As a golf player, you may have employed a caddy at least once or twice. It just makes good sense. Caddies can give you the info you need. They can quickly estimate the yardage, recommend the right club to use, and provide info on the course layout and the action on the greens.
In fact, you may have even thought about being a caddy for one of those iconic golf legends. Perhaps you (like most others) first fantasized about actually being one of the top golfers in the world. That dream doesn’t last long for most people, when you’re faced with a barrage of very high scores each time.
But a caddy does seem a lot more doable, right? It’s true that you can end up as a caddy on Tour, but you shouldn’t think that all those stories and stuff you hear about being a Tour caddy is true. Here are some real facts about being a caddy that you may not have known about before:
It’s Hard Work
Some old-time caddies still share stories about the old days. That’s when caddies were living a party life, staying up late and enjoying drinks, then scrambling for the tee time in the early morning.
Today, however, it’s a serious enterprise. You just have to think about the rising prize money on the PGA Tour, and then you can understand how golfers won’t appreciate a party animal for a caddie. Caddies earn a weekly rate of $1,500 to $2,000 a week, plus they also earn about 10% of their golfer’s winnings. Caddies actually average more than $108K per year.
To earn that money means doing lots of hard preparation, to make sure your golfer gets everything they need. You have to do your homework, and that leaves very little time for partying.
Caddies Need to Manage the Facts
Do you, as a caddy, always tell the cold facts to your golfer? Many caddies on tour are crucial for relying facts, whether they’re about accurate yardages, green speeds, and the wind factor. But caddies are sometimes babysitters, and they may at a few times have to manage the truth.
Many of the top caddies have confessed that in some cases, they’ve actually fudged the truth to “force” their golfer to go for a specific club that the caddy is recommending. This only works, however, if the caddy and the golfer are close, and that they both know each other well.
This kind of fudging happens when the caddy feels like the golfer is hyper or amped up, and they’re overestimating their abilities. Sometimes caddies lie, for the greater good.
Caddies Must Carry Humungous Staff Bags
If you’ve played golf, then at some point you must have wondered about those huge staff bags that the caddies tote around. It’s a good thing the golfer has a caddy, right?
Supposedly, the huge staff bags are there for good reasons. They’re not just for carrying all the golf clubs and spare golf balls. You have small pockets for:
- Ball markers
- Divot tool
- Golf clubs wrench
- Golf shoe spike
- Lip balm
- Medications and band-aids
- Pen
- Pocket knife
- Scorecard
- Sharpie
- Spike tool
- Tee marker
Then you also have side pockets for:
- Gloves
- Hats
- Jackets or sweaters
- Rain gear
- Shirt
- Socks
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
Other features include sections for:
- Bottle holder
- Cupholder
- Towel ring
- Umbrella holder
There are actually many different types of gold bags, and these pro staff bags are the biggest of the bunch. And the reason for the size is simple. A huge bag offers more billboard real estate for sponsors. There’s no other good reason for its use.
Caddies are Great Golfers Themselves
Caddies are just like most people—some are good players, some aren’t. In fact, most caddies are average hacks, like most people. They’re living proof of the saying that goes: Those that can, do. Those that can’t, teach.
Most caddies on Tour do have some background playing seriously, such as playing college golf. But these caddies may have realized that while they have great golfing knowledge, they don’t really have great golfing abilities.
It’s like having Tyronn Lue as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a good player, but not really great. Still, he was able to lead his team to 3 NBA Finals, and winning one of them.
You’re Able to Play in the Best Golf Courses around the World
This may seem like a great perk, but rarely, if ever, do caddies play in the courses their golfers are playing in. Usually, by the time the caddies arrive at their golf course, it’s been marked “for pro’s play only”.
So, do you still want to be a caddy on Tour?