WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.290 --> 00:00:01.670 line:15% My name is Joe LaCava 2 00:00:01.670 --> 00:00:03.750 line:15% and I'm a PGA Tour Caddie. 3 00:00:03.750 --> 00:00:04.940 line:15% I started out with Ken Green, 4 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:07.622 line:15% who was also from Danbury, Connecticut in 1987. 5 00:00:07.622 --> 00:00:10.450 line:15% Then I had Fred Couples for 20 plus years, 6 00:00:10.450 --> 00:00:12.080 line:15% and now I'm with Tiger Woods. 7 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:13.823 line:15% Well, the tee times come out Tuesday afternoon, 8 00:00:13.823 --> 00:00:15.690 line:15% and then I normally get there two, 9 00:00:15.690 --> 00:00:17.910 line:15% to two and a half hours before our tee time. 10 00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:20.170 line:15% And Tiger, my most recent guy, 11 00:00:20.170 --> 00:00:22.270 line:15% he's usually an hour fifteen to an hour and a half 12 00:00:22.270 --> 00:00:23.930 line:15% before his tee time he gets there 13 00:00:23.930 --> 00:00:24.850 line:15% and he'll putt and chip 14 00:00:24.850 --> 00:00:26.480 line:15% and he'll hit balls on the range. 15 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:27.520 line:15% I'll grab a pin sheet, 16 00:00:27.520 --> 00:00:29.930 line:15% and that tells us where the pins are every day, 17 00:00:29.930 --> 00:00:31.450 line:15% and I'll go over that and I'll give that to him. 18 00:00:31.450 --> 00:00:33.160 line:15% We discuss certain holes where the pins are 19 00:00:33.160 --> 00:00:34.018 line:15% and stuff like that. 20 00:00:34.018 --> 00:00:36.470 line:15% We'll kind of get a little bit of a game plan for the day, 21 00:00:36.470 --> 00:00:37.760 line:15% but nothing crazy. 22 00:00:37.760 --> 00:00:39.310 line:15% Then we're both constantly 23 00:00:39.310 --> 00:00:41.160 line:15% on our Weather Underground app checking the winds. 24 00:00:41.160 --> 00:00:42.670 line:15% We wanna know which holes gonna be 25 00:00:42.670 --> 00:00:44.640 line:15% in the wind, downwind, crosswind. 26 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.210 line:15% Like I said, we have a little bit of a game plan, 27 00:00:46.210 --> 00:00:47.390 line:15% but you're always gonna adjust 28 00:00:47.390 --> 00:00:48.223 line:15% because the wind will change, 29 00:00:48.223 --> 00:00:49.760 line:15% conditions will change, and stuff like that. 30 00:00:49.760 --> 00:00:51.490 line:15% But, you do discuss a little bit 31 00:00:51.490 --> 00:00:53.240 line:15% of the round before you go out. 32 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:54.889 line:15% Once it finally comes to game time, 33 00:00:54.889 --> 00:00:57.010 line:15% my normal routine is I get the number. 34 00:00:57.010 --> 00:00:57.843 line:15% What I call the number, 35 00:00:57.843 --> 00:00:58.800 line:15% I get the yards to the holes. 36 00:00:58.800 --> 00:00:59.909 line:15% So, he hits his tee ball, 37 00:00:59.909 --> 00:01:01.590 line:15% and then he'll get out there. 38 00:01:01.590 --> 00:01:06.110 line:15% Then I have the benefit of getting the number first, 39 00:01:06.110 --> 00:01:07.370 line:15% because I have it before he has it. 40 00:01:07.370 --> 00:01:08.960 line:15% Then I give him all the information. 41 00:01:08.960 --> 00:01:09.793 line:15% So, I'll say, 42 00:01:09.793 --> 00:01:11.065 line:15% "You've got 174 yards to the flag, 43 00:01:11.065 --> 00:01:14.140 line:15% you got 168 to carry the bunker, 44 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:16.140 line:15% the flag is six paces over the bunker. 45 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:17.030 line:15% So, I have all that information, 46 00:01:17.030 --> 00:01:18.682 line:15% I know where the wind is most of the time. 47 00:01:18.682 --> 00:01:21.290 line:15% I'm already in my head, knowing what I think he's gonna hit, 48 00:01:21.290 --> 00:01:22.123 line:15% or he should hit. 49 00:01:22.123 --> 00:01:24.720 line:15% Once I give him the information a couple things will happen. 50 00:01:24.720 --> 00:01:26.620 line:15% He says, "What do you like?" 51 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:27.670 line:15% That's when I'll say, "Seven iron." 52 00:01:27.670 --> 00:01:29.080 line:15% Or he'll say, "What are you thinking? " 53 00:01:29.080 --> 00:01:30.690 line:15% Or he'll say, "Do you like seven?" 54 00:01:30.690 --> 00:01:31.830 line:15% And if I'm already thinking seven, 55 00:01:31.830 --> 00:01:33.090 line:15% then of course I'll say the same thing. 56 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:34.730 line:15% If I'm thinking six or eight, 57 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:36.230 line:15% then we discuss why and then we gotta come 58 00:01:36.230 --> 00:01:37.620 line:15% to a conclusion on which club to hit. 59 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:40.551 line:15% That's my routine from day to day on the golf course. 60 00:01:40.551 --> 00:01:41.780 line:15% When I get out there, 61 00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:44.210 line:15% and there's a bunker that's 290 yards to it, 62 00:01:44.210 --> 00:01:45.270 line:15% and it's blowing into the wind, 63 00:01:45.270 --> 00:01:46.787 line:15% he may ask me, "Can I get to that bunker, 64 00:01:46.787 --> 00:01:48.250 line:15% "can I reach the bunker?" 65 00:01:48.250 --> 00:01:50.136 line:15% And I gotta know if he can reach the bunker or not. 66 00:01:50.136 --> 00:01:52.530 line:15% Or if he can carry the bunker and stuff like that. 67 00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:56.237 line:15% I gotta know how the golfer is playing that day. 68 00:01:56.237 --> 00:01:57.713 line:15% And what his mental state is. 69 00:01:57.713 --> 00:02:00.530 line:15% It is a little bit of a psychology thing too, 70 00:02:00.530 --> 00:02:01.660 line:15% because sometimes when you gotta pump 71 00:02:01.660 --> 00:02:02.940 line:15% the guy up if he's down in the dumps. 72 00:02:02.940 --> 00:02:03.950 line:15% And sometimes you leave 'em alone 73 00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:05.580 line:15% and sometimes you get after them. 74 00:02:05.580 --> 00:02:07.590 line:15% The guy that I'm presently working for, Tiger Woods, 75 00:02:07.590 --> 00:02:08.423 line:15% believe it or not, 76 00:02:08.423 --> 00:02:10.050 line:15% everyone obviously knows his name. 77 00:02:10.050 --> 00:02:11.660 line:15% He lacks a little bit of confidence right now 78 00:02:11.660 --> 00:02:12.810 line:15% 'cause he hasn't played much lately. 79 00:02:12.810 --> 00:02:13.761 line:15% He's been injured. 80 00:02:13.761 --> 00:02:16.620 line:15% So he's, I don't wanna use the word fragile, 81 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:18.210 line:15% but he needs a kick in the butt once in a while, 82 00:02:18.210 --> 00:02:19.060 line:15% in a good way. 83 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:20.530 line:15% He's never not gonna try, 84 00:02:20.530 --> 00:02:21.750 line:15% he's never not gonna grind it out, 85 00:02:21.750 --> 00:02:24.217 line:15% but I gotta reinforce the fact that, 86 00:02:24.217 --> 00:02:25.434 line:15% "Look, you're the best player in the world, 87 00:02:25.434 --> 00:02:26.680 line:15% "no one can beat you." 88 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:27.890 line:15% And he needs to hear that. 89 00:02:27.890 --> 00:02:29.240 line:15% People are shocked when I tell them that, 90 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:30.520 line:15% I said, "But it's true right now." 91 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:31.480 line:15% Just because, like I said, 92 00:02:31.480 --> 00:02:33.775 line:15% right now he's not quite at the top of the world, 93 00:02:33.775 --> 00:02:35.650 line:15% confidence-wise. 94 00:02:35.650 --> 00:02:37.123 line:15% And I have to kind of beat that into him. 95 00:02:37.123 --> 00:02:39.520 line:15% I've always gotta have a lot of information. 96 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:40.902 line:15% He always wants to know where the wind is, 97 00:02:40.902 --> 00:02:43.990 line:15% how the hole played the day before, 98 00:02:43.990 --> 00:02:44.920 line:15% short, longs better. 99 00:02:44.920 --> 00:02:46.010 line:15% He always wants a lot of information. 100 00:02:46.010 --> 00:02:47.450 line:15% Where I worked for Fred for 21 years, 101 00:02:47.450 --> 00:02:48.710 line:15% he didn't need a lot of information. 102 00:02:48.710 --> 00:02:49.543 line:15% He was a field player, 103 00:02:49.543 --> 00:02:50.500 line:15% and didn't want a whole lot of numbers. 104 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:51.890 line:15% Almost like, it didn't confuse him, 105 00:02:51.890 --> 00:02:54.080 line:15% but he just didn't want all that stuff in his head. 106 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:54.913 line:15% Tiger's the other way around, 107 00:02:54.913 --> 00:02:55.918 line:15% he likes to break it all down. 108 00:02:55.918 --> 00:02:57.480 line:15% One time he gave me the old, 109 00:02:57.480 --> 00:02:59.020 line:15% 'cause a lot of times we used a clock, 110 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:00.310 line:15% 'cause his dad was a military guy, 111 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:02.050 line:15% so where the winds coming from. 112 00:03:02.050 --> 00:03:03.580 line:15% One time he have me the old 10:15. 113 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:05.137 line:15% I said, "Well, hang on a second partner, 114 00:03:05.137 --> 00:03:06.272 line:15% "I can't tell you 10:15, 115 00:03:06.272 --> 00:03:07.537 line:15% "I can tell you 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 116 00:03:07.537 --> 00:03:08.827 line:15% "maybe 10:30 but I can't tell you 117 00:03:08.827 --> 00:03:10.177 line:15% "if the winds coming from 10:15." 118 00:03:10.177 --> 00:03:12.360 line:15% He's very detailed oriented, 119 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:15.050 line:15% so I've learned to be more detailed oriented. 120 00:03:15.050 --> 00:03:17.670 line:15% Versus Fred where he didn't need a whole lot of information. 121 00:03:17.670 --> 00:03:19.890 line:15% Tiger goes in streaks. 122 00:03:19.890 --> 00:03:22.090 line:15% Right now he's on the peanut butter and banana sandwiches. 123 00:03:22.090 --> 00:03:22.923 line:15% He's always gotta have a couple in there 124 00:03:22.923 --> 00:03:24.647 line:15% 'cause he likes to eat all day. 125 00:03:24.647 --> 00:03:26.210 line:15% I have the almonds in there, 126 00:03:26.210 --> 00:03:27.310 line:15% you gotta always have plenty of water. 127 00:03:27.310 --> 00:03:28.627 line:15% He's got the energy drinks going. 128 00:03:28.627 --> 00:03:29.840 line:15% And then, obviously, 129 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:30.920 line:15% depending on the weather, 130 00:03:30.920 --> 00:03:32.000 line:15% that'll dictate whether you have 131 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:33.100 line:15% the rain suit in there or not, 132 00:03:33.100 --> 00:03:34.200 line:15% the umbrella and stuff like that. 133 00:03:34.200 --> 00:03:35.470 line:15% I always have nine golf balls, 134 00:03:35.470 --> 00:03:36.330 line:15% which is way too many. 135 00:03:36.330 --> 00:03:37.163 line:15% But, I'm thinking to myself, 136 00:03:37.163 --> 00:03:39.740 line:15% the last thing I need to do is run out of golf balls. 137 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:41.900 line:15% Extra gloves, and stuff like that, and that's it. 138 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:42.880 line:15% I mean, just the basics. 139 00:03:42.880 --> 00:03:44.650 line:15% But you gotta have all that stuff ready to go. 140 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:46.470 line:15% And maybe some extra spikes and stuff like that. 141 00:03:46.470 --> 00:03:47.980 line:15% But other than that, that's it. 142 00:03:47.980 --> 00:03:50.340 line:15% The only thing I do when I'm not at an actual event, 143 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:52.530 line:15% lately I've been going down to Tiger's place in Florida 144 00:03:52.530 --> 00:03:54.250 line:15% and working with him and doing some practice 145 00:03:54.250 --> 00:03:56.660 line:15% while he gets ready and comes back from these injuries. 146 00:03:56.660 --> 00:03:58.100 line:15% But in terms of actually preparing 147 00:03:58.100 --> 00:03:59.320 line:15% for a golf course or a match, 148 00:03:59.320 --> 00:04:00.153 line:15% no nothing like that. 149 00:04:00.153 --> 00:04:01.710 line:15% I do all my work once I get to town, 150 00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:02.818 line:15% like Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. 151 00:04:02.818 --> 00:04:04.470 line:15% And there's a Pro Am on Wednesday 152 00:04:04.470 --> 00:04:05.986 line:15% and Thursday through Sunday's the tournament. 153 00:04:05.986 --> 00:04:08.449 line:15% That's when I do all my heavy lifting and my work. 154 00:04:08.449 --> 00:04:10.070 line:15% If I'm not at an event, 155 00:04:10.070 --> 00:04:11.720 line:15% I'm not doing anything in regards 156 00:04:11.720 --> 00:04:13.070 line:15% to the tour events and stuff like that. 157 00:04:13.070 --> 00:04:14.080 line:15% In terms of promotional stuff, 158 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:15.076 line:15% I do some side stuff. 159 00:04:15.076 --> 00:04:17.690 line:15% I play some golf with clients and stuff like that. 160 00:04:17.690 --> 00:04:19.600 line:15% And do some dinner stuff like that, some speeches, 161 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:21.750 line:15% but nothing crazy but just a little 162 00:04:21.750 --> 00:04:22.740 line:15% to maybe get out of the house 163 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:24.473 line:15% and make a little extra money, yeah.