Gabe Graumann didn’t think much of it when he put his name on a sign-up sheet for volunteers at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa a little more than two years ago.
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“There was an Epson Tour event there that week and I saw some of the players had caddies and large support crews and others had nobody,” says Graumann, vice president at NAI Horizon – Phoenix, who specializes in the acquisition and disposition of retail properties. “A lot of them referenced budget being a big issue for them. So I put my name on the list and said, ‘If somebody needs a hand, I’d be happy to help.’”
A short time later, Graumann got a call from Hira Naveed, an Australian of Pakistani descent who played collegiate golf at Pepperdine University.
“We finished inside of the Top 10,” Graumann recalls, “and she said, ‘Hey, what are you doing in a couple of weeks?’”
That launched Graumann into a world that has seen him remain a successful commercial real estate broker by day and a caddy on the LPGA Tour by weekend. AZRE talked with Graumann — whose son Tucker Graumann is one of the top youth golfers in Arizona — about splitting his time between brokerages and bunkers.
AZRE: How did you get into commercial real estate?
Gabe Graumann: I was born and raised in Seattle and my grandfather was a developer. He started with residential and that led him into strip malls, apartments and self-storage. By the time I was coming out of college, he was more in the asset management and leasing business because they were holding all their assets long-term. That’s where I got my start and realized I really enjoyed commercial real estate, but more on the brokerage end versus the development side. And because he owned a lot of retail strip malls, that’s where I cut my teeth.
AZRE: So, how did you cut your teeth as a caddy?
GG: The Epson Tour is similar to the minor leagues in baseball. It is not an easy path, but it’s probably the most used path to get to the LPGA Tour. I ended up caddying for Hira in seven or eight tournaments on the Epson Tour in 2022, but she finished just outside the Top 30, which caused her to remain on the Epson Tour.
I helped her in another seven or eight tournaments in 2023, but she finished inside the Top 30, which put her in the final stage of the LPGA Qualifying School, where golfers play six rounds over six days in Alabama. I assisted her in Alabama and she finished 15th, which earned her the right to play on the LPGA Tour in 2024.
AZRE: Have you caddied for her since she’s been in the LPGA Tour?
GG: Her agent called and said, “Hey, you guys did great together. You seem to have some chemistry. Would you be open to at least helping her get started? Hopefully, she’ll do well in a few tournaments and get her enough of a bankroll to find and hire a full-time caddy that could be with her week in and week out.” I said, “Well, sure.” The first LPGA tournament she planned to play was at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Los Angeles, the next tournament was the Ford Championship in Gilbert, then there was a week off and then Houston. So, I figured I would help her on that West Coast swing.
She missed the cut by 1 shot at Palos Verdes. Then, she barely made the cut in Gilbert, but she closed with strong rounds of 65 and 66 to finish in second place, two shots behind Nelly Korda and a shot ahead of Lexi Thompson — two really big names on the LPGA Tour. That was a huge deal for her because it was a big prize — she won $206,791. Her finish also gained her entry into the first majors of the year. So, that was big.
AZRE: Are there parallels between your success in commercial real estate and your success as a caddy?
GG: There is a tie back into commercial real estate and why I’ve enjoyed commercial real estate as opposed to residential real estate, where a lot of decisions are based on emotion. If you’re picking out a house, you ask, “What’s the school district? How close is it to work? What’s the paint color? Do I like the size of the pantry?” That never appealed to me. On the commercial side, it’s all numbers and data. “Does this make good sense for my financial goals? Does this make sense with the criteria I need to work with?” When I’m out on the golf course, if you can remove emotion from the equation, you’re typically going to score better. You’re going to play better and be more confident. That was a very natural transition in my own golf game, but especially with helping younger golfers who are not new to golf, but are often new to the pressure of playing in big-time tournaments. It’s nice being able to say, “Hey, let’s leave emotion out. What’s the best decision here?” We’re still taking data, it’s just different types of data. Instead of financial data, it’s a very logical, fact-driven process to make each shot. What’s the wind doing? What’s the condition of the grass? What’s the temperature? What’s the cover distance we need to avoid pitfalls? It doesn’t mean you execute that shot perfectly each time, but you definitely can help mitigate risk and you can help with course management and you can help remove emotion — or as much of it as possible — from the equation. And if you do that as frequently as possible, you’re typically going to score pretty well. So whether it’s for players or it’s for clients and even though it’s two very different arts, it’s a very similar process. And I love doing that.
