Former PGA Tour player and current looper for Sungjae Im, Willy Wilcox, will carry his man’s bag up and down Augusta National’s pristine fairways this week. During a typical week on the PGA Tour, a caddie will have a detailed yardage book, complete with elevation changes and many of the green slopes before practice begins. There are no shortcuts to learning the proper lines, elevation changes, and slopes around Augusta, however. Players and caddies have to put in the work to complete their yardage books, and rely on tournament veterans willing to share wisdom. On this week’s Any Given Monday, Wilcox spoke about the challenges of learning and mapping Augusta National.
"If Sungjae takes a peek in my book and it's just blank, he's not gonna like that," says Wilcox.
“There’s no slopes in there (the yardage book). The left side of the fairway at 130 yards on nine is, like, almost level, but if you go down 30 yards shorter and to the right, it’s up six (yards). So you have to go to each head and shoot it and figure out the adjusted slope. They intentionally make the books not very detailed so you have to do all the work.”
Golf fans often hear about how difficult it is for an inexperienced pro to play well at The Masters. The course has more nuance than perhaps any track a golfer will face all year. It’s also why seasoned veterans seemingly play well year after year. Local knowledge in tournament conditions is invaluable, and fledgling pros seek out past Masters champions for practice rounds, hoping to cram for their upcoming test.
For a club where no detail goes unnoticed, the yardage books at Augusta National are surprisingly sparse – something you might expect at a mini tour event. “It’s double the amount of work,” says Wilcox, who carried Im’s bag at The Masters last year. Wilcox appreciates his job like few can given his past experience of playing on Tour, losing his job, and overcoming addiction. He is also keenly aware of the challenges he and Im will face this week.
"I love to doodle a lot...I basically make it my own little piece of artwork," says Wilcox.
“Sometimes there’s no prep but here there’s a ton,” he says. “The pressure is ratcheted up. The book is shockingly undetailed. It’s a lot. Sungjae is more stressed, so it’s the toughest week caddie-wise because of the swirling of the winds and the lack of detail in the book. And then you get to throw in one factor with me because we’re (in) meters.”
Wilcox, like most Americans, spent most of his golf life measuring distances in yards. Im, like 95% of the world, uses the metric system, considering distance in meters. Wilcox is now used to converting yardages to meters on the fly.
“It’s pretty darn easy. 146 meters is a 160 yards. You know? You just add those first two numbers and that’s pretty easy for even me. 165 meters is 181 yards. It’s not too bad. I can do those simple math problems.”
There will be far more complex calculations to make in the crucible of competition this week. Wilcox defeated formidable foes in his past and he’s looking forward to the challenges ahead.
“I lost the Tour. I had it. I had my dream in hand and I lost it, and now I have it again. I love it. I’m very lucky.”
Im and Wilcox tee off at 12:50 p.m. on Thursday with Brooks Koepka and Russell Henley.
Listen to Wilcox’s Any Given Monday episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.
Former PGA Tour player and current looper for Sungjae Im, Willy Wilcox, will carry his man’s bag up and down Augusta National’s pristine fairways this week. During a typical week on the PGA Tour, a caddie will have a detailed yardage book, complete with elevation changes and many of the green slopes before practice begins. There are no shortcuts to learning the proper lines, elevation changes, and slopes around Augusta, however. Players and caddies have to put in the work to complete their yardage books, and rely on tournament veterans willing to share wisdom. On this week’s Any Given Monday, Wilcox spoke about the challenges of learning and mapping Augusta National.
"If Sungjae takes a peek in my book and it's just blank, he's not gonna like that," says Wilcox.
“There’s no slopes in there (the yardage book). The left side of the fairway at 130 yards on nine is, like, almost level, but if you go down 30 yards shorter and to the right, it’s up six (yards). So you have to go to each head and shoot it and figure out the adjusted slope. They intentionally make the books not very detailed so you have to do all the work.”
Golf fans often hear about how difficult it is for an inexperienced pro to play well at The Masters. The course has more nuance than perhaps any track a golfer will face all year. It’s also why seasoned veterans seemingly play well year after year. Local knowledge in tournament conditions is invaluable, and fledgling pros seek out past Masters champions for practice rounds, hoping to cram for their upcoming test.
For a club where no detail goes unnoticed, the yardage books at Augusta National are surprisingly sparse – something you might expect at a mini tour event. “It’s double the amount of work,” says Wilcox, who carried Im’s bag at The Masters last year. Wilcox appreciates his job like few can given his past experience of playing on Tour, losing his job, and overcoming addiction. He is also keenly aware of the challenges he and Im will face this week.
"I love to doodle a lot...I basically make it my own little piece of artwork," says Wilcox.
“Sometimes there’s no prep but here there’s a ton,” he says. “The pressure is ratcheted up. The book is shockingly undetailed. It’s a lot. Sungjae is more stressed, so it’s the toughest week caddie-wise because of the swirling of the winds and the lack of detail in the book. And then you get to throw in one factor with me because we’re (in) meters.”
Wilcox, like most Americans, spent most of his golf life measuring distances in yards. Im, like 95% of the world, uses the metric system, considering distance in meters. Wilcox is now used to converting yardages to meters on the fly.
“It’s pretty darn easy. 146 meters is a 160 yards. You know? You just add those first two numbers and that’s pretty easy for even me. 165 meters is 181 yards. It’s not too bad. I can do those simple math problems.”
There will be far more complex calculations to make in the crucible of competition this week. Wilcox defeated formidable foes in his past and he’s looking forward to the challenges ahead.
“I lost the Tour. I had it. I had my dream in hand and I lost it, and now I have it again. I love it. I’m very lucky.”
Im and Wilcox tee off at 12:50 p.m. on Thursday with Brooks Koepka and Russell Henley.
Listen to Wilcox’s Any Given Monday episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods.
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