New Caddie: What Course Notes To Take

**jaragon126** · March 29, 2010

Hi all,
I am on my way to becoming a part time caddie at a course near me, and I have some questions about what notes to take on the course before I start.

So far I've passed the written exam, and have the on-course test left to complete. I haven't ever caddied before, but I am anxious to learn.

I overheard one of the other caddie trainees talking about how he went out to walk the course recently to take some notes on the course before going out on loops. We aren't allowed to play the course (which we can only do on Mondays) until we have a couple of caddie rounds completed ... so playing the course isn't an option for me yet.

I was thinking it would be beneficial for me to go walk the course before I start as well, but I'm not sure what things to take notes on in the beginning. I don't have hours & hours to take my laser rangefinder & make a complete yardage book for every hole on the course at this time. Maybe I can slowly start building a yardage book as I'm playing the course, marking all hazards & trees & such over time. But for now is it better to just get a few things written down that will be beneficial when I start caddieing?

Any experienced caddies or people that have played with caddies: any tips on what things to take notes on in the beginning? Should I take my rangefinder & get yardages for a few obvious things (like the corners of the doglegs, any fairway bunkers?). Or is just getting out on the course & seeing the holes in person good enough? What are your thoughts?

**Gioguy21** · March 29, 2010

the obvious: hazards, bunkers, paths, etc. but also pay attention to little things like which holes have wind...where it comes from/about how many clubs to +/-, make minor diagrams of greens to include spines, low areas, where pin placements usually are, etc. make minor jots to include where sprinkler heads are.

**DaSportsGuy** · March 29, 2010

I would start out with a basic diagram of greens along with obvious distances to/from any hazards, bunkers, certain landmarks, etc.

Most courses have hole diagrams on their website so you can sketch them down and start jotting things down as you gain experience.

**Bug Bunny** · March 29, 2010

Just a thought but if the course has a good website and the computer generated pics like a lot of places, print them out, head out and walk the course and make notes of key yardages. Then add these numbers to the pics, laminate them and you'd be off to a good start. I'd say it'd really be beneficial to show a player an actual diagram. I've certainly never caddied before so check with someone who knows to make sure all this is in the regs.

**RandomRaiderTTU** · March 29, 2010

Just make sure you take a handful of golf balls.

Get on the greens and roll them in a bunch of areas. Find out where the green is breaking to in general.

Also, find out which holes play uphill, downhill and what the effective yardages are.

**jaragon126** · March 29, 2010

Thanks Raider, I didn't even think about using golf balls on the greens.

Bunny, the course does have a website image:
http://www.glenmoorcc.org/Images/Lib...lenmoormap.jpg

They don't have larger images of each hole though.

**WUTiger** · March 29, 2010

... Most courses have hole diagrams on their website so you can sketch them down and start jotting things down as you gain experience.

Besides their website, many courses have line drawings of the greens outlines on two or three pieces of paper. These are used by the greenskeepers when planning where to cut the cups each day. Some sheets are more elaborate, especially if the course hosts USGA-affiliated tournaments.

Also, see if the course has printed any yardage notebooks. These show the outlines of the holes, different tee boxes, and prominent yardage points. Some are on plain paper so you can write notes on them, others are fancy full-color print jobs (full color sometimes more difficult to write on). If not, hit the website, copy down hole diagrams, and build your own notebook. Valuable things to measure early on: How far from various tees to the edge of the lake, how far to out-of-bounds in left corner of dogleg, etc. All the other posters have excellent ideas too.

**jaragon126** · March 29, 2010

WUTiger, the course doesn't have any existing yardage notebooks, I've already asked that That would save me alot of time if they already had it all done for me.

**jamo** · March 29, 2010

Make sure you know the basic break of greens. High spots, low spots, common pin placements. Also make sure you know where to hit the ball on every tee shot and where the trouble is on every hole. Also if you have to fore-caddie, make sure you know where to stand to get the best vantage points.

**Bug Bunny** · March 29, 2010

Bunny, the course does have a website image:

That's perfect. Take that to like staples or something where you can blow it up a bit and still get a quality pic. I'd then cut all 18 holes out and write the yardages on them, laminate that and it'd be a great start!

**jaragon126** · March 25, 2011

Well, first season of being a caddie was awesome, and the start of season 2 is approaching quickly! I think I over-analyzed things in the beginning, the members of the course definitely know their way around the course and rarely (if at all) ask course management questions. Most of what I do is watch where the ball goes, fix divots/rake bunkers, clean clubs/ball, and hold the flagstick while on the putting green. About half the people I caddie for have distance measuring devices (laser rangefinders), and they DO let us use the rangefinders to get distances for them. The other half don't have measuring devices and they seem to be fine with us giving them yardages based on us walking off distances from the sprinkler heads for them. There was only one time that I caddied where a guy didn't have a measuring device & seemed upset because I didn't have one for him. There was one hole where I gave him yardage and he overshot that distance by a mile & ended up out of bounds. (In my defense, the yardage I gave him was correct ... but he neglected to account for the SEVERELY downhill shot & had way too much club for that shot) I know a couple of the older & more experienced caddies bring their own rangefinders, so I'm wondering if I should bring mine along as well. They aren't cheap so by me using it to caddie, I'm only shortening the life of the device before it craps out on me. Would a caddie make more money by bringing our own rangefinder? For the golfers that already have one, I'd be carrying extra weight (we already have to carry alot of items) for the whole round. But for the golfers that don't have measuring devices, would they be inclined to pay more for a caddie with their own rangefinder?

**TheGeekGolfer** · March 25, 2011

Originally Posted by jaragon126

There was one hole where I gave him yardage and he overshot that distance by a mile & ended up out of bounds. (In my defense, the yardage I gave him was correct ... but he neglected to account for the SEVERELY downhill shot & had way too much club for that shot)

This is why caddies on the 'pro' tours and such will give distances that INCLUDE the uphill/downhill/wind/pin position/etc. ie - "The distance to the center of the green is 154, but it's playing downhill and there's a bit of wind behind us, so it's playing more like 135 to the middle and 145 to that back pin. You don't want to go long though, there's OB there, front to middle is our best bet. I'd go with your stock 130 yd shot." If you get a better player and he/she 'has to have a caddie' (which is required at some nicer courses), then it's important that he/she gets the full value and this will likely increase your tips, too.

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