I chose to research the jobs of PGA caddies because I have recently started to pick up the game of golf. I have been learning many things about golf and one of the most prominent aspects about golf is caddying. Caddies are a crucial part of the game and they are underpaid for the amount of work that is expected and required of them. I became interested in golf when I started working part time at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. I worked throughout my junior and senior years of high school. At first, I was just interested in the money like every other high schooler, but as time went on, I learned to appreciate the sport a lot more due to the large number of hours I worked at the club. I was always very observant when my coworkers had to go caddy for a member. At the time, I was too young and did not know enough about golf, so I was never assigned to caddy for a member. However, I was interested in caddying for members in the future. Thankfully, my coworkers told me the basics about caddying and how demanding it can actually be. I am planning to return to Quail Hollow Club this summer, and this time, I will be old enough to caddy and I will have a deeper understanding of the rules of golf. I am learning so many facts and rules about golf through a course that I am enrolled in now at college. I signed up for the golf class to help improve my game and my understanding of the sport.

Being a PGA caddy is not easy work. Due to contrary belief, the caddies do more than just clean the players’ clubs and carry them. PGA caddies must have an expert background knowledge of the courses that the pros play on. Topography and geography are both essential parts of golf that the caddies must master. The caddies are responsible for pointing out hazards on the course too. These hazards can include sand bunkers or water areas. It is very unprofessional for a PGA caddy to not know the topography of the course. The caddies have to arrive at the course before the pros come out (Tidey). Their duties are to set up their pros’ bag and make sure everything is clean (Tidey). They also have to set up the rain gear in case the weather does not turn out in their favor. This is all to be done before the pro sets foot on the course. The work is more demanding while they are assisting the pro on the course.

There have been some cases when a caddy is actually supposed to keep a pro from getting too excited, nervous, anxious, sad and angry (Tidey). This is most notable by Bubba Watson’s caddy. Ted Scott caddies for PGA Pro Bubba Watson and he was interviewed by Will Tidey of CNN. The interview was about a day in the life of a PGA Caddy and actually how demanding it can be. Scott told Tidey that it is essential that he keeps Watson’s emotions steady and normal because golf is a huge mind game (Tidey). A golfer’s mindset can drastically impact the way he hits a ball. This is why emotional stability is valued so highly in golf. 

An important debate came up last year in the golf world. This debate was about if PGA caddies should receive additional compensation for wearing advertised bibs. This became such a big issue that a group of caddies led by Mike Hicks took the case to court (McCann). The lawsuit was filed for fifty million dollars (Whitten). The caddies ultimately believed that they should receive additional compensation for having to wear corporate logos on their bibs. The case was brought to U.S. District Judge Vince Girdhari Chhabria. Judge Chhabria dismissed the case because it is in the caddies’ contract that they wear a uniform, and the uniform contains a bib (McCann). The judge went on to further explain that caddies have been wearing bibs for the longest time as it is traditional to their uniform (McCann). This case is interesting to my topic because the PGA never stated that the bibs have to advertise corporate logos. The caddies are essentially walking billboards, but they do not receive extra compensation. This also shows how the caddies are obviously overshadowed by the pro golfers in corporate compensation. Pro golfers wear popular brands such as Nike, Izod, Puma, Adidas, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Peter Millar. The pro’s get compensated for this too. A notable example would be Rickie Fowler with Puma. Fowler is known for wearing bright and flashy Puma gear, and Fowler has become a figurehead for puma. Obviously, the caddies are not making the incredible shots that seem to magically curve over or around trees, but they are still providing brand recognition to thousands of people either at the tournament or by viewers through television.

Becoming a caddy is not an easy task and it is certainty does not get easier once they get hired by a pro. A PGA caddy is required to know all golf terms and definitions such as fairway, rough, hazards, etc. (Caddie Training Manual). Caddies are an essential part of the game and are generally undervalued for the work that they do. They provide the pros with strategic information about the course. For example, the caddy must learn the geography of the entire course before the pro even steps foot out on the tee box of the first hole. When it comes to putting, the caddies have to read the green effectively. Reading the green is when you get down very low on the putting green to see which way the ball will break. It is common for a green to have a slope of some sort. It is up to the caddy to inform the pro of how fast it will break and how hard he should hit it. The caddy will also tell the pro what spot he should aim for. Since the green does not break right away, it is important to aim for a spot where you think it will break. All of this is part of reading the green. This is an important part of his job because putting is where the points usually take place in golf. A golfer can have an amazing drive followed up with good hits on the fairway. The golfer could have an opportunity to birdie or par the hole assuming their previous shot landed on the green. It is very embarrassing for a pro to have to make a three putt because it kills his score and makes him look bad. While people may not realize this, it is actually a reflection on the caddy for not reading the green properly. 

When it comes to a stable job, a PGA caddy does have something to worry about. PGA caddies do not have stable careers like other professions do. This is due to the fact that the caddies are not hired by the PGA but instead by the pro’s themselves. There is no safety net waiting to catch the caddies if they get laid off. If the caddy lets down his pro to the point that it significantly alters his score, then there is a decent chance that the caddy may not be returning next tournament or season. Another downfall that caddies face is that they do not have health insurance coverage from the PGA Tour (Ryan). “Since caddies are self-employed contractors, they mostly foot their own bills. Just like the golfers, they pay their own travel expenses, and though the PGA Tour will reimburse caddies who work at least 15 events up to $2,000 in annual health insurance costs, most caddies pay around $10,000-$12,000 per year in family health expenses—an exorbitant cost that some handle by not buying insurance at all.” (Ryan). This quote accurately describes how the bills can mount up pretty fast even if the PGA Tour reimburses the caddies. If the caddy is lucky, the pro will pay for his travel expenses.

Caddies have a chaotic and unpredictable schedule during the golf season. They work roughly thirty or more weeks a year (Tidey). Caddies can go up to two or three weeks without seeing their families (Tidey). Their pay varies because it is up to how much and how well their pro plays for the most part. The caddies receive a base salary anywhere from one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars a week (Mousseau). This may sound like a lot of money, but in reality it is not. Even if the caddy were to get fifteen hundred dollars a week, he would only receive forty-five thousand dollars a year. If the pro that he is caddying for wins a tournament, the pro will give the approximately five to ten percent of the purse to the caddy. The chances that a pro will be able to win money from a tournament is slim because golf is a very competitive sport. Once a golfer starts shooting badly, it is hard to catch up to the leaders. In other words, only a few pros win big sums of money from each tournament. With this being said, it would be entirely possible for a PGA caddy to not get any bonus money from tournaments throughout the golf season. A PGA caddy will not make the best living if he only receives the base pay. This is why many caddies have off-season jobs of some sort because forty-five thousand dollars just is not commonly viewed as a desirable income if the caddy is trying to raise a family. However, if the caddy were to win tournament purse money then his salary could become more lucrative and meaningful. 

In the end, it ultimately seems like PGA Tour caddies are overlooked and not recognized enough for the amount of work that they do. Without the support of a good caddy, a pro would likely play worse than by playing alone. A Pro generally tends to rely on his caddy to make the tough decision calls, such as whether to use an eight iron opposed to a seven iron or whether to use a wedge or an iron. Golf is all about the player’s mindset, strategy, and skill. If any of those values are missing, then the game will probably not go well. A caddy can help keep your mindset positive and provide crucial opinions and support at the same time. There is a formula for success in golf, and the caddies are recognized as big part of a pro’s success or failure. The caddies should be compensated more. If they are forced to wear corporate brands on their bibs, then they should rightfully get perks and incentives that go with it. After researching the history of PGA Tour Caddies and their duties, I have become interested in becoming a caddy this summer. If I get the job, my knowledge of golf will keep growing, and I believe my golf knowledge and golf skills will help me out in the long run for the business world. It will be an advantage to golf with business clients and business associates as I form and establish relationships in my job.
