19th Hole

Caddie Corner: 11 questions with PGA Tour veteran Gerald “G.W.” Cable (Kevin Chappell’s caddie)

Published

2 years ago

Jan 28, 2022

In this new GolfWRX feature, called the “Caddie Corner,” we’ll be firing off questions to a different caddie every week on the PGA Tour.

Caddies, or “loopers,” as some call them, are the too-often-overlooked people who actually have a huge impact on players every week on the PGA Tour. They’re tasked with many objectives – everything from carrying the bag, raking bunkers and getting yardages, to playing psychologist on the golf course as their player competes for millions. If you’re curious to learn more about the caddies, as well as their stories, lifestyle and insights, then welcome to the “Caddie Corner.”

In our first iteration of the Caddie Corner, we spoke in-depth with Shannon “Shan” Wallis. Check that out hilarious and insightful interview here.

This week, I grilled Gerald “G.W.” Cable, a 14-year PGA Tour caddie and former tour player who currently loops for Kevin Chappell. He’s also formerly worked with names such as Steve Marino, Chris Kirk, Morgan Hoffmann, Heath Slocum, Matt Every and a slew of others.

Enjoy the talk below!

How’d you end up being a caddie on the PGA Tour, and what’s been your career progression before caddying?

So I played for 7 years professionally. Got to play in some tour events. Hurt my back, was a club pro for a couple years working down in South Florida and Steve Marino called me, he was having a few issues. He just asked me to come out for a few weeks. Then it turned into 14 years. That’s basically how it started.

What’s the best restaurant where you go and it’s like, I can’t wait for that event so I can go there to eat?

That’s a great question. I’m more of a dive bar guy (laughs). Hmm, best restaurant…I’m not too high class, so I can’t even give you one. Like I said, I’m more of a dive bar guy, so like I find a nice bar with shuffleboard in it and that’s where I head.

What’s your favorite sport aside from golf and who are some of your favorite teams and players?

I’m a D.C. guy, I grew up in the D.C. area, so I’m a Football Team fan. I root for the Virginia Cavaliers in college sports, and I’m really into football. It’s tough to beat last weekend in the playoffs, that was pretty amazing. But sports in general, I love following ’em.

What’s on your music playlist right now?

Man, I’ve got everything. I’ve got two little girls, a 3 and a 1 year old, so I’ve got some different kids songs. They love some of the teeny bopper s*** like NSYNC. My sisters used to play ’em, so I’ve gotten them into that. Then like, I can go with pretty much anything. Let’s see, what was a listening to? I was listening to some Haste the Day, like some screaming music on the way in. But yeah, I do it all.

What’s been your most important lesson you’ve learned along the way about caddying?

So it’s crazy. You learn so much. Obviously when you play, for me it was hard to learn a lot of stuff. When you caddie, you really learn a lot more. It’s been really valuable in that way, just kind of seeing what…I don’t know how to put it, but it’s like you don’t really realize it when you’re playing, but you can see it in some of the players. You can give them some decent advice on mental things, or when they’re getting a little too quick. It’s kind of easy to see things in the future when you’re caddying, as opposed to when you’re playing, you’re kind of stuck in the moment, but you can see things snowballing. So it’s been kind of cool to see.

Aside from actually carrying the bag, what’s the most difficult part of your job?

There’s really not many tough things. You get to do this and see this type of stuff almost every week (the view at Torrey Pines). I mean there’s not many bad things, to be honest.

Life’s good.

It is. It really is. I can’t really give you one. Yeah, it’s all good.

Caddies are known for having the best stories. Without incriminating yourself too much, what’s the funniest story you have about caddie life?

I mean, I’ve done a lot of things for money. I’m not scared. A quick one: British Open trip. It’s pretty nasty, but I started it off with… it was a thing of dip, and somebody said, “Will you drink that for a thousand dollars?” And I chugged it, with the chew in it. So I made a quick grand on the way to the British Open. And then there was some stuff to follow that I’ll leave out. But it paid for my rent for the week.

What’s the biggest, “Uh oh, I messed up,” moment of your career with a player?

Oh man, there’s been a few. I’ve left a yardage book in a car one time and I had to run because I didn’t realize it. I had to run back to the car and we were on the tee, that was pretty bad, but I made it.

One of the guys I caddied for, all he wants is waters. And he was leading a tournament, ended up winning it. But I mean he was chugging water so fast, and I couldn’t keep enough. They were those little shot waters. I mean, I had five in the bag, I’m not kidding, and all five were gone and I’m asking people in the crowd to like give me some water, and they did. So that was pretty cool. But that was a pretty bad one. I was like, man, there’s nothing I can do. I was pretty prepared.

If your player’s a little bit nervous going into a first tee shot or last tee shot, what’s something you might say to calm them down?

You just gotta try to make fun of ’em or something. Something to get ’em off that topic or whatever they’re feeling. Yeah, lighten the mood up a little bit.

What’s your favorite tour stop to caddie at, whether it’s the course itself, the location, or the perks you get?

There’s a lot of them. Hilton Head is great. Torrey Pines is always great, it’s nice to come out west. Charlotte is pretty cool. Obviously, course wise, it’s always nice to get to The Masters, that place is so pure. Yeah, there’s so many it’s hard to pick one.

Based on working so closely with tour players throughout the years, what advice might you have for amateurs golfers trying to improve their games?

Ideally, it’s like the time you put in. I feel like, at least a lot of the amateurs I’ve been around, they think it should just happen overnight. And it’s just not the way it is. You just have to be a little gentle on yourself. People expect a lot, and I get it, but it’s just unrealistic. At the end of the day, if you put in the time you’re gonna get better, in my opinion. You see how it is out here, these guys work their butts off, and they still, they’re not the best all time. So it’s like, you gotta give yourself a break. But that’s all. If you put in the time, you’ll get better. There’s no secrets. Put in the work.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

1 day ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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19th Hole

LIV star splits with swing coach after working together for 14 years

Published

1 day ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After fourteen years together, LIV Golf’s Adrian Meronk has decided to part ways with his swing coach, Matthew Tipper.

On Monday, Tipper announced the split via social media.

pic.twitter.com/Q6klxxgyW0

— Matthew Tipper (@Matthew__Tipper) April 29, 2024

“After 14 years sometimes things just come to an end. Last week Adrian decided he wanted to go a new way and I have to respect that decision. I’m proud of everything we achieved together.

“I knew in 2010 he was a great talent and he has only gone to prove that all over the world. To Pietro Gobinho and Stuart Beck, thank you for being amazing caddies when Adrian needed you. Your support and co-operation has been invaluable and I thank you both.

“I want to publicly thank Adrian for allowing me to sit in the best seat in the house for 14 years.

“It’s now time to start my new chapter in the USA alongside my mentor James Sieckmann and I’m excited to go to my first Korn Ferry Tour event later next month. As always tomorrow we begin again.”

Meronk is having a poor season by his standards on LIV. The reigning DP World Tour player had some solid finishes early in the year, finishing T9 and T6 at LIV Las Vegas and LIV Jeddah, but missed the cut at the Masters and has failed to crack the top-10 in his past three LIV starts.

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19th Hole

LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you

Published

5 days ago

Apr 26, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

On Friday morning, Ladies European Tour player, Hannah Gregg, took to social media to share her weekly expenses playing on the LET.

Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour:
Flights: $2600
Work Visa: $350
Food: $377
Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week! ?
Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car ??…

— Hannah Gregg (@hannahbggg) April 26, 2024

“Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour: Flights: $2600 Work Visa: $350

Food: $377
Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week!
Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car
Gas: $165
Entry Fee: $130
Lounge Pass for caddie: $50
Gym: $0
Yardage book: $0
Total expenses: $3672

Made cut, finished 54th, total earned: $1244 Factor in 35% tax on earnings. To break even, needed to finish 24th. To make money, 21st. Guess we have our goals laid out for next event!”

When factoring in Gregg’s free housing, free caddie and free rental car, it’s evident that most LET players would have to finish well inside of the top-20 to make any money.

With ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around in professional golf these days, it’s important to remember the other side of the coin as well. There are countless professionals out there who struggle to get by on their golf salary.