Caddy Banned from European Tour

[tristanhilton85]

I think that the right call was made... whether he was a professional caddie or just some idiot carrying the bag an example needed to be made and this took care of that.

[Kapanda]

Originally Posted by nicoy3k

Yes lets destroy a mans livleyhood and career because he made one incredibly stupid mistake. Absurdly harsh. He and his boss were DQ'd from the tournament, that was punishment enough.

Originally Posted by The_Pharaoh

I agree, ridiculously harsh. A fine and maybe a 3-month suspension, but not a life-time ban.

Originally Posted by The_Pharaoh

A lot of you are assuming ALL caddies on the European Tour are professionals. Many are, but a lot are not. In order to save money, many pros grab anybody to carry their bag. Usually a friend or a family member. Quite often they haven't got a clue about golf and simply carry the bag for the player. We don't know the build up to what happened, perhaps Lara had said to the guy, "I hope you put that other putter in my locker as it is against the rules to have more than 14 clubs in the bag" a few holes earlier. The clueless caddie then panicked and for fear of upsetting Lara tried to get rid of it not for one moment realising the severity of what he had done.

If he wasn't a pro, then nobody's livelihood was destroyed.

Either way, the call was correct. That was simply direct dishonesty. If you can cut it by the root, don't hesitate.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by joekelly

Me? If i had been the caddy, i would have chosen the offending club, bent the shaft severly and stuffed down deep into  the bag. Sure, ''protect the field'  but in fact the first rule is 'protect your man'.

No it's not.

[luu5]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

I read indefinite suspension, not lifetime ban.  Did they change the penalty or are people assuming indefinite means lifetime.

This.

[Topper]

The action deserves a severe penalty for sure but an "indefinite" (which sounds like lifetime?) suspension from golf sounds harsh assuming he does not have a history of other infractions or adverse behavior.  In the end, I think a year suspension is more than harsh enough to send a strong message.  As others have said, it's probably moot since he would probably have difficulty finding an employer.

[carpediem4300]

he had two options

1) say "hey lara, ive ballsed up and brought 15 clubs, sorry dude" - His player gets a 2shot stroke and "perhaps" the caddie gets sacked by his player,.....but life goes on, people forget about it after a few months and hes caddying for someone else, this is lesson learnt

2) lie, cheat and try to not get discovered, got his man DQ'd and got himself thrown off tour, where no players will now touch him

Regardless of the punishment and wether it fits the crime or not,....he had two options, the smart, honest option,.....or the dishonest, stupid one

he dug his grave tbh

[MSchott]

He screwed up big time and deserves the suspension. I don't think we have enough information to determine whether it's a lifetime suspension or not. If it's lifetime it's too harsh.

[x129]

That would be tough to do without attracting attention. I am guessing the smart play would be just keep walking like nothing happened. What are the odds that someone will count the clubs in your bag?

Originally Posted by joekelly

Me? If i had been the caddy, i would have chosen the offending club, bent the shaft severly and stuffed down deep into  the bag. Sure, ''protect the field'  but in fact the first rule is 'protect your man'.

[zipazoid]

It's not lifetime. It's indefinite, which means they can reinstate him whenever they want to...or not.

My guess is the European Tour hopes the man finds another line of work & they don't have to re-address in a year or two insofar as lifting the suspension.

[newtogolf]

Indefinite suspension means to me they felt the actions warranted the need to punish him immediately, which they did.  Once the event is over and cooler heads prevail they will take a second look at all the facts and deem a time frame they feel is fair.  It's a tactic organizations use when they want to make their punishment seem severe but have the intent to re-visit it when the spotlight is off of the situation.  I expect he'll be reinstated after 6 months to a year.

[JaxGolfer1]

I'm with newtogolf on this one. Urban Meyer suspends players every summer "indefinitely" and they play football in the fall. This guy isn't banned for life....

[Beachcomber]

Wow.  That is pretty harsh.  But extremely stupid that the Caddy would try and hide the club.  You make the mistake, own it.