy, don't don't, don't give into those twenty one year
old whims. Just have a goodmeal, go to sleep, get up,
and then you're you're rip roaring readyto go and you can have a
party tomorrow night. Yep, I'mgonna need it. Happy Birthday, America,
(08:01):
and Nick's going to make sure hecelebrates properly on all of our behalf
And you're doing it again. Yourcause is for a Full de Honor.
Foundation. Full of Honor donates moneyto kids to provide scholarships for them who
lost their parents in the line ofduty in the military and also more recently
first responders. They're great people.I'm glad you're helping folds of honor.
(08:22):
I appreciate you, Nick, andI'll check in with you here in a
day or two. Yep, thankssounds great. Okay, brother, see
you. That's Nick Cacarro. Heis an assistant now at a golf course
in the Chicago Land area, buthe was working here last year when he
decided, on America's two hundred andforty seventh birthday, excuse me to play
two hundred and forty seven holes ofgolf during Independence Day, and he's going
(08:45):
to kick it up to two hundredand forty eight tomorrow. We'll see how
well it works out for him.Coming right back on news radio eight forty whas
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