Zach Johnson splits with caddie

[shoot4par]

You're assuming the quality of his play dropping is over equipment. I think it has more to do with the quality of players coming up and his age. In the last 6 years you've seen maturation of Thomas, koepka, dj, spieth, Rory, Dechambeau. We've seen the return of Tiger. You can't cheat Father Time. Yips, flexibility, overall strength all wane.

[Caddykev]

You're assuming the quality of his play dropping is over equipment. I think it has more to do with the quality of players coming up and his age. In the last 6 years you've seen maturation of Thomas, koepka, dj, spieth, Rory, Dechambeau. We've seen the return of Tiger. You can't cheat Father Time. Yips, flexibility, overall strength all wane.

Exactly, very few guys hit a Vijay type run in their 40s. Way more of a factor than his equipment. From what I’ve read he’s got an analytical team, and I’m sure he’d be playing something else if he thought that was the problem.

[Holy Moses]

You're assuming the quality of his play dropping is over equipment. I think it has more to do with the quality of players coming up and his age. In the last 6 years you've seen maturation of Thomas, koepka, dj, spieth, Rory, Dechambeau. We've seen the return of Tiger. You can't cheat Father Time. Yips, flexibility, overall strength all wane.

 

His equipment seems to be part of the problem. His putting on average hasn't taken the hit that every other part of his game has (37th with PXG, 45th best putter on Tour last 5 years with Titleist). Zach is also longer than ever and has gained 3 MPH of clubhead speed the last three years. His overall strength is increasing in fact.

[shoot4par]

That goes both ways Driver might be hotter than a TS2 or 915/917. Haven't hit either PXG (friend said he didn't like it) or a TS2/3. That see-more has always been a rock in his game. I've always believed putting is consistency and confidence. Don't mind the WITB signature. I'm not saying he has the yips, rather it can be a product of age. FYI always been a big fan since he won at Augusta in '04 in the cold. Game is a similar style.

[Holy Moses]

That goes both ways Driver might be hotter than a TS2 or 915/917. Haven't hit either PXG (friend said he didn't like it) or a TS2/3. That see-more has always been a rock in his game. I've always believed putting is consistency and confidence. Don't mind the WITB signature. I'm not saying he has the yips, rather it can be a product of age. FYI always been a big fan since he won at Augusta in '04 in the cold. Game is a similar style.

 

His clubhead speed increased which is unrelated to how hot his driver head is (it's pretty well-known that PXG drivers aren't very hot) because Zach is a pretty fit guy

[IVM]

Caddie ain’t going to make any difference just wait and see .

[Holy Moses]

Caddie ain't going to make any difference just watch and see .

 

I'm trying to think of all the big-name caddies that lost their jobs over the last year or so: Day's, Stenson's, Mickelson's, Snedeker's, McIlroy's, Bradley's, and now Johnson's. No one is lighting the world on fire since the switch, but someone who is a different voice and a friend can help in a very mentally tough sport where it's just you and your caddie out there.

[shoot4par]

Like most relationships (in life) depending on the level of success and shelf life good things die. People change and in business if the relationships become unhealthy and jeopardize friendships.... then it's time to go.

[Hawkeye77]

The fact that his wife and others have come out to defend him is proof that others also thought Zach's dehydration comments insinuated some drinking. Zach prompted this by firing him now, and a reporter used Zach's words to create a narrative of dehydration as an issue over the years. You are correct, they did not all happen this year since Bethpage has not been played for a couple seasons.

 

I think you'd get tired of making things up - let's have a link to something his wife has said, anything, that would insinuate drinking. Getting a little pathetic.

[Hawkeye77]

Zach is an awesome player, hall of famer for sure. But, he's getting older, his distance will become more of an issue and frankly, the putts just haven't been dropping for him like they used to. Maybe he's trying to "jump start" something, lol, who knows and we may never know (but not really any of our business anyway). Looks like Damon has been enjoying the family in the off season like he always does, and will have more time for that this winter than usual. Great caddy and from all apparent information a great person, so pretty clear if his health is fine and he wants to caddy he won't have any trouble finding a bag. If not, and you see him at your club, don't play him for money!

[Darth Putter]

 

 

farewell old friend

[Caddykev]

The fact that his wife and others have come out to defend him is proof that others also thought Zach's dehydration comments insinuated some drinking. Zach prompted this by firing him now, and a reporter used Zach's words to create a narrative of dehydration as an issue over the years. You are correct, they did not all happen this year since Bethpage has not been played for a couple seasons.

 

I think you'd get tired of making things up - let's have a link to something his wife has said, anything, that would insinuate drinking. Getting a little pathetic.

I guess you missed a previous post on this thread where his Green’s wife responded to kip Henley’s defense of him on Twitter on page two by creedo.

[Hawkeye77]

The fact that his wife and others have come out to defend him is proof that others also thought Zach's dehydration comments insinuated some drinking. Zach prompted this by firing him now, and a reporter used Zach's words to create a narrative of dehydration as an issue over the years. You are correct, they did not all happen this year since Bethpage has not been played for a couple seasons.

 

I think you'd get tired of making things up - let's have a link to something his wife has said, anything, that would insinuate drinking. Getting a little pathetic.

I guess you missed a previous post on this thread where his Green's wife responded to kip Henley's defense of him on Twitter on page two by creedo.

 

No, that would be the opposite and her words could rightly be tossed at you as well. Caddying can be a noble endeavor, but folks like you that caddy a little bit and want to disparage the character of someone on a different level, spread some false gossip from your keyboard, just to look "in the know" is the antithesis of being a professional/ethical partner for any level of golfer.

[bscinstnct]

Im dehydrated.

[Darth Putter]

Im dehydrated.

 

try the blue milk

[Hawkeye77]

Im dehydrated.

 

They say that Tiger fans develop sympathetic over sweating! ;-)

[OldTomMorris]

^^ Does that include mid-round shirt changes??

[Hawkeye77]

^^ Does that include mid-round shirt changes??

 

And mid-dinner!

[Jordan Speeth]

I had a couple of encounters with Damon Green in Hawaii and I've got to say that he was one of the nicest guys I've met on Tour. I mean, most everybody out there are good guys but it gets pretty old answering stupid questions every minute. You expect them to either ignore you or blow you off with some trite answer. I asked Damon (wasn't perfect timing) a few years ago why Zach still had his Vokeys in the bag when everything else at the time was PXG. He literally spent a minute and a half explaining the issues in detail on one of the looong walks from green to tee at Kapalua. Not for a second did he seem impatient or annoyed. The entire time, he kept his eyes on Zach, who was walking ahead, making sure that he wasn't distracted from his work. The guy's a prince, and a very skilled caddie (and golfer). Zach may have a tough time replacing him.

 

edit- Maybe they'll give Damon a headset and a mic like Bones and see how he does with that. He's quite articulate and would be great at it.

[Caddykev]

The fact that his wife and others have come out to defend him is proof that others also thought Zach's dehydration comments insinuated some drinking. Zach prompted this by firing him now, and a reporter used Zach's words to create a narrative of dehydration as an issue over the years. You are correct, they did not all happen this year since Bethpage has not been played for a couple seasons.

 

I think you'd get tired of making things up - let's have a link to something his wife has said, anything, that would insinuate drinking. Getting a little pathetic.

I guess you missed a previous post on this thread where his Green's wife responded to kip Henley's defense of him on Twitter on page two by creedo.

 

No, that would be the opposite and her words could rightly be tossed at you as well. Caddying can be a noble endeavor, but folks like you that caddy a little bit and want to disparage the character of someone on a different level, spread some false gossip from your keyboard, just to look "in the know" is the antithesis of being a professional/ethical partner for any level of golfer.

Haha, spare me the noble endeavor nonsense. It’s only a summer gig anyways for me, and if you ever sat in a caddie yard at a high end club, noble isn’t the the description I’d give the boys, as much as I love some of them. I never once said he had a problem or was a bad caddie, just thought Zach’s wording, especially the “I’d like to say it’s the first time” part seemed a bit suspect. My first thoughts were that he was hungover, since it was Mexico. You don’t have to be an alcoholic to tie one on here and there, and he is an adult and allowed to if he wants. Maybe Zach was getting ready to make the switch anyways after 15 years and that was the final straw and he said it out of frustration. In the caddie yard, stay hydrated out there is always said to the hungover guys. Neither of us will ever know the real story since I doubt either will elaborate more on it than is already out there, which is their business anyways. I probably shouldn’t have jumped straight into caddie stereotype land, but after seeing his wife’s and kips post, who actually know him I’ll take their word about the booze. I’m sure others thought the same and possibly reached out to them based on the article prompting their defense. Either way as I’ve stated numerous times, a bag is there if he wants one.

[Matt J]

Weird thing to argue over. His wife blatantly said, "he's not a drinker" so it's clear Caddykev wasn't the only one that caught Zach's insinuation or misconstrued his words, how ever you want to look at it.

 

ZJ is a teetotaler, yes? Any drinking whatsoever could be looked upon as too much. Perhaps what he was trying to say was that he's going to look for a caddie who's values are more aligned with his own?

 

Regardless, I think he's grasping at straws. Chasing distance in the gym and with hot clubs is the antithesis of embracing that you're the short guy on Tour which is ZJ's niche IMHO. Keep laying up, ZJ. And get back to playing a club with some feedback. :)

[Smack Daddy]

 

Averaging $1.6 million in three years with PXG. The previous four years with Titleist Zach was averaging $4.07 million.

 

 

"What happens when you give top designers and engineers the freedom to innovate with an unlimited budget and zero time constraints" - Bob Parsons

[Holy Moses]

Weird thing to argue over. His wife blatantly said, "he's not a drinker" so it's clear Caddykev wasn't the only one that caught Zach's insinuation or misconstrued his words, how ever you want to look at it.

 

ZJ is a teetotaler, yes? Any drinking whatsoever could be looked upon as too much.

 

“Obviously we’ve had a couple of Cokes out of it, you know, that kind of thing. But we’ve had wine in there. We’ve had champagne in there. Obviously, some beer in there and that kind of stuff. My kids drank water out of it. They thought that was pretty cool … They drank out of it multiple times. We had a good time with it.”

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/zach-johnson-talks-about-all-the-stuff-hes-drank-out-of-the-british-open-trophy/amp

[Matt J]

Weird thing to argue over. His wife blatantly said, "he's not a drinker" so it's clear Caddykev wasn't the only one that caught Zach's insinuation or misconstrued his words, how ever you want to look at it.

 

ZJ is a teetotaler, yes? Any drinking whatsoever could be looked upon as too much.

 

"Obviously we've had a couple of Cokes out of it, you know, that kind of thing. But we've had wine in there. We've had champagne in there. Obviously, some beer in there and that kind of stuff. My kids drank water out of it. They thought that was pretty cool … They drank out of it multiple times. We had a good time with it."

 

https://www.google.c...open-trophy/amp

 

Corrected. Thanks.

 

He could still take issue with any sign of a hangover. You would think it would have surfaced earlier, though. Maybe he really means "dehydrated" not code for anything. Might even be doing him a favor if he feels carrying the bag is a burden on Damon's health. Truthfully, I could care less, don't know how I got into this discussion other than to say that I don't think interpreting "dehydrated" as hungover is out of the question and it was clearly on the Greens' minds when Damon's wife tweeted a denial.

[Holy Moses]

Weird thing to argue over. His wife blatantly said, "he's not a drinker" so it's clear Caddykev wasn't the only one that caught Zach's insinuation or misconstrued his words, how ever you want to look at it.

 

ZJ is a teetotaler, yes? Any drinking whatsoever could be looked upon as too much.

 

"Obviously we've had a couple of Cokes out of it, you know, that kind of thing. But we've had wine in there. We've had champagne in there. Obviously, some beer in there and that kind of stuff. My kids drank water out of it. They thought that was pretty cool … They drank out of it multiple times. We had a good time with it."

 

https://www.google.c...open-trophy/amp

 

Corrected. Thanks.

 

He could still take issue with any sign of a hangover. You would think it would have surfaced earlier, though. Maybe he really means "dehydrated" not code for anything. Might even be doing him a favor if he feels carrying the bag is a burden on Damon's health. Truthfully, I could care less, don't know how I got into this discussion other than to say that I don't think interpreting "dehydrated" as hungover is out of the question and it was clearly on the Greens' minds when Damon's wife tweeted a denial.

 

When a golfer is in a rut, they fire their caddie just to change things up and get a different voice or a friend on the course. At this point, that's all that looks like is going on.

[Hawkeye77]

Weird thing to argue over. His wife blatantly said, "he's not a drinker" so it's clear Caddykev wasn't the only one that caught Zach's insinuation or misconstrued his words, how ever you want to look at it.

 

ZJ is a teetotaler, yes? Any drinking whatsoever could be looked upon as too much.

 

"Obviously we've had a couple of Cokes out of it, you know, that kind of thing. But we've had wine in there. We've had champagne in there. Obviously, some beer in there and that kind of stuff. My kids drank water out of it. They thought that was pretty cool … They drank out of it multiple times. We had a good time with it."

 

https://www.google.c...open-trophy/amp

 

Corrected. Thanks.

 

He could still take issue with any sign of a hangover. You would think it would have surfaced earlier, though. Maybe he really means "dehydrated" not code for anything. Might even be doing him a favor if he feels carrying the bag is a burden on Damon's health. Truthfully, I could care less, don't know how I got into this discussion other than to say that I don't think interpreting "dehydrated" as hungover is out of the question and it was clearly on the Greens' minds when Damon's wife tweeted a denial.

 

As a repeated accusation along with other crap that you are defending Caddykev flat out made up or was wrong about it is uncalled for. Just putting spin on something you know nothing about. She was responding to something, that wasn't on her mind, lol. Anyway, if some other facts come out have at it, but to defend the silly taking after his character that one poster was doing on here probably not the best idea - note he's been backpedaling like crazy, probably a good idea.

[Hawkeye77]

I had a couple of encounters with Damon Green in Hawaii and I've got to say that he was one of the nicest guys I've met on Tour. I mean, most everybody out there are good guys but it gets pretty old answering stupid questions every minute. You expect them to either ignore you or blow you off with some trite answer. I asked Damon (wasn't perfect timing) a few years ago why Zach still had his Vokeys in the bag when everything else at the time was PXG. He literally spent a minute and a half explaining the issues in detail on one of the looong walks from green to tee at Kapalua. Not for a second did he seem impatient or annoyed. The entire time, he kept his eyes on Zach, who was walking ahead, making sure that he wasn't distracted from his work. The guy's a prince, and a very skilled caddie (and golfer). Zach may have a tough time replacing him.

 

edit- Maybe they'll give Damon a headset and a mic like Bones and see how he does with that. He's quite articulate and would be great at it.

 

Rare to have first person insight and thanks for posting your experience.

[Scotty1140]

 

“I have to remind myself that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.”

 

 

[tiderider]

maybe he was doing coke and having affairs with other caddies' wives ... like a group thing ... maybe the pxg founder's wife ...

 

if we're gonna speculate, let's get it out there, people ... year's almost up ... no need to hold back ... let's kick it up a notch ...

 

[Matt J]

Weird thing to argue over. His wife blatantly said, "he's not a drinker" so it's clear Caddykev wasn't the only one that caught Zach's insinuation or misconstrued his words, how ever you want to look at it.

 

ZJ is a teetotaler, yes? Any drinking whatsoever could be looked upon as too much.

 

"Obviously we've had a couple of Cokes out of it, you know, that kind of thing. But we've had wine in there. We've had champagne in there. Obviously, some beer in there and that kind of stuff. My kids drank water out of it. They thought that was pretty cool … They drank out of it multiple times. We had a good time with it."

 

https://www.google.c...open-trophy/amp

 

Corrected. Thanks.

 

He could still take issue with any sign of a hangover. You would think it would have surfaced earlier, though. Maybe he really means "dehydrated" not code for anything. Might even be doing him a favor if he feels carrying the bag is a burden on Damon's health. Truthfully, I could care less, don't know how I got into this discussion other than to say that I don't think interpreting "dehydrated" as hungover is out of the question and it was clearly on the Greens' minds when Damon's wife tweeted a denial.

 

As a repeated accusation along with other crap that you are defending Caddykev flat out made up or was wrong about it is uncalled for. Just putting spin on something you know nothing about. She was responding to something, that wasn't on her mind, lol. Anyway, if some other facts come out have at it, but to defend the silly taking after his character that one poster was doing on here probably not the best idea - note he's been backpedaling like crazy, probably a good idea.

 

She wasn't replying to CaddyKev, was she? So he wasn't alone. That was my point.

 

I think you're getting a little overly dramatic about it being a huge character assassination. Dude makes "public" money carrying a bag. What I mean by that is if he carries a bag for a couple hundred bones per day then his life remains private. But, when you make tour caddie coin folks are going to talk. Damon Green will be okay. Even if folks speculated about his drinking.

 

What's silly is trying to stand as some huge moral compass in a room full of anonymous beings. People basically invented chat rooms to speculate about $hit like whether a caddie was drinking too much. Is it gossip, sure. Is it less than a great way to behave? Probably. But, I don't know that it's worth falling on some huge metaphorical sword over. My $.02.