Phil and Bones parting ways after 25 years! (MERGED)

[Bodles]

I've got $10 on bones working with one of the older guys running a smaller schedule.

Stricker on the senior tour?

[ronnbee]

:swoon: :swoon: first Phil drops out of us open now Phil drops long time caddie, whats the Golf world coming to

[Ferguson]

Bones and Jen could be having marital problems?

[A.G.Blade]

who wins that fight

 

Well, Johnny Miller beat phil in arm wrestling.

 

And Phil said he knows kung fu.

 

But somehow I dont think Phil could beat a fly...with no wings ; )

are you serious? What year did they arm wrestle? If recent, I'd really think Phil would win, but 20 years ago I could see Johnny winning

[hogans71]

he did well to put up with Mickelson for so long. Nice guy

 

What does that even mean?

[Hot Rod 71]

I've got $10 on bones working with one of the older guys running a smaller schedule.

Stricker on the senior tour?

 

Stricker was my first thought as well. I think it has to be someone who plays a limited schedule, considering Bones' recent knee replacements.

 

If I were Bones I'd find a nice country club to join and spend the rest of my days hanging out, playing golf, and doing whatever the hell I want. I'd play all of my rounds riding in a cart to spare my new knees.

 

Why continue to work as a caddie, continually putting miles on your knees if you are able to retire?

[bladehunter]

The fact that Bones put up with FIGJAM for 25 years should make him an automatic candidate for Sainthood.

 

 

I used to be a Mickelson fan. The way he treated Tom Watson at the Ryder Cup ended it for me.

 

The fact that anyone can still root for him after that is beyond me. It was beyond classless.

 

 

 

I like watson... But he earned that treatment .. If you proclaim my way or the highway to the whole crowd , the law of averages says at least one will buck you.... and when Phil is in that bunch the odds go way up...as i can remember he only told the truth... if any falsehoods were reported by Phil im all ears

 

 

 

Regardless of Watson's style (and neither of us were there so we'll never know exactly how it really was), you don't do what Phil did at the post event presser. Classless and self serving. But Phil is the master of self serving.

 

"My way or the highway" has worked pretty well for Bill Belichick. But it is different as he's dealing with men as opposed to a handful of spoiled country club brats.

 

 

seriously? the Pats are full of "men" ...come on... they like any other NFL team have their share of "kids"..... but thats beside the point

 

the point was that you can tell a bunch of sheep its "my way or the highway" and you may succeed.... but you cant tell that to a group of singular minded guys when trying to build a "team".... not and expect 100% to buy in.. repect is earned... Watson didnt earn it that week... thats it... you cant say he was owed it from his past actions... that doesnt figure in.. not 100% .. it gets your foot in the respect door. but you have to earn it with good team decisions during the week, and the proper leadership atitude.... Watson did NOT do that... he sat Phil as retaliation for Phil privately questioning his early round pairings and attempted to "shut him up".... well you cant shut up a guy like phil.... He just got louder.. and i could have predicted it ... he followed the only chain of command he had.. and once to the top of that he used the media.... Im sure decorum would say he shoudlnt have dont that ... but this past ryder cup he was proven correct wasnt he? I mean you cant argue with that .

[A.G.Blade]

Remember; Robin went off and started The Teen Titans so......

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I've got $10 on bones working with one of the older guys running a smaller schedule.

Stricker on the senior tour?

 

Stricker was my first thought as well. I think it has to be someone who plays a limited schedule, considering Bones' recent knee replacements.

 

If I were Bones I'd find a nice country club to join and spend the rest of my days hanging out, playing golf, and doing whatever the hell I want. I'd play all of my rounds riding in a cart to spare my new knees.

 

Why continue to work as a caddie, continually putting miles on your knees if you are able to retire?

100% agree. Bones probably doesn't want a full schedule in part due to his knees. Limited perhaps would be perfect.

 

He already belongs to a nice country club (whisper rock, same as Phil) and has a 3 index. So it looks like he's already got that taken care of.

 

Also I'd give high odds that he gets involved with golf broadcasting and maybe some sports photography.

[Terry Gold]

They made for good TV, and were the epitome the player/caddy dynamic.

That said, Phil has long since embodied the "i speak for the game' attitude that Jack, Gary, and Tom are so often derided for.

PM overplays his hand, almost always, but provides good drama anc copy for viewers and 'journos'.

Possibly more to this that we'll never know.

if you think Phil was more loyal to Amy than Bones over that span of years, hahaha.

 

That's all.

[braincramp52]

The fact that Bones put up with FIGJAM for 25 years should make him an automatic candidate for Sainthood.

Ugly troll post, and the whole figjam thing has been over for years.

 

I used to be a Mickelson fan. The way he treated Tom Watson at the Ryder Cup ended it for me.

 

The fact that anyone can still root for him after that is beyond me. It was beyond classless.

 

Watson got what he deserved. Most of the team thought the same as Phil. Phil was the only one with enough guts to say anything.

[Shallowface]

The fact that Bones put up with FIGJAM for 25 years should make him an automatic candidate for Sainthood.

 

 

I used to be a Mickelson fan. The way he treated Tom Watson at the Ryder Cup ended it for me.

 

The fact that anyone can still root for him after that is beyond me. It was beyond classless.

 

 

 

I like watson... But he earned that treatment .. If you proclaim my way or the highway to the whole crowd , the law of averages says at least one will buck you.... and when Phil is in that bunch the odds go way up...as i can remember he only told the truth... if any falsehoods were reported by Phil im all ears

 

 

 

Regardless of Watson's style (and neither of us were there so we'll never know exactly how it really was), you don't do what Phil did at the post event presser. Classless and self serving. But Phil is the master of self serving.

 

"My way or the highway" has worked pretty well for Bill Belichick. But it is different as he's dealing with men as opposed to a handful of spoiled country club brats.

 

 

seriously? the Pats are full of "men" ...come on... they like any other NFL team have their share of "kids"..... but thats beside the point

 

the point was that you can tell a bunch of sheep its "my way or the highway" and you may succeed.... but you cant tell that to a group of singular minded guys when trying to build a "team".... not and expect 100% to buy in.. repect is earned... Watson didnt earn it that week... thats it... you cant say he was owed it from his past actions... that doesnt figure in.. not 100% .. it gets your foot in the respect door. but you have to earn it with good team decisions during the week, and the proper leadership atitude.... Watson did NOT do that... he sat Phil as retaliation for Phil privately questioning his early round pairings and attempted to "shut him up".... well you cant shut up a guy like phil.... He just got louder.. and i could have predicted it ... he followed the only chain of command he had.. and once to the top of that he used the media.... Im sure decorum would say he shoudlnt have dont that ... but this past ryder cup he was proven correct wasnt he? I mean you cant argue with that .

 

Sure I can.

 

The USA hit better shots and made more putts this past Ryder Cup than they did for Watson.

 

It had nothing to do with how they were or were not coddled.

 

It's golf.

[toophewbirdies]

if you think Phil was more loyal to Amy than Bones over that span of years, hahaha.

 

That's all.

 

Classy............:(

[sekrah]

The fact that Bones put up with FIGJAM for 25 years should make him an automatic candidate for Sainthood.

 

 

I used to be a Mickelson fan. The way he treated Tom Watson at the Ryder Cup ended it for me.

 

The fact that anyone can still root for him after that is beyond me. It was beyond classless.

 

 

 

I like watson... But he earned that treatment .. If you proclaim my way or the highway to the whole crowd , the law of averages says at least one will buck you.... and when Phil is in that bunch the odds go way up...as i can remember he only told the truth... if any falsehoods were reported by Phil im all ears

 

 

 

Regardless of Watson's style (and neither of us were there so we'll never know exactly how it really was), you don't do what Phil did at the post event presser. Classless and self serving. But Phil is the master of self serving.

 

"My way or the highway" has worked pretty well for Bill Belichick. But it is different as he's dealing with men as opposed to a handful of spoiled country club brats.

 

Bill Belichick coaches to build chemistry between his players. Tom Watson had zero interest in chemistry and his philosophy was that team chemistry didn't matter. He thought he was so smart he could make the perfect pairings based on styles of play.

 

The press asked Phil a question about the winning formula from a previous Ryder Cup and the difference, and he answered honestly instead of giving a boring stock bull s*** answer. Props to Phil. Nobody else had the stones to say the truth.

 

Tom was the self-serving one, abandoning a winning formula so the captain could stand out above the team. He didn't want Team USA to win the Ryder Cup, he wanted Captain Tom Watson to win the Ryder Cup with his brilliant "I'm smarter than everyone else" pairings.

[Scooterboy59]

I like both of these guys, but people move on. How many of people you know stay in a job 25 years? They had a good run. I think Phil and Bones both need a change of scenery and fresh ideas.As for whom they will work for and with that is going to be fun to see what happens. I can see Bones with a Ollie Schiederjams, Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed or someone in the top 20 in the world. Phil is the big ? mark with who will get his bag next year. I will say it will be a relative unknown person to most people.

[bladehunter]

Shallowface -

 

 

lol -

 

It's So easy to say " play better". Sure. But it's about the vehicle or mindset that allows for the better play. The dictatorship of Watson didn't allow that. Obviously according to the results. Watson being the supreme leader , didn't put the ingredients together for better play. You can't say " my way or the highway " and the after he fact blame the players and say " play better " ( which he did ). If you want to be the end all be all be ready for the heat when it fails.

[new2g0lf]

I get the sense from how the release was written the split was due to Bones not being happy, whether it be with Phil, his schedule or personal reasons. Caddies live their life in the shadows of the pro's they work for and while Bones is one of the best known caddies in golf he still lived in the very big shadow of Phil.

 

Bones and Phil were out of sync, as others mentioned Phil was handing back more clubs than he was taking during tournaments. If it was his knees I doubt he'd caddie for someone else. Bones likely has plenty of money saved and opportunities for well paying book deals, so I get the sense this is about Bones wanting to prove that he can catch lightning in the bottle again with another pro, possibly Rahm.

 

Bones gets to help out Tim (for a piece of Rahm) and mentor Rahm with the benefit of all the experience he gained with Phil. If he has a positive influence on Rahm, golf reporters and analysts will credit Bones for the improvement. Bones may be looking for one of those moments like Stevie had with Adam Scott, where it was obvious Stevie felt he had something to prove.

 

Rahm is a bit like Phil, long off the tee, soft hands around the greens and sometimes his own worst enemy, I can see it working out.

[Roadking2003]

 

Regardless of Watson's style (and neither of us were there so we'll never know exactly how it really was), you don't do what Phil did at the post event presser. Classless and self serving. But Phil is the master of self serving.

 

"My way or the highway" has worked pretty well for Bill Belichick. But it is different as he's dealing with men as opposed to a handful of spoiled country club brats.

 

I think Phil is the hero in this. What he did may have saved the Ryder cup. Phil said what everyone was thinking but nobody else had the balls to speak up.

[Roadking2003]

If I were Bones I'd find a nice country club to join and spend the rest of my days hanging out, playing golf, and doing whatever the hell I want. I'd play all of my rounds riding in a cart to spare my new knees.

 

Why continue to work as a caddie, continually putting miles on your knees if you are able to retire?

 

And never get on another airplane. Life would be good.

[jph4387]

I get the sense from how the release was written the split was due to Bones not being happy, whether it be with Phil, his schedule or personal reasons. Caddies live their life in the shadows of the pro's they work for and while Bones is one of the best known caddies in golf he still lived in the very big shadow of Phil. Bones and Phil were out of sync, as others mentioned Phil was handing back more clubs than he was taking during tournaments. If it was his knees I doubt he'd caddie for someone else. Bones likely has plenty of money saved and opportunities for well paying book deals, so I get the sense this is about Bones wanting to prove that he can catch lightning in the bottle again with another pro, possibly Rahm. Bones gets to help out Tim (for a piece of Rahm) and mentor Rahm with the benefit of all the experience he gained with Phil. If he has a positive influence on Rahm, golf reporters and analysts will credit Bones for the improvement. Bones may be looking for one of those moments like Stevie had with Adam Scott, where it was obvious Stevie felt he had something to prove. Rahm is a bit like Phil, long off the tee, soft hands around the greens and sometimes his own worst enemy, I can see it working out.

 

One fundamental flaw in your argument, he's not going to work for Rahm.

[Jordan Speeth]

All great partnerships end. Been a fantastic run arguably the best pairing ever this side of Woods-Williams.

 

Guessing you never heard of Jack Nicklaus and Angelo Argea

 

https://en.wikipedia...ki/Angelo_Argea

 

Back in those days caddies didn't travel all over the country or world like they do now.

 

In the US Open you were assigned a local caddie, Nicklaus had a local gym teacher caddie for him at Pebble in '72, he basically was assigned to Jack in a random drawing. I read a cool article about it a few years ago.

The Masters you were required to use a ANGC caddie

The Open, too expensive for them to travel so you had a local you used.

 

West coast swing or Hawaii? probably not, but maybe if you were Jack.

 

Back then caddies mostly stuck to the 3 essentials. Show up, shut up and keep up. There were exceptions such as Angelo and Herman with Trevino.

 

That's right. I caddied on Tour when I was just sixteen (in '70/'71) and had no trouble at all getting a bag every day when I didn't have a job for the week. I went to a private high school that let us out for "midsession" from November through February and I'd take off with the Tour. Most of the players were super penny-pinchers and loved getting a young kid on their bag. It was better than the alternative; a Tour caddy who'd show up drunk half the time and not at all the rest of the time. Also, the caddies were always hustling their pro for more money...never knew when to shut up. They'd also do nothing for the first 14 holes until they'd get over their hangover, then they'd run around the last few holes and kissing a** hoping for a better tip at the end of the day/week. The Tour caddies in those days were a really motley crew, believe me, and their lives revolved around gambling, drinking, and drugs...all of them were hardcore alcoholics and mostly older guys. The only one that I remember being on the young side was Andy M, Johnny Miller's caddy. He was a good guy, and serious about his work. I worked with professional caddies back home so I sort of knew what to expect but those guys scared me....they were a seriously hardcore bunch. The point is, professional, one-bag caddies were only for the top 10 players and very few of the players relied on their caddies for anything other than carrying the bag, etc.. There was barely money for the pro to get himself and his family around, much less a caddy. Butch Harmon would pay me $20/day I think....no tip, that's for sure. I must not have been as good as I thought I was.

 

I caddied for an LPGA pro recently (first time), and they want you to everything for them except wipe their bums. How far to that bunker, how far to the dogleg, how to come into the green, wind, will the green release, what's behind the green, pace off, add/subtract, add paces on, know how the ball will break after landing. Then the menial stuff of cleaning balls and clubs, and carrying their 70 lb bags, and don't move or scratch your nose in a way that might annoy them. All for $100 over 8 hrs each day. I used to make that in less than 2 hrs of work. What a rough job, although interesting. I'm glad I did it though cause now I know I will not be pursuing that as a semi-retirement career.

 

I also did my time on the LPGA in the early seventies, mostly for Kathy Cornelius, the US Open champion. She was older then (it seemed to a sixteen year old) and weighed about 90 pounds soaking wet. Those ladies were surly!...much worse than the men. All the stars looked up to her and we often played practice rounds with the stars, like Judy Rankin, Sandra Haynie, and Joann Carner, which was cool. The good ones all seemed to play really well, even then. Considering how little money they were playing for, they were all strictly business...super serious and competitive. Again though, it was keep up, shut up, and don't dare distract them in any way. On this Tour, it was the ladies that scared me.

[TheGulag]

Bones and Jen could be having marital problems?

 

Attention all Ferguson has entered the thread!!

[Ping Zings]

Figjam going to figjam. :taunt:

[JD3]

"Dear Phil,

 

After taking away our best (and probably last) chance at winning a US Open and completing a career grand slam, for a one hour ceremony you could have recorded or attended live via Skype, go &@#* yourself.

 

Sincerely,

Bones

 

P.S. Thanks a lot for making me walk the course on 2 bad knees to take notes, on the unlikely chance his highness changed his mind at the last second."

[cardoustie]

who wins that fight

 

Well, Johnny Miller beat phil in arm wrestling.

 

And Phil said he knows kung fu.

 

But somehow I dont think Phil could beat a fly...with no wings ; )

are you serious? What year did they arm wrestle? If recent, I'd really think Phil would win, but 20 years ago I could see Johnny winning

 

Johnny Miller did a lot of ranch work in his day. Not surprised

 

I know there are great stories of him hitting 2 irons 200 yards with just his left arm when they were filming Tin Cup

[mwkbmw]

who wins that fight

 

Well, Johnny Miller beat phil in arm wrestling.

 

And Phil said he knows kung fu.

 

But somehow I dont think Phil could beat a fly...with no wings ; )

are you serious? What year did they arm wrestle? If recent, I'd really think Phil would win, but 20 years ago I could see Johnny winning

 

Johnny Miller did a lot of ranch work in his day. Not surprised

 

I know there are great stories of him hitting 2 irons 200 yards with just his left arm when they were filming Tin Cup

 

Easy, now. You can't say anything good about JM on this forum.

[Puppetmaster]

This was good:

[Shallowface]

Shallowface -

 

 

lol -

 

It's So easy to say " play better". Sure. But it's about the vehicle or mindset that allows for the better play. The dictatorship of Watson didn't allow that. Obviously according to the results. Watson being the supreme leader , didn't put the ingredients together for better play. You can't say " my way or the highway " and the after he fact blame the players and say " play better " ( which he did ). If you want to be the end all be all be ready for the heat when it fails.

 

Nothing Watson did or didn't do caused errant shots or missed putts.

If someone is standing over a shot and thinking about who he didn't get to eat with or play ping pong with, that's a problem.

But, in the age of touchy feely in which we live, failure has to blame something other than itself.

Regardless, it's all good.

When it comes to this sort of topic, and nearly everyone disagrees with me, I take it as validation.

LOL

[Ferguson]

Time out. Time out. The split is mutual? Oh my goodness no. This is 100% about money. Look at the disparity below - peanuts! Clearly, Jen has had enough of Phil, Amy and the gang. She is doing the right thing by advising Bones to move on - let's call it, "creating distance" from the Mickelson element and her family. She is doing this to prevent problems in her family.

 

 

Jim's net worth is 2M.

Phil's net worth 375M

 

 

Bones will be on the bag for someone - it's in his blood, and I assure you he will be making more money.

[jslane57]

Maybe Phil just wants his brother on the bag. It works for DJ...