#285: Ted Scott, Caddie for Scottie Scheffler, PGA Tour – Great questions demand great answers

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: How Leaders Lead with David Novak
Episode: #285: Ted Scott, Caddie for Scottie Scheffler, PGA Tour – Great questions demand great answers
Date: April 2, 2026
Guest: Ted Scott, veteran PGA Tour caddie, currently with world #1 Scottie Scheffler

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Episode Overview

The episode features an in-depth conversation between host David Novak and Ted Scott, the seasoned PGA Tour caddie with a remarkable record—including four Masters wins and an Olympic gold medal. The discussion explores the art of leadership from the unique perspective of a caddie, highlighting Ted's approach to asking great questions, adapting communication to individual needs, servant leadership, resilience under pressure, and the crucial importance of humility and learning in high-performance environments. The lessons are applicable far beyond golf.

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Major Discussion Themes and Insights

1. The Power of Belief and Positive Energy

• Belief as a Foundation: Ted underscores the central role belief plays in achieving at the highest level.
  • “Everything starts with the belief.... That puts the whole process in motion.” — Ted Scott (01:53)
• Positive Mindset: His outlook and humor help defuse tension on the course.
  • Example: During a pressure moment at Bay Hill, Ted joked with Scottie about a tough pin, comparing it to “Mike Tyson in his heyday” (03:49).

2. Communication: Tailoring Your Approach

• Adapting Delivery: Ted emphasizes asking players how they prefer to receive information, referencing experiences with both Bubba Watson (prefers less info) and Scottie Scheffler (wants every detail).
  • “I want to know a little bit about how you like to receive information.” — Ted Scott (10:39)
• Building Connection: He communicates in the “language” of his player to create trust and clarity.
  • Example: With Bubba, Ted mirrored his way of describing shots to build rapport (15:52).
• Humor as a Tool: Ted’s lighthearted dad jokes and banter help combat stress and foster a relaxed, supportive team environment.

3. Leadership as a Support Role: “Leading from Behind”

• Servant Leadership: Ted relishes being the support behind the star, likening his role to a NASCAR pit crew, keeping the driver focused on driving.
  • “My job is to get him to focus on driving the car. And that’s it.” — Ted Scott (28:28)
• Knowing When to Intervene: Great leaders (and caddies) must decide “when to step in and when to stay quiet,” often erring toward letting talent shine unless intervention is critical.
  • “Sometimes you have to be their confidence in a moment of vulnerability.” — Ted Scott (26:31)
• Creating Team Culture: Even “two-person teams” require a thoughtful culture. Ted and Scottie balance seriousness with playfulness, unified by shared values of hard work, faith, and joy (44:25).

4. Accountability and Constructive Challenge

• Courageous Conversations: Ted describes pivotal moments when difficult feedback transformed behavior—e.g., challenging both Bubba and Scottie on course demeanor, which led directly to breakthrough wins (04:46, 15:52).
• Boldness and Humility: He notes the best caddies aren’t just “yes-men” but are willing to risk friction in pursuit of the best outcome.

5. The Practice of Humble Lifelong Learning

• Never Be the Expert in the Room: Ted borrows wisdom from an early mentor:
  • “Every man is superior to me in some way. Therefore, I can learn from him.” (13:47)
• Constant Curiosity: He seeks out the expertise of players, other caddies, and business people, always asking, “What are you thinking about? How are you approaching this?” (07:03)
• Vulnerability: Embraces not knowing, risk of embarrassment, and the criticality of being teachable as keys to getting better (13:47, 65:29).

6. Handling Pressure and Resetting after Crisis

• Olympic Gold Story: Ted recounts a crucial intervention during the 2024 Olympic tournament when Scottie was struggling. Ted firmly redirected him with a “fatherly” tone, resulting in a comeback and gold medal (30:27).
  • “Come here and look at me in my eyes.... forget everything.... This is what we're doing....” — Ted Scott (30:27)
  • “Buddy, there’s no way I’d ever be on that podium without what you did for me this week.” — Scottie Scheffler, recounted by Ted (31:37)
• Consistent Simplicity: Whether addressing slumps, injury, or surprise events (as when Scottie was briefly jailed during a tournament—51:15), Ted’s advice is to “keep the process simple and consistent” and avoid overcomplicating solutions.

7. Disagreement & Decision-Making

• Guiding, Not Dictating: Ted outlines how he helps players reach better decisions by asking probing questions rather than arguing:
  • “If you ask a great question, it demands a great answer.” (39:07)
• Risk and Confidence: Sometimes, letting a player chase an aggressive shot—even if it doesn’t work out—maintains necessary confidence for winning performance (40:19).

8. Not Just at the Course: Values, Family, and Business

• Personal Growth: Ted’s own leadership was shaped by a difficult upbringing, which developed his resilience and empathy (33:29).
• Entrepreneurship: He entered the pickleball business, blending family creativity and fun (61:17).
• Marriage & Family: Principles learned from pre-marital counseling and his faith—like daily fresh starts and open communication—inform leadership at home and on the course (62:20, 63:36).

9. Lightning-Round Highlights

• Described himself as “Energetic, Silly, Spiritual” (59:13).
• Most prized “things”: People and relationships, not possessions (60:35).
• Daily ritual: “Trying to serve somebody else” (60:58).
• Secret: “Deep down, I’m insecure” (60:52).

10. Key Leadership Takeaways

• Don’t Be the Expert: “The easiest way to get better is... never be the expert in the room.” (65:29)
• Humility and Influence: “Anytime I’ve ever met somebody amazing, they’re usually the most humble person....” (65:49)
• Empathy in Communication: Adapt your message to each individual’s needs and ways of processing (10:39).
• Active Learning: “It’s one thing to be an avid learner... but actually say, ‘How can I apply this in my life?’” — David Novak in the debrief (75:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Belief:
  • “Everything starts with the belief.... That puts the whole process in motion.” — Ted Scott (01:53)
• On Team Humor:
  • “That’s like Mike Tyson in his heyday. Don’t even look at it.” — Ted Scott, diffusing tension, Bay Hill (03:49)
• On Candor:
  • “If you’re not going to have a good attitude and enjoy yourself, I don’t really want to take this job.” — Ted Scott, to Scottie Scheffler (04:46)
• On Great Leadership:
  • “When you challenge people... that can really catapult us to the next level.” — Ted Scott (15:52)
• On Learning:
  • “Never be the expert in the room.... That way I can ask great questions and get great answers and learn and grow.” — Ted Scott (07:03)
• On Servant Leadership:
  • “My job is to get him to focus on driving the car.... If I gotta wash his underwear... whatever I got to do...” — Ted Scott (28:28)
• On the Olympics Intervention:
  • “Come here and look at me in my eyes and listen to every word I'm saying to you....” — Ted Scott (30:27)
  • “Buddy, there's no way I'd ever be on the podium without what you did for me this week.” — Scottie recounted by Ted (31:37)
• On Handling Pitch-Perfect Pressure:
  • “Sometimes you have to be their confidence in a moment of vulnerability.” — Ted Scott (26:31)
• On Lifelong Learning:
  • “Every man is superior to me in some way, therefore I can learn from him.” — Early mentor to Ted Scott (13:47)

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Highlighted Segments (with Timestamps)

• Belief in Sports & Life: (01:24–02:18)
• Humor and Changing Moods: (03:36–04:35)
• Challenging Elite Talent: (04:46–06:58)
• Caddie as Leader/Support Role: (28:09–29:59)
• Defining Caddie/Team Culture: (44:02–45:42)
• Critical Intervention – Olympics: (30:27–33:09)
• Handling Disagreement: (39:04–40:19)
• Lifelong Learning Philosophy: (13:34–15:11, 65:29)
• Lightning Round: (59:10–61:00)
• Marriage and Family Leadership: (62:13–64:17)

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Useful for All Leaders

David Novak and the co-host distill cross-industry parallels in the episode’s debrief:

• The importance of empathy and tailored communication (68:46)
• Stepping in at the right moment vs. letting autonomy shine for growth (70:46)
• The virtue of humble listening for personal and team development (73:07)

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Key Takeaways for Listeners

For aspiring leaders of any field:

• Cultivate belief and transmit confidence to your team.
• Adapt communication style to each individual; humor and candor both have their place.
• Serve, support, and know when to get out of the way.
• Don’t be afraid to challenge or to be challenged—growth requires accountability.
• Stay curious and humble; seek learning from everyone around you.
• In high-pressure situations, reset with simplicity and focus.
• Celebrate and reinforce shared values and small victories.
• Apply consistent preparation and adaptability in your craft.
• Remember: Great leadership may often mean leading quietly—from behind the scenes.

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For golfers:
The psychological insights on performing under pressure, caddie-player dynamics, and mental resets may be immediately actionable, but the broader leadership wisdom applies to any high-performance setting.

Notable closing advice:

• “Don’t be the expert in the room. The easiest way to lead is to follow someone great.”—Ted Scott (65:29)

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Episode Suitability:
A rich listen (or read!) for anyone interested in leadership, high-performance teams, mentorship, and growth—on or off the course.

Transcript

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of How Leaders Lead with David Novak. Today we have Ted Scott on the show. Ted is PGA Tour caddy and currently on the bag for world number one, Scottie Scheffler. In his 29 years as a PGA Tour caddy, Ted's won four Masters tournaments and an Olympic gold medal. And Ted knows that he doesn't always have the right answers, but he asks the right questions at the right time. And it's this strategy that allows him to guide the number one player in the world to greatness without getting in his way. Ted's considered one of the best caddies to ever pick up a bag. And if you've ever struggled with when to speak up and when to stay quiet, this episode is going to help you navigate that tension with confidence and clarity. Enjoy this episode with David and Ted, and I will see you at the very end of the show for the debrief.

[David Novak]

Now, Ted, I've seen these videos on Instagram. Who taught you how to dance?

[Ted Scott]

Well, yeah, there we go. Yeah, it's just in my blood. My mom, my sister, you know, my dad. They all love to dance, and they're pretty much all clowns. So anytime I get a chance to dance and be an idiot, I'm silent. Sign me up.

[David Novak]

I love your hat. It says believe on it. And I just have to ask you. One of my favorite shows of all time is Ted Lasso. Have you watched Ted Lasso?

[Ted Scott]

I have not seen Ted Lasso. I've heard a lot of people love it, but I haven't seen it.

[David Novak]

You gotta watch it. But he's got this poster that he puts on in the locker room that says believe on it. When you think of sports and golf in particular, how. How important do you think the word belief is? Or believe?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, I mean, obviously what you believe you can achieve. We've all heard that saying, and it's so true. And everything starts with the belief. It's like, I think kids grow up thinking, hey, I think one day I can play on the PGA Tour. And that belief gets them to work. That puts the whole process in motion. And then once you get there, you look back and say, man, I've earned this spot, and I believe I can do it. And then you step up and hit those great shots under pressure. It's. You know, it starts with a belief. For sure.

[David Novak]

Absolutely. And, you know, I gotta ask you if this is true. Scotty Scheffler asked you to caddy for him. And the first question that I understand that you asked him Is that if he liked dad jokes, you know, is that true?

[Ted Scott]

100%. Man, if you're not going to have fun on the golf course, I don't want to be a part of it.

[David Novak]

And what's your favorite dad to dad joke?

[Ted Scott]

Look, I don't have a lot of know, good dad jokes. You know, I'm just glad I'm not named Jim or Will because everybody wants to hit the gym and, and fire at will. So, you know, just, I don't know, stuff like that that I come up with that I hear, but I'm just pass it on, just dumb stuff.

[David Novak]

Now here it is. It's Masters time. What's it like when you, you drive up Magnolia Lane? Yeah.

[Ted Scott]

You know, Augusta is a special place. As a kid growing up, watching golf with my dad and my grandfather, it was always a special tournament. And, you know, the, the music plays and you hear Jim Nance's voice and, you know, you just think about all the great shots that have been hit and all the greatest players that have been there that have won the tournament. So, you know, it starts with that, that place as a kid in my heart that I just love being there. And then obviously, you know, being able to stand with the winner a few times has been, you know, makes it extra special. But yeah, it's, it's incredible. Everybody that goes for the first time can't believe it, you know, so you get that full experience.

[David Novak]

You obviously have positive energy that just exudes, you know, give me a moment on the course when your humor completely changed the mood of what was going on.

[Ted Scott]

Probably one of my favorite memories was Scotty was in contention to win Bay Hill his first time. And if you know about Bay Hill on Sunday, the golf course almost becomes unplayable because the greens get so rock hard and they put that pin way over on the right on 17 and really nobody can hit to it. It's just the green's too firm. So he just tied the lead on 16 on Sunday, and we get to the tee on 17, and I said, hey, you see that pin over there on the right? He said, yeah. I said, that's like Mike Tyson in his heyday. Don't even look at it. So, you know, I think that was a moment where I was proud of myself because I made what I thought was a really funny joke and also helped him to relax. But also, hey, let's hit the ball over here. And he did. And he two putted from about 50ft and got his three and ran as fast as we could to the Next tee.

[David Novak]

Great. You know, and I also learned in my research that before you even got the job working with Scotty, you challenged him about the demeanor he had on the course. Tell us that story.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, you know, we had met Scotty because Bubba asked him to be his partner at Dessert Classic. So that was the only time that I spent around him. And obviously, he was a really sweet guy, great, you know, great player, but. But he was, you know, a little too intense, I think, on the course. So when he asked me to work for him, you know, I was. I was actually trying to retire from caddying after 22 years, and I was just going to go teaching golf and doing some ministry stuff. And when he asked me to caddy for him, I just thought, you know, do I really want to spend time with somebody that's not enjoying themselves out there? And, you know, that was what I challenged him is just said, look, if you're not going to, you know, have a good attitude and enjoy yourself, I don't really want to take this job because I don't need to take this job. But if you're willing to work on that, not perfection, if you're willing to work on that, I'm in. You know, and so he said, you're right, man. I've kind of had a crappy attitude and I'll work on it. So it's been a lot of fun.

[David Novak]

Oh, that's great. You know, and, you know, having been in a support role alongside such a elite talent, what can business leaders learn about what it takes to push people to a higher level of performance when they're obviously already great?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah. You know, I would say learning from people like Bubba and Scotty, you know, they're just. They're very driven to get better, and they love a challenge. I think that's how you become great, is you have to embrace challenge. You know, if you want to work out and get the beach body, you can't just show up and bench press the bar. If the bar doesn't challenge you right, you got to put enough weights on there to where it's challenging, and that's what makes you grow. So, you know, really the sweet spot of life is to challenge yourself daily. Try to get better mentally, physically, spiritually. And I think that's what these guys do a really good job of as a caddy. We fill all kinds of gaps. Encourager, psychologist, swing coach, you know, putting guru. Sometimes you try to just basically make the. The car go faster, and sometimes you see the left tire's low, and sometimes the check engine lights on. And so we're always just trying to help monitor, you know, something that could be slowing down and just try to push them in that area. But. But ultimately, I try to say as little and do as little as I can because, you know, he's the one that's great at what he does, and I try to really just stay out of his way and help him create the belief that he's, you know, he's in it and he can do it. So that's kind of my main role as a caddie.

[David Novak]

What other traits do you think leaders can learn from elite caddies like yourself?

[Ted Scott]

In any profession? You know, if you're stale, if you're just kind of like, okay, I'm working for Scotty Shepler, he's the best cat, he's the best player in the world. You know, I'm good doing what I'm doing. You know, you're not really going to get better. And so I think as a leader, anybody that's leading a company or whatever, they're innovators. They're always trying to improve and find ways to get better. And sometimes to their detriment. We've seen great golfers that have actually tried to get better and they've actually gotten worse. But most of the time when you're. When you're an innovator, you're trying to get better. And from my personal experience, the way that I've always tried to get better at anything is to never be the expert in the room. I'm always trying to be the guy that doesn't know anything in the room full of people that do. And that way I can ask great questions and get great answers and learn and grow. If I'm the expert in the room, then I'm doing the teaching. If I'm not the expert in the room, then I have a chance to really learn something and grow. So I'm always asking other athletes and businessmen and people and other great caddies and coaches, hey, what are you thinking about? How are you approaching this? What do you do? So I think as a leader, that's probably the greatest thing we can do, is just never stop learning, because the people that are following you, you have influence over them. So if you're learning and growing and they're going to come along with you, they're going to learn and grow, too, by just being at your side.

[David Novak]

You know, when you're at the top of your profession like you are, you know, I'm sure other caddies look, look up to you and want to learn from you as well. What do you see as your obligation is as a leader in your field to help others that, that want to come up?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, I love helping people. It's one of my favorite things to do and it's really what I was kind of, you know, know, retiring from caddy and because I just had a lot of people that were requesting me to try to help them with their golf game and, and also, you know, I kind of a little bit of a minister in, in a way, I minister to a lot of people in their life and try to help them because I've had a lot of troubles and strife in my life. So I try to take those lessons and pay it forward. You know, I'm 52 years old now. I got some wisdom behind me, behind me. And, you know, there's definitely something that I enjoy. I would love as much as I was hungry to learn as a young man. I would love someone like myself who's 30 years ahead of the game to say, hey man, I'll sit down with you, go to lunch and tell you everything I know about this subject. And really, man, that'd be cool. So, you know, it's fun for me to pass along those same lessons that great people have passed to me.

[David Novak]

You've, you've been carrying the bag, I think, for 26 years. It's a 45 pound bag. I mean, you know, what do you have to do anything additional to stay in shape to be able to handle that gruel? Or is it just come with your, your natural athletic body?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, I don't know. My mom has been into natural health for 40 years, so she kind of instilled that healthy lifestyle for us as kids. I try to eat pretty healthy, get sleep, you know, don't partake in things that are harmful to my body. So, so main part, just trying to take care of myself. And probably the number one thing is just to keep stress low. But ultimately, I mean, I wouldn't say caddy and keeps you in shape. I mean, there's people that caddy that are, that, that are not in shape, that are overweight and things like that. I'm just genetically not overweight. You know, I think it's not because I'm trying to be skinny or thin or because I walk 12 miles. I think it's just genetically the way that I'm built. But ultimately, you know, I'm trying to just take care of myself and live a happy, healthy life.

[David Novak]

You know, you did this YouTube video with Grant Horvat recently. And I think it basically was the purpose to see what kind of added value a professional caddy like you could bring to a You to a great amateur golfer. And I was really intrigued by this question that you asked, which was the first question you asked was, how do you like to receive information?

[Ted Scott]

Well, first of all, I want to know a little bit about how do you like to receive information? So I've had some bosses that are like, don't tell me where not to hit it. Don't discuss the bad. Only tell me your target.

[David Novak]

Give me everything today.

[Ted Scott]

Then I have a new boss that literally, you can tell him anything, and he's tough enough to handle this. So where do you fall in that category? I know who you're talking about. Okay.

[David Novak]

Where'd you learn that approach?

[Ted Scott]

You know, communication in any relationship is so important, right? So when I worked for Bubba, sometimes the more I would say, the worse he would get. And that's because the more complicated it seemed in his head, the more fearful he became in his swing. Whereas Scotty is more, hey, you know, what's it over there? Is that bunker? Okay, Is long bad here? Is this okay? So he kind of wants all the information, and he's not afraid of it, and it doesn't make him scared. So, you know, you just learn from experience that, hey, not everybody wants to know that left is dead here. You know, if I said to Bubba, hey, just do not go left here, he'll hit it 80 yards to the right. But if I tell Scotty, don't go left, he'll maybe shift his target a few yards and still make a great swing. And they're both great players with great success, but, you know, the way that information comes across to them can create a, you know, way of hitting a golf ball that's good or bad. So, you know, I was trying to get that feel for. For if I'm trying to help somebody. Like, how do you process information? Are you simple? Are you complicated? Does this make you worried? You know, can you handle pressure? Do you try to take pressure off? You know, I think that girl that just won the Olympics and figure skating, she was saying, like, I don't really care if I win a medal. And some people do really well with that. You know, Scotty Scheffler wants to win everything, and he. He sees things different. So that communication is very important, you know, to any relationship.

[David Novak]

You know, you're very good at, you know, framing things with either stories or jokes or just even that question you just asked of how do you how do you like to receive information? You know, how did you pick up this communication skill?

[Ted Scott]

I think just practice, you know, dealing with people. I love people. I love being around people. I get energized in a crowd. And, man, I bet it was. I think I was 19 was the first time I spoke in front of people. And, you know, like a lot of people, I spoke in front of a group of about a thousand people in a meeting one time, and I loved it. And I just, you know, started studying people that speak and how they communicate. And for me, I relate really well to stories. You know, if somebody gets up and they just give me a bunch of boring information with no story to it, and I can fall asleep. But if you engage with stories or jokes or kind of keep, you know, keep it light, then I'm very, you know, quick to learn and enjoy it. So that's how I try to share my information with people and that, you know, that's why, like I said, we're going to be out there for five hours, dude. I'm going to joke around, have some fun. I don't want to be out there and just be stoic and serious for five hours. That's not my personality. And I don't want somebody to suppress the way that I feel like being. And there are great players that do that, but I don't want to be a part of that type of team. You know, it's not me.

[David Novak]

What's your favorite story that you use to make a leadership point that you think is really important?

[Ted Scott]

When I was 19 years old, I met a kid that was 18 years old. His dad was the vice president of sales for Johnson and Johnson. And he was a professional model. He was like a stud athlete. He was a stud student.

[David Novak]

He.

[Ted Scott]

He walked around with, like $5,000 cash in his pocket. And I thought, oh, he's daddy's little rich kid. You know, when I met him, turns out he had earned it himself. And I was just like, who is this guy? And he was just so good at everything. And I remember asking him a question, you know, just about how he got to be so good. And this was what he told me. And I've really tried to live my life based on this statement. He said, ted, every man is superior to me in some way. Therefore, I can learn from him. He said, even, you know, a bum on the street has something to teach me. So he never approached any other person thinking, well, I'm better than him. That guy can't teach me anything. Always with humility, always with Eagerness to possibly learn. And so, you know, that just really showed me, like, man, if you really want to get good at something, humble yourself. Don't be afraid to ask a question. Don't be afraid to not be the expert in the room. Don't be afraid to get embarrassed, you know, because that's how you learn. That's how you get good at anything. You know, if you want to win the major championship, there's a risk that you could be embarrassed. You could miss a four footer and hit it out of bounds, you know, make a bad swing and lose it all. But in order to have that opportunity, you got to be willing to take that chance and learn and grow. And so, you know, that mindset that Ryan Smith showed me at a young age really kind of helped me to go forward in my life and pursue excellence and whatever by just asking great people, you know, questions like, hey, man, can you help me with this? And that's how, that's how I got into caddy, and that's how I've done everything in my life. You know, just asking people that are better than me at. At what they're doing, man, can you help me?

[David Novak]

You know, I had the opportunity to play with Bubba Watson once and, and he told me he never, ever hits a straight golf shot. He said he either wants to cut it or he wants to draw it, but he always would paint this picture. And, you know, I saw this interview with you once, I think it was on 60 Minutes actually, where you, you described Bubba Watson as a savant. You know, when you have a mind like that, okay, and an ability like he had, you know, how did you help him, you know, control his. Or not control, but unleash the obvious talent that he had. When you've got a savant like that.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah. I mean, I caddied on the PGA tour for over 10 years. I think it was my 11th season before we finally won a tournament. So it wasn't like I had this secret. And I think Bubba played the Korn Ferry Tour for three years, and it wasn't until his fourth year, I think he played the Korn Ferry Tour, yeah, for three years. And then in his fourth year, he got on the PGA Tour, and he played the PGA Tour for four years before he won. So he played a long time with the drought. So for me, the first four years working for him, Bubba wasn't a big communicator. You know, he didn't really tell me much. He didn't like me to say too much. So I had to Do a lot of observation, like, what is he like? And then I started trying to use his language. So it's almost like if you go to Mexico, you learn to speak Spanish so you can communicate with the people. So Bubba would say, man, I like a big old cut eight iron here. Well, I would learn to say, like, man, I like a big old cut 8 iron here. That's not how I would say it, but that's how he says it, and that's his love language. So I'm going to say it the way he says it. And you kind of started to learn. So that was how I started to help him, was just trying to communicate in his language. And then, ironically, the exact same way that he became a great player was the same speech that I gave to Scotty about his attitude on the golf course. Like, hey, man, you're acting like an idiot out there, and you're costing yourself shots if you continue there. I don't want to do this anymore. That's what I told Bubba. And the very next week after I had that speech, thinking he was going to fire me after I said that to him, and he said, you're right. I'm sorry. I'll work on it. And the very next week, he won his first tournament on the PGA Tour. So we all need someone in our life to speak truth, to speak life, to hold us accountable when we're not, you know, behaving properly. And I need those people in my life, and I have those people in my life. So I think, you know, the challenge for us to get better, if we have another man or woman that challenges us, that can really catapult us to the next level. And I think that one conversation with Bubba really helped him a lot, because in the next tournament that he won, he was in the middle of the tournament, he started acting that way again. And I said to him, hey, the clubhouse is right there. I will walk in. Like, I don't. I'm done. Like, you better stop. And he said, you're right. And then he won his first tournament and went on to have a great career. So, you know, just. Just that little change in mindset changed the whole outcome of how he played. So, pretty cool story.

[David Novak]

What would you say is Scotty Scheffler's love language?

[Ted Scott]

Hard work, man. The guy, you know, he thrives to work hard, and he's really smart. He's so smart. So I think it's super easy to communicate with him, you know, and if he doesn't understand, he's not embarrassed, you know, he's very comfortable man in his own skin. So, like, if you say something that he doesn't understand, even if he doesn't know what a word means, he'll say, what's that word mean? Like, he's not. He's so humble and so easy to talk to, so communication is his strength. It's super, you know, super fun to talk to him on the course and. And decipher strategy, but he really. He gets a lot of confidence if he knows you're working hard because he's working hard. So if he's like, hey, my. My team is prepared for this, that gives him a lot of confidence to do well.

[David Novak]

Now, you won two Masters tournaments with Bubba and two with Scotty. What's your favorite Masters moment and why?

[Ted Scott]

Oh, man. Favorite Masters moment. Gosh, that's a tough one. I don't know. I think. I think the. The talent that Bubba had was. Was amazing. But I think I enjoyed Scotty's first win more just because the guy, he just works so hard, man. And he's been doing that since he was 7. You know, I heard as a kid, he wore pants to the golf course and was saying, I'm going to be on the PGA Tour. And, you know, he just, like, you know, being honest, he'll cry at times when he doesn't play well. He gets so upset, you know, and so to see him have that success and to be able to help him around there was just an absolute joy. It was just. It was a lot of fun. And then. And then the conversation on the 18th hole was quite hilarious. You know, the first putt he had was quite funny, right? You know, he had that downhill putt from the top shelf and putted it past the hole. And he said, hey, man, sorry. I was trying to make that, you know, And I'm like, okay. And then he put it the next one, like, four feet by. And I was like, okay. And then he put the next one 3ft by, like, all right, I need to go talk to him. I was like, hey, dude, are you okay here? He's like, I'll make this. And I'm like, you sure? If not, just get it close. Like, you know, we don't have too many more of these shots to play with, so that was kind of a funny moment. But. But I actually distracted him on that hole. I. I heard a caddy one time say they were walking up the 18th at Augusta and they were winning the tournament, and he said, I turned to my pro and I said, hey, walk slow and look around and take it all in. And so before Scotty hit his first putt, I was like, hey, take it all in, Buddy. Well, we took it all in four times on that hole. On the green, he's like, never tell me that again. I was like, I got it, buddy. Jacked him all up, distracted him.

[David Novak]

What's a master story that's important to you that you don't usually share publicly?

[Ted Scott]

You know, maybe I don't know if it's important, but one of the fun things, Bubba was a lot of fun. And so we were watching. We were watching the LPGA major that. That comes on Sunday before the Masters in 2012, and one of our friends was catting for a girl that unfortunately ended up missing literally like a two foot putt on the last hole to win. And she got into a playoff. But right after the coverage on Sunday, before the 12 Masters, ESPN came on and did a sports science about hole 12. And they talked about how the winds come down through the different holes in this big open area, and it creates a swirl. And so they explained this whole process and why it's so difficult to judge the wind and how it affects the golf ball. And. And then at the very end, they said, it's called the Eddie Effect. Okay? And I was like, oh, my gosh. So I turned to Bubba and I said, hey, this week when we get to 12, don't blame Teddy, blame Eddie. You know, and so that was kind of a fun. A fun story for me. You know, just having some fun. But. But yeah, man, Augusta, obviously, you know, catting for great players around there. And seeing Louisian hit that, you know, that two on hole two, seeing that in person was pretty special. And being a part of the winning story a few times has been very special. So I got a lot of great memories there.

[David Novak]

You know, speaking of great memories, I have to ask you about this one, because I know it has to be a great one. When Bubba's in the playoff in the masters on 10, he hits it, right? He's in the woods and he hits that tremendous hook, you know? You know, I don't know, 15ft and makes the birdie to win and take us through that moment. What was that like? What was going on with you guys? Tell us that dialogue.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, so Bubba, he doesn't like blind shots, and 10 is a blind shot. You can't see the landing area. And there's no better tee shot in the world for him than 10, except he can't see the landing. And during the tournament, he kept kind of over Cutting his tee shot, and it was starting to get close to the bushes on the left, and I think he just made a fearful swing, like, well, don't cut it too much, and hit the dreaded straight ball through the. Through the dogleg. And. And then we got down there, and of course, you know, Gus is the best at getting the patrons out of the way. So you get down there, it's a clear opening, and I got the number, and it's like, okay, it's wide open. He can hit a hook. And this is what Bubba does. I mean, it wasn't like there was ever a question, can he hook it that much? I mean, that guy plays those shots from the middle of the fairway with no trees in his way in a tournament, you know? So we got over there, the lie was good. The opening was wide open, and we knew, hey, there's only one option. And, you know, crazily enough, Bubba Watson sometimes is better with a really difficult shot than he is with a easy shot, because with an easy shot, there's a lot of options, and maybe there's lack of clarity. So with that shot, it was like, hey, this is what we got to do. And he's so good at that. So the question was just, what club are we going to hit? And so he hits his gap wedge, 135. We had 165 to the hole, so I thought, okay, we'll hit a gap wedge. If he hooks it, it's going to go more than 135. And that's kind of how we calculated it. And he hit the shot, and it was kind of funny because Bubba's. He's afraid of people. He's afraid of a crowd. You know, he's very nervous around people he doesn't know. And so he comes out of the. Out of the trees after hitting that shot. And I had got out first and saw it land and saw where it was, and I was kind of like, oh, I can't wait to see what he says. And right as he steps out and he sees this ball, I'm kind of looking at him like, huh, you see your ball? And this is what he said to me. These people are touching me because people were slapping him on the back. And that was so distracting to him. He was so freaked out by people touching him, you know, that he didn't know. That kind of makes me giggle because, you know, it's just. That was his fear. And instead of being excited that his ball was 15ft, he was more worried about people touching him, you know, it was hilarious.

[David Novak]

So I know one. One thing that you'll never say to Scotty Scheffler again when you're. You're on the 18th hole or maybe in the back nine if he's ahead big time, is that, you know, don't soak. You know, soak in the moment. You will not say that.

[Ted Scott]

But.

[David Novak]

But let's say you're on the back nine of Augusta national, and you are in contention. What are you saying and what are you intentionally not saying?

[Ted Scott]

Golf is. Golfers are mental, right? Every one of us, because we initiate the action. So in any other sport, it's a reaction sport. In golf, there's a lot of time to think. So you have to read the player and know, what does the player like? What does he not like? And. And also, as a caddy, we can get stressed out and feel the pressure and maybe talk too much or not talk enough or become a yes guy. Yes. I like an eight iron because you like an eight iron, even though you're thinking it's a seven all day, you know, So I think you have to just break it down into. All right, we've prepared for this. We're good at this. Let's run our process. You know, it's boring, but it's like, hey, this is what we have to do. We're going to go through the process just like we do. Talk about the target the same way we'd always talk about it. You know, if he's getting negative, I might have to say something. Or if he's a little too overconfident, I might have to say something. Hey, this is not the right shot. You know, one of my favorite moments was. I think I want to say it was the 2024 Masters, and we were on 13, and Scotty hit it barely, kind of up near where Phil Mickelson was on the hill, but not quite into the pine straw. And we get up there, and he says, what do we do here? And I said, what do you mean? He goes, you want to lay it up or go for it? I said, you're the best iron player in the world. We're not laying it up, you know, And I said it with such confidence because he is and was the best iron player in the world. And he kind of went, oh, yeah? And he took a forearm out and knocked it right in the middle of the green, you know, and two, put it for birdie. I was like, what do you mean laid up, you freaking weirdo? Like, But I think he was kind of like, whoa, it's a big moment. And I just had to remind him, hey, you know who you are, dude, You're Scotty Scheffler. And he's like, oh, yeah, I'm Scotty Scheffler. Here, give me the four iron. So sometimes you just have to remind these guys how good they are and that, you know, this is what you're prepared for. And you got this, man. Just go do it. And then what do you not say? You know, whatever you do, don't hit it in the water. The typical stuff that you don't want to hear, you know, I don't think you point out all the negative stuff. You really just try to point out what you want to have happen and focus on the potential there.

[David Novak]

Did you just describe what you think makes a caddy a great leader versus a bag carrier?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, there's been really great caddies that I've watched. You know, I love to watch people. I'm a people watcher, and I love to observe from people. And, you know, I see some of the greatest caddies get fired the most. And it's. And it's kind of like, man, why does that guy get fired the most? Because they're the most willing to put themselves on the line. And sometimes the guys that last a long time with the player maybe just say what the player wants to hear. So it's like, okay, but they're really not challenging the player. They're really not helping the player. Sometimes in a stressful environment, if you get involved and they mess up, you might be the first one that gets axed. So I've tried to learn from those guys and be bold when I can. And I'm not naturally just a bold, confrontational person, not really a naturally confident person, but I'm trying to learn that and be that for my guy. Because sometimes you have to be their confidence, you know, in a moment of vulnerability. I remember Michael Greller told me a story one time that Jordan Spieth had about a five footer that was important. And he backed off a couple times and he finally called Michael over, and the words he used to Michael was really cool. He said, I need you to make this putt for me, you know, and obviously Michael couldn't hit it, but he just. He wasn't feeling it. And so Michael got in there and spoke words of, you know, affirmation and confidence to him. And he got in there and buried it and they fist bump and went on to play great. So I think sometimes you have to be that guy. And. And it's hard, you know, it's hard because you don't want to mess them up. It's a. It's a hard question to answer. You know, what's the right thing to say? What's the wrong thing to say? I don't know, man, because every person's different. You know, it's. It's a. It's a tough thing. Caddy's tough in that situation, but it's a lot of fun.

[David Novak]

Yeah. And I think it would be fairly lonely, too, because you're out there with one person on your team and, you know, some would say you're basically leading from behind, you know, do you see yourself as a servant leader because you're in such a supportive role? And what does that mean to you?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah. Our good friend Brandon Parsons gave me one of the coolest analogies about caddy, and he said, if your player was a NASCAR driver, what do you want him doing? And I was like, driving the car. He goes, yeah, I don't want him doing anything else because that's what he's good at. So he said, if I got to wash his underwear, go pick up his food, bring it to him, you know, whatever I got to do, I don't care what I have to do. My job is to get him to focus on driving the car. And that's it. And so I was like, what a great analogy. So what I'm looking for is, what does Scotty Scheffler really good at? Golf. So I don't want him thinking about all this other stuff and people distracting him from all these, you know, from what he's good at. It's like, dude, you're really good at hitting an 8 iron. Let's be good at that. So as a. As a caddy, I'm just trying to fill those gaps to help him to be the best at what he's already good at. And sometimes that's me doing nothing. You know, when Scotty catches fire, I am a yes man because he's like, I like a darn. Yeah. Obviously you're feeling it. I'm not going to tell Steph Curry when he's hit six three pointers in a row. Hey, man, you know, a little more release with that. You know, that wrist. You know, it's like, just shut up and give him the ball, dude. He's on fire, you know? Um, so, yeah, you're. You're trying to stay out of the. Stay out of the way as often as possible. And sometimes you have to get in the way. And that's, that's the scariest part of caddying. You know, whenever, you know, you gotta do something because that's usually their most stressful, vulnerable time. And you gotta step in and, and, and be abrasive in some way, you know, and, and a lot of times they don't like it, but if you're good at it, it helps em. And I think the really great caddies are able to do that.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

Hello, friends. I hope you're loving this conversation with David and Ted. As always. Stay tuned to the very end of the episode. David and I are going to debrief the conversation that he's having with Ted Scott, and you'll get to hear who David thinks is going to take home the green jacket this year. So stay tuned to the very end of the episode and I will see you at the debrief.

[David Novak]

Thinking back, you know what would be your greatest leadership moment where you actually did that, you stepped in and you did what you had to do.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, by far the best I've ever done. Not even a contest was we were on the sixth hole at the Olympics on Friday, and Scotty was playing phenomenal going into the tournament, and everybody had him to win. The expectations were high. Number one. And if you think about it, the Olympics comes around once every 16 majors. So it feels even bigger. It just feels like so much pressure, like this is my one chance. And he was hitting it close and couldn't make a putt. Hitting it close and couldn't make a putt. And he was getting very frustrated. And he actually threw his putter on the sixth hole. He missed another eight foot birdie putt. And I thought, okay, we're in it, you know, I got to do something. And he goes to the next tee and he topped his three wood. And I went, oh, my gosh. And we make double. And I'm like, now I know we got to do something. So I got very strong. I thought about what I was going to say and I wrote down three things on a piece of paper and I just. We got on the eighth green. When I finally got it, kind of got him away from the other players. And I said, come here and look at me in my eyes and listen to every word I'm saying to you. And don't say a word while I'm talking. You got it. I talked to him like a father. I was like, I can't believe I'm talking to my player like this, you know, and he's like just looking at me and I Said, here's what we're going to do. Forget everything. We're not doing any of that stuff you're thinking about. This is what we're doing. I said, we're going to do this. You got it? We're going to do this. You got it? Then we're going to do this. That's it. Just like three little simple things. And I said, you got it? He's like, yeah, like, you got it. He goes, yeah. And he made that putt for Bertie. And I'm like, okay. And then we go to number nine, and he had about six footer, and he hit a good putt, and he misread it, and he missed it. And he goes, I can't read these greens. And I said, I can read the greens. Get me in. I'll read the greens. You know, got to fake it till you make it, right, David? So we go to 10, and I read the putt, and he made it. And we go to 11. I read the putt, and he made it. It goes, birdie, birdie. And he started to settle in, and then it was like he started to feel it. It started to come back, and his whole demeanor started to relax, and he was doing the three things that I asked him to do. And then he went on to shoot 29 on the back nine and win. And it was really cool, you know, for Scotty, because, like, who Scotty is. When we were on the range, kind of waiting to see what Tommy Fleetwood would do, and we heard that he had. He had made a bogey and that he had won, he turned to me and he said, buddy, there's no way I'd ever be on the podium without what you did for me this week on Friday. So that was really cool. So, I know it was scary for me. It was very nerve wracking for me to challenge him in that way and really speak to him in that way. But I'm like, hey, this is the one chance that we have to write this ship. If I just sit back and say, oh, man, keep putting. Well, you know, I had to kind of get in his brain for a second and kind of re. Hit the restart button. And, you know, once he did, he. He was. I didn't have to say another word. I really. The rest of the tournament, I just kind of sat back and ate popcorn and watched the guy crush everybody. So that was a lot of fun and definitely my most proud moment as a caddy.

[David Novak]

I can't let this go by. What. What were those three things? All of us golfers are wondering what the hell it is.

[Ted Scott]

I'm not, I'm not revealing my secret because I might have to use that again. I don't want other people using that.

[David Novak]

Okay. I knew there was a reason why.

[Ted Scott]

Oh, yeah, I'm not going to tell you what, it definitely worked. So I might have to remind him of that.

[David Novak]

You know, that's good. You know, I want to shift gears for a second, take you back. You know, what's a story from your, your childhood that shaped the kind of leader you are today?

[Ted Scott]

You know, I think difficult times really bring out leaders. You know, I don't think that diamonds are made, you know, without the pressure. Right. And so people that have gone through hard things, people that are, you know, been through a lot, tend to be people that learn the most. And I grew up, you know, I had an alcoholic stepfather, said a lot of nasty things, kind of did some nasty things. And so I think for me, that gave me drive to be a better person, to try to learn, to try to grow, to try to prove myself. You know, I had a little chip on my shoulder. I was a fighter, you know, feisty person, you know, personality. So had to learn to deal with all those emotions and anger and, you know, drive and failure and trying to prove myself and, you know, I would think I did it and he, he didn't approve. And so I think all of those hardships from childhood are a blessing, you know, going through it. You look back and man, I wouldn't wish kids to have to go through that, but it definitely shaped me to become the man that I am today. And, and I'm still learning, I still get frustrated, I still, you know, deal with those things sometimes. And sometimes my childhood as a 52 year old man, you know, comes up and I act like a fool, but, but yeah, I think that's a big part of my childhood was, you know, the hardship that we went through as a family that helped me be a better man.

[David Novak]

You know, before you were a world class caddy, I understand you were world class in another sport. You know, tell us about it.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah. Once again, if you want to get better, you find people better than you. I was, I was a young man, I went to a pool hall, I used to play a lot of pool and I saw some people playing foosball back there in a tournament and I couldn't believe the coordination they had. And I just literally tapped some random guy I'd never met on the shoulder, said, excuse me, is there somebody that could teach me how to do this? And he introduced me to the guy that ran the tournaments who was a state champion. And he started teaching me day one. You know, it's kind of like Mr. Miyagi. You know, he was. He was my sensei on the foosball table. And a year and a half later, I won my first tournament. And then two and a half years later, I was a four time state champion and a world champion. So it was pretty crazy to think how fast that happened. But, you know, I had great instruction and a great partner and, you know, it was just a lot of fun to compete. And, you know, it was kind of cool to work hard at something and get a reward. It was really fun.

[David Novak]

I heard it actually helped you get a job with Paul Azinger.

[Ted Scott]

It did. Paul Lego. He was a rep for TaylorMade at the time. He came up to me and said, hey, Paul Aziger thinks he can beat anybody on the PGA Tour at foosball. You need to go challenge him. I was like, oh, there's no way that guy could beat me at Foosball. And so I went up and challenged him. And we went to play, you know, during one of the weeks of the tournaments while I was working for Grant Wade at the time. And he was just fascinated by what I could do on the table. And they invited me to his house, and I went and spent a week at his house and we played foosball and golf together. And I was teaching him, and pretty soon he was like, man, this is so much fun. He started playing in tournaments and then he invited me to caddy for him because, you know, he really just wanted me to go at nighttime after we'd be on the golf course, go at nighttime and find places to play and people to compete against. So kind of crazy how God used that foosball game to connect me with a different player and continue my caddy career. It's pretty funny.

[David Novak]

How'd you get into caddying in the first place?

[Ted Scott]

In 1999, I turned pro to teach golf, and a man that. That I played around with a few times said, man, you're playing really well. You really ought to try to play. And I said, well, you know, the mini tours are expensive. He said, I have money. I said, hello, good to see you, best friend. So ended up sponsoring me to play as a pro. And once again, if you want to get better, find people better than you. And the Nationwide Tour at the time would come to my hometown every year. And so I just went to caddy for one week to try to see, what are these guys Doing that. That, you know, that I need to be doing. And, you know, quickly, Grant Waite, I saw how good he was. He was teaching me a little bit. He asked me if I'd want to caddy again and again. And I just. I was like, dude, I'm learning so much. I'd love to keep doing this for a little while. And then three months into it, we battled Tiger woods head to head at the two Open on Sunday in the final group and finished second. And, you know, I realized two things. Caddy is a lot of fun, and, man, I'm way, way far removed from being able to compete with these guys. So I better just stick to caddy.

[David Novak]

And, you know, speaking of leadership, what did you learn watching Tiger woods close

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

up and personal, man?

[Ted Scott]

Just. Just. I would say the realness, you know, of who he was. Like, he. He just walked up and looked you right in the eyes and, hey, man, I'm Tiger. And I was like, yeah, no kidding, buddy. And just the freedom that he had to go for it. I think that's the biggest mistake that all golfers make. All of us. We're so worried about hitting a bad shot that we often hit a bad shot. And I remember one of the most impressive shots I've ever seen a human being hit was the tee shot on the first hole that Tiger hit. I mean, literally, when he hit that tee shot, I almost turned to Grant, said, we're not beating this guy because he just hit it with such freedom. And, yes, it went well, but I don't even think it would have mattered. He just. He stepped up like he had never hit a bad shot in his entire life. And I'd never seen a person swing with that. That much conviction. And it really impressed me. And, you know, that's what great ones do. They have that ability to be nervous and. And have the trouble and still go for it, and with the game on the line. And he certainly, you know, is one that's done that a lot and proven himself.

[David Novak]

You know, you talked about when you were at the Olympics and you helped instill confidence and get Scotty back on track as being a great, great leadership moment. It just kind of strikes me, makes me wonder, you know, what is the really, the best way to. To disagree, you know, with someone without putting fear or doubt into their mind?

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

You know, that's.

[David Novak]

That's gotta be a challenge.

[Ted Scott]

I mean, a really good friend of mine actually told me, he said, if you ask a great question, it demands a great answer. And so I would say you could be. Let's say the guy would say, I don't want to hit three wood and go for the green. Well, you could say, no, man, don't go for the green. We need to lay this up. Right. Well, that's kind of arguing, right? And then what you could do is say, okay, you know, let's entertain that possibility. What are the potential outcomes that you're okay with if we go for the green? Well, I could hit it on the green. Okay, well, I could hit it left in the water. How would that turn things? How would that make you feel? You know, I would hate that. Okay. Do you think there's just as good of an opportunity to make a birdie if we do lay it up? Yeah, my wedge game is good, and this pins in a good spot. Let's just do that. So you can guide people by not arguing with them. You can guide them by asking a great question and get them to think through, because sometimes they're not seeing the all the possibilities. So I think sometimes we don't have to argue. We can just ask a great question, and that demands a great answer.

[David Novak]

If a player doesn't answer that question in the way you'd like them to answer it, they go ahead and do what they wanted to do anyway, and they should have taken your advice. Are you ever tempted to let them know that you were right after the fact or how do you handle it?

[Ted Scott]

No. I think experience is a great teacher. And sometimes I would rather my guy take on a dumb shot to keep his cockiness and his level of confidence high than I would always take the conservative route and always lay up. Because the guy that always lays up makes a lot of money on the tour but never wins. We know the guys that make 50 million in their career and win once because they're always hitting to the center of the green when the games on the line and laying, hitting their first putt up to a foot short from 10ft and kind of playing the safety route. And I think the guys that are, you know, the risk takers, not John Daly risk type risk taker because he was too aggressive. But the guys like Scotty, they're willing to, hey, I'm willing to hit a three wood off this tee even though it's tight down there and there's a potential I could hit it in the water because the rewards high enough. I don't ever want to talk my guy out of that kind of confidence. So, yeah, sometimes you let him go for it and do the stupid thing and it's okay. You know, just sometimes you suffer the consequences of it, but it's all right now.

[David Novak]

You contribute to this strategy, but you aren't the. You aren't the one taking the shot. You know, what advice can you give the leaders on. On how to show up when you don't control the final outcome?

[Ted Scott]

Luke Donald's old caddy, John McLaren, said that one of the cool ways that they would go about doing it was they would talk about it like it's a stock, right? So it's like, hey, I've got stock A, you've got stock B. Which one do you want to buy? Well, tell me about your stock. Okay, okay, tell me about your stock. You know what Stock B to me sounds better. So I think as a consultant, which is what, you know, what we really are as caddies, we're really a consultant. We're just giving advice that they don't have to take. You know, you're just trying to present information in a good way and hopefully they'll see it and then they can decide. Yeah, I think you're right. I do like the idea of hitting a two iron off this tee instead of a driver or, man, that's dumb. That stock's going to tank. Let's hit the driver. You know, and sometimes you're right, sometimes he's right, and that's okay. You know, the two different ideas often will reveal, you know, that there's usually one that's a better, better choice.

[David Novak]

And you've been caddying now for 29, 29 years, you know, and you're going around to these tournaments again and again and again. You're repeating this cycle. How do you. How do you get prepared? Like, you've won the mast, you know, four times, you know, how do you get prepared? How will you get prepared for this year's Masters? Is there anything different you'll do? Or do you do the same thing? Or how do you keep evolving, how you get prepared and get better at the preparation?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, well, I mean, we're. First of all, we're looking at the weather. What's the weather going to be like, how far is the ball going to fly? Is it going to be hot, cold, you know, is it north wind, west wind, south wind? And then you're trying to see, like, well, if it's going to rain a bunch Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, even though they have that, you know, the ways to dry the greens out, they're not going to be as firm as they usually are. So you can. You have to play some holes different or, man, that's been Dry for seven days. Man, the greens are going to be crazy firm, crazy fast. So now we got to plan for this. So first you're just trying to see how are the conditions going to affect play. You know, coming up, that's where your starting point is. And then I'm looking, trying to look for nuances because, you know, if they've changed anything on the course, I'm trying to see if I can switch, spot it, find it that way. You know, it's like, oh man, there's a little more room here to the right on hole seven if you hit a three wood than there used to be because a tree fell or something, you know, or man, they put a new tree in here. What used to be okay, that's no longer good. So we need to lay back farther and make sure we hit the fairway so we have a clear second shot on seven or something like that. So, you know, I'm just trying to walk around and see if there's any nuances and then, and then just add to the notes that I already have, you know, and, and then while he's playing his practice round, you know, talk it over with him. Like, are you okay if the ball ends up here to this pin? Would you rather it be over here to this pin? You know, trying to find the places, the areas where he, he likes to get it up and down from to certain pin locations. And that's kind of what we're all doing out there as caddies and players.

[David Novak]

Now you're on a two person team. And it's interesting. You know, all, all great teams create great cultures. I mean, you know, I've studied great companies and they always create a culture that, that, that, that really melds the, the best performance bring, brings it all together. How do you, how do you create a culture on a small, intimate team like you have?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, Scotty is a really fun person. Like, he's, he's hilarious. People don't know that about him, but I would say he's really serious when he's folk, when he's practicing and competing. And I think I'm, I'm a little bit opposite. I'm kind of a, a little clown around a little too much, not always serious enough. And so I think that blend kind of creates the right environment for us. You know, I'm joking around a little bit. He's a little too serious. So he kind of, he makes me focus more. I make him lighten up a little bit. That's probably why we work well together, you know, Whereas if You had two serious people maybe that wouldn't work or two people that are clowning around that wouldn't work. So I think our environment works pretty well because, you know, we're kind of opposites in personality, you know, and he's such a. He's such a hard worker that he just. He makes everybody around him better. We all want to work hard for him because we see the dedication. You know, his agent, Blake is incredible. His coach Randy's incredible. His coach Phil Kenyon's incredible. His, you know, trainer, Marness is incredible. Troy, back at home, these guys, Chris, I mean, they're all. They all work really hard to support him. And I think, you know, that comes from him because you know how bad he wants it. You know, he's going to do the work. So none of us want to cheat him by cutting corners, you know, so that creates a great work environment for all of us.

[David Novak]

So work ethic is definitely a shared value that you all have. Is there any other shared value that you have that brings such different personalities together and make you cohesive?

[Ted Scott]

You know, I think. Laughter. We laugh a lot. You know, Scotty and I, we have a lot of fun. You know, we crack up, we giggle, we talk about stupid things. You know, we're very competitive. I think, being a competitor, you know, but. But yes, just, you know, we have spiritual similarities. You know, we believe in the same Jesus. We love our families. We love being a dad. You know, we love being a friend. So I think just. Just having similar ideas on life, you know, definitely makes it easier to spend six hours a day with somebody. You know, if you didn't, it would be really hard to spend that kind of time together. So, you know, just having a lot of commonalities surely makes a difference.

[David Novak]

I've heard you say that if you were going to choose a caddy, you'd choose someone who wasn't changed because of the circumstance.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

Say more.

[Ted Scott]

Whenever we practice, we don't practice with the pressure. And then when the pressure comes, all of us kind of tend to be different. You get tight, you get worried, you're not as talkative. And so for me, I like to have fun, and I'm at my best in anything I do in life when I'm enjoying it and when it gets too serious or whatever, I can get angry, frustrated, and not be as good. So I think if I was going to have a caddy, I would want someone that can keep it light out there, that we could focus. But he'd be like, hey, this isn't life. Ending, it's not life threatening. Because sometimes those things, you know, from my childhood can feel life threatening. Performance to me sometimes could feel like, oh, my gosh, if this doesn't happen, life is over as we know it. And I don't do well in that environment. I'll fall apart like a bad meatloaf. Whereas if somebody kind of keeps it light and reminds me, like, hey, this is what you love to do. You love to compete. This is fun. I'm like, oh, yeah, I do love to compete. And you're okay with failing, which makes me okay to succeed. Oh, yeah. So I think I would want a caddy that wouldn't be changing in the circumstances. That would. That would definitely help me.

[David Novak]

And you've had so much success, and it seems like, you know, just from what I watch on television, what I've observed is that you always seem to get recognized by Scotty. He doesn't take you for granted. He shares the credit with you. How important is that to you as a leader?

[Ted Scott]

I think it's more important that it just reminds me of what a great person that I'm working for. I don't really care about the credit myself. It's more about the man that. That you're putting your energy into, appreciates what you're doing. So if he said it to me in private, that would be good enough, you know, because we all know when we do a good job and somebody says, attaboy, man, once, you just want to get right back out there and do it again, you know, that's all it takes, right? You know, if your kid went and mowed the grass and you said, all right, bud, you got to go mow the grass. And he's 12, and he's never mowed the grass, and he did it, and, you know, and you said, buddy, you did such a good job. He's going to be like, thanks, man. And next time, hey, will you mow the grass? Yeah, I'll mow the grass. You know, we all like that feeling of like, we're doing a good job. So Scotty's great at that. His wife is maybe the world champion at it, you know, at making people feel good about themselves. So, yeah, it's a lot of fun to work for their team. They're really great people.

[David Novak]

You know, you mentioned working hard, you know, in business, sport, whatever, you can really work hard for a long time, and sometimes you don't get the results. You know, what's the story of having to mentally reset to get back to what you do best? I mean, it hasn't always been this unbelievable panacea of success.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, we talked about it earlier. Sometimes you work hard and make changes and things get worse. And you see it in business, you see it in sports, you see great athletes, you know, golfers or whatever, change the way they do something and all of a sudden they fall off the map. So, you know, you got to be careful, I think, not to make too big a change when you're trying to change for the better. But ultimately it's just, I think simple simplicity over time is probably the secret to, for success to any, you know, to any successful person is just keeping it simple, being consistent and doing that long enough. You know, there's a, a billion different exercises you could do, but in order to get a beach body, you could literally do air squats, push ups, pull ups, and sit ups. You know, you could do the most basic form of exercise and do it long enough and eat healthy, and after a couple years, you'd be the best looking person on the beach. Right? But there is, hey, there's hang cleans and there's all these fancy terminologies, right? You don't have to do all that fancy stuff, you know, and sometimes we forget that. So I think when things get, when things get off the rails, just get back to being consistent, keep it simple and do it long enough over time. And I think the success, the winning formula will come back.

[David Novak]

And then there are times when you have unexpected crises pop up. And, you know, I'm from Louisville, Kentucky. I'm a member at Valhalla, and you're at the PGA Championship there. I actually get a text at 6:00 in the morning from Randy Smith asking me if I knew a great lawyer in Louisville that could get Scotty out of jail. And unfortunately, I'd been out the night before. Usually I'm up very early, but I had slept through and I read this text and I go, oh my gosh. And then come to find out my partner, Jimmy Kirchstorfer, had helped get the lawyer and helped get Scotty out of jail. But this happens and you got a tee time to make, and you make that tee time that day. You know, talk about how you helped him through that crisis because he went out and I think on the first hole he birdied it and he, he broke par. He broke, broke par that day. He had a great round.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, I think he shot 66 actually.

[David Novak]

Yeah, that's more than breaking par.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, that's pretty good. You know, Scotty was first of all stretching in Jail, you know, who does that, right? Who gets arrested and is in there doing toe touches, thinking, hey, if I get out of here, I'm going to go beat some people at golf, you know. So first of all, it's his testament to just what a competitor that he is keeping his mind on the prize no matter what the distraction is, even if it's being arrested. So that's the first thing. But, you know, the second thing is I think that's a good distraction for him was to be on a golf course because, you know, what just happened? I'm arrested and, you know, getting charged with a felony, like, that's. That's some pretty big implications. And not knowing what the future was going to be, what, you know, what the process was going to look like going forward. I think golf was a good thing for him to get, you know, that off his mind and go do what he knows, what he's familiar with. So, yeah, crises are going to come. And again, it's just about putting your head down and pushing through it and, you know, staying. Staying with the process of what you do and whether it's in business or whatever. I mean, think about investing your money in the stock market. You know, if you invest it long enough, it's going to go up. But there's times where what just happened, man, I lost 20,000 a day. Well, on paper, but if you stick to it long enough, that money comes back and even grows larger. So it's the same story and everything we do, you know, bad things are going to happen. It's coming, and you just have to brace yourself and just keep pressing on towards the goal. That's all we can do.

[David Novak]

You know, there's no doubt that you're an incredible competitor. You're a nice guy, fun guy, you like to laugh, but you like to win. I mean, you were a competitor, champion of foosball, great golfer yourself, and saw a little bit of that come out in the 2025 Ryder cup when, when you and Justin Rose kind of got. Got through us. Tell, tell us that story, what happened and, and the biggest lesson it, we're

[Ted Scott]

in a, obviously a very stressful environment and everybody's being, you know, as competitive as they can be and feisty and, and Greg Bodine, who caddies for Bryson, is the sweetest person you'll ever meet. Him, this guy, he, he would never say anything bad about anybody. He's huge. He's like 65250, solid muscle. He's a big guy. And he was. Bryson was like, hey, you know, Read this putt for me. So he was kind of going over to read the putt, and Justin felt like he was trying to get in his way, and he wasn't. I know Greg really well, and so Justin kind of had words with him, and that made me mad, and so, you know, competitive environment. So I had words with Justin as we were walking up the hill, and then Tommy Fleetwood and I were talking. We were just talking. I mean, I had no problem with Tommy. I had a few words with Justin. Whatever. And then as I was just talking to Tommy walking up the hill, I think Francesco Molinari thought that we were in a huge, heated argument, and he. He walked up and shoved me and kind of put his forearm in my rib cage. And I was so surprised because I didn't even know he was there. It's like he just came out of nowhere. And then I got really mad and lost my temper. And then literally right after it happened, like, two minutes, literally two minutes afterwards, I was apologizing to him. He was apologizing to me. I was like, I'm so sorry. And he was like, I hope you know my character. I said, I hope you know my character, man. I'm just fired up in this competitive environment. And then we made a social media video the next day, because social media was blowing up and trying to blow it out of proportion. I'm like, I love Francesco Molinar. He might be the nicest man you'll ever meet. He's such a great guy. And. And then I saw Justin rose at the Hero World Challenge, you know, in December, and we talked and we shook hands, and, you know, it's all good. It's just competitors being competitors, and people want to blow stuff out of proportion, whatever, you know, take the story, run with it, make something of it that it's not. But at the end of the day, you know, we're all feisty, and we're all trying to compete and do the best we can, and they got the best of us, so congrats to them, you know?

[David Novak]

And, you know, I love the fact how you and Francisco got together and said, hey, we don't want to have this come off any other way. And you did. The social media today, how did that happen?

[Ted Scott]

I was feeling horrible about the situation because, you know, it's like, everybody was talking about it, and I was like, I don't want this. I'm not trying to be the spotlight. I'm not trying to, you know, make. Make it seem like we're righteous or whatever. And what Justin did was Wrong. I'm like, hey, we're competing. You know, I got fired up, and I. I love to just say, hey, I'm sorry. I want to go in front of the public and say I'm sorry. So I got Francesco's number from one of the caddies, and I said, hey, look, tomorrow I'm going to go and make a video, and I'm going to say I'm sorry to you. I would love for you to be in the video. And what a great man he was. Like, I'd love to be in your video, you know, and that just shows, again, like, what a great person he is, that he would go in there and do that with me. And so I think people forget, man. Competition is fierce. You know, you're a warrior out there, and people do dumb stuff, and I'm included. I've done terrible things that I'm not proud of. But. But at the end of the day, I think, you know, I can own up to those things and say I'm sorry and. And hope people forgive me and. And believe it or not, I mean, I had. I had a few death threats from that. People literally sent me some death threats on social media. I'm not even kidding. Like, this is kind of crazy. I was like, what is going on? You know? You know, at the end of the day, Francesco and I are great. You know, we still sometimes text, and he's a great person, and so all is well, and, you know, we live and we learn, and hopefully I'll do better next time in that situation.

[David Novak]

Sounds like you did pretty well, you know? You know, a lot of times you do have to do your part to get things back in order, and it sounds like you did that. Here you are now you're ready to tee it up again at the Masters, and you've won twice. How the. How do you. How does the Scheffler team you and Scotty? How do you. How do you manage your high expectations? Because you're not. You're not going in there to do anything other than when most people think you are going to win. How do you. How do you keep that in check and keep things balanced?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, that's a superpower that he has, and I don't think many people have it. Scotty's never been a record chaser. He doesn't talk about, I'm going to win so many majors, I'm going to talk about this. I mean, that guy literally just wants to win at anything. He does, and he loves it. He loves to compete. If you're in the backyard, in the pool, and there's a volleyball net. He's like, get a volleyball. 2 verse 2 and I'm going to crush you. You know? And that's just who he is. So he shows up at every tournament with high expectations to compete well. And it's crazy, but I would say he brings the same intensity to the Byron Nelson that he brings to the Masters Championship. It's just. It's pretty wild, but that's just who he is. So it's a blessing to work for somebody like that. And I think he also doesn't care about money. He doesn't care about fame. You know, he really doesn't. It's like, you watch the guy's life away from golf and you think, man, buy yourself something, dude. Like, or, you know, he was driving that old car with duct tape on the steering wheel and duct tape on the handle to close the door. It had 180,000 miles on it. And he was in the world number one and two, time Masters champion. You're like, buddy, like, get rid of that old clunker. At least get yourself something. You know? But he's like, I don't care. It still works, you know, so he does. He doesn't have that distraction that I think a lot of people have, like, oh, I'm number one, or, oh, I want to win the money, or, oh, I want to do these records. He has this great, crazy ability to say, I want to crush you in, you know, a game of cards. I want to crush you in a game of backyard basketball. I want to crush you in a game of, you know, whatever, golf. So that's just a superpower that he has. So it's pretty. I'd say he's really good at that. You know, that's a. That's a great thing. And then finally, he doesn't really get on social media much, you know, so he's not really reading all the stories and. And listening to all the noise. You know, it's. Get rid of all that clear that cloudiness, and let me do it because I want to do it. So that really helps for me to be able to caddy. For someone with that mentality, it's not that difficult. Although being the world number one is very noisy, so there is a lot of noise. But he's the best I've seen at being equipped to do that since Tiger Ted.

[David Novak]

He's the first to say that you're the best in the world of what you do, too. And this has been so much fun and I want to have some more with what I call my lightning. Round of questions here. Are you ready for this?

[Ted Scott]

Oh, man. Here we go.

[David Novak]

What three words best describe you?

[Ted Scott]

Energetic. Silly. And I would say spiritual.

[David Novak]

If you could be one person for a day beside yourself, who would it be?

[Ted Scott]

I would want to be one of the disciples that walk with Jesus.

[David Novak]

What's your biggest pet peeve?

[Ted Scott]

People that drive slow in the left lane.

[David Novak]

Who would play you in a movie?

[Ted Scott]

Oh, man, I'm not trivial. So I don't even know the names of actors. Probably Jim Carrey. I kind of modeled my behavior after him for a long time. He's a funny dude.

[David Novak]

So what do you do with all the 18th whole flags that you take after you've won a tournament?

[Ted Scott]

There's a couple of them you can kind of see in the background right there. I got a few of them on the poles that I took, but a lot of them are just in my closet. One day I'm going to have a display little man cave and put it up there, maybe a golf teaching center or something, but for now, it's just. Just sitting there in my closet.

[David Novak]

What's something you've been curious about lately that has absolutely nothing to do with work?

[Ted Scott]

Pickleball has got my attention, man. I'm really trying to get great at pickleball, so I'm trying to go pro at pickleball.

[David Novak]

Now, what's the one thing you do just for you?

[Ted Scott]

Pickleball. I like pickleball. I don't do it to try to impress anybody else. It's just. It's really fun competition, and I have a lot of good, really fun people that I laugh with and trash talk with and. And I go and get filled up with that. It's a lot of fun.

[David Novak]

Besides your family and friends, what's your most prized possession?

[Ted Scott]

People are what I enjoy the most. You know, being around people. Things don't really. Don't really get me hyped up. I think it's mostly just people.

[David Novak]

If I turned the radio on in your car, what would I hear?

[Ted Scott]

Christian music. You'd hear some country, too, and every now and then some Christian rap.

[David Novak]

What's something about you that few people would know?

[Ted Scott]

That I'm. Deep down, I'm insecure.

[David Novak]

What's one of your daily rituals? Something that you never miss?

[Ted Scott]

Trying to serve somebody else.

[David Novak]

Fantastic. All right, we're out of that lightning round. Good job, Ted. Just a few more questions and I'll let you go. Now, outside of caddying, I understand you also own A company that makes pickleball paddles. How'd you get into that business?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, so when I started playing pickleball, which Scotty actually introduced me to it, I noticed that all the paddles were just ugly. They were just boring. And so I told my wife, I said, you know, we should just kind of joking. We should make pickleball paddles and you could do some artwork because she's pretty artistic and talked to some friends of mine that are in manufacturing, and next thing you know, we had a meeting, and we said, let's just do it. And so we made Ryder cup paddles. That was our first paddle. We made was gifts for the Ryder cup caddies and players. And, you know, when we were in Italy. And so that. That was how we got started. And we're chipping away at it. We're learning. You know, we're a small company, and. And all of us have the three owners. We all have our own businesses and jobs and things like that. And my other two partners are very successful. So it's a little bit on the hobby side, but we enjoy it. We're having fun with it, and we're definitely growing, so that's kind of been cool. And then this believe hat is one of our hats. It's our brand, Dominus brand. So, yeah, it's been fun, really enjoying it.

[David Novak]

You and your wife Melanie have been married for 23 years. What's the key to making that partnership work?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, we got premarital counseling. And the first thing that we were, you know, told was, hey, don't go to bed angry. You know, never, ever go to bed angry. So communication being like, hey, man, I have a problem with you, and we need to discuss this two is never bring up the past. So that's something we don't do. I can't say, well, last Thursday you said this, and remember when you did that? So every day is a fresh start, which I think is a great life philosophy, you know, Yes, I messed up at the Ryder cup by getting angry and. And showing my idiot side in front of all these people. But guess what? Today's a new day, and I don't have to be that person, even if people try to label me that way. I don't have to be a jerk to my wife today because I was a jerk yesterday. You know, so being fresh is really good. And then I would say keeping your finances in order. You know, we. We had a policy where we never took on debt. We never have. You know, we were super poor, and we got married, and many years without much money. But we were super happy because we never put ourselves under financial stress. So I would say living under your means. And then the final and number one key is to put God at the top of your triangle. You know, we were given an analogy that if, if there's a triangle and God's at the top and you're here and your wife's here and you're, you're getting closer to God, you're getting closer to each other. So we're both pursuing God and that's bringing us closer to each other. So that's probably our number one principle.

[David Novak]

Well, thanks for sharing that. And, and you have two young kids. How do you lead at home, Ted?

[Ted Scott]

Yeah, that's, that's hard with my job. You know, when I, when I come home, I mess up the routine that my wife has established. So we've worked on that over the years to be like, hey, she has the routine established and I come home and try to support her in what she's got running really well because she runs real great oil tight machine. But my daughter's in College now, she's 19. My son's a sophomore in high school and then we have an 11 year old nephew that lives with us. So yeah, we're a busy family and with sports and life, it kind of takes us all over. But we got great kids and, and we're very thankful for them. And I'm super thankful for my wife. She, she runs the show and she, she crushes it. So she's, she's amazing.

[David Novak]

So here you are. You know, you've won multiple majors as a caddie, Olympic Gold, Rider Cups, President's Cups. What do you see as your, your, your personal unfinished business?

[Ted Scott]

Many people have told me that I need to be in some kind of ministry, be a pastor or some kind of mentorship program. You know, just because I've spent my life trying to learn from people and I think I love to just share those, those nuggets of wisdom that I've learned that you can apply to your life. And, and I certainly don't apply them all to my life. You know, I, I mess up a lot, I screw up a lot, but I'm always trying to learn. I'm always trying to pick myself up and get better as a dad, as a husband, as a caddy, as a pickleball player, as a golfer, you know, so for me, I think the unfinished business is really just to be a light to people and counsel them and help them in whatever endeavor that they're going through. I love that. And I think I have, you know, a gift for it, because people are always trying to share with me their deepest, darkest struggles. And they're like, you know, can you help me? And I'm like, I love that. So I think when I'm done caddying, I'll try to resort to that some way.

[David Novak]

Last question. What's one piece of advice you want to give to anyone who wants to

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

be a better leader?

[Ted Scott]

Don't be the expert in the room. I'll just go back to that again. You know, the easiest way to get better is. The easiest way to lead is to. Is to follow someone great. And I think people. No one wants to follow somebody. That's arrogant. You know, I forget who it was that says leadership is influence. You would know. It's John. Who is it?

[David Novak]

Maxwell.

[Ted Scott]

I think it was Maxwell. Leadership is influence. So if you have influence over people in your humility to say, hey, I don't know everything, but I'm following some people that know a lot. So will you come with me? I think they'll follow you, and I think that's really what makes a great leader. Anytime I've ever met somebody that's amazing, they're usually the most humble person I've ever met. And Scottish, one of those people. This guy is so willing to learn from people. And I just go, wow, no wonder he's so good at golf, because he will ask the question, he will get around somebody good and go, hey, how do you approach that? What do you do here? Tell me about this. What do you think about that? And I'm just like, oh, my gosh, you're the best golfer in the world, and you're having a meeting with four hackers asking them how to get better at golf. Like, what? You know? But that's the humility that makes me want to follow him and continue to be on his team. So I think that's a big part of being a leader, is don't be the expert in the room, and don't be afraid to show that vulnerability.

[David Novak]

Well, Ted, I have to tell you, you are an amazing leader, and I've learned a lot from this conversation. And I want to thank you so much for taking the time to be on this show, and especially with everything you got going on. And I really appreciate you.

[Ted Scott]

Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate it.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

Foreign.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

What a fun episode. It makes me so excited for the Masters in a couple weeks.

[David Novak]

Oh, absolutely.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

It's a favorite time of year for

[David Novak]

every golfer and people who aren't Necessarily into golf because they love watching the

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

Masters and spring emerging in front of your very eyes. And the beauty of that place is just amazing. Augusta National Golf Course is one of a kind, and the tournament's one of a kind and can't wait.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

I can't wait either. And it is an amazing time for golfers and non golfers alike. And what I love about this episode with Ted is that obviously he's a caddie. He's been caddying for 29 years. But the lessons that he shares in this episode are applicable to anybody, wherever you find yourself, whether it's in a leadership position or whether it's, you know, an athlete on a team or maybe you're a caddy, too, and you're just wanting to learn from Ted. Obviously, he has reached the greatest level of caddyship that you could possibly reach. He's won four Masters tournaments and is currently on the bag for the number one player in the world. And David, I want to get your take on some of the concepts that you two talked about in the episode so that everyone listening, whether you're a golfer or not, can take something really practical away from this episode. The first thing I want to start with, David, is this idea of delivering information in the right way. Ted mentions that he finds out early on in his relationship with players how they like to receive information. For example, when he caddied for Bubba Watson, more information made things worse for Bubba. But Scotty wants all the details at all times. As a leader, how do you figure out how each person on your team likes to receive information, and why is it important to know?

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

I think what Ted really drives home is the importance of really having empathy with who you work with and understanding, you know, what the team member really needs and then making sure that they receive it in a way that they'll actually hear it and respond to it. And, you know, I always think I've always kind of tried to study the way, the best ways to really deliver feedback and information. And I learned so much from Larry Sin, who has this model which he says, always start out with what you appreciate about what the person is doing and then share and how they could be even more effective. And that appreciate more effective model, I think, is a great way to communicate to everybody in a general business sense. The other thing that I learned from a business perspective is just there's real power in going up to someone and saying, would you like some coaching? You know, and that gives you the opportunity to weigh in, but it also forces a commitment from the person to say yes or no. But if they say yes, they got to open their mind to really receiving it. So I really think that really works. You know, some people are very, very sensitive, and so you have to kind of work your way into it before you can really, you know, give them the coaching that they need. Other people are just direct and they want you to come at it direct. And so I think that empathy, though, is the key trait that Ted is

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

really talking about here as a caddy. It feels like Ted has this innate ability to read the room and to know when to step in and offer that directness and when to just take a step back and let Scotty B. Scotty, how do you develop the skill of, of reading people in that sense of knowing when to step in versus

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

not, I think, cool. That really boils down to, you know, what's going to happen if you don't step in. If that. If that person is going to fail without you stepping in, you better step in. And, you know, I think that's, that's one of the things I would always try to really gauge is, you know, I like to give people as much autonomy as you can, but if you see them going down a path where they're going to fail and they're going to lose personally or the company might lose because of that, I think that's when you really have to step in and provide some coaching that'll be helpful. And you know, on a, on a personal basis with some leaders that I would see derailing, you know, because they were maybe not treating people the way how they needed to treat them, or maybe they weren't communicating as clearly as they needed to, or maybe they had so many priorities they couldn't get things done. I mean, these are all reasons why people would fail. That's when I would really be very, very direct. Because you want to make sure that it's inescapable what you're really trying to communicate to them. And, you know, I, I always liken it to hitting somebody with a two by four. There's just, you're. You're going to remember it. Okay. Not that I would ever do that or want to be that, that rude, but, you know, I think you do want to be that direct sometimes where it's just totally, totally inescapable for sending anyone to draw any other conclusion that if they don't change, they're going to fail.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

In the episode, I love the story Ted tells about when Scotty was competing in the Olympics and how he had had a couple double Bogeys and just couldn't get his mind right. And Ted said that he kind of got in his face and said, I want you to do three things, and I want you to do these three things, and that's all I want you to think about. And at that point, I think he birdied the next hole and then went on, of course, to win the gold medal.

[Ted Scott]

Yeah.

[David Novak]

And I wanted him to tell me those three things, but he wouldn't do it because he'd give away his trade secrets.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

Yeah, exactly. I think all of us golfers would love for Ted to give us those three things. What strikes me about Ted is that he has this belief deep down that everyone around him has something to teach him. Is there a story about a time you learned something from someone you didn't expect to learn from?

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

Oh, I. I have thousands of stories like that. I mean, you know, it's because I'm always learning from everybody that I. I talk to.

[David Novak]

But I. I want to go back

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

to what you said, is that Ted has a deep down belief that he can learn from everyone. And I think that's the most important thing is you got to have that belief.

[David Novak]

You got to have that belief that

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

everyone has something that you can learn from.

[David Novak]

And it doesn't matter what level they're

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

at, but, you know, they have a perspective of you that you can learn from if you listen to them. And so I think that's the real point. You know, I try to go into every situation where I'm looking to learn. I just did a podcast with Bobby Long and one of the best investors and business builders and big idea thinkers that I know. And he talked about the fact that he thought the most important thing you could be is to be a humble listener and that you could learn from everybody if you really did that. And I think that is so, so powerful. And, you know, I learn from you, Kula, every time we're together. I mean, you always have some insight that I wasn't really thinking of, and you give me a different perspective because of your background. And, you know, I can recall when we were thinking about our podcast and how to broaden our reach, you know, we realized that, you know, this. Our podcast is an hour. Not everybody has an hour. Can we take our podcast and come up with some shorts, you know, where we really break it down? And, you know, recently we. We. We did some shorts with Roy Williams and, you know, short clips that, you know, I think we're going to have over 2 million views of How Leaders Lead in the month. Of March alone, and. And it's climbing as we speak, you know, so that's very exciting.

[David Novak]

But I, you know, I think listening

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

and then the other part of this is not only listening but. And learning, but responding. You know, that's why I talk about in. In my book, how leaders Learn, you know, that is, you know, it's one thing to be an avid learner.

[David Novak]

That's.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

That's nice. Yeah, it's nice to learn things, but what are you going to do with it? So you got to be an active learner. And, you know, I. I think if you're looking to learn and. And you look to people to teach you, then take that. Take that learning and then do something with it. It don't just make you just a little smarter, but actually say, hey, how can I apply this in my life and do something that I can impact my own leadership better, my business better, but really put it to use.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

I love this concept, too, because it kind of forces you to humble yourself, because if you are actively learning, if you're taking insights and applying them to your life, you're telling yourself that you don't have all the answers and that you're not the smartest person in the room. So it kind of is like a Trojan horse a little bit. Add into humbling ourselves, which I think we talk about humility a lot on this podcast. And I think that always being on the hunt to learn from people and places and situations keeps me at least grounded in this mindset of, okay, I. I always have room to grow and to learn, therefore, I always must be learning.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

And that's how it works with you, Kula, in the sense that, yeah, it tells yourself that you need to be humble so that you can really learn. But the other thing is, just think what it tells everybody else. It tells everybody else that you need them and that you're actively listening and that you want to hear what they have to say and that. That value, that dignity that you give to everybody, no matter what level that they might happen to be in your company or on your team, I think that's what really motivates people.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

David, I have to wrap this episode by asking who your pick is to win the Masters this year.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

Well, I would love to see Colin Morikawa win. Yes, He's a great friend, as is Justin Rose. Both these guys I really know well and, And. And like him a lot. And, you know, I think Colin is coming in. Colin is always in the top of the leaderboard. And, you know, Justin Rose has lost twice in.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

In playoffs.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

And he deserves a green jacket. If anybody does. I think Colin Morocco will definitely get one, too. He hits the ball so high and you know that on those greens that are just, you know, really, really tough to hold, he can hold it with the shots that he hits, as all these guys can.

[David Novak]

I mean, last year, look, I can

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

go on and on.

[David Novak]

I mean, last year, think about Justin Rose made 10, 10 birdies on Sunday.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

Holy cows.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

That's just, that's like unbelievable.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

He's got it coming. He's got it coming.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

So I'd love to see both those guys win.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

I love it. Well, I'm just excited for a great

[David Novak]

and my I, I, I, I also

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

got to tell you got to have Jon Rahm in the mix, too. Those are my three favorite golfers.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

I love it. Well, David, thanks again for a great episode and thank you for listening.

[David Novak]

And Rory McElroy, don't forget,

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

we also interviewed Justin Thomas on the show. So you got to throw it in

[David Novak]

the and Justin Thomas. There we go.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

My Kentucky. Yes, there we go.

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

Well, thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of How Leaders Lead.

[David Novak (continued or alternate speaker)]

And Scott Scheffler. Scotty Scheffler, because we just had Ted

[Podcast Host (Interviewer)]

Scott on and Scotty. So basically anyone, we want anyone to win. Well, David, thanks so much for an excellent episode. And thank you for tuning in to another edition of How Leaders Lead with David Noback. We will see you next Thursday.