Should caddies write tell-all books about their former employers?
Published: Last updated:
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Williams caddied for Tiger Woods in 13 of his 14 Major victories
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Says he felt like a “slave” at times
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Williams now caddies for Adam Scott
Tiger Woods blinked! Tiger Woods sneezed! Tiger Woods watched the new John Lewis advert! Tiger Woods hasn’t played golf for ages!
Even when he’s not playing golf, Tiger Woods still makes more than his fair share of golf headlines.
The latest concern his former caddie Steve Williams, whose book, Out of the Rough, was released this week.
In the book, Williams, who carried Tiger’s bag for 13 of his 14 Major wins, describes how he felt like a slave having to bend down to pick up discarded clubs, shares Tiger’s desire to quit golf and train as a Navy Seal after the 2004 U.S. Open, and admits to lying about yardages in order to make Tiger commit to certain shots.
It’s not a book about Tiger. It’s a book about Williams. It covers his upbringing, his time with five-time Open winner Peter Thomson, his spell working for Greg Norman in the 1980s, Raymond Floyd in the 1990s, Tiger for 13 years, and goes on to cover his work with current employer, Adam Scott. But it’s Tiger that makes the headlines and sells copies. Always has, always will. Williams will have known that. The journalist who helped Williams write the book will have known that. And the publishers will have known that.
The question is: is it right for caddies to write books like this, covering the intimate details of their past working relationships?
On one side of the argument, you could say that a caddie should be free to write whatever he likes. It’s no different to any other former employee writing about a company they used to work for, and if the player has anything to hide, it’s only because they did something they shouldn’t.
On the other hand, it could be argued that by helping to make Williams a millionaire, Tiger has probably done enough to deserve more respect. If players have to start worrying about what their caddie is going to write after their partnership has ended, what impact does that have on their working relationship?
When asked whether he expected a sequel, Williams’ current employer, Adam Scott, joked, “I’m going to be on my best behaviour so there isn’t one”.
We asked for your opinion on the matter, and nearly two-thirds of you felt that Williams should have kept his mouth shut.
