Former Open champ reveals what 'drives me up the wall' with PGA Tour caddies

Former Open champion Padraig Harrington says he sees multiple caddies on the PGA Tour that cannot do their jobs because they are too afraid of upsetting their players. 

Harrington, 53, has had his brother-in-law Ronan on the bag since 2004. 

Ronan was on looping duties for all three of Harrington's major wins as well as six Ryder Cup appearances. 

Part of why they have had such a successful 21-year stint and counting is because Harrington knows he can count on Ronan to offer his unfiltered opinion even if the golfer disagrees.

"I know when I win he's a big part of it," Harrington recently explained to GOLF. "Like, he spends the whole day talking to me off the ledge.

"He's seriously in my ear doing a psychologist all the way through it."

Harrington said he believes some key caddie skills are going out the window with the way the game is developing. 

Some major governing bodies have allowed the use of rangefinders for a while now and the PGA Tour is currently allowing their use in a trial phase. 

"The truth of it is that's going out the window," Harrington said. "Doing that rudimentary, getting the yardage, carrying the bag... it's irrelevant. It really is. 

"It's what that caddie says and does on the golf course [that is important]. 

"The ability not to say the wrong thing and the ability to say the right thing. The ability to be committed.

"I can't stand a caddie who thinks he's right all the time. That drives me up the wall. Like, if he's trying to cover up for his mistakes be gone with me. 

"I need a caddie to give me a forthright opinion and if it's wrong just to stand there and go, 'That was my opinion, that's what I thought at the time, I gave it to you, you took it and acted on it, that's all I can do'."

He added: "This is why I don't lose my temper on the golf course or ever shout at my caddie because I think I complained to my brother one day that I hit a 4-iron over the green. 

"He just put the bag down and looked at me and said, 'I've given you my best opinion. Your job is to take that opinion and act upon it the best you want. But we can do no more than that'. 

"I've seen so many caddies who the players don't allow them to do that and then they can't do their job. 

"So if a player is always on the caddie the caddie is just going to agree with the player over and over he's never going to give his true opinion because he's so afraid of upsetting the player and losing his job. 

"So you have to have that relationship with your caddie [where] he can say what he thinks and you can say what you think and you understand that you're human."

Harrington's comments are particularly pertinent this week given two-time major champ Collin Morikawa has decided to part ways with his long-time caddie JJ Jakovac. 

Morikawa hired Jakovac when he turned professional but he decided to snap up Max Homa's former looper Joe Greiner.