#AskESPNCaddie: Setting up shop at TPC Sawgrass
— -- PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- I'm hanging out at the Players Championship where this week's questions are H-O-T just like the temperature.
Fans look like animals on the African plains huddling under trees for shade. I'm going to apologize now to all whose questions didn't make in this edition. This week I got both quantity and quality, so all of you who made this cut truly are winners. Enjoy.
Collins: This week's caddie from my (shameless plug) Caddie Confidential told me it's the quietest tee on the PGA Tour. Because caddies won't say one word while the ball is in the air. Most of the time they're holding their collective breath. You'll hear a player yell, "Get up!" or "Get down!" because they felt the shot. That being said, I'd say caddies are more nervous Thursday through Saturday, but players in the last four groups Sunday are more nervous.
Collins: Nothing. When things start going bad here's the pro golfer rule of three: Caddie, clubs, wife/girlfriend. I say that last one only half-joking. The caddie is the easiest and cheapest thing to change when you're in a slump. Most players have to be really in a bad way to break a club contract. Of course, when golfers are playing really bad and coming home with a stink attitude, who really wants to be around them anyway?
Collins: Yes, they do, because even the longest hitters find no joy in a hole where power is the only factor. Most of the greatest par-3s in the world are under 175 yards. Once you get over 220 yards, even for the most elite pros, the hole becomes a gimmick. A 300-yard par-3 should be considered offensive to the true spirit of the game. Any course designer whose best idea to make a par-3 harder is by lengthening it to 300 yards is lazy and should turn in their pencils.
Collins: Of the 14 holes where he could have hit driver, Day pulled it out only five times Thursday. Of course on the 16th hole, he hit driver, 8-iron into the par-5! That being said, he also noted that he spent a big chunk of time back home in Ohio hitting 3-woods because he knew he'd have to this week. Ironically, he hit only four 3-woods in Round 1.
Collins: Keegan Bradley's issues are not something a new caddie being on the bag can fix. What will help him going forward having a new guy on the bag will be when things start going bad. Hearing a different voice say something you've never heard really helps in bad times. Steven "Pepsi" Hale and Bradley had been together a long time. They started together in 2011, which in "caddie years" nowadays is two lifetimes. Pepsi is a very good looper, but sometimes a break is exactly what's needed for both player and caddie.
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