Ted Scott has spent 25 years as a professional caddie and built a reputation that goes far beyond carrying a bag. He was on the bag for Bubba Watson during his Masters victories in 2012 and 2014. He then repeated the feat with Scottie Scheffler in 2022 and 2024. Yet when you ask him about his story, he is far more interested in discussing the people and experiences that have shaped him than in explaining what the job has really been like for him.

In a recent Golf Channel feature, The Man Who You Walk It, Scott sat down for a rare extended interview. And the conversation this time covered a side of Ted that most sports features don’t, reflecting on a reality he has seen up close for years.

“I can promise you I still got problems,” Scott said. “I still got the same problems with or without those experiences. You just have to enjoy it and be grateful for it. But don’t live for it.”

During the conversation, Ted shared that there’s only one message he wants to share with everyone around him – success isn’t the solution everyone thinks it is. To elaborate, Ted recalled a call from Watson after he had won his second Masters in 2014.

“What’s the point?” Watson asked. “What’s the point of winning all this? What’s the point of the Masters?”

To answer that question, he thought really hard. Why? And to clarify, Watson wasn’t the only one to feel that way. Ted shared that Scottie Scheffler had said the same thing two minutes after winning his fourth major.

For Scott, the flashy world of golf is like a roller-coaster ride. When the ride ends, everything comes back to normal, and matters on the ground remain absolutely the same. That is exactly why Scott was a bit hesitant to join Scheffler. While Scheffler’s on-course attitude was one reason, he also wished to focus more on coaching after giving up Watson’s bag.

As for how problems creep up no matter what, last year was a huge reminder for Scott.

Ted Scott had a heartbreaking family emergency last year

Joel, Scott’s nephew, was shot in the head during a fight in a pickup basketball game on August 9, 2025. He was flown to a hospital in Baton Rouge. A call was made to Scottie Scheffler’s wife immediately, who was with Scottie and Ted at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.

After that day’s round, Ted got on a private plane that the Schefflers had arranged and paid for and flew to Baton Rouge. Examinations revealed that the bullet broke Joel’s jaw and went through the C1 and C2 vertebrae in his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed below the neck. He has had a tracheostomy and several other surgeries since then, and he uses a feeding tube.

After returning to Scott’s home in Lafayette, Joel is now recovering in a rec room, where the medical equipment and Joel’s hospital bed have taken the place of the Ping-Pong table and Ryder Cup memorabilia.

Talking about the situation, Scott had said, “How are we gonna get peace? How are we going to find peace in this awful situation?”

Yet, in these tough times, even as financial repercussions shoot up, Scott is not choosing to give up. And his motto, on course or off the course, seems to be the same: “We all need help, and we all need to be helping.”