Phil Mickelson walked into the players’ locker room at TPC Southwind for the first time this week and did what he always does upon arriving in Memphis. He sought out Carroll Waters, Jr.
Mickelson had brought with him several extra pairs of his signature golf shoes featuring a silhouette of Mickelson jumping in the air after he won the Masters for the first time in 2004.
“Carroll,” he said, “I’ve been waiting to get here because my shoes are rough and I need you to take care of them.”
Waters is in his seventh year as the locker room attendant at TPC Southwind, a job he holds during the many weeks when club members are playing the course and during the week in which the world’s best golfers descend on Memphis for the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
So it was that, early on in his tenure, Waters approached Mickelson. He told him that when he watches Mickelson play in tournaments, he strictly looks at his shoes. It’s why, when asked this week about Waters, and why he always brings more shoes than he needs to Memphis, Mickelson simply said: “He knows what he’s doing and he just knows things that others don’t.”
“I’m the shine doctor,” Waters explained. “I’m the only person in Memphis that can handle his shoes.”
Waters has a behind-the-scenes view of the annual Memphis PGA Tour stop that few get, particularly as COVID-19 protocols limited how many people are permitted to enter the TPC Southwind clubhouse.
He has become a familiar and memorable face for the professional golfers, as much a part of their Memphis experience as the barbecue they eat while they’re in town. He’s in charge of putting up their nameplates, and keeping their shoes cleaned, and making sure the bathroom is stocked, and all the other odd jobs a locker room attendant must do.
But Waters also takes it upon himself to be in charge of the mood in the room.
“What you see on the outside is totally different from what I experience on the inside,” he said. “I get to see these guys not necessarily in their natural habitat, but I get to see them relaxed, telling jokes, laughing. When you can take a little bit of that pressure off of them when they come to the locker room, and talk to them like you and I, they respect it.”
His naturally charismatic demeanor has turned him into an unforgettable personality for PGA Tour golfers.
Billy Horschel, for instance, brought up Waters during a February episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast hosted by former PGA Tour golfer and current CBS analyst Colt Knost and former pro golfer Drew Stoltz.
Horschel told the story of how, a few years ago, Waters complimented Horschel’s style, and how well-dressed he always is on the course. “You’re so fresh and so clean,” Waters said, referencing the 2001 song by Outkast.
“So every time he sees me,” Horschel said on the podcast, “the first time I walk in, he always plays Outkast, “So Fresh, So Clean.”
Waters, 58, lives in Bartlett with his wife and he used to be a tournament volunteer before applying for the job to look over the locker room at TPC Southwind year-round. His father, Carroll Waters Sr., flew planes for the Army in the Vietnam War and then became the first Black pilot for Federal Express, hired in 1973 by founder Fred Smith.
That’s how Waters wound up in Memphis. That’s how he wound up as one of the many unsung heroes who have allowed this tournament to thrive for more than 60 years.
“I love how passionate he is and how much pride he takes in what he does,” Mickelson said. “That’s why he’s the best.”
And Waters has a new story from inside the locker room that he can tell after this week’s event.
When Xander Schauffele walked into the clubhouse Tuesday, Waters showed him to his locker and made it a point to congratulate him on winning the gold medal in men’s golf two days earlier at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I sure wish you would have brought that gold medal with you,” Waters said. “I’ve never seen one in person.”
“You mean this medal?” Schauffele responded, and he pulled out the gold medal from his pocket.
He then let Waters take a picture with the gold medal around his neck. Add it to the list of things Waters has seen at this tournament that none of us can.
“At the 10-year-mark here, I’m going to write a book. Of course, I’m going to change all the names,” Waters said with a laugh. “I tell people for 52 weeks out of the year, I’m just a regular person that works here. But for one week, everybody comes to see me.”
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto