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SAN JOSE, Calif. - I didn't recognize the number texting me.
I sure as heck recognized what was in the photo, though, under the question: "Is this yours?"
There it was: my trusty 53-degree Miura wedge sitting in someone else's golf bag 2,700 miles away.
Turns out, my caddie at Harbour Town Golf Links had put my wedge into a playing partner's bag. I flew home to California without it, while Connor Federico, a Golf.com video editor, stuck around in South Carolina for more golf. Neither of us had done the most important thing every golfer should do after a round with a caddie: check our own bags to account for all the proper clubs or any extras that shouldn't be there.
I was furious, not just at the caddie but at myself. This was the second time this egregious caddie error had happened to me in less than three months. That Miura was actually my backup. My two favorite wedges were still stranded in Scottsdale with golf writer pal Tom Mackin after a caddie at Baltusrol's Lower Course dropped them into his bag instead of mine. Again, neither of us had verified whose clubs were whose until much later - too late.
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," right?
I shouldn't be the one who leaves a bucket-list round feeling like an idiot. Forget poor club advice and bad reads on the green - to me, putting a client's club in the wrong bag is the greatest sin a caddie can commit.
Think about it. Bad caddie advice happens all the time. That's just part of the game. Potentially losing a club, however, has real consequences for a golfer. What if I hadn't known the two golf media members I was playing with? Would I have had the chance to get my clubs back? It's a real problem these caddies - who are supposed to be highly trained professionals at very exclusive places - shouldn't have created.
It happens more than you think. GolfPass Senior Staff Writer Tim Gavrich's caddie at Erin Hills left his 3 wood in someone else's bag after a round in 2017. Gavrich was the only lefty in the group, which makes that mistake a true bonehead move. It took several weeks to be returned.
The only worse sins caddies could potentially commit would have to be in a tournament setting, breaking a rule or doing something to cause their golfer to lose, costing them significant money or status. Ian Woosnam's caddie famously left too many clubs in the bag during the 2001 Open Championship, setting up a two-stroke penalty that cost him a major win.
Caddie Steve Williams almost didn't pack enough balls for Tiger Woods to finish the second round of the 2000 U.S. Open, which Woods won by a record 15 shots. Tiger was down to his last ball playing the treacherous 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links after hooking his original tee shot into Stillwater Cove.
Since I'm not a competitive tournament golfer, those problems are never a concern for me. Thankfully, my lost wedges should eventually find their way home.
I got my Miura wedge back fairly fast thanks to absurd luck. It just so happened that Federico was playing golf with another long-time golf friend of mine, Kevin Frisch, when he sent me the first text. Within minutes, he sent me another photo handing my wedge to Frisch, who just happened to be visiting northern California last month and brought it with him.
Sure, I could pay for my other two wedges to be shipped to me, but why should I have to spend my hard-earned money for other people failing to do one of the simplest tasks of their job? Instead, I'm waiting for a cheaper alternative: reuniting with Tom Mackin at the 2026 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando later this month to collect them.
I've learned my lesson, and I hope this story saves some other unsuspecting golfer somewhere. While everybody loves good caddies, don't blindly trust any of them. Their job isn't over when the round is. Don't tip them until you've both verified your clubs sit safely in the proper bag. You'll thank me later.
What's the worst caddie mistake you've experienced? Let us know in the comments below.
