With few exceptions, caddies are hired to be fired
By John Maginnes, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Steve Williams seems to have the life. Working for the No. 1 player in the world, making a fortune, traveling the world and having an awful lot of time off seems like a pretty nice recipe for happiness.
Heck, I bet every now and then, he catches a ride on Air Tiger and has probably even been on the yacht. All of that and he works for a guy who is expected to win every time he tees it up. But Stevie doesn't talk much about those things. He knows his man is the story and he tries to keep it that way. In some ways, his job depends on it.
Caddie turnover on the PGA TOUR is a given -- even a rookie caddie is aware of that. The old saying that "you aren't a caddie until you get fired" has been the looper's mantra for years. The reasoning is that sometime a caddie loses his bag through no fault of his own. For instance, Kenny Perry hasn't missed a cut in nearly two years and has won five times since last May.
Add a Ryder Cup victory in his home state last year and one would have to say that the 49-year-old is on a pretty impressive run. But that wasn't enough to save Fred Sanders' job. This week, Justin Perry will debut on his daddy's bag. When this happens, the caddies say that their player "going on the friends and family plan."
Barry Williams learned a little about that plan a couple of weeks ago. The man who has toted Bob Tway's bag the last couple few years was given several weeks off because Scott Tway got a vacation from Scott Verplank. That's right, Bob's brother, Scott (Big Country) Tway, has been the longtime caddie for Verplank. So Scott Tway caddied for his brother at the JELD-WEN Tradition on the Champions Tour a couple of weeks ago.
It is important to note that when these things happen there is rarely animosity or hard feelings. The life of both caddie and player are quite fluid. Proving this point, the Scott-and-Scott team may have taken a brief hiatus but the two were back in action at The Barclays. Maybe after missing a couple of cuts at the Buick Open and the PGA Championship they needed a little break, because Verplank posted a solid finish at The Barclays.
Meanwhile, Barry Williams picked up Vaughn Taylor's bag for the Wyndham Championship, which was the final regular season event before the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. It was a one-week arrangement, though, and Vaughn was back with his regular bag man at The Barclays. Williams is awaiting the call to find out where to go next as Bob Tway is splitting time these days between the PGA TOUR and the Champions Tour.
Friends and family are not the only reason for bag-hopping on the PGA TOUR. Two former TOUR players donned shorts and bibs at The Barclays -- and not necessarily where you would have expected to find them.
Since Jesper Parnevik didn't make the Playoffs, Lance Ten Broeck picked up Fredrik Jacobson's bag and brought him into the fray on Sunday afternoon. Pete Jordan, a longtime PGA TOUR veteran and current Nationwide Tour member, hasn't been getting into many tournaments lately. Earlier this summer, he accepted an invitation to work for David Berganio. When that relationship didn't produce the results either man was looking for Pete made the switch to longtime friend George McNeill.
Unfortunately, their run in the Playoffs came to an end at The Barclays. It remains to be seen if they will continue the player-caddie relationship in the Fall Series, though, because Jordan is considering one more run through q-school.
It is important to note that the relationship between player and caddie is based on many factors beyond the business of playing professional golf. While a caddie will tell you that his job is only as solid as his player's putting stroke, that is not necessarily true.
As a PGA TOUR player you spend more time with your caddie during the season than you do with your family -- unless, of course, your caddie is a member of your family. While it is true that sometimes that type of familiarity breeds contempt, the personalities of player and caddie must compliment one another -- or at the very least, compliment the game of the player.
No player ever hires a caddie expecting to fire him. Every player on TOUR would love to have a Tiger and Stevie or Bones (MacKay) and Phil (Mickelson) situation. Bones has been Mickelson's caddie since he turned pro in 1993. Every caddie on TOUR would love to be in that situation, as well. But those relationships are rare and seemingly becoming rarer. The caddies all know that. As a matter of fact, it is part of the excitement.
At the beginning of each week any caddie on TOUR could be on the bag of the player who wins the golf tournament and he could earn a six-figure check for his effort. But far more often, a caddie enters the week without knowing that he is carrying that particular bag for the last time.
The truth is that it takes a certain thick-skinned personality to be a successful caddie whether you are working for your brother, a friend or any player on TOUR. The great irony is that the PGA TOUR is the ultimate meritocracy where your reward is in direct proportion to your achievement. Unfortunately for the caddies, it doesn't always work that way.
Former PGA TOUR player John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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