Dawson Armstrong and Jake Dines: A life-long friendship forged on the golf course

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - What is a caddie? When you look up the basics of what it means to be a caddie, the ‘Golf Guidebook’ defines a caddie as a person who is ‘simply there to assist and serve the needs of their assigned golfer’. This primary definition may fully describe the scope of your traditional caddie, one that you may see on the course in the cult-classical film “Caddyshack”, but this is a rudimentary version when talking about Jake Dines’ relationship with his best friend and professional golfer Dawson Armstrong. 

This partnership between Dines and Armstrong goes far beyond the golf course. Both describe the other as a “brother” and this partnership has become instrumental in the success of Armstrong on the Korn Ferry Tour as a professional golfer and Dines as his caddie. To understand the true nature of their friendship, we have to start with their first initial meeting at Lipscomb in 2014. 

Dines, who comes to Nashville from Oxford, England, and Armstrong, who is from nearby Brentwood, Tennessee, both joined the Lipscomb Men’s Golf team, under head coach Will Brewer, during the 2014-15 season looking to turn the Bisons into a powerhouse in the Southeast Region. 

“During our freshman Advance Week, I met Jake and was immediately astonished by his British voice,” said Armstrong. “Of the four freshmen that started that year, he was the one I was most intimidated by…mainly because I knew nothing about him.”

Once these two very initial rivals stepped onto the golf course for the first time as teammates, the friendship began.

Even though these two friends were continuing to work on their golf games in hopes of becoming professional golfers, it was an unlikely conversation between Dines and his mother during his sophomore year that paved the way to where they are now.

“It was a difficult discussion I had with my mom during my sophomore year that enlightened me to shift my focus away from becoming a professional golfer and focusing more on my education,” mentioned Dines. “Then it was after a golf-related injury during my senior year that prevented me from playing, I became the volunteer assistant coach with the team and my thoughts started to revolve around how I can return the help that Dawson gave me during my freshman year by helping him achieve his goals on the golf course.”

After learning everything he could about caddying, including advancing his knowledge of the technical side of golf and learning how to help manage Armstrong’s life outside of the course, Dines was ready to become Armstrong's caddie and volunteered to join Armstrong at the prestigious Q School, which was subsequently his ticket to a professional golfing career.

Even though the two departed slightly due to Dines finishing up his Master’s Degree from Lipscomb during the Fall of 2019, a global pandemic, which hit the shore of the United States in early 2020, became the catalyst for their reunion.

With nearly the entire sports industry shutting down at the start of 2020, the Korn Ferry tour, which Armstrong was a part of, continued to play tournaments. Armstrong knew he needed a caddie who 1) would need to be in his bubble for 3-6 weeks on end, 2) couldn’t jeopardize his playing by contracting COVID, and 3) wouldn’t put personal interests ahead of Armstrong’s career. The only place that Armstrong turned to was his old friend from Lipscomb.

“I knew Jake would be the only option I needed for a caddie,” said Armstrong. “He would provide consistency, be someone I can vibe with on and off the course, and not jeopardize this opportunity that I couldn’t afford to lose.”

His decision paid off as Armstrong became one of the top golfers in the Korn Ferry Tour and played months of consistent golf (only missing one cut in six-consecutive tournaments) and neither Armstrong nor Dines missed time due to COVID, an important note since over 30 different caddies tested positive at some point in that span. Dines also did this while being employed full-time as an Operations Support Analyst during his master’s, amending his work schedule to accommodate his work hours to suit Armstrong’s playing and practice schedule. 

“Every swing of the golf club was a decision that both me and Jake had to agree upon,” said Armstrong. “He was the numbers guy, giving me distance, wind speed, and angle at every hit. My job was just to not miss the shot. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am now without having Jake by my side on every swing of my golf clubs”

From best friends in Nashville, Tennessee to a team on the golf courses of the Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas, Jake Dines and Dawson Armstrong have built a partnership that has changed the lives of both. A partnership that both Dines and Armstrong know started when they became friends during freshman year at Lipscomb.