Best caddie I ever had

[Tommy Williamsen]

My wife and I were at Cabot Cape Breton earlier this month. I arrived with my long game in tatters but quickly “found” my lost game. Our first round was on the Links. We each had caddies that carried only one bag. I soon discovered that my caddie could never have two bags. He was too into my game. We would stand on the tee and talk over all the options. After I hit my tee ball, he would lay out options for the second shot. By the time I got to the green, he had begun reading the putt. He was thoroughly into my game.

We had the same caddies for the Cliffs (Actually, we had the same caddies all four days). I was playing well, so he said, “Let’s have some fun today.” For 18 holes, my focus was only on my game. My wife said I was in another space from the rest of the foursome. We only focused on the next shot. We never got ahead of ourselves or looked back. I have never been so focused. I trusted him entirely and only disagreed a few times as to what I wanted to do. I birdied 17 & 18. He asked if I knew what I had shot. I thought momentarily and replied, “I have no idea.” I always know how I stand to par. Not that day. “You shot your age.” If I had to guess, I’d have thought I shot 80. He was the best caddie I ever had. I began to have an appreciation of how elite players must focus. It is exhausting.

[PCCraig]

Tommy -


You spent 18 holes on a beautiful golf course with your wife and you "only focused on your game?" 

[Tommy Williamsen]

Tommy -


You spent 18 holes on a beautiful golf course with your wife and you "only focused on your game?" 

I was so focused I didn't even realize that. I did comment on the other shots in the group and my wife was grateful I left her alone.

[Rob Marshall]

That's awesome. Had a great caddie at Pebble and Spyglass. Gene McClure. He never used laser and did a great job of telling me what yardage a shot would play.

[Peter Flory]

I have realized that the more Dustin Johnson-like my caddies is, the more I enjoy the experience.  i.e. I'm really not looking for any information besides the exact yardage to the pin and key cover distances[size=78%]  [/size]

[Jason Topp]

Sounds like a terrific experience Tommy!  The best professional caddies I have experienced create the right vibe for the day, can read greens and remember that speed is as important as break in reading greens.




Overall I would rather have a 13 year old who has never been on a golf course before.  I can guide such caddies around and give them a good introduction to the game.  They are not going to help my game but we will share a great experience.


Bad experiences include:


1. The overly involved caddie who tries to give me lessons
2. Caddies who run ahead and fluff up lies before I get there.  I alost think such a practice is standard operating procedure at some resorts. 
3.  The caddie who thinks he is the show and dominates conversation in the group.
4.  The caddie who messes up a read early in the round.  Anyone can mess up a read and what I perceive to be a bad read can in reality be a bad stroke.  If I mess up a read, I know my limitations.  If the caddie does it I then have to decide whether to ignore him or not from that point forward. 




I have learned to give feedback to professional caddies if their approach is not the approach I want that day. 


 

[Tommy Williamsen]

Jason, we weren’t as laser focused on the other rounds. We just clicked and we thought about the the game similarly. If I wanted to do something different than he advised he always said, “Good choice. Go for it.”
I don’t think I’d like his kind of focus on every round I played. It is too exhausting, but for that one round it was magical.

[Tim Martin]

I needed a good cry. Congrats on shooting your age Tommy!

[archie_struthers]

 


Great accomplishment shooting your age , kudos to you and your looper!


The best caddie I ever had was Jimmy at Portstewart in Ireland...he was  pretty good technically but his demeanor was the best. I'm not looking for too much information but what I needed he delivered. What he understood that was if you had any doubt as to the shot he reinforced your decision , a key to a great partner in golf. 


What won the day for me was he noticed a small cloud moving our way and told me to get into my rain gear 45 seconds ahead of my playing partners. NO one would have seen it coming and it poured for about 10 minutes. When the squall passed and a beautiful day resumed everyone was soaked except for us     


After golf we had some beers in the clubhouse and told the obligatory golf and caddie stories that are so much fun for me. The caddies that day were all members of the club , quite a group

[Ira Fishman]

A tie.


Brora 2018--I wish I could remember his name. A long time member who loved the course. It was in the middle of a drought so the course was extremely firm. He gave just the right amount of advice to play the ground game--hit your 140 yard shot toward right side of the green, etc. I played and scored far better than my normal game. Plus he gave me a wonderful lesson about the course. We were very glad when he agreed to join us for a sandwich and a beer to continue the conversation.


North Berwick (2019)--Catriona Matthew's husband, Graeme. Needless to say, a veteran LPGA caddie on his home course was as good as it gets. It was her first time as Solheim Captain so his stories about their life on the tour particularly resonated. He is a real gentleman who genuinely was pleased when my mediocre game produced a good shot even though he had seen hundreds if not thousands of great shots in his time on the LPGA tour.


Tom, congrats on shooting your age.


Ira

[Tim Gallant]

A tie.


Brora 2018--I wish I could remember his name. A long time member who loved the course. It was in the middle of a drought so the course was extremely firm. He gave just the right amount of advice to play the ground game--hit your 140 yard shot toward right side of the green, etc. I played and scored far better than my normal game. Plus he gave me a wonderful lesson about the course. We were very glad when he agreed to join us for a sandwich and a beer to continue the conversation.


North Berwick (2019)--Catriona Matthew's husband, Graeme. Needless to say, a veteran LPGA caddie on his home course was as good as it gets. It was her first time as Solheim Captain so his stories about their life on the tour particularly resonated. He is a real gentleman who genuinely was pleased when my mediocre game produced a good shot even though he had seen hundreds if not thousands of great shots in his time on the LPGA tour.


Tom, congrats on shooting your age.


Ira

Graeme is the best caddie at NB. He does it because he enjoys it, and is just an all-around wonderful person.

[Tim Gallant]

The best two (sort of) caddies I've had:


A few years after I became a member at NB, I asked Martyn, our head professional, for a playing lesson. He grew up on the links, so it made sense that I should try to pick his brain on the course. Wow. He helped with course management decisions, but equally, walked me through his thought process for certain shots.


As we approached 14 green, I started to add up my score, and realised I was on track for a record round. I subsequently got into my own head, but the time out there was invaluable. I would encourage anyone to get a playing lesson at your home club as it can really help understand percentages around a place you play a majority of your golf. (Note: I carried my own bag ).


The other was at Riviera. I thrive on positivity, and the caddie had the perfect way of helping me make decisions and then reaffirming those with positive words of encouragement. If you hear caddies on tour, they always say 'I love it', which gives confidence.

[David Wuthrich]

I have realized that the more Dustin Johnson-like my caddies is, the more I enjoy the experience.  i.e. I'm really not looking for any information besides the exact yardage to the pin and key cover distances[size=78%]  [/size]

I agree with my friend Peter, just give me the exact actual yardage, I have played enough golf to figure everything else out myself and then I can only blame myself for not executing the shot! 

[Peter Flory]

I have realized that the more Dustin Johnson-like my caddies is, the more I enjoy the experience.  i.e. I'm really not looking for any information besides the exact yardage to the pin and key cover distances[size=78%]  [/size]

I agree with my friend Peter, just give me the exact actual yardage, I have played enough golf to figure everything else out myself and then I can only blame myself for not executing the shot! 

This is a bit of a separate topic, but I have noticed that there is a significant part of the golfing population that would fall into a category that I call "caddie blamers."  It's like they are desperate for an external excuse that they can use so that they don't feel like the bad outcomes that they are experiencing are their own fault.  They'll spend half their round complaining to the other golfers in the group about the caddie and it consumes their thoughts. 


Caddying is a difficult role to play when you factor in all the psychological stuff.  Resort caddying especially because the guests aren't held as accountable as they are at a club. 

[Thomas Dai]

atb

[Matt_Cohn]

delete

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have realized that the more Dustin Johnson-like my caddies is, the more I enjoy the experience.  i.e. I'm really not looking for any information besides the exact yardage to the pin and key cover distances[size=78%]  [/size]

I agree with my friend Peter, just give me the exact actual yardage, I have played enough golf to figure everything else out myself and then I can only blame myself for not executing the shot! 

I don’t know if that is always true. Having a caddie that knew Lido was a blessing. Going around with Peter could be extraordinarily fun.

[Mike Nuzzo]

Congratulations on your 65 Tommy!
Sounds like a great and meaningful experience.
Thank you for sharing.
Peace