Caddy's :: How much help is too much.

[Cernunnos]

The rules of golf do allow for a caddy helping the player with advice, as they are a team.

Now on one hand I do feel that players should be responsible for their own choices & should rely more upon their own skills.

However, & this is the big however, now although the player is suposed to be the one with the tallent, it does remain that caddy & player are a team of sorts & a caddy does get a monitary reward from doing their best for their player. Good caddys are a sort after commodety amoungst the profesional game. It is in both of their thinterest to work together in a way that is mutually benificial to both.

A caddy in my opinion should give as little or as much help within the rules, as is comfortable for the player. Some players don't like too much imput, they feel it cramps their style. For others Like Markus Brier & even the likes of Tiger Woods, there is a lot of imput & constant discussion down the fairways.

I know one pro who diliberatly chooses a caddy who doesn't play golf in order to simply get yardages & carry the bag, as he has had bad experiences with some caddies who know their golf. And found at least in that instance, that it wasn'tconducive to a good round, at least for him.

At the end of the day the caddy cannot take the shot for the player so anything short of that I consider is Okay, if its okay for the player.

 

[madandra]

I dont have a problem giving verbal advice but I do have problems when they give practical and visual advice.

 

[Imurg]

If a Tour Player can't line up his own putts then he's a pretty poor Professional in my eyes.
Does the caddy line up drives or approaches????

 

[roccokj]

It's awful that pro's need help lining up with their putts but for most of the pro's they only want their line double-checked

 

[theeaglehunter]

If a Tour Player can't line up his own putts then he's a pretty poor Professional in my eyes.
Does the caddy line up drives or approaches????

It isn't to me a fact that they can't line the putts up- if they couldn't they would never have reached a single figure handicap let alone become a tour professional. All the Caddies do is check that they are bang on line which as someone else said, provided it was within the time limit should not be a problem. I know if they were offline they would adjust them but it doesn't really hurt and to be honest it wouldn't surprise me that most times when the caddy bends down behind the player they simply say "yup that's bang on." They are professionals after all.

I would echo the sentiments of others that a caddy is a vital component to a top golfer though. Even down to things like shouting / glaring at disrespectful members of the crowd who insist on moving / talking during a shot. Paul Casey's Scottish caddy is excellent at this. I took great pleasure in seeing him scare the crap out of a couple of blokes who were laughing when Casey was on the tee of a par 3 at Wentworth. Casey simply nodded in his direction and he put them well and truly in their place!

 

[Cernunnos]

Usless fact #1.

In our houshold Markus Brier & his caddy are known as Asterix & Oberlix

http://cse.ucdavis.edu/users/sroy/cartoons/2asterix-obelix.jpg

http://www.frithjof.de/asterix_asterix-obelix2.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0gcl17Z73771U/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0asI5cE4Oq53v/610x.jpg

See what I mean..?

 

[viscount17]

I would go further. There is absolutely no need for more than one caddy in a group to even step onto the green, and that solely to tend the flag.

Having seen at first hand the damage done to a green by the constant parade across it, including caddies with bags pacing out the next days pin positions, there is no way the later groups can possibly be playing to the same conditions.

 

[mono217]

yes I dont see any harm in them helping.

 

[CrapHacker]

Not sure I get why the huge downer on caddies. Am I being daft here ?

Their job is, and has always been, to help their man ( women/rabbit/whatever ). It's surely up to the player how that actually takes place.

Before each pro had their own caddy, the caddies were attached to the course, so a strange player could walk onto a course and have the local knowledge.

Having the knowledge isn't that great a weapon, it's how to use it that's important. If the caddy was that great at putting, it'd be him that's holding the club, not the whole blimmin bag.

Look at Faldo. Did he drop down the rankings because his tee to green game fell apart, or because his putting was crud.

And did it get worse or better the more involved Fanny got ?

Anyway, to sink a put you need to have line AND strength both right. One on it's own isn't really going to help that much.

If it's slowing the game down, put a stopwatch on each player with a nice countdown boing when their time's up. That'll solve any problems.

 

[bobmac]

Useless fact no. 2
Back in the 16th century, Mary, Queen of Scotts used to employ young nubile soldiers (cadets) as porters. God knows what else she employed them for, I could make some guesses but that's for another thread.

Anyhow, she must have been pretty cool because she liked to play golf. Of course, while she was golfing she wasn't about to carry her own clubs so she used the young cadets to carry them for her. These cadets became known as her "caddies" and the word has stuck ever since.
I must get out more

 

[SammmeBee]

Having seen at first hand the damage done to a green by the constant parade across it, including caddies with bags pacing out the next days pin positions, there is no way the later groups can possibly be playing to the same conditions.

Really? Chaps in trainers? There aren't many that pace out the pins as then get them all done for them....

How come then the greens aren't unplayable on day 1 after 2/3 days practice and a Pro-Am or two then?

 

[viscount17]

Sammmebee,

case in point was the 2nd at Wentworth, 1st day of last years PGA.

I arrived at 7:15 watched at that hole for about 2 hours, then returned later (it's a good hole to watch) for another hour or so. In that time <u>every</u> caddie paced the green (Fanny doing giant strides), some still with bags on their backs, some put bags down on the putting surface, one dropped his.

It just isn't necessary.

 

[roccokj]

Players who get lined up must have really really bad stroke!!!
Fernando Castano was getting all of his putts lined up at the weekend at the China Open and yet he ranked 27th in puttting stats (29.2). Obviously this isn't too bad but it certainly should be better after all the lining up

 

[rgs]

Have a problem with caddies lining up putts and iron shots for their players.

I have no problem with caddies giving advice on distance, club used on a similar shot earlier, potential line of the putt but they should be banned from lining up the pro on any shot.