| Posted on: Thursday, August 9, 2001
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Around the Greens
Caddying is rewarding, unless you show up late
By Bill Kwon
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| Ian Woosnam, left, fired caddy Miles Byrne after he showed up late for the final round of the Scandinavian Open.
Stuart Franklin • Allsport |
Golf caddies are like centers in football. You really don't notice them until they screw up, which Miles Byrne, Ian Woosnam's caddy, did big time.
He failed to count the number of clubs in Woosnam's bag at the British Open, resulting in a two-stroke penalty for an extra club that cost his man thousands of dollars.
Then he woke up late and missed Woosnam's tee time in the final round of the Scandinavian Masters last Sunday. Needless to say, he is no longer Woosie's caddy.
Maybe it's because of Byrne, or maybe because I saw the movie, "Caddyshack," for the umpteenth time recently, I thought this would be a good time to talk about caddies.
They're really the most unique species in the world of sports. Name another sport in which someone carries an athlete's equipment. Plus giving advice and encouragement every step of the way, before every play, or shot, in this case. A wrong club selection or a wrong read on a putt once too often, then it's, "See ya."
As if that's not enough to strain relationships, caddies work for a fee plus a percentage of a pro's earnings. Ten percent of zero is still zero. So there's the added financial pressure on both of them. Their relationship has been likened to a marriage. No wonder the divorce rate is high.
When Mike "Fluff" Cowan looped for Tiger Woods, he was asked what was a caddy's primary responsibility. "Basically, it's show up, keep up and shut up," he answered.
In Byrne's case, his dismissal was obvious because he didn't show up. He wasn't the only caddy who ever missed a starting time. Bob Friend's caddy was also a no-show in the 1992 Buick Southern Challenge. But there are caddies who have done everything possible to show up in time.
Maybe the best example came in the Hawaiian Open several years ago, according to Allan Ano, an assistant pro at the Waialae Country Club and the tournament's caddy master for 27 years.
"(The caddy) was in the military stationed in San Diego. He got on the wrong plane and went to Seoul instead," Ano recalled. "He flew back to Honolulu and asked someone at the airport, "How do I get to Waialae?"
The guy he asked thought the caddy said Wai'anae, which is where he wound up. He finally caught a bus back to town, which dropped him off at the Kahala Mall. He still didn't know where the golf course was. Fortunately, Waialae member Jay Otani was driving by and gave him a lift.
"He showed up in time to caddy for his guy," Ano said.
As for perhaps the biggest boo-boo by a local caddy, it occurred years back in the Navy-Marine Open, according to veteran golfer Ron Castillo Sr.
Henry Maki, who died this year, was caddying for then Waialae pro Jerry Johnston. At Waialae, members put a tape on the putter handle for gimme putts.
On the first hole, Johnston's approach shot was inside the handle and Maki, forgetting he wasn't at Waialae playing a friendly match, picked up the ball, thinking it was a gimme. Johnston had to replace his ball and took a one-stroke penalty.
Sometimes, golf fans caddy to get to know the players. A familiar sight locally is Dave Shoji, coach of the University of Hawai'i Wahine volleyball team. But it's not worth giving up his night job.
He caddied in four LPGA events, but none of the golfers made the cut. Shoji started caddying in the Hawaiian Open in 1972 and didn't stop until the late 1980s. He hit it off with Mike Morley, who had two top-5 finishes. Shoji got five percent of the winnings and $50 to $75 a day. But the experience is priceless, he said.
But for caddies who do it for a living, it's a hazardous occupation, one with no job security. They don't belong to a union and not everyone can caddy for Tiger Woods like Steve Williams.
Williams, who used to caddy for Raymond Floyd and Greg Norman, has never had it so good. And he knows it.
Caddies of the world, though, are finally uniting. Two years ago they formed the Professional Caddies of America Hall of Fame, inducting 18 members, including Francis Ouimet, a former caddy who won the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline, Mass. His caddy that year was 10-year-old Eddie Lowery.
Others include Jeff "Squeeky" Medlen, who died of cancer not long after caddying for John Daly in his improbable victory in the 1991 PGA Championship; Herman Mitchell, who worked the bag for Lee Trevino; and Chick Evans, who started a college scholarship fund for caddies.
Except on the professional level, caddies are getting to be an endangered species in America. They're being replaced by golf carts, and at some courses, even by llamas.
But even in the pro ranks, a growing number of players are hiring relatives to carry their bags, adopting a keep-it-in-the-family philosophy, especially with the huge paychecks these days.
"You bet players want to do that," said Steve Stricker, whose wife, Nicki, carried his bag more than once at Waialae.
But family loyalty can come with a price. Jack Nicklaus once caddied for his son, Gary, in a U.S. Open qualifying tournament in 1983. They had played a round together the day before.
You guessed it. Gary had 15 clubs, one over the limit. Somehow, Jack's 4-iron wound up in Gary's bag.
Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.
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