A healthy relationship between a caddie and a golfer is built on trust. One of the greatest golfers of all time, Tiger Woods, is renowned for being reserved and private. The five-time Masters champion only had three main caddies over his lengthy career: Steve Williams, Joe LaCava, and Mike “Fluff” Cowan.
A healthy relationship between a caddie and a golfer is built on trust. One of the greatest golfers of all time, Tiger Woods, is renowned for being reserved and private. The five-time Masters champion only had three main caddies over his lengthy career: Steve Williams, Joe LaCava, and Mike “Fluff” Cowan.
LaCava, who spent 12 years working with Woods, recently took the time to sit down in a podcast and disclose the terrible truth behind his icy demeanor. Furthermore, LaCava stated, “He needs to be on his guard because he doesn’t know who to trust or who not to,” adding, “I mean, who can you trust? Who are you not able to trust? Despite his problems with trust, Woods had faith in LaCava right away. Tiger Woods’ former caddy said he “felt like early on, he trusted me.”
“I’m going to take things to my grave and never tell anybody anything that I shouldn’t tell,” the 82-time PGA Tour winner knew. The “trust factor was there right away,” so he began to relax. He added that Woods enjoys making jokes with his pals and has a caustic sense of humor. “Not afraid to smile and laugh,” says the 15-time Major Champion.
LaCava continued by saying that when Woods is in a setting where he knows and trusts the people around him, he can be more at ease and enjoy himself. The 69-year-old also shared some of those moments with them throughout their time together. Notably, Patrick Cantlay declared in May 2023 that he had brought him on as a caddy. Mark Steinberg, the agent for Tiger Woods, corroborated the information and disclosed that Joe had called Tiger to inquire and obtain his permission. Of course Tiger tried his best. Although Woods was injured at the time and didn’t play as much, “Joe wanted to work” more.
They both have some of the greatest golfer-caddie relationships on the course. He once said that after both of them have “worked 110, 115 tournaments and he has never yelled at me once,” Woods is the “easiest guy in the world to work for, he takes ownership of everything.”
With LaCava by his side, Joe LaCava praised his relationship with the golfer who captured his 15th major championship at the 2019 Masters. After the win, Woods gave him a Rolex, but LaCava thought it was too “flashy” to wear. Additionally, Woods gave LaCava and his wife access to his beach house while they celebrated their daughter Lauren’s birthday in Florida. He still respects his former boss, even though he no longer works for Woods.
