Caddieing was my Summer job during my high school years in Worcester, MA. From 1985 to 1997 I spent several of those years caddieing for professional golfers on several Professional tours.
You’ll find the words caddy and caddie and caddying and caddieing being used on a variety of sources. For my purposes they are interchangeable.
“Caddieing is a great job. The money is good, you work outdoors and have an opportunity to meet successful and influential people, and you may even earn a college scholarship.”
“Caddieing is an important job. It is part of golf’s heritage and part of its future. It is also a great way to learn the game of golf.”
(credit: The Metropolitan Golf Association’s Guide for Country Club Caddies )
“The quintessential role of the caddie is to bring added value to the game for the golfer. There’s the obvious duty of carrying the golf clubs, but the caddie does much more than that.”
(credit: Professional Golfers Career College )
“Caddieing is the greatest laboratory for lifetime learning.”
(credit: Bradley S. Klein, Golfpass )
From the origins of golf in St. Andrews, Scotland to the modern day, caddies play an important role in the game of golf. Whether it be tournament golf, a regular Saturday match at the local club, or at a golf resort, the caddie has a “job” to do and most times it entails more than just carrying the bag – follow the shot, clean the clubs, tend the pin, get yardages, replace divots, discuss club selection, rake the bunkers, cheerlead, – just to name a few.
It can be hard work, but if you love the game of golf, you want to be outside, you don’t want to be tied down to a 9 – 5 job, you love to travel or a combination of all four – professional caddieing might be for you.
If you don’t want to travel or maybe just need some additional income, caddieing at a nearby Country Club or Golf Resort might be your best bet.
As much as I liked being “inside the ropes” to see a lot of great golf, I also very much enjoyed traveling around the country ( and one trip to Jamaica ) and seeing the “scenery” ( a lot of it in my car at 65 MPH ). And I was lucky enough to be the winning caddy in 4 tournaments. Finally, the travel, income pressures and no health insurance became too much to put up with and I took a “real job” in 1997. I still watch some professional golf on TV and think fondly of the caddieing life.