Meet Phil & Bubba’s bagmen
Jim‘ Bones’ Mackay and Ted Scott–who between them have celebrated five masters wins with Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson–give TG the low down on augusta national
The caddies know Augusta National better than anybody. Every inch of it. And arguably nobody knows it better than Phil Mickelson’s long-serving bagman Jim “Bones” Mackay and Bubba Watson’s experienced sidekick, Ted Scott.
Bones in particular knows Augusta like the back of his hand. Since 1990, he’s only missed the 1994 Masters, when his boss broke his legs in a skiing accident. He played a vital role in Mickelson’s 2004, 2006 and 2010 triumphs, making him one of the most famous caddies in the game.
Scott has been on the PGA Tour for 17 years and though he doesn’t currently get close to Bones’ Augusta appearance record, he is chasing a hat-trick of wins after guiding Bubba to victory in 2012 and 2014.
Augusta, he points out, provides a unique challenge. “You can hit a good shot and still make bogey because to score around there you have to hit great shots. If you’re going to win the Masters, you need to strike your irons precisely, get the wind direction right and hit it on the right shelf of every green, hopefully below the hole. If you can do that, you’ll probably have a good week. Then, of course, you’ve got to deal with the pressure of a Major.” We sat both down at the Phoenix Open, to get their exclusive insight into what it takes to win the Masters...
What makes Augusta so special? Bones: It’s the greatest place I’ve ever been to; and it’s the greatest course in the world that’s not by the ocean. I’m a big fan of the event. I think it’s the best run tournament in golf by 100 miles. It’s a real cathedral of golf. This is a terrible thing to say, but it would be kind of cool walking up the 18th fairway and having a heart attack and getting carried out of there. That’s the way to go.
Scott: I just think about the number of people who ask: “Can you get me a ticket to the Masters?” That alone shows you the exclusiveness of it – people want to figure out how they can get a ticket to watch the event. To be part of it, inside the ropes, is a dream come true. I think anybody in the world, including pro athletes from other sports, would take that job. It’s just amazing.
Have you played there yourself?
Bones: I’ve been fortunate to play there about 10 times and it’s totally different from tournament week. For tournament week everything is really hairy and by that I mean difficult on and around the greens. You get to know the Augusta folk over the years and before you know it they’re inviting you for a game. My best round would be a 75, though the course is so long off the back tees I can never shoot that off them playing off two.
Scott: I’ve played it once. When you’re carrying the bag the fairways look pretty generous, but it was way too tight for me!
What’s it like to caddie for a winning player?
Scott: To be successful in something that you watched as a kid and to be part of the winning team, you can’t describe it.
Bones: You ask the vast majority of players if they could win one Major, I’m sure most would say the Masters. You’re going to go to the Champions Dinner every year and nobody is going to take that green jacket away.
What’s been your biggest highlight?
Ted: Obviously everyone talks about the hook shot Bubba hit on No. 10 (in a play-off with Louis Oosthuizen in 2012). But one of my best moments – and the essence of who Bubba is – was on No.11 when he was deep in the pine straw on the right on the Friday in 2012. We were -3 at the time and I said “hey, let’s just chip it out”– the pin was in the middle of the green, the easiest pin on the whole course the whole week. If he chipped out the worst he was going to make was bogey. But he said he wanted to make a big old hook, starting it left of the water at the scoreboard from a terrible lie. I’m thinking ‘how is he going to keep it low enough, under 15ft, for the first 30 yards and then hook it about 20-25 yards to miss the water?’ He insisted ‘back up, I’ve got this’ and I’m thinking it’s end of tournament time. He actually over-hooked it and it caught the slope and ran onto the front. It’s a shot I’ll never forget and the banter afterwards was fun, too.
Bones: Everything. The beauty of Augusta is that there are days when you feel like you can shoot 65 or 66, and others when you tee it up and you know 70 is an amazing score – and you make your decisions based on that.
So why is the course so demanding? Bones: Everything that happens there is dictated by the wind. You get out on the
‘Ask the majority of players if they could win a Major, most would say the Masters’
range, pay attention to the conditions and then how aggressive you play is dictated by the conditions. Jordan Spieth went out in the first round last year and shot 66 on a day I thought 71 was a fantastic score. You’ve got to think how much rain has there been; are they Subair treating the greens; is it windy... so many things to weigh up. It’s amazing.
Scott: If I could take a ball and place it anywhere I wanted on the greens, regardless of the pin positions, and challenge someone to just two-putt, they’d struggle on most of them. You can put the ball in places where it’s very difficult to two-putt, but if your iron shots and approach play is spot on, you have a chance of making birdies.
How important is driving since the course has been lengthened?
Bones: They used to say it was a bomber’s course, but Mike Weir and Zach Johnson both won when there was a lot of rain, when the course played incredibly long – yet two of the shortest hitters in the field came out on top. Jordan isn’t a particularly long player, but he seems to be the Augusta guy right now. I don’t think length is as important as people make it out to be. Also, the first cut is a little longer than it initially was. When they first started doing that it wasn’t that tough to deal with, but over the past two or three years it’s become a lot more difficult, so you’ve got to put the ball in play off the tee though generally the fairways are fairly generous.
Scott: There are a few narrow holes – seven is very tight – but for the most part you feel like you’ve got room off the tee. But the second shots are nerve-wracking. If you don’t put it on the right spot, you’re in trouble. You have to be so precise. Bubba is a great ball-striker who likes to fade the ball, and a left-handed fade favours him off the tee because most of the holes dog-leg to the left. Plus, he can’t wait to putt on fast greens – the faster the better. So it’s one of those places where it feeds into everything he loves.
What about the front nine danger holes which tend to get overlooked?
Bones: That’s right, they can. And you can start right at No.1! You’re looking to make a solid start, but the fairway plays so narrow right there and then. Provided you’ve driven the ball on the fairway on two, you can breathe a sigh of relief because you’re trying to make birdie there. With that done, hopefully you’ve got a bit of momentum and can get your round going.
Scott: Yeah, it’s a very difficult opening hole and not just because you’re very nervous, just like the amateurs watching at home, standing on the first tee. You need to hit the fairway, leaving a 6-iron into a green which is a lot
smaller than it looks, which means you might have to chip – and chipping when you’re nervous on lightning fast greens is scary! Plus, say if you’ve chipped it to about 6ft, you’ve got to make a putt which is two clubs out from 6ft. So it’s ‘wow, welcome to Augusta!’ You’re happy to walk off with par, though, and then you go two holes in a row where you can make birdie and you’re probably thinking ‘oh, this isn’t too hard after all!’ Then you go 4, 5, 6 and 7 and you think ‘uh-oh’ again before going to 8 – another birdie hole – while 9, provided you hit another solid tee shot, provides a good chance.
Where are the absolute no-go zones? Bones: You never want to go over the 5th green. To be honest there’s loads on every hole I can bore you with for a couple of hours. There are certain greens you absolutely don’t go over: 1, 5, 17... a few of them. There are little rules you write down on every single hole that you go over with your player and you pick up little titbits here and there, putts that do this and do that over the years and you commit them to memory. You never stop learning there. Plus the course has changed a fair bit, meaning there’s always a little tweak here and there. Scott: No.5 is brutal, mainly because the green is so treacherous. You have to hit the ball in the right spot, which is so hard to do because there’s little room for error. If the pin is top right on 6 and your ball comes up a bit short, it rolls back way down, and you’re probably not going to get it up and down. While if it goes over, it’s tough, too. You can hit the green and easily struggle to two-putt and that’s what makes Augusta so amazing.
How would you sum up your role during Masters week? Scott: If you’re seeing your pro not feeling too confident or getting a bit nervous or over-thinking stuff, it’s your job to try and help him get back in the game, reminding him ‘it’s just a golf shot and you’re pretty good at this.’ Bones: Yeah, I’d have to go along with that.
The exclusive interview took place at the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, one of the world’s leading golfing destinations. Visit www. experiencescottsdale.com
‘There are rules you write down on every hole... you never stop learning’