Caddies shoulder great responsibility; it’s not a bad gig if you love the game
Photo by Jason Joyce
Being a professional golf caddy is half psychological and half advice. Most caddies help their golfer get through the day – not only with golf advice, but dealing with stress.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe did it at Augusta. Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly wrote a book about it. And Will Smith made a movie about it. So what is it?
What is it that requires no athletic ability, but all the skill in the world to do? Caddying!
Being a caddy is the only position in professional sports that is less glamorous than being a fullback. But just like the fullback, the caddy shoulders great responsibility.
“Learn the golf course, and never be afraid to ask questions,” said Tim Duffy, the current caddy for PGA golfer Brad Adamonis. “It helps to be a good player yourself.”
Duffy should know. A former caddy for Arnold Palmer, he also holds the course record at Windermere Country Club near Orlando, Fla, where he shot 12 under par (60).
The caddy career is half psychology and half advice. For most caddies, their job is helping their golfer get through the day - not just with golf advice, but dealing with stress.
One way to do that is to talk about things they both like. For instance, Adamonis loves sports. So, Duffy reads newspapers, and watches SportsCenter on ESPN so he and Adamonis can talk about other sports on the course the next day.
Duffy insists that his golfers have fun.
“The main thing about what we do is getting our golfer’s mind off of the game,” said Duffy. “When we were on the Nationwide Tour, he [Adamonis] was miserable. When he was having about 70 percent fun, we finished 18th… we finished first at Midland, when he was having 85 percent fun.”
Most caddies make their way onto the pro tour after caddying for a friend and developing an interest in both the game and the job. That’s how Kevin Smith did it.
“I was caddying for a buddy of mine, and I just fell in love with the game” said Smith, who caddies for the PGA’s Ron Whittaker.
Smith’s advice for future caddies is simple: “Work hard and learn to walk the courses.”
Smith has caddied for several PGA golfers, including Boo Weekly and Scott Sterling.
Others have segued to caddying after becoming excellent golfers, like Robert Fox, the caddy for Jason Allred. “I have been playing my whole life,” said Fox, who played college golf at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss.
Caddies who hope to win a job with a PGA pro usually start caddying at amateur qualifiers. Many of them have a background in golf, either playing in college or playing on the Nationwide Tour.
For instance, Damon Green, caddy for 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, competed on the Nationwide Tour for several years.
“Coach, cheerleader, psychiatrist, taskmaster, and friend: Those are all words that describe a caddy,” said PGA official Andy Pazder PGA. “Most of them know the game inside and out.”
The caddy’s job involves a lot of traveling, and his pay level depends on the success of the player whose clubs he totes. Most PGA caddies receive base pay ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 per week, several at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship said in April.
But, those caddies said, things get interesting when their golfer does well.
A tournament win usually nets the caddy a 10 percent bonus from the golfer’s check – which means 10 percent of amounts that can range from $500,000 to more than $1 million.
Caddies said they usually receive seven percent of the money their golfers receive for finishing among a tournament’s top 20. They get five percent from golfers who finish outside the top 20 but manage to make the cut for weekend play.
It’s not a job for the faint of heart. But, caddies will tell you, it’s not a bad gig for people who love the game.