Ever wish you could fire your boss? PGA Tour caddie Damon Green (Zach Johnson) recalls the time he had to fire his friend and boss, Scott Hoch to go to work for a Tour rookie.
Fun to hear the backstory on this. Scott Hoch was always one of my favorite players. Although I would never have what it takes to break up the team because I'm sure you do become like part of the family.
Makes a difference to his ego as to whether the word is 'Fired' or 'Quit'. You wouldn't find many people who are not caddies saying that he fired the player. :)
Back then the USGA demanded that you use caddies from the country club hosting the US Open. Regular caddies were never really considered a standard regular job .
"Fired" is a bit of a joke...but the story is pretty cool. Hoch, btw, was not a very popular player on the PGA tour from some articles I read back when he was in his prime...but the dude made serious contributions to charities...out of his pocket...which always tells you about the man inside. Godspeed to both.
wreckim very fair comment. He fought his way out of the shadow of guys like Curtis Strange and Jay Haas to have great success late in his career. He’s not as smooth in the PR department but he has a big heart and a great golf game.
@tripleheshy Add Freddie Couples to that list. Always the fake nice guys that piss me off. I don't mind a prick like Elk. At least he dosen't cover it up.
@tripleheshy Reilly has played enough top golf courses and plays well enough himself to know what to look for, but not enough with the pros, so he is self deprecating. Makes for a good mix. I've been a club caddie for 25 yrs and getting ready to start my 14th season in Florida. Have yet to get a tour bag, but there are plenty of tour pros where I work - I've had Gary Woodland and his guests where he asked for 6 reads - so I'm close to it, just not in it. I will never understand why it takes them that long when they've had a few minutes already to think about the next shot walking up to the ball. If I can do it for 4 guys when fore caddying, they should be able to do it for one.
@tripleheshy it's nice to hear someone who gets it. There are so many layers of greatness the higher you go and it really comes down to mental toughness separating the tour guys from the regular +4 player. Because a guy is a great ball striker, he thinks you cant tell him anything. Ball striking isnt green reading and I've seen so many examples where some of these guys cannot get out of their own way and that kind of arrogance can be even worse towards club caddies. It's an unfortunate "uncontrollable" of the business, but I love being down here and I've been able to spend 4 hours watching tour players strike a golf ball from time to time. Not many caddies can say that outside of Florida.
You could not be more wrong about Damon . I traveled as well as played with the Chicken Man,he has always been a class act. Even stayed with him and his parents in the Panhandle,great guy and awesome family !!!!!!!!
Agree 100% .. Golfers and Caddies were made for separation. Everything I’ve heard about Damon is he is Tier 1. The same with Zach. Too many “People Haters” in this world. Thank goodness for those who are not “Perfect”
yeah but he's laughing all the way to the bank while you are probably still trying to figure out how you're going to afford retirement. How many tournaments have you won on the PGA tour? Funny I haven't seen you on a leaderboard.
Exemplifies one of the major problems in modern golf,caddies who believe that golf is a team game and players cannot do without them. The excessive consultations have created a tedious and almost unwatchable game and slow play. Tours should impose a ban on caddie input.
@@floxy20 Spot on! I can't help but remember Hogan,Nelson,Trevino who were working out the shot as they walked to the ball and could 'see' the shot they wanted to play,different time,different game,different skill set.
So it's the caddies fault that the player asks them questions? And as for the current rule, players do need caddies. If the player doesn't know what to do, and asks the caddie, that's on the player. As for a caddie being a team player, would you want someone carrying your bag that didn't see it as a team?
Why does he keep saying he fired Scott Hoch? He quit to go work for someone else, it happens all the time. This caddie sounds like he thinks an awful lot of himself. When a tournament is won who gets most of the prize money, him or the pro?
For all the chuckling, I didn’t think there was anything funny about this. “ I probably didn’t handle it the right way . . ..” Master of understatement.
I think the point is being missed it is called Humor. Fired or Quit is not the question The question is who leaves a seasoned PGA Professional to go carry the bag for a Nationwide Player.
That Nationwide Player had a PGA TOUR Card. Scott Hoch was in his last on Tour at 49. He was likely needing a new bag, or to follow him to Champions Tour. It was a better opportunity.
In most cases, the Korn Ferry Tour #1 is pretty successful. In this case, Hoch was nearing his 50th birthday. He never won again. Zach Johnson was 28 and a better golfer in 2004 than Scott Hoch was in 2004.
Adolf, either you got your facts wrong, or you need to rephrase your comment. Damon Green was with Zach for over FIFTEEN years, from 2003 until late 2018. According to a DEC 8, 2018 article in Golf magazine. Your comment definitely implies that Damon was fired by Zach 4 MONTHS AFTER HE WAS HIRED BY ZACH.
Curious like so many others as to how someone can think that they can possibly fire the person that pays them, that’s is called Quitting. You were helping him for a pay check, you were never in charge. As he said, if he’d realised you were serious he would never have paid you and paid for you to go to Hawaii. If it had been me I’d have made sure no other golfer hired you again, your ego is beyond belief!!
Damon is a class act. Don’t presume you know who someone is through and half cocked interview. Players fire caddies at the drop of a hat on tour so there’s nothing wrong with a caddy wanting to make a change that he thinks will benefit his family and career. Damon is a great guy and he is one hell of a player. He is a legend on the Florida mini tours which I played with him in the early 90’s. He could make $100,000 a year playing the mini tours and not leave a 100 mile radius of his front door...and back in the early 90’s that was some serious cash.
I think Zach got tired of Damon flapping his arms around every time Zach made a birdie. Once or twice was funny but every time? Zach should have told Damon to knock it off, instead, Zach fired him.
m kdrep sorry, that had nothing to do with it. It’s something Damon has always done and everyone is perfectly fine with it. He’s a class act and a legend on the Florida mini tours. Damon can flat out play. He’s taken plenty of money off of tour players in his day. And I can assure you they weren’t playing a $10 nassau when he whooped Zach Johnson. Better put a few more zeros on that bet.
i think damon did dirty on scott hoch. its not like scott was a scrub player on tour. that guy was consistently on the leaderboard. just shows lack of integrity, loyalty, and just a deusche move on his part. hoch was providing him a good living and he wanted more from just carrying around a golf bag.
What if we flipped the script? Hoch fires Damon. Is that "doing him dirty?" Did Hoch have a duty of everlasting loyalty to Damon or is it just the Caddy who has to wait around to be fired. I really don't get your thinking here. Employer free to fire. Employee free to quit. We don't have indentured servitude in this country.
@@stormlake7408 Hoch had him on the bag for 15 years. you obviously don't know what loyalty is. when you work that long and build a friendship and trust, you stay on the bag till hoch fires ya. hoch gave him the start, hoch should finish.
@@golfmaniac007 I agree. In this situation, he screwed Hoch. It's obvious even from this caddie's own words that Hoch treated him like a valued friend and even his wife didn't want to jeopardize their gravy train. I get it about player caddie relationships and how a lot of them are purely a business relationship that can end quickly, etc. ....but this seemed like a long friendship and the one friend took off simply because of greed. Not the kind of guy I'd want carrying my bag on tour if I were ever in that position.
Scott Hochs missed putt in the Masters was the most pathetic thing in sports history. Usually something like that is just pressure or the moment is to big. But damn that putting stroke and alignment, he deserved to miss that
I know things have changed a little but check me on this. If you get paid by someone other than you, how exactly can you 'fire' them? Change the words all you want but the melody is still the same.
@v oh One wrong move and the poor caddy is dumped like a used coffee cup. And that muppet of mine forgot the sugar again. He's carrying full rain gear, brolly and 2 dozen pro v's all season if he keeps this up.
@v oh 79 on a bad day. And usually when the muppet bag man screws up a few yardages. I make him polish my clubs with his tongue after rounds like that.
Dude-- PGA players fire caddies all the time when they feel like the relationship isn’t bearing fruit any longer. Phil Mickelson parted ways with Bones Mackay when he hit a dry spell after winning the 2013 Open Championship. A caddie has every right to do the same if they feel it’s in their best interest. Trust me, if a caddy get a reputation of jumping ship when things get a little tough, they won’t be on anyone’s short list for another job. Most of these caddies are very skilled players in their own right and the players value their input.
Caddied for tour players 1956-77. It doesn't matter what I think the importance of a caddy is. PLAYERS place real value on a skilled Caddy. Believe me when I tell you Hale Irwin and Ray Floyd had to go through a lot to get the services of Adolphus Hall and they both would tell you it was worth every drunk tank visit and bailbondsman paid. If the players place value on the caddy, the caddy has value. The player is the ultimate consumer. "Fired" is the caddyspeak for breaking up. Has been all my life.
@@stormlake7408 Trust me...I get it, but it's most likely wasted on these muni course duffers. Been caddying for last 25 yrs and ready to start 14th season in Florida. Had Gary Woodland ( 2019 US Open winner) asking me for 6 reads when he brought 3 of his friends down to our course. Tour guys know when a caddie knows his shit and they welcome the 2nd opinion...or even let the caddie make the call...when needed. Casual golfers and fans will never get that.
@@johnobrien4766 Loop on, Brother. When a caddy tells his player it's 132 to clear the raised lip of the bunker and 153 to back fringe, the player has to know in his bones the calculation is right. I had Bobby Nichols subtract 18 from 150 (bush) and come up with 147. When I told him his math was wrong, he said "I'm a college graduate." Then he proceeded to fly the green into a thorny bush. I did the math for the rest of tourney. Billy Casper only wanted front edge and he'd do the rest of the math himself. Resort Caddies are actually a growth industry. Tournament players will always need Caddies.
@@stormlake7408 Thank you brother. I'm at a point where I'm done mentally with club caddying...I've reached that ceiling where the evidence says I've got the skill to get a tour bag, but also know theres so much "right place, right time" and some fate involved for that to happen. I am stuck in that purgatory of still dealing with 15 handicaps or worse to pay the bills...you dont need me for that, put an 18 yr old summer caddie on those jobs. Tired of the country club politics and putting on a comedy or variety show seems more important than any skill. Fortunately where I work in Florida, we get a steady stream of amateur scratch and positive handicappers as well as tour players to offset the bad golf.
@@stormlake7408 I wanted to add that I enjoyed that Adolphus/Irwin/Floyd story and brings up a huge shift in attitudes and perceptions by tour players about caddies now. Club caddies and the old school tour caddies traditionally had reputations as alcoholics, coke heads or gamblers...sometimes all 3, but old tour players knew how good some of them could on a golf course. Nowadays, this new breed has little if any regard for club caddies. I dont think its necessarily because they dont think any of us have skill, it's more that they have little to no history with us as they're coming up the ranks. It's about having friends or family that they already know and like on their bags or a former college player mostly because of the optics. Theres so much money involved now and with social media and smart phones being capable of putting a story viral instantly, theres legitimate concerns that a caddie have their off the course life together. Tour golfers ...especially the top 50...have images and brands to protect and if UA is paying a golfer millions to tens of millions in endorsements, they dont want to be dealing with a story about a caddie getting arrested for possession of cocaine or soliciting prostitution. I get it, it's a different world.
