Steve Williams is a New Zealander who was Tiger Woods’ caddie for 13 years until last month. Tiger fired Steve and got a new caddie. Steve got a new boss, an Australian Adam Scott. Adam Scott won the World Golf Championships at Bridgeston three days ago.
Steve Williams was born in Wellington. He began playing golf as a young child and at the age of 13, he had a handicap of two. However, he enjoyed being a caddie more than playing golf. He became a caddie for famous Australian golfers Peter Thompson and then Greg Norman in the 1980s. He was a caddie for many other golfers until 1999 when he became Tiger Wood’s caddie.
Of course he became quite rich. He has used some of his money to help young golfers in New Zealand, providing gear and paying for coaches. He gave $1 million to Auckland’s Starship children’s hospital for a new cancer ward in 2008. Now he plans to give more money for children’s health in New Zealand.
Although he lives in the US, he travels back to New Zealand often. His hobby is racing saloon cars at the Speedway.
Questions
1. A caddie carries the golf bag of the golfer. What else does he do?
2. What skills does a caddie need to have?
3. Did Adam Scott win the championships because of his caddie?
i didn’t find -a handicap of two for Steve Williams,what’s that?
1. Yes, a caddie must be strong enough to carry the clubs, but a caddie is ideally much, much more.
2. Knowing the course is very valuable because a caddie can prevent the player from feeling like they are out there all alone. If you watch tennis, you know that a player, any player can just come apart from being completely alone on the court.
3. Long partnerships develop because the caddy may learn to read the player and know when to give their opinion on a club choice, a shot choice, or a strategy for getting to the hole.
4. It is great fun to watch a caddie watch the player after they have talked. They read when their player is solid in their choice of clubs and shots. When that happens the caddie relaxes a little and steps back to let the player have the stage center.
5. I find it one of the most enjoyable parts of the game.
6. Williams was part of Adam Scott’s win because Williams knows the course, believes in Adams ability, and knows when to pick up the bag and step back.
7. What you got from Williams in the interview was because he was so touched by the crowd yelling, Stevie, Stevie. Anyone who has just been fired would be touched by the exhibition of awareness from the crowd of William’s value to his player.
8. We will hear more from Williams about his time with Woods, but hopfully he will separate that from his new relationship with Adam Scott. I have never seen Scott’s stride like it was whe he played the course with Williams at his side. I have never seen his chest sticking out quite like that. It was clear to me that Williams support and enthusiasm had good effect on Scott’s self confidence.
You need to ask a golfer about this. It’s very difficult to explain in simple English but beginner golfers have a high handicap while epxerts have a low handicap. The idea is to make the game more equal.