Tiger Woods and Steve Williams Debate: How Much Does a Caddie Really Matter?

The breakup of the successful combination of Tiger Woods and Steve Williams has had a nasty fallout.  Following Adam Scott's victory at the WGC Bridgestone, Williams called it the greatest victory of his career and touted his accomplishments as a caddie.  These obviously were a shot at his former employer, as Williams won before Woods did.

There is no doubt that having a good caddie can be a benefit, but the importance of a specific caddie is overrated.  There is not much difference in qualified caddies.  As long as the caddie can gel with the player, they are almost interchangeable.  This isn't to dismiss caddies, as being a qualified one requires a great deal of work and knowledge about courses and the player.

For instance, Fred Couples won his first senior tour major without his longtime caddie Joe LaCava, who is very well respected.  The bottom line is that Couples is the one who has to execute shots and makes the final call about what shot to hit.  LaCava has moved to the bag of Dustin Johnson, who is having a down year and had another bad collapse at a major.  This isn't a knock at LaCava, as he is not making final calls or hitting shots.

Caddies are probably most beneficial when they are working for a younger player who is on an unfamiliar course.  Williams certainly has a lot of knowledge about Firestone CC, but Adam Scott is the one who hit the shots, not him.  

Woods' replacement caddie should not be used as a comparison because he clearly isn't qualified.  Byron Bell wasn't even trusted by Woods enough to provide correct yardages.  He is not a suitable caddie.  

This gets exposed more on an unfamiliar course like Atlanta Athletic Club.  Woods probably doesn't need a caddie on familiar tracks like Augusta. Neither would Phil Mickelson.

Williams is a good caddie, but his comments were out of line, and he later apologized.  It was more a reaction of a scorned friend than a fired employee.  

Greg Norman, for instance, said he regretted firing Williams.  Norman was destined to collapse in majors, even if he kept Williams.  There is not much of a difference between Williams and Fluff Cowan or Bones MacKay.  They all are a suitable second set of eyes on the course.

The bottom line is that there is little difference between qualified caddies.  An experienced, successful player on a familiar course really doesn't even need one.  They can help now and then but execution of shots is up to the player.  

Caddies do not determine how careers play out.  If they did, they would be paid much more and would get fired less often.