VK
It seems to me that you are confusing having a bag carrier with someone who tells you what to do.
Going with the early examples you give, Young Tom, Old Tom, Allan Robertson etc would have mostly carried their own clubs on a day to day basis. It would have only been for big matches and maybe even the Open that they had someone carry their clubs. They mostly managed themselves. Same with the other British guys you mention growing up. It would only be by the time they were champions they would have had someone carry their clubs and by then they would have no need of advice from the bag carrier.
For sure some of the early English writers at turn of the century wrote in (mock) awe of Scottish caddies but that was a bit of a cliché and self-deprecation as most were just kids, and even novice golfers weren't prone to taking advice from the juvenile bag carrier.
David Walsh wrote an interesting article in the Sunday Times about comments made by Nicklaus either at or ahead of this years Masters. The gist of the piece was Nicklaus saying that he couldn't understand why anyone would want to have their caddies tell them what to do or to have all the psychologists, experts and gurus advising them what to do either. As I think he put it, they don't hit the ball, the player does and one of the fun parts is working it all out for yourself. And that's from probably the best player ever, who won his last major in 1986(?).
I'd suggest that the vast majority of golfers in this country side with Nicklaus.
Niall
Where's the provenance to back all these
would haves and
were(s) up?...nothing, just more suppositions upon suppositions framed to advance your displeasures... to wit, please offer one instance where Old Tom or anybody else of that historic mien carried their own clubs (which you also argue is not the point, so why did you bring it up - this was about advice, no?). Read
Scotland's Gift, please... CBM gives a first hand account of golf in the 1870s...Read the "Old Apple Tree Gang"...the very first time Reid whacked the ball around a three hole pasture in America, he details who was caddying for whom.
While its a quaint delusion to think that many or even most caddies at the turn of the century were young Eddie Lowrys, they were not... Read
Carry Your Bag, Sir by David Stirk...read
St . Andrews - the First 600 years. Read the voluminous humorous pieces about wretched caddies (by comparison) to see how valuable a sage one is and has always been... Read, study, then read some more...maybe consider...THEN comment.
You invoke one Nicklaus interview of recent vintage...why not look at his remarks about his first experiences in Britain; or why he kept Big Angelo as his regular caddie in the meat of his 70s playing career? But in short I say, Carl Jackson & Ben Crenshaw...guess that was a detracting thing too?
If there is any agreement with your position, it owes to the hard fact that the overwhelming majority of golf is played without one and as such are a costly exotica and not always satisfying aspect of a round... but poll the people whose scores, whose performance, whose livelihood matters to the result and you will get an opposite number.
I have caddied nearly 3000 rounds in my life for all manner of golf big and small, but I have used a caddie for my own game less than 25 times. I don't need nor particularly desire to have a caddie to beat/enjoy (?) my regular partners or have a distant round...but if I'm playing in a competition or visiting a fine course I want to enjoy my one time there, you can bet your balls I'll slip the caddiemaster extra to give me a good one.
It's quite your privilege to hold that you don't think caddies ought to be advising or navigating the players ... it is a misbegotten and desultory thing to cite that which you clearly haven't examined or can back up with any fact or preponderance of fact to advance that position.
cheers vk