As their second year together progresses, Greller is gaining confidence, learning when to back Spieth off of a shot, whether it’s because of the wind or because the gallery is causing a commotion due to McIlroy playing behind their group.
“A caddy would be lying if he said he didn’t have battles,” Greller says. “With us, it’s generally if I was too aggressive in my line of thinking. I’m generally a pretty aggressive person. When I compete or play cards, I like to take chances, so when I’m thinking along those lines and not thinking conservatively and I make a mistake, that generally will lead to some kind of debate. Or if I get the wind wrong, that really upsets him. It’s bound to happen.”
In fact, Greller’s first mistake came on the duo’s very first hole together, that day at Gold Mountain. They teed off on No. 10, but a nervous Greller gave him the yardage for No. 1. It’s happened just a couple of times since, including once at Hilton Head, where Spieth air-mailed the green.
“It’s a bad feeling,” the caddy says. “You feel like crap, but you have to own up to it — ‘I screwed up. My bad.’”
Of course, Spieth went on to win that week at Gold Mountain; at Hilton Head, he got up and down for par. After the latter incident, Greller joked, “I just thought you needed some work on your chipping.”
“Jordan also always lets me know when I do things well,” Greller says. “At The Masters he told me, ‘That was your best week of work ever.’ He’ll keep telling me, ‘Keep doing this,’ or, ‘I need this.’ When he’s putting inside of five feet, he likes a lot of positive affirmation. He’ll almost always call me in and say, ‘Greller, talk me into this.’ That’s when I channel all my sixth-grade encouragement and give him a quick, little pep talk.
“For me, I know that this can be a high-profile job, if you want to make it that,” he says. “But I think that teaching is much more stressful. Teaching is more intense, if you ask me. I mean, this is golf. You’re on a golf course. You’re in some of the most beautiful places in the world. You’re wearing a hat and shorts. This thing that was a hobby of mine is now a job. I’m getting paid to do my hobby. And one of the coolest things about this journey for me is sharing it with my immediate family. It’s just been so crazy. It’s probably crazier for them than it is for me.”