In our forums, our members have been discussing whether professional golfers are too reliant on their caddies. WRXer ‘jordan2240’ believes allowing players to use rangefinders/GPS devices until reaching around the green would speed up the game, and kicks off the thread, saying:
“So I was just watching the latest Euro tour event, and the guy in the lead (by 3 shots) had an easy pitch to the green on 18, but for some reason, found it necessary to consult with his caddie. What the hell could they possibly have been discussing? All he had to do was pitch it onto the middle of the green. Likelihood he would 5-putt from anywhere on the green had to be nil.
To me, one of the quickest ways they could speed up the game is to allow rangefinders/GPS and allow caddies to consult only on putts and chips. I mean, it’s just ridiculous to me that a pro golfer would need to consult with his caddie on a pitch to the last hole with a three-shot lead.”
And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts on the subject.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- golfandfishing: “Player wants to put the caddie through his paces so the next time they are in a similar position, but the lead is 1 then they are better prepared to work together in the situation. I also don’t understand the hand wringing over tour golf pace of play. Are we wanting the guys on TV to play faster? If so – What for?”
- Socrates: “You never want an I.K. Kim, or van de Velde (or Phil) moment on your way to what you hope is victory. Part of the caddie’s job is to step in and stop them from doing something stupid. Calm them down, think it through and make them go through the routine.”
- dalehead: “What bugs me is the player and caddie standing over the ball each with their yardage books in hand. The player looks at his yardage book, then he looks at the caddies yardage book then back at his own, then the caddies again. Don’t they work off the same yardage book? Even worse are green books. Reading greens is supposed to be a golf skill, not left up to a computer survey.”
- FakeClubPro: “Steve Williams was probably the greatest caddy who ever played the game. I think without Steve – Tiger would have won a lot fewer tournaments. Tiger would have had more of a Corey Pavin, Lanny Watkins, Julius Boros type career. The pictures of Steve jumping on the green after Tiger or Adam major wins are iconic. Steve was always there for Tiger too.”