Kuchar/El Tucan caddie controversy (NO POLITICS)

[fore]

http://www.espn.com/...-pay-full-50000

 

Im glad that he did the right thing cuz after my Tour Bud spoke of him, and he's in his late 40's, he said that he's one of the good guys on Tour and he said that he would bet he's make it right.

 

All's well that ends well��

 

Cheers��

RP

 

Richard, I think you know that I have a lot of respect for you. But, I couldn't agree less. IMO, Kuch was better off keeping his money and taking the hit. At this point, he's lost so much face, that admitting wrong only reinforces how wrong he actually was. Perhaps just a misstep, but I really hope it's a wake up call for Matt. There are bigger underlying issues when you behave this way.

 

Never too late to do the right thing. Keeping that amount of money would make absolutely no difference to MK. He's got more money than he and his offspring can spend in several lifetimes. Seems sometimes the very wealthy are out of touch.

 

But from a PR standpoint, he had to pay the man.

[cubuffs]

http://www.espn.com/...-pay-full-50000

 

Im glad that he did the right thing cuz after my Tour Bud spoke of him, and he's in his late 40's, he said that he's one of the good guys on Tour and he said that he would bet he's make it right.

 

All's well that ends well��

 

Cheers��

RP

 

I am sure next weeks stop for the WGC in Mexico, after making the unforgivable “$5K for the week for someone who makes $200 a day is good” comment definitely accelerated the need to resolve this from a PR standpoint.

 

Richard, I think you know that I have a lot of respect for you. But, I couldn't agree less. IMO, Kuch was better off keeping his money and taking the hit. At this point, he's lost so much face, that admitting wrong only reinforces how wrong he actually was. Perhaps just a misstep, but I really hope it's a wake up call for Matt. There are bigger underlying issues when you behave this way.

 

Never too late to do the right thing. Keeping that amount of money would make absolutely no difference to MK. He's got more money than he and his offspring can spend in several lifetimes. Seems sometimes the very wealthy are out of touch.

 

But from a PR standpoint, he had to pay the man.

[TIM929]

Kuch: hey, ice cream boy... here, catch!

 

Ice cream boy(but now he’s an adult ): ahhh thanks, I love Haagen Daz!

 

Kuch looks at his PR rep: what the heck man, didn’t I say the cheapest one?

[GolfingLefty18]

2 Things

 

1. It took him this long to make it right?

 

2. What’s his current caddie think of him now?

[sdandrea]

Maybe this will go away now.

[Skuller]

I really don't know how to feel here. Did the caddie do more than a normal caddie day? Does he get 5k for 4 days of work normally? Did kucher break their agreement? I don't like paying "extra" for s*** myself. Just seems like sour grapes to me. Sure it would have been nice for Matt to cough up a little more dough but if the caddie got slated to haul around last places bag he would have done the same job. If you are worth more, than negotiate ahead of time.

[Dill Pickleson]

Glad it worked out for Mr. Ortiz, that money will probably go a long way for him.

[OfficeNerd]

His decision to pay the full $50K is to little, and to late. The PR damage is done. I agree with others that he should not be heckled for it, however he lost me as follower/fan.

[bulls9999]

Kooch isn't just paying El Tucan $45,000 additional, he was also contributing $$ to the tournament for 'philanthropic causes'. So it cost him even that much more and still the beneficiary of the negative backlash....talk about a losing hand.

 

"After signing for a 3-under 68 in the opening round, Kuchar released a statement through the PGA Tour detailing his plan to pay Ortiz the “full total” requested, meaning an additional $45,000, as well as make an undisclosed donation to the Mayakoba tournament to support local “philanthropic causes” in the area."

 

His decision to pay the full $50K is to little, and to late. The PR damage is done. I agree with others that he should not be heckled for it, however he lost me as follower/fan.

[Holy Moses]

I think Mark Steinberg added fuel to this mess. As an agent, he should have predicted the negative impact of this scandal.

A good PR should have been be his first priority but he allegedly told the sub caddy “ I am out of the country. What Matt has offered is fair.” That’s not a winning move at all.

Credit to Mr. Gillis for bringing this topic up

 

Give Steiny a break, it’s not like he’s come out with bad PR for a player at the beginning of a “scandal.” Oh, wait...

[Holy Moses]

2 Things

 

1. It took him this long to make it right?

 

2. What’s his current caddie think of him now?

 

Wood said that Kuchar made a mistake but shouldn’t be crucified for one mistake when he’s a good dude overall

[Dill Pickleson]

2 Things

 

1. It took him this long to make it right?

 

2. What's his current caddie think of him now?

 

If I were his caddie I'd be saying to myself "Jeez, the one week I'm not there he wins?" That can't feel too good.

[nikegal]

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/26005383/matt-kuchar-apologize-caddie-pay-full-50000

 

Im glad that he did the right thing cuz after my Tour Bud spoke of him, and he’s in his late 40’s, he said that he’s one of the good guys on Tour and he said that he would bet he’s make it right.

 

All’s well that ends well?

 

Cheers?

RP

hahaha, Richard had my tablet because he could not find his phone and he doesn’t remember his PW so he can’t sign on or off on other devices, haha. Though I don’t know Matt Kuchar, he sounds a lot like Sam. Sam was very very tight fisted or had “alligator arms,” when it came to tipping. His bff in tour, Lloyd Mangrum, used to apologize and leave the appropriate tips all of time, hahaha. Pete said that it was just Sam’s upbringing and I saw Pete & Richard do the same thing as Lloyd when out with Sam, haha. But I also saw Sam write out a check up at Richard’s club to send a caddie’s son to an academic camp being held at a prestigious private school in the area that he more than had the intellect for(he finished ranked 3rd out of twenty some students) but not the finances. Matt Kuchar sounds like a similar type of guy and the fact that he and Sam had different upbringings doesn’t matter. I know Richard’s bud and agree with Richard here, if he says that Matt’s a good guy, he’s a good guy. Take care guys :) M

[Nessism]

Cliffnotes summary;)

 

-Kuchar and El Tucan had a verbal contract on the amount to be paid.

 

-Contract was slanted towards Kuchar in the event of a high finish but El Tucan agreed regardless.

 

-After the fact El Tucan bellyached in public about about the low pay (which he agreed to.)

 

-Public sentiment sided with the caddie and Kuchar's reputation took a huge hit.

 

Did Kuchar deserve all the bashing? In my opinion yes. The verbal contract he made was unfair from the start and he should have realized the backlash that ensued should the terms of the contract come to light.

Does El Tucan deserve some of the blame for the incident. I believe so. Why did he agree upfront and then change his mind on the back side? That's BS to me. Anyway, I'm glad the caddie got a fair settlement and I for one think Kuchar is a DB for pinching the Mexican from the start.

[jqsmooth]

I wonder what his normal caddie thinks of all this. I wonder if and what he told his boss about the situation.

[stickfish]

Maybe this encapsulates the situation for some on the forum:

 

So you find yourself on a glorious Saturday morning not on the first tee but by playing Hoke for your wife as you once again managed to forget some significant day that typically is commemorated by the practically all the general married public. When she announces that for your penance you will be doing the driving as she navigates to the day's garage sales you start to wonder that at times a root canal isn't all that bad. After about the 3rd or 10th stop you remain in the car surfing the latest posts on a specific golf forum rather than attempting to fake showing any interest at all at what truly looks like all the same items for sale house after house.

 

Somewhere in this journey you glance out the window of yet another sale stop in a neighborhood you've never seen when you spy an ancient golf bag on a pull cart back in the actual garage and think, what the heck might as well stretch my legs. As you walk up you notice a elderly lady seated behind a table with a small money box on the waltz to the back of the garage. As you get closer you observe the irons are a really old set of Northwesterns that have like zero appeal to you but you perform due diligence when you decide to pull the old hand knotted head covers off the woods to reveal and even older beat up set of First Flight laminated woods just beat to crap. You are about to walk away when you see the putter topped by a well worn knitted cover with the pom-pom badly discolored and figure this is just about right for the set and pull the cover off anyway.

What lies underneath is a putter that is often posted as fake and you are one of the in-house experts that points out the many problems with the posted image and shares what the correct model should look like - not that you own it but you have a library of saved images regardless.

 

The problem right now is that the sole plate looks 100% correct and you find yourself having trouble breathing all the sudden. After what seems like several minutes but is much closer to 5 seconds you try to casually turn around and see anyone else is heading towards the clubs before you pull the putter completely out and discover you are alone. As you oh so slowly pull the club out you are looking for all the signs of an imposter and find none all the way the way through the end of the grip. You are having more than a bit of trouble coming to grips with what you are holding in that old garage. It just doesn't add up. You look again at every detail and not only are you convinced it's authentic it looks like it has never seen the course.

 

What you do next is put the putter back oh so gently and slide the cover back on and approach the woman at the table and ask if the clubs are part of the sale. She replies that she didn't even think about moving them to the drive way as they belonged to her late husband and really didn't know much about the game. When asked if she knew anything particular about a very specific club she responded her husband had purchased it when he retired as his own present but never took it with him when he played as he had some different club he used but always liked the idea of having this putter back safe at home. When you inquire if she might consider selling any of the clubs she looks back with a pause, wondering why anyone would see value in the bag in the back of their garage when she is having people trying to lower the price of a family memory already marked sadly so low. She says sure, what are they worth?

 

You know the answer. One of the clubs is worth more than your entire bag and back-up back combined. One of the clubs would yield a quick end to your marriage if you took the cash out of savings to purchase. One of the clubs would bring more cash as a sale than all your trades past, present and future combined. One of the clubs would set the new record for views on a particular golf forum and that club could be yours in just a matter of minutes. But for how much?

 

(A) Do you want to offer her $10 but think that might appear cheap and decide on $20 after all you don't want her to question anything?

(B) Do you think a hundo is proper as it is more money than she has brought in today and you feel generous?

© Do you tell her that you can't possibly afford what the club is worth but you are aware of a certain internet forums and can sell the club quite quickly and would be happy to split the staggering return?

 

You decide on (B) because deep down you are a decent guy and don't want to take advantage of her ignorance and slip ole Ben out of his special spot in your wallet and hand it over to her not wanting to make eye contact. When you do look back at her she has a most puzzled look on her face and you are certain you just made a bad choice when she breaks out the biggest smile you have ever seen on a silver haired lady. She puts the $100 not in her box but in some unseen pocket in her apron and gives you a hug as you walk away with the club and its tattered old knitted cover. All is well with the world.

 

You want to post about your score immediately but your wife still insists you drive so you suck it up till you make it back home and race to your laptop with your latest iPhone in hand ready to take in-hand pictures and remove the old cover with trembling fingers thinking about the pride and almost certain status you are about to achieve with the post. You lay the putter on your desk phone in hand and try to focus in on the incredible fine detail on the sole plate through your phone when something looks . . . well a bit off. You set your phone down and pick the putter up and take yet another look and almost fall over as Cameron has now magically transformed to Cameroon in the exact same font as all the saved images on your laptop. Congratulations are in order as you just purchased a fake named for a country you only know from the Summer Olympics. Once the fog lifts you are determined to race over to the house of the old lady and demand your money back.

 

But think about that for a moment Ace - you are the party that set the 'supposed' value and that value was defined only by you and your greed and the consequences of same are yours and yours alone. The other person had a choice to accept, deny or counter and they accepted. Their decision is not the one that defines you, yours is.

[Danny Choo]

Where is the forgiveness? We all at sometime in our life have made poor decisions. Matt was apologetic, he will pay up, let this man live his life. Matt Kuchar got the point, I believe he would thread likely and think twice about not doing the right thing. This sets the precedent going forward for all tour players. If you use a sub, the expectation will be to pay up if you win. Matt Kuchar's image maybe a little damaged but not to the point where it cannot be repaired.

[Komarms]

Where is the forgiveness? We all at sometime in our life have made poor decisions. Matt was apologetic, he will pay up, let this man live his life. Matt Kuchar got the point, I believe he would thread likely and think twice about not doing the right thing. This sets the precedent going forward for all tour players. If you use a sub, the expectation will be to pay up if you win. Matt Kuchar's image maybe a little damaged but not to the point where it cannot be repaired.

 

I honestly think it all could have totally been smoothed over if he made these comments on Thursday instead of Friday. The comments on Thursday made everything sooo much worse. He had an opportunity to right the wrongs on Thursday but instead made some comments that made him look not so good.. the apologies on Friday were merely damage control for the whole situation.

[Holy Moses]

I wonder what his normal caddie thinks of all this. I wonder if and what he told his boss about the situation.

 

Wood said he made one mistake but shouldn't be crucified like this for it

[Holy Moses]

Where is the forgiveness? We all at sometime in our life have made poor decisions. Matt was apologetic, he will pay up, let this man live his life. Matt Kuchar got the point, I believe he would thread likely and think twice about not doing the right thing. This sets the precedent going forward for all tour players. If you use a sub, the expectation will be to pay up if you win. Matt Kuchar's image maybe a little damaged but not to the point where it cannot be repaired.

 

You are right. I'm one of those that thought Matt was in the wrong before. He had made it right the fans and the media should stop their criticism of him.

[spbrooks]

Maybe this will go away now.

Unfortunately it will always be there for Kuch

[ea19]

I think this will really haunt Kuchar for quite a while. There are people who have been exposed to this that do not know a thing about golf or sports. This topic has snowballed and definitely crossed from golf story, to sports story to news story to the masses. We here at Golfwrx are one thing - and get the nuance of the situation, we know the various personalities. But he looks bad to the general public, average people now not just golf fans and not just sports fans. He is on the first page of CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc.

 

My opinion is he brought this on himself based on his actions and then comments. But I think he will live with regret over this occurrence and I don't wish that on anyone.

[Skuller]

Maybe this encapsulates the situation for some on the forum:

 

So you find yourself on a glorious Saturday morning not on the first tee but by playing Hoke for your wife as you once again managed to forget some significant day that typically is commemorated by the practically all the general married public. When she announces that for your penance you will be doing the driving as she navigates to the day's garage sales you start to wonder that at times a root canal isn't all that bad. After about the 3rd or 10th stop you remain in the car surfing the latest posts on a specific golf forum rather than attempting to fake showing any interest at all at what truly looks like all the same items for sale house after house.

 

Somewhere in this journey you glance out the window of yet another sale stop in a neighborhood you've never seen when you spy an ancient golf bag on a pull cart back in the actual garage and think, what the heck might as well stretch my legs. As you walk up you notice a elderly lady seated behind a table with a small money box on the waltz to the back of the garage. As you get closer you observe the irons are a really old set of Northwesterns that have like zero appeal to you but you perform due diligence when you decide to pull the old hand knotted head covers off the woods to reveal and even older beat up set of First Flight laminated woods just beat to crap. You are about to walk away when you see the putter topped by a well worn knitted cover with the pom-pom badly discolored and figure this is just about right for the set and pull the cover off anyway.

What lies underneath is a putter that is often posted as fake and you are one of the in-house experts that points out the many problems with the posted image and shares what the correct model should look like - not that you own it but you have a library of saved images regardless.

 

The problem right now is that the sole plate looks 100% correct and you find yourself having trouble breathing all the sudden. After what seems like several minutes but is much closer to 5 seconds you try to casually turn around and see anyone else is heading towards the clubs before you pull the putter completely out and discover you are alone. As you oh so slowly pull the club out you are looking for all the signs of an imposter and find none all the way the way through the end of the grip. You are having more than a bit of trouble coming to grips with what you are holding in that old garage. It just doesn't add up. You look again at every detail and not only are you convinced it's authentic it looks like it has never seen the course.

 

What you do next is put the putter back oh so gently and slide the cover back on and approach the woman at the table and ask if the clubs are part of the sale. She replies that she didn't even think about moving them to the drive way as they belonged to her late husband and really didn't know much about the game. When asked if she knew anything particular about a very specific club she responded her husband had purchased it when he retired as his own present but never took it with him when he played as he had some different club he used but always liked the idea of having this putter back safe at home. When you inquire if she might consider selling any of the clubs she looks back with a pause, wondering why anyone would see value in the bag in the back of their garage when she is having people trying to lower the price of a family memory already marked sadly so low. She says sure, what are they worth?

 

You know the answer. One of the clubs is worth more than your entire bag and back-up back combined. One of the clubs would yield a quick end to your marriage if you took the cash out of savings to purchase. One of the clubs would bring more cash as a sale than all your trades past, present and future combined. One of the clubs would set the new record for views on a particular golf forum and that club could be yours in just a matter of minutes. But for how much?

 

(A) Do you want to offer her $10 but think that might appear cheap and decide on $20 after all you don't want her to question anything?

(B) Do you think a hundo is proper as it is more money than she has brought in today and you feel generous?

© Do you tell her that you can't possibly afford what the club is worth but you are aware of a certain internet forums and can sell the club quite quickly and would be happy to split the staggering return?

 

You decide on (B) because deep down you are a decent guy and don't want to take advantage of her ignorance and slip ole Ben out of his special spot in your wallet and hand it over to her not wanting to make eye contact. When you do look back at her she has a most puzzled look on her face and you are certain you just made a bad choice when she breaks out the biggest smile you have ever seen on a silver haired lady. She puts the $100 not in her box but in some unseen pocket in her apron and gives you a hug as you walk away with the club and its tattered old knitted cover. All is well with the world.

 

You want to post about your score immediately but your wife still insists you drive so you suck it up till you make it back home and race to your laptop with your latest iPhone in hand ready to take in-hand pictures and remove the old cover with trembling fingers thinking about the pride and almost certain status you are about to achieve with the post. You lay the putter on your desk phone in hand and try to focus in on the incredible fine detail on the sole plate through your phone when something looks . . . well a bit off. You set your phone down and pick the putter up and take yet another look and almost fall over as Cameron has now magically transformed to Cameroon in the exact same font as all the saved images on your laptop. Congratulations are in order as you just purchased a fake named for a country you only know from the Summer Olympics. Once the fog lifts you are determined to race over to the house of the old lady and demand your money back.

 

But think about that for a moment Ace - you are the party that set the 'supposed' value and that value was defined only by you and your greed and the consequences of same are yours and yours alone. The other person had a choice to accept, deny or counter and they accepted. Their decision is not the one that defines you, yours is.

Wow...

[J13]

I think this will really haunt Kuchar for quite a while. There are people who have been exposed to this that do not know a thing about golf or sports. This topic has snowballed and definitely crossed from golf story, to sports story to news story to the masses. We here at Golfwrx are one thing - and get the nuance of the situation, we know the various personalities. But he looks bad to the general public, average people now not just golf fans and not just sports fans. He is on the first page of CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc.

 

My opinion is he brought this on himself based on his actions and then comments. But I think he will live with regret over this occurrence and I don't wish that on anyone.

 

I agree. This was bigger than golf and it will certainly follow him for a long time. His comments made this so much worse. When the story came out he should have made this statement but instead he doubled down. So he didn't only make one mistake he made several. I feel for his family, as my wife would have killed me if i treated a human being like this.

[Forged4ever]

http://www.espn.com/...-pay-full-50000

 

Im glad that he did the right thing cuz after my Tour Bud spoke of him, and he's in his late 40's, he said that he's one of the good guys on Tour and he said that he would bet he's make it right.

 

All's well that ends well?

 

Cheers?

RP

 

Richard, I think you know that I have a lot of respect for you. But, I couldn't agree less. IMO, Kuch was better off keeping his money and taking the hit. At this point, he's lost so much face, that admitting wrong only reinforces how wrong he actually was. Perhaps just a misstep, but I really hope it's a wake up call for Matt. There are bigger underlying issues when you behave this way.

LMAO, Bro, the biggest “underlying issue” for me is that I lost my phone, I grabbed Maddie’s and as I’ve long forgotten my PW to get into my account on any other device, I just posted under hers but I DON’T EVEN REMEMBER POSTING THIS??!! NOTHING??!!

 

Bro, screw Kuch, I need an intervention, lol??

 

Back to Kuch, lol~

 

Look, I don’t know the guy, never met him and only have gone off of what my Bud has said about him and he’s known him since Kuchar hit the tour. He said that he’s a good “kind hearted” guy. Sure, it’s easy to say “well, what ‘kind hearted’ guy would stiff a caddie like that???”

 

It’s a legit question and the thinking that would lead someone to do what he did is so foreign to me, and though you know me as well as anyone on this board, you haven’t seen me in the real world but with those any service position, especially if they’re serving me, whether it be a waiter/waitress, bartender, locker room attendant or caddie, I’m generous to a fault, lol. I don’t give a s*** what anyone else may think, feel or tip themselves, this is me and I’m good with it.

 

I think that it’s a combination of my Grandmother, Mother & Pete’s influence, combined with owning bars and seeing first hand how hard they work, and I’m sure a lil “there but by the grace of God go I” plays into it as well.

 

My point in stating this is that I have zero tolerance for those that treat a service individual with any less etiquette or kindness than

They would you or I, and even less if they don’t compensate them fairly. It doesn’t have to be the amount that I would give, as most would not be and that is fine, but for someone that can afford to play out of a private country club, to have alligator arms with a caddie is inexcusable, at least to me.

 

Now I’m lookin at one of the Tour’s “golden boys???”

 

Nice guy Kuch?

 

Always a smile and hello, an autograph and slap on the back~

 

And then he stiffs a guy like he did?

 

Believe me Bro, before I talked to my Bud, I thought that he was a piece of .........

 

However, my Bud pointed out that one, Playing with, talking with and knowing Kuchar, he said that he one of the tour’s “good guys(there are some that he doesn’t think this of that would surprise ya, lol),” and that he was as “stunned” as anybody when he read about it and that 90% of the guys he talked to agreed with him. Ironically, one of the guys that he said is a jerk-off was defending the amount that Kuchar gave and my Bud told him in the locker room that if he felt that way to make a public statement in defense of Kuchar and he shot him a look and STFU, lolol.

 

While I do believe that Kuchar too should have STFU, there is no way that I think that Kuchar should have not come forward with at least $50,000 for this caddie, because one, the guy earned AT LEAST that much(I’d have given him 10% of my winnings but I realize that that is not the bar and that’s fine) and secondly, by giving him that money, well, it’s not a “game changer,” it’s a “life changer” for the guy.

 

As far as “losing face,” to me that means absolutely nothing when we’re talking about doing the “right thing,” and I will never pile on a man for admitting that he is wrong, apologizing for his wrong and righting his wrong.

 

It’s my understanding that he also is making a charitable donation to one of their charities down there which is more than would have happened had he paid the caddie $50-60k originally, so more good will come of this and it will positively impact more than just the caddie and his family.

 

Some will accept his apology and some will not, that’s life

 

But at the end of the day, he, like you or I, has to look in that mirror and be able to love the guy looking back at him. I think initially that was damn hard, especially after he got shellacked in the public arena, however now, I believe that he will be fine.

 

I’m just willing to give him the benefit of the doubt cuz my Bud’s thoughts, opinions and belief mirror mine, so when he says that “Matt Kuchar is one of the Tour’s good guys,” I believe him.

 

I understand your view though and many share that view and that’s fine too.

 

The only thing that really ever matters to me is that the right thing gets done.

 

I don’t necessarily care when, how or why~

 

Just get it done!

 

Kuch did

 

Stay well Brother?

RP

[SwooshLT]

Maybe this encapsulates the situation for some on the forum:

 

So you find yourself on a glorious Saturday morning not on the first tee but by playing Hoke for your wife as you once again managed to forget some significant day that typically is commemorated by the practically all the general married public. When she announces that for your penance you will be doing the driving as she navigates to the day's garage sales you start to wonder that at times a root canal isn't all that bad. After about the 3rd or 10th stop you remain in the car surfing the latest posts on a specific golf forum rather than attempting to fake showing any interest at all at what truly looks like all the same items for sale house after house.

 

Somewhere in this journey you glance out the window of yet another sale stop in a neighborhood you've never seen when you spy an ancient golf bag on a pull cart back in the actual garage and think, what the heck might as well stretch my legs. As you walk up you notice a elderly lady seated behind a table with a small money box on the waltz to the back of the garage. As you get closer you observe the irons are a really old set of Northwesterns that have like zero appeal to you but you perform due diligence when you decide to pull the old hand knotted head covers off the woods to reveal and even older beat up set of First Flight laminated woods just beat to crap. You are about to walk away when you see the putter topped by a well worn knitted cover with the pom-pom badly discolored and figure this is just about right for the set and pull the cover off anyway.

What lies underneath is a putter that is often posted as fake and you are one of the in-house experts that points out the many problems with the posted image and shares what the correct model should look like - not that you own it but you have a library of saved images regardless.

 

The problem right now is that the sole plate looks 100% correct and you find yourself having trouble breathing all the sudden. After what seems like several minutes but is much closer to 5 seconds you try to casually turn around and see anyone else is heading towards the clubs before you pull the putter completely out and discover you are alone. As you oh so slowly pull the club out you are looking for all the signs of an imposter and find none all the way the way through the end of the grip. You are having more than a bit of trouble coming to grips with what you are holding in that old garage. It just doesn't add up. You look again at every detail and not only are you convinced it's authentic it looks like it has never seen the course.

 

What you do next is put the putter back oh so gently and slide the cover back on and approach the woman at the table and ask if the clubs are part of the sale. She replies that she didn't even think about moving them to the drive way as they belonged to her late husband and really didn't know much about the game. When asked if she knew anything particular about a very specific club she responded her husband had purchased it when he retired as his own present but never took it with him when he played as he had some different club he used but always liked the idea of having this putter back safe at home. When you inquire if she might consider selling any of the clubs she looks back with a pause, wondering why anyone would see value in the bag in the back of their garage when she is having people trying to lower the price of a family memory already marked sadly so low. She says sure, what are they worth?

 

You know the answer. One of the clubs is worth more than your entire bag and back-up back combined. One of the clubs would yield a quick end to your marriage if you took the cash out of savings to purchase. One of the clubs would bring more cash as a sale than all your trades past, present and future combined. One of the clubs would set the new record for views on a particular golf forum and that club could be yours in just a matter of minutes. But for how much?

 

(A) Do you want to offer her $10 but think that might appear cheap and decide on $20 after all you don't want her to question anything?

(B) Do you think a hundo is proper as it is more money than she has brought in today and you feel generous?

© Do you tell her that you can't possibly afford what the club is worth but you are aware of a certain internet forums and can sell the club quite quickly and would be happy to split the staggering return?

 

You decide on (B) because deep down you are a decent guy and don't want to take advantage of her ignorance and slip ole Ben out of his special spot in your wallet and hand it over to her not wanting to make eye contact. When you do look back at her she has a most puzzled look on her face and you are certain you just made a bad choice when she breaks out the biggest smile you have ever seen on a silver haired lady. She puts the $100 not in her box but in some unseen pocket in her apron and gives you a hug as you walk away with the club and its tattered old knitted cover. All is well with the world.

 

You want to post about your score immediately but your wife still insists you drive so you suck it up till you make it back home and race to your laptop with your latest iPhone in hand ready to take in-hand pictures and remove the old cover with trembling fingers thinking about the pride and almost certain status you are about to achieve with the post. You lay the putter on your desk phone in hand and try to focus in on the incredible fine detail on the sole plate through your phone when something looks . . . well a bit off. You set your phone down and pick the putter up and take yet another look and almost fall over as Cameron has now magically transformed to Cameroon in the exact same font as all the saved images on your laptop. Congratulations are in order as you just purchased a fake named for a country you only know from the Summer Olympics. Once the fog lifts you are determined to race over to the house of the old lady and demand your money back.

 

But think about that for a moment Ace - you are the party that set the 'supposed' value and that value was defined only by you and your greed and the consequences of same are yours and yours alone. The other person had a choice to accept, deny or counter and they accepted. Their decision is not the one that defines you, yours is.

Wow...

 

Write much? Lol.....semi creative

[dap]

I really don't know how to feel here. Did the caddie do more than a normal caddie day? Does he get 5k for 4 days of work normally? Did kucher break their agreement? I don't like paying "extra" for s*** myself. Just seems like sour grapes to me. Sure it would have been nice for Matt to cough up a little more dough but if the caddie got slated to haul around last places bag he would have done the same job. If you are worth more, than negotiate ahead of time.

Someone who was there said Kuchar gave credit to his caddie at the awards speech for helping him read the greens. Kuch made more birdies than anyone in the field. If this is true then definitely he wasn't just carrying the bag and actually provided invaluable local knowledge. Fifty grand was the least he should have paid him.

 

This will definitely stain Kuchar's reputation permanently. It's not a crime being cheap but high level sports people need a squeaky clean PR image. He should have known that.

[Maton12]

"That is not who I am and not what I want to represent ... "

 

Kuchar had months to fix it, and didn't. He even had the chance a few days ago and still belittled Ortiz

 

Probably best to let your actions show what you represent, and with all the support around Kuchar, really strange that nobody stood up and told him right from wrong

[jmvargas]

I really hope Matt Kuchar has learned a valuable lesson from all this...including all golfers who use a caddy..

[Skuller]

Maybe this encapsulates the situation for some on the forum:

 

So you find yourself on a glorious Saturday morning not on the first tee but by playing Hoke for your wife as you once again managed to forget some significant day that typically is commemorated by the practically all the general married public. When she announces that for your penance you will be doing the driving as she navigates to the day's garage sales you start to wonder that at times a root canal isn't all that bad. After about the 3rd or 10th stop you remain in the car surfing the latest posts on a specific golf forum rather than attempting to fake showing any interest at all at what truly looks like all the same items for sale house after house.

 

Somewhere in this journey you glance out the window of yet another sale stop in a neighborhood you've never seen when you spy an ancient golf bag on a pull cart back in the actual garage and think, what the heck might as well stretch my legs. As you walk up you notice a elderly lady seated behind a table with a small money box on the waltz to the back of the garage. As you get closer you observe the irons are a really old set of Northwesterns that have like zero appeal to you but you perform due diligence when you decide to pull the old hand knotted head covers off the woods to reveal and even older beat up set of First Flight laminated woods just beat to crap. You are about to walk away when you see the putter topped by a well worn knitted cover with the pom-pom badly discolored and figure this is just about right for the set and pull the cover off anyway.

What lies underneath is a putter that is often posted as fake and you are one of the in-house experts that points out the many problems with the posted image and shares what the correct model should look like - not that you own it but you have a library of saved images regardless.

 

The problem right now is that the sole plate looks 100% correct and you find yourself having trouble breathing all the sudden. After what seems like several minutes but is much closer to 5 seconds you try to casually turn around and see anyone else is heading towards the clubs before you pull the putter completely out and discover you are alone. As you oh so slowly pull the club out you are looking for all the signs of an imposter and find none all the way the way through the end of the grip. You are having more than a bit of trouble coming to grips with what you are holding in that old garage. It just doesn't add up. You look again at every detail and not only are you convinced it's authentic it looks like it has never seen the course.

 

What you do next is put the putter back oh so gently and slide the cover back on and approach the woman at the table and ask if the clubs are part of the sale. She replies that she didn't even think about moving them to the drive way as they belonged to her late husband and really didn't know much about the game. When asked if she knew anything particular about a very specific club she responded her husband had purchased it when he retired as his own present but never took it with him when he played as he had some different club he used but always liked the idea of having this putter back safe at home. When you inquire if she might consider selling any of the clubs she looks back with a pause, wondering why anyone would see value in the bag in the back of their garage when she is having people trying to lower the price of a family memory already marked sadly so low. She says sure, what are they worth?

 

You know the answer. One of the clubs is worth more than your entire bag and back-up back combined. One of the clubs would yield a quick end to your marriage if you took the cash out of savings to purchase. One of the clubs would bring more cash as a sale than all your trades past, present and future combined. One of the clubs would set the new record for views on a particular golf forum and that club could be yours in just a matter of minutes. But for how much?

 

(A) Do you want to offer her $10 but think that might appear cheap and decide on $20 after all you don't want her to question anything?

(B) Do you think a hundo is proper as it is more money than she has brought in today and you feel generous?

© Do you tell her that you can't possibly afford what the club is worth but you are aware of a certain internet forums and can sell the club quite quickly and would be happy to split the staggering return?

 

You decide on (B) because deep down you are a decent guy and don't want to take advantage of her ignorance and slip ole Ben out of his special spot in your wallet and hand it over to her not wanting to make eye contact. When you do look back at her she has a most puzzled look on her face and you are certain you just made a bad choice when she breaks out the biggest smile you have ever seen on a silver haired lady. She puts the $100 not in her box but in some unseen pocket in her apron and gives you a hug as you walk away with the club and its tattered old knitted cover. All is well with the world.

 

You want to post about your score immediately but your wife still insists you drive so you suck it up till you make it back home and race to your laptop with your latest iPhone in hand ready to take in-hand pictures and remove the old cover with trembling fingers thinking about the pride and almost certain status you are about to achieve with the post. You lay the putter on your desk phone in hand and try to focus in on the incredible fine detail on the sole plate through your phone when something looks . . . well a bit off. You set your phone down and pick the putter up and take yet another look and almost fall over as Cameron has now magically transformed to Cameroon in the exact same font as all the saved images on your laptop. Congratulations are in order as you just purchased a fake named for a country you only know from the Summer Olympics. Once the fog lifts you are determined to race over to the house of the old lady and demand your money back.

 

But think about that for a moment Ace - you are the party that set the 'supposed' value and that value was defined only by you and your greed and the consequences of same are yours and yours alone. The other person had a choice to accept, deny or counter and they accepted. Their decision is not the one that defines you, yours is.

Wow...

 

Write much? Lol.....semi creative

I don't what you mean but I guess it is why I suck at forums. I don't want to read anyone's long assed bs and don't want to respond with any of my long assed bs either. I'm too lazy to"type argue".