Caddying

**wrx_junki** · August 16, 2008

Just started working part time as a caddy at a nearby country club. Any tips from caddy's will be much appreciated. Decent pay and I like the hours so it really works out well for me.

**Harry Longshanks** · August 16, 2008

The 3 Caddy Commandments

1. Show up
2. Keep up
3. Shut up

**wrx_junki** · August 16, 2008

The 3 Caddy Commandments

Well the 3rd part was hard to do today since they were asking me lot of questions.

**Harry Longshanks** · August 16, 2008

Well the 3rd part was hard to do today since they were asking me lot of questions.

That's okay. The idea behind the 3 Commandments is that you should always be on time; you should always stay right next to your player so you can attend to his needs; and you shouldn't bug the player with chatter unless he or she wants you to - kind of like the old rule "don't speak unless spoken to."

My pro substitutes "Clean up" in place of "Show up". He says that showing up is a given. If you don't do that, all the other stuff is irrelevant. Other basics are things that you probably know from playing: keep a partially wet towel handy so you can clean up his clubs; keep some tees and a ball mark repair tool in your pocket; keep extra pencils and scorecards handy and if you can, keep his/her stats (FW hit, GIR, Scramble, # of putts); say "yes sir/ma'am" or "no sir/ma'am" unless invited to call them by their name; know where the yardage markers are and keep a yardage book handy if there is one available for the course; know the course by heart and the breaks on the greens. That sort of stuff. A player paying for a caddie is usually going to expect some "inside information" about the course.

**Mr Eagle** · August 16, 2008

As you gain experiance you will be able to "read" the people you are caddying for.Some just want you to carry the bag and shut up.Some want to bully you,complete idiots who will blame you every time they misshit a shot.
On the upside the Guys who play with a smile on their face,the jokers and those who are genuinley interested in your opinions.

If you can sort out which type of golfer you are caddying for by the first green youve cracked it !

My caddying days came to an abrupt end one day when I was on the bag of a right Bully .Every bad shot was followed by an icy stared and a comment directed toward me like ,dont stand there,stop moving ,not enough club (after he hit his 7 iron 80 yards)

Anyway with the guy's game going from bad to worse and me wanting to ram his 3 iron where the sun dont shine the last straw came on the 16 th (I know ,I only had to suffer him for another 3 holes) .After his tee shot had ended up in the water he turned a screamed at me "Stop looking when Im teeing off!" (WHAT! stop looking? how the hell was I going to see where to look for his ball) Sorry sir was that stop looking

The guy had completely lost the plot ,bright red ,staring eyes I thought he was going to attack me "Yes stop ~~~~ing looking,youve been lookng at me all day you faggot"

"Yes Sir Im a Faggot will that be 3 off the tee or are you going to play one down at the lake sir"
With that he went mental ,going into a rant about this being my last ever job on a golf course and dont expect any pay ect

That was it I was off,Id had enough (end of summer job)

Enjoy your caddying its great fun!

**Southpaw** · August 16, 2008

Number one rule, PAY ATTENTION! Every new caddy I try and train, day dreams and never watches when the players are hitting, consequently losing balls and getting yelled at by the players.

August 16, 2008

great thread I started caddying last year, it's become my life for now, good and bad, it's amazing and terrible all at the same time. as was said stay awake there's quite alot to do at first but it becomes second nature, watch the guy's ball get a line on it, know when to speak and when to shut up, if he hits a bad shot let him walk away a bit carry the club if he wants, and think ahead as you walk down the fairway be working out yardages and where you want to be rakes or whatever to make it all quicker so there's no standing about waiting for you.

AntDempsey · August 16, 2008

The 3 Caddy Commandments

classic lol

i agree if they ask...answer if they don't...just stand back watch and laugh to yourself!

**Harry Longshanks** · August 16, 2008

classic lol

I wish I could take credit for it but, alas, I got it from Rick Reilly's "Who's Your Caddy?" (and Reilly was just repeating it, as Ibelieve it's a saying that has been around for quite some time.)

Hey, there's another suggestion - read "Who's your Caddy?" It's short, hilarious, and you are bound to pick up a few tips. (My favorite is "keep your mouth off my ball." But I won't spoil it by explaining it. Really, it's a funny book.)

**TCCcaddie** · August 16, 2008

I caddy at one of the best courses in North Shore and what Harry said is true. If they ask you to read a putt something it is important to remember that if you dont know, dont guess.

One funny caddying story i have that happened a few weeks ago. I was caddying in the biggest event of the year at Tedesco. I had two guys(I'm a AA caddy which means i carry two bags for two different people at once) who were about 20 handicaps each. On the final day one of my members was not having a good day at all. He was pushing, pulling, hooking, slicing everything. On a par 4 dogleg left he hooked his teeshot almost to the trees on the left. He was completely blocked off from the green. Now before this for the past 3 rounds i had read all their putts and had advice ready for every shot and they had never asked. When we get up there i had told him that it would be about a 80 yd shot after he had pitched out to the fairway. He said okay, then he asked me some thing that completely took me by surprise. "Do you know how to shape our shots?" I knew what he was implying and i knew that this wouldn't go well. I told him that i could hit a draw or a cut when i wanted to. Then he asked me how to hit a hook. Now this guy , who hadn't asked me to read a putt for the past 63 holes now wanted me to teach him on demand how to hit a long hook around a tree line. I showed him how to and he came up to the ball and didn't think that the adjustments that i gave him he came straight over the top on the ball and hit it into the woods on the left. That was amazing.

**Fraser** · August 16, 2008

Sounds like an interesting job, on the courses where I played regularly caddies were the exception.

If you don't mind me asking is it 100% based on tips?

**TCCcaddie** · August 16, 2008

At my club there is a base rate and then tips but people really dont go on that it is more of a scale of pay per bag based on rank and performance.

**wrx_junki** · August 17, 2008

Its 100% tips. Suggested is $50 for bag and $25 for putter. Usually get around $60 and $30 respectively. Caddied twice yesterday. Carried one bag while I was learning and went on my own later in the day with two bags and a putter. Made some decent money.

**alf174** · August 17, 2008

Though its been 35 years since I last caddied I have a different appreciation for it now. If it matched my current income I think I would do it; it would be cool to live the simple days again.

AntDempsey · August 17, 2008

I wish I could take credit for it but, alas, I got it from Rick Reilly's "Who's Your Caddy?" (and Reilly was just repeating it, as Ibelieve it's a saying that has been around for quite some time.)

yer might give give that book a go sound rather good

**Fraser** · August 17, 2008

Its 100% tips. Suggested is $50 for bag and $25 for putter.

The ignoramus in me wants to ask what do you mean by '$25 for putter'? Helping out with lines on putts and the like?

Thanks

**Harry Longshanks** · August 17, 2008

The ignoramus in me wants to ask what do you mean by '$25 for putter'? Helping out with lines on putts and the like?

Fraser,

I haven't heard that term before either, so I'm curious as well. But if I had to guess, I'd say that when he goes out with a group of four, some will want a full service caddy. He can do a maximum of two. But the other players might want advice on shots, putts, etc. i.e. "local knowledge". And they shouldn't be able to mooch off of the players who are paying for a full service caddy. In other words, I bet there area lot of cheapskates who don't want to pay for a caddy but, if one happens to be there, they won't hesitate to start asking all sorts of questions. So the $25 fee is a way of discouraging such behavior, or (for players willing to pay for it) an opportunity for the caddy to make some extra money when already booked for a full service gig. (That was a terrible explanation of my guess. Sorry.)

**Fraser** · August 17, 2008

Thanks for the explanation Harry, makes sense to me.

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