Question for Caddies.

[microcrayfish]

I know there's a few Sand Trappers out there who have been caddies at some point in time so I'm hoping you guys can help answer my question.

How exactly do you get to 'know' the course you caddy at?

The best way I can see would obviously be playing it but I'd think with some of the exclusive courses that actually use caddies that wouldn't always be an option, especially if you're just starting out. Do you just have to walk out there and work it out for yourself or do you have someone teach you the course?

[denver_nuggs_15]

I know there's a few Sand Trappers out there who have been caddies at some point in time so I'm hoping you guys can help answer my question.

For me, I just caddied and played on the course a lot. You get to know the course just by being in every space on the course. That's much easier when you're caddying though. If I'm caddying for four golfers, they're probably going to be in a different spot after each shot. Even if I'm dealing with amazing golfers and they hit the GIR every green, I'm in almost 100 different spots on just approaches to the green (not taking putts into account). Since most golfers aren't that good, I'm going to be in so many more spots around the green, in the rough, etc. than if I'm golfing. However, golfing lets you know the course differently. You learn the bunkers, rough, different lies, bad spots around the greens, etc. much better than if you're caddying since you're the one hitting the shots.

[clearwaterms]

When I caddied, you learned by listening to what the older more experienced caddies had to say. with experience you learned how far it was to a trap / how much club to hit to a green, etc.

WHen I was a caddy, the rookie caddies were paid less then the "honor" or experienced caddy. Every caddy got his own bag, and they tried to pair one rookie per four some. THe experienced caddy would almost always help out the rookie caddy, helping to read greens, give club advice, etc. After my first year doing it, the second year I was a "honor" caddy and for the third year (last year I did it) I was the senior caddy offering the new caddies advice.

[WUTiger]

Caddies who work a course for more than two years pick up different bits of expertise about the course. Between rounds, you share info with other caddies about what they've picked up.

I caddied during late HS and early college at one of the exclusive, PGA tournament venues in the St. Louis area. I was very good at being able to tell players within about five yards how far it was to the flagstick.

Certain in-the-rough spots of the course seemed to attract a lot of errant tee shots, so I know how far it was from the spot to the center of the green. Also, I seemed to be pretty good at on-the-spot trigonometry: if you are 15 yards outside the the dogleg near the 150-yd. marker (red +, what does that do to the shot distance. (middle of fairway is blue dashed lines)

+

----------------- 0

Also, some of the green were fairly large. If possible, you talk to the cup cutter on the greens crew and find the pin locations for the day.

At most courses, certain holes had optical illusions on the tee box - trick you into pointing the wrong way - and some of the greens had deceptive dips or breaks.

On your own and in seeing fellow caddies in action, you get to know your "course."

Also, it helps if you have the same golfer multiple times a month. You can work as a team to a certain extent. (Some golfers are know-it-alls, and make the same mistakes week after week, so you really can't help them.) One guy always played better than when he had me rather than some other caddie, and remarked how "lucky" I was at guessing how far it was to the pin. He tended to take one club too little on approaches unless I was on bag.

Often, a golfer you caddie for frequently will ask you to watch one or two things about his swing during the round.

Also, a caddie who "knows the course" can be a big help to guests or visiting pros playing the course for the first time.

Caddying didn't pay a whole lot back in the late 1960s, but it sure felt good when some guy broke 90, and both of you realized he couldn't have done it without the help of you, the caddie.

One raw point: The top-notch clubs in the St. Louis area were notorious during that time for not letting their caddies play on Mondays, or any other time. Caddies were supposed to "work on their game" to do well on bag, but several public courses got turned into subdivisions in the area. Where were we supposed to play? We ended up going across the river to southern Illinois, where a lot of new courses were springing up.

Confession: As you can tell from my HDCP index, I generally have been a better caddie than golfer.