‘Waste of time’: Why caddies are saying rangefinders won’t prevent slow play
The PGA of America has wasted no time getting down to business in 2021. First they ditched Donald Trump’s resort as the host of next year’s PGA Championship, then they announced that players will be allowed to use rangefinders during their events.
This caused quite a stir on social media and the caddie community had plenty to say about it.
Steve Brotherhood, a European Tour caddie since 2004 working with the likes of Paul Broadhurst, Marc Warren, Ritchie Ramsay and, most notably, eight years with David Howell, joins the NCG Podcast to discuss the matter.
“Waste of time,” he replies when asked for his immediate reaction to the news.
“There is so much detail in yardage books now, with numbers [for] pretty much everything.
“Slow play is a big big issue and bringing a laser into play, after using this as well, is just going to slow play up.
“We will walk [the course] on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So going into Thursday we will have all the numbers we need.
“I swear by the Bushnell laser, I’ve had it for 16 seasons [and it’s] never let me down. It’s a great bit of kit during the practice round, but you won’t see me using it on the golf course, that’s for sure.”
So when does Brotherhood envisage a time he might use it?
“The only time I think I’d use it is if my player’s miles off line, maybe onto another fairway, and we can’t get a good angle to pace off the yardage from the spots in the book,” he explains.
“If you imagine you’re lasering to a flag, and then your player says, ‘What is it to the front of the green?’ Straight away I’ve got to go back to my book to see how far the flag is on, so I’ve got to take that off. Then he asks, ‘What have I got to the back to the green?’ Then I have a look at my yardage book to see how far past the flag I’ve got.
“All that information is in my book. If you haven’t got a number from wherever you are, you’ve been pretty lazy.”
Has there ever been any talk of rangefinders being allowed on the European Tour, or if he believes it might happen?
“Absolutely not,” he says. “There are always rumours – it’s the same as anything when new technology comes out.
“If they do introduce lasers, I don’t think they’ll be used because there’s no way they will get rid of the yardage books. The players and the caddies won’t allow that.”
Find out more on the NCG Podcast with Steve Brotherhood
Steve Brotherhood was chatting to Alex Perry on the NCG Podcast, where they have a wide-ranging discussion about Brotherhood’s career.
Brotherhood offers a fascinating insight into how the trend of players putting friends on the bag affected professional caddies, as well as tales of “prank” texts from Hugh Grant, and his thoughts on that Matt Kuchar incident in Mexico.
Also, did he apply the Rory McIlroy job when that became available? And how do you even apply for a job as a caddie?
Sit back and enjoy the tales of a seasoned bagman who has seen it all on the European Tour.
Listen below or on your preferred podcast platform.
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Steve Brotherhood runs The Tour Experience, which offers golfers the chance to play a round with a European Tour player, with a European Tour caddie on their bag, and much more.
Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
