Caddies Overused

[Wyalusing]

Me personally I would like to see at least one PGA tournament where there were no caddies allowed, and  pros had to carry their own bags.

I agree with this sentiment. I think this could give a more interesting take for people who aren't avid golf fans.

[turtleback]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

Me personally I would like to see at least one PGA tournament where there were no caddies allowed, and  pros had to carry their own bags.

I agree with this sentiment. I think this could give a more interesting take for people who aren't avid golf fans.

Great, let's go all the way and go with ALL the novelty tournament ideas at once.  So we will have a PGA event where the players have to carry their own bags, they have to use 1960 equipment and play on a crappy municipal course.

Next we will go into your guys' offices and take away all of the computers and make you do everything by hand.

What is the point?

[billchao]

I think this could give a more interesting take for people who aren't avid golf fans.

I disagree. You're not going to have the top talent playing, there will be more mistakes made with shot selection, and the rounds would take longer. If anything, only a select group of established golf fans would actually care to watch a tournament like this. You could always watch a college level tournament if you really wanted to see this kind of golf.

[Gunther]

I've used a caddy once, at The Old Course. Very disappointing cuz I got an 18 yr old kid who didn't really know anything. Nice kid but was no help to my game. Luckily we had a 65 yr old in our group who had been there 40 years or something so he read the greens for us. Next time I played there, I opted out of the caddy and scored 2 strokes better.

[Jeremie Boop]

Great, let's go all the way and go with ALL the novelty tournament ideas at once.  So we will have a PGA event where the players have to carry their own bags, they have to use 1960 equipment and play on a crappy municipal course.

Next we will go into your guys' offices and take away all of the computers and make you do everything by hand.

What is the point?

As an IT guy I have mixed emotions about taking computers away from the end users :-P But you better keep your hands off my PC!

*edit* On topic, I wouldn't mind seeing a novelty round played by pros on TV. Not a full tourny, but a one round game played on a regular course using older equipment. Shoot they can even use golf carts with no caddies. Just for funsies

[Wyalusing]

I disagree. You're not going to have the top talent playing, there will be more mistakes made with shot selection, and the rounds would take longer. If anything, only a select group of established golf fans would actually care to watch a tournament like this. You could always watch a college level tournament if you really wanted to see this kind of golf.

You raise a lot of good points. I suppose any novelty tournament would only work if the players wanted to make it successful, as they have minimal reason to want to play in such a tournament.

[Mulligan Jeff]

I notice caddies on LPGA aiding their player in alignment of putt(s) in tournament play. That doesn't happen on PGA. So how different are the rules between LPGA & PGA?

[Fourputt]

I notice caddies on LPGA aiding their player in alignment of putt(s) in tournament play. That doesn't happen on PGA. So how different are the rules between LPGA & PGA?

No difference in the rules.  Apparently the ladies are less confident in getting properly aligned without assistance.

[dfreuter415]

As far as I'm concerned golf is an individual sport and all this conferring with the caddie almost makes it a team event

Caddies are part of the tradition of golf, and as far as I know, have never hit a shot that counted in a competition.

Advantages of taking a caddie:

* Caddies speed up play

* Caddies assist with yardage and wind conditions which help with club selection

* Well-trained caddies have a positive effect on the condition of a golf course by replacing or filling divots, raking bunkers, and repairing ball marks on the green

* The use of caddies significantly impacts the condition of the golf course by reducing the number of golf carts that are used

* Good caddies will provide camaraderie and save you strokes

For any golf nut who hasn't experienced playing with a caddie, I suggest you put it on your bucket list, and make sure you tip the caddiemaster a couple of dollars to get an experienced bag totter. You'll be glad you did.

[newtogolf]

You pay $40 to ride in a cart?  The most I've ever paid is $20 and I thought that was pretty high.  Most places it's around $15 when it's separate from the green fee.

I was wrong, it's $26 per golfer for cart.

[jetsknicks1]

I agree with this sentiment. I think this could give a more interesting take for people who aren't avid golf fans.

I think it would be the other way around. I don't see how a tournament without caddies would draw in someone who's not really a fan of golf. Avid golf fans would be the only people who would tune in to see that.

[CraiginKSA]

Slightly off-topic, but why do the caddies have to carry the bags?  Why can't they use pull carts?  I see this in some Asian tour events.

[SavvySwede]

I think it would be the other way around. I don't see how a tournament without caddies would draw in someone who's not really a fan of golf. Avid golf fans would be the only people who would tune in to see that.

Have to agree, and not even a lot of avid golf fans would be interested. The winner is still going be well under par and the pros aren't going to make a bunch of mistakes just because they don't have caddies.

[boogielicious]

I've used a caddy once, at The Old Course. Very disappointing cuz I got an 18 yr old kid who didn't really know anything. Nice kid but was no help to my game. Luckily we had a 65 yr old in our group who had been there 40 years or something so he read the greens for us.

Next time I played there, I opted out of the caddy and scored 2 strokes better.

A friend of mine got to play The Old Course in the 80s. He described his caddy as very funny.  They had such fun, the caddy invited him to a locals pub after the round.

[Gunther]

A friend of mine got to play The Old Course in the 80s. He described his caddy as very funny.  They had such fun, the caddy invited him to a locals pub after the round.

That's the experience I was hoping for. We did have that older gent who was quite a character and he did read the greens for all of us but in terms of picking clubs and course knowledge away from the greens, he pretty much focused on his player (my buddy) while I was getting my guidance from a kid. It worked out ok and as I said, he was a nice kid but it was disappointing because I wanted the entire experience.

[Mulligan Jeff]

Lou loomis quote: "I'm going to put it right on the line. There's been a lot of complaints already. Fooling around on the course, bad language, smoking grass, poor caddying. If you guys want to get fired. If you want to be replaced by golf carts, just keep it up".

[mcanadiens]

Is it really all that different for the pros now than it was in the old days? Maybe the only real difference is that the TV crews have mics all over the place and broadcast some of these conversations between caddy and player. I have no issue.

On the other hand. If I had to shell out for a caddy every time I played golf, I wouldn't be able to afford to play. I like the flatter courses in town, so I can pay $2 for the pull cart instead of the $14 a motor cart costs me.  Guess I better not go to Asia.

[phillyk]

Slightly off-topic, but why do the caddies have to carry the bags?  Why can't they use pull carts?  I see this in some Asian tour events.

It's easier to just carry it. It comes down to the greens I think.  Having to pull the cart around the green to the point to where the next tee box is or just carry through the green to that point?  With how big some greens can get that the pros play on, it saves a lot of time to carry.  It looks better too.