On Tiger Woods and Stevie

Just because Tiger’s marital status is in disarray doesn’t mean he’s having problems with Stevie, his longtime caddie. The press is making way too much out of a few mistakes on the course. During any round, especially when your player is struggling, decisions are made that may seem proper at the moment but the results aren’t so great. Tiger relies on Steve for information, crowd control, and camaraderie but when it comes to club pulling the final decision is Tiger’s. When he talks about making mistakes it is a team effort but the caddie always gets the blame for anything that goes awry.

My first tour caddie lesson came from Bob Murphy, “As long as you take the blame for everything that goes wrong out here we’ll get along just fine.” Professional golfers have to protect their psyche during a round and displacing the blame for an errant shot relieves them of any responsibility. It may have been a gust of wind, a ball mark, a bad lie, a talkative spectator causing the problem but never the golfer. Every caddie has thick skin and broad shoulders because you have to shed the abuse, suck it up, and be ready for another important decision in five minutes.

During a broadcast everyone hears the banter over the ball but that walk between shots is where the heated discussions transpire. If a mistake has been made it needs to be resolved before the next shot or the train wreck begins. You’ll see Stevie and Tiger talking after every shot. After a good shot they’re talking about sports, politics, car racing, maybe sharing a joke whatever, and after a bad shot it’s an examination of what went wrong. It’s discussed, analyzed, and forgotten before the next shot. This duo is the best and if there is a little friction it’s because of their competitiveness.

They are a couple of very strong willed people walking side by side, always in the limelight, always looking for perfection. Stevie’s been out there a long time with Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, plus his 10 years with Tiger. Tiger wants the best by his side and Steve is the finest caddie out there. Their relationship on the course will survive; hopefully all the extra-curricular garbage won’t weigh heavy causing a separation.