. A Caddie's Worth By Rex Hoggard August 9, 2011 3:40 PM ET . Hoggard, a senior writer, covers the PGA Tour and appears on-air in several capacities. JOHNS CREEK, Ga. ?Two out of three isn't bad, at least if one takes into account the emotional turmoil Steve Williams has been saddled with for the better part of the last year and a half. Not to mention more than a decade's old gag order. Williams is a Jedi master when it comes to the trifecta of the caddie code, show up, keep up and shut up, although why he blew through the stop sign on the latter on Sunday at Firestone is still perplexing. . 'I have been caddying for more than 30 years now. I have won 145 times and that is the best win of my life,He said Williams following his new man Adam Scott's victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, forgetting, we can only surmise, the baker's dozen of majors he won with that other guy. The New Zealander was clearly hurt by his very public, and very messy, split with former boss Tiger Woods and maybe the emotion of the moment got the best of him. But in this Williams is no different than 95 percent of all professional bagmen. A caddie-yard axiom comes to mind; there are two kinds of loopers ?those who have been fired and those who are about to be. Tony Navarro didn뭪 go all soapbox when Scott showed him the door not long after the two had finished runner-up at this year뭩 Masters, the Australian뭩 best Grand Slam finish ever. Bobby Brown didn뭪 start muckraking when Dustin Johnson bagged him for a more veteran looper despite caddying his man into the hunt at two of four majors in 2010. Williams is one of the best in the business, but there뭩 a reason why caddies prefer the shadows to the spotlight. In many ways the golden rule is built in to shield the looper from unwanted ?and unfair ?analysis, as well as the player. 밒 tell (caddie Michael Christensen), it뭩 a team effort until I step in with the club in my hand to hit the shot, at that point it뭩 all on me,?Kevin Streelman said. Williams?public epiphany, however, has opened the floor to a debate over a caddie뭩 worth to his player. Some in the mainstream media have speculated that a professional looper is little more than a mule who must adhere to the age-old adage that the help should be seen and not heard. At best this analysis is an oversimplification. At worst it is blatantly wrong. 밒뭭e heard on the radio guys saying (Williams) is not a coach, and that he뭩 not important in the big picture of things,?Stewart Cink said. 밄ut that뭩 not true at all. These guys are just not pull carts out there.? Cink should know, after Phil Mickelson and Jim 밄ones?Mackay, Cink and his man Frank Williams may have the longest running caddie-player tenure at 13 years. It뭩 a relationship that spans a half dozen PGA Tour titles and the 2009 British Open, where, Cink said, Williams earned every penny of his winner뭩 share. 밯e worked together on No. 18 to come up with a plan in case that hole played down wind (like it did on Sunday at Turnberry),?Cink said. 밫here was an area, about 8 yards short of the green, that we decided to play to and it worked out perfectly.? In regulation Cink birdied the 18th hole to force extra holes and made par at the finishing hole in the playoff to beat Tom Watson. World No. 1 Luke Donald, who split with his caddie, his brother, last year, concurred with Cink: 밒f I thought my guy was carrying luggage I wouldn뭪 pay him nearly as much as I am.? In Cink뭩 and Streelman뭩 estimation, a good caddie can be worth a stroke a round under the right circumstances. But both players quickly point out a caddie can cost a player as well. 밒뭭e cost my guy a stroke, for sure,?said one caddie who asked not to be identified. 밳ou make mistakes, but the real test is when your guy isn뭪 playing well. That뭩 when a caddie earns his money.? The last time Glory뭩 Last Shot was played at Atlanta Athletic Club may be one of the best examples of a caddie뭩 worth. Clinging to a one-stroke lead through 71 holes with a hanging lie and 209 yards of water and rough between himself and major glory David Toms looked to his caddie Scott Gneiser for advice. 밳ou want to lay up??Gneiser offered. The rest is major championship history. The best player-caddie relationships transcend the basics of 밾ow far?and 뱖hich way??The most successful tandems are more than employee-employer ?they are friends who spend more time together than most families. 밒t all depends on the player, some players want their caddies to stay quiet and be ready and that뭩 the extent of their relationship,?said Streelman, who has known Christensen for 15 years. 밢thers, like me and Chad (Campbell) and Stewart (Cink), we have our best friends caddying for us. It just helps keep everything loose and relaxed.? It뭩 the kind of relationship that Woods and Williams used to have, before feelings were hurt and the wrong things were said. It뭩 what makes the relationship work, and why the breakups are often messy. It뭩 what prompted Williams to say more than he should have, and why the sudden collection of caddie critics are so wayward with their slings and arrows. On this point the pundits are correct, a caddie is not a coach they are much