Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
He’s been giving it Socks for 31 years so Johnny is right to be walking away
WE’RE staring at a partial lull in proceedings this week with no main action on the European Tour and a weaker Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course.
It’s a rare – some might say welcome – pause in the midst of what is now a relentless schedule on both the European and PGA tours.
The wraparound seasons have their benefits and the fact tournaments are scheduled for immediately after next month’s DP World finale in Dubai is good news for some.
But at times the players must feel like they are standing on a perpetual carousel or in the midst of a travelling circus.
Well-known caddie John Mclaren has been in that ‘circus’ for the past 31 years, but last week he indicated he has decided to take a well earned break for mental health reasons. Known in caddie circles as “Johnny Long Socks” because of his dapper taste in socks, he has decided to look after number one and for that he deserves credit.
It is a bold decision but it is the right decision.
The caddie has always been viewed as bullet proof and someone who takes instruction with a smile and abuse on the chin. He is always there for the boss.
But of course, they are just human beings with the same emotions and insecurities that you and I wrestle with on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
They also have lives and families away from the game.
John, who was on Luke Donald’s bag when the Englishman reached No1 in the world in 2011, has spent the past six years with Paul Casey. He has fulfilled his final commitments in the States and intends to caddie for Casey at the DP World Tour Championship and Dubai Desert Classic in January before stepping away entirely. John’s decision has been prompted in part by the mental toll of the Covid-19 pandemic, trans-atlantic travel and the stresses of test results that could lead to quarantine.
He has decided to put his well being and family first.
With the finances on offer at the top end of golf it’s a big decision to step away but the realisation eventually dawns on all of us that money isn’t the be-all and end-all.
As John said himself: “Once it starts to have an impact on my children and wife, whom I very much love, then questions arise about the sacrifices relative to what needs to be gained”.
Perfectly put.
If he has managed his finances as well as he navigated his players around a golf course, he won’t have to work another day and that’s a nice position to be in.
Now he has made his decision, it is a wonderful opportunity for him to press
the reset button and enjoy more time with his wife and two children in England.
What the future holds, no one knows, and acclimatising to life away from the limelight of golf ’s biggest stages will be a challenge.
Being out of sight can mean being out of mind in this game and while the top caddies are always in demand, you just never know.
If this is it for Mclaren, he has had a wonderful career and should look back fondly on what he has achieved and experienced to date.
I suspect he won’t regret his decision.
John’s putting his well-being and his family first right now