You must be focused, that is, alert to and aware of your environment. You job is to keep your player on task, so you have to be optimizing his ability to function in that environment. Call it what you will, I call it focus. I'm an RN, and my job is conceptually very similar.
Show up and keep up are the minimum requirement. Steve Duplantis used to show up late on Furyk all the time. The other caddies were so amazed that he kept his job that they nicknamed him "Asbestos" (fire proof). He got fired. He has a new nickname.
Shut up. I had a buddy who worked for a player who always yelled at him when he hit a bad shot. It got to the point where he was afraid to say anything. He got fired for not speaking up.
Show up and keep up are the minimum requirement. Steve Duplantis used to show up late on Furyk all the time. The other caddies were so amazed that he kept his job that they nicknamed him "Asbestos" (fire proof). He got fired. He has a new nickname.
Shut up. I had a buddy who worked for a player who always yelled at him when he hit a bad shot. It got to the point where he was afraid to say anything. He got fired for not speaking up.
HB
A feable attempt at humor on my part. It was an old joke from the days I use to caddy at a private country club. Think the "up's" originated with Ben Hogan.
You must be focused, that is, alert to and aware of your environment. You job is to keep your player on task, so you have to be optimizing his ability to function in that environment. Call it what you will, I call it focus. I'm an RN, and my job is conceptually very similar.
Efnef,
Good answer. I see a big part of my job as understanding how my player behaves at his best and striving to create those conditions. If he is flat, I would try to inject energy. Etc. Keeping my own eye on the prize will influence him to do the same. It does not matter what day you save the shot that wins the tournament.
What is the single most important attribute that a caddie must possess in order to be successful on tour?
First and foremost, the caddy must be trustworthy. This includes the ability to act independently as necessary to fulfill that trust.
Trust is the all-encompassing attribute. A player has many concerns, and his caddy serves to minimize or eliminate many of them. He should never add to them.
For example, the caddy must be trusted to show up -- on time -- at each event and on each day of the event (and, most certainly, for tee times). When entrusted with the player's clubs, they must be there, too (but no more than 14 before each round!). He must be trusted to perform, with a minimum of oversight, all his assigned duties (and some unassigned). Most of all, he must be trusted to 'handle with care' (and confidentiality) his player's innermost thoughts and emotions -- both on the course and off -- as revealed under competitive and personal stresses. We all have vulnerablilites, and the professional golfer is no exception.
In short, the player-caddy relationship is like any other. For there to be any chance of long-term success, there must be trust (both ways).
Yoda may have it the homerun with his response.....my first thought was competence....but maybe humility ranks way up there too. The caddie is in control of a fine piece of machinery...yet he must operate in the background and not attempt to take the spotlight off his star. This is not a typical relationship where compromise is the key...but there has to be communication and the caddie must know how to keep his player's confidence high especially during adversity.
We all know what happen to Tiger's first caddie when he tried to share in the spotlight.
Yoda may have it the homerun with his response.....my first thought was competence....but maybe humility ranks way up there too. The caddie is in control of a fine piece of machinery...yet he must operate in the background and not attempt to take the spotlight off his star. This is not a typical relationship where compromise is the key...but there has to be communication and the caddie must know how to keep his player's confidence high especially during adversity.
We all know what happen to Tiger's first caddie when he tried to share in the spotlight.
HG,
Good answer. The best possible situation for a caddie to be in is one where the player makes the final decision and knows it. Then the caddie is free to speak his mind (being very careful to be positive and not create any negative thoughts or pictures) and know that the player will own the choice and commit to the shot. Whatever info the caddie has is useless if the player cannot handle input. Some players pull clubs by feel and don't want anything more that a "yes." The caddie can still influence the play by how he gives the yardage. He might mention a backstop (slope behind the hole) if he wants to err long rather than short (infinite options here).
One of the rules I came up with early on: "If the player looks like he knows what he is doing, stay out of his way." The caddie must sense when the player needs help and be ready with good advice. I will sometimes offer two suggestions: "It's a five iron up or a six iron down." It forces the player to make a choice.
Humility. The caddie must realize that all his success lies in the player's hands. If the player does not perform, there is no prize. Caddies are sometimes in a teaching or checkrein position. Inexperienced players need the caddie to encourage smart play. Some players need a firm hand to help them avoid going for broke when the situation does not call for it. At the end of a tournament, the caddie can save a player from making a critical error.
In the end, the definition of a good caddie is very subjective. Sometimes he must step up and sometimes step back. He must always realize that it is the player who hits the shots.
Hybrid Mode
