Caddying

We have the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship coming in town in a couple of weeks and I'm volunteering to caddy for the tournament. Having never caddied before, this is a new experience for me. Does anyone with caddy experience have any tips they can offer? I know the general stuff about raking bunkers, keeping the balls/clubs clean and also knowing that the rules apply to me as a caddy just as much as they do for the player, but that's about the extent of my caddy knowledge.

I caddied for a buddy in a pro-am and only do what your player asks you to do, i.e. yardages, green reads, etc. I did none of that stuff even though I was intimately familiar with the golf course. My buddy didn't ever ask so I kept my mouth shut. Also, try and help your fellow caddies out by raking the bunker for them if the situation calls for it or cleaning their player's ball if their not nearby. The old saying goes, "Show up, keep up, shut up."

I would add that encouragement and cheerleading and all that "extra" stuff has to be spontaneous. You have to be in tune to your player's personality. I was good friends with my player so I knew that he didn't care much for pats on the back or me trying to uplift him so I let it be.

how well do you know the course?

Having caddied at a few private clubs and employees caddies for my own play. I can tell you a good caddie can make a round and bad caddie really kill it. There is so much that goes into be good and a value add. Just pulling clubs from someone you don't know is not enough. Know how to read greens is key, local rules, usga rules, knowing when to talk and not to talk. Where to stand and when to take the flag from another caddy. It can be alot of work

I caddied for my brother in Champions Tour Pro Am for a few rounds. I basically let the Tour Caddies do all the pin pulling, and thankfully my brother never go in the sand, so I was luck there. Main thing for my was just staying out of the way of the Tour players. I was there to help my brother have fun, but that's about it. I learned a lot though about being inside the ropes.
There's not a lot of difference that playing a round for big money. Always make sure your not getting in others lines (fairway or green). Place your bag with the others, less chance of getting yourself in trouble and in a players line of site...usually edge of the green nearest the next tee. Wear comfortable walking shoes, no soft spikes, unless your course is hilly and you need them.
Ask your player before the round what she wants from you, and make sure she know it's ok to ask for things. Comfort is going to be key here, especially since you've never worked with her before.

I haven't caddied but in my country we always play with caddies, so I've known them my whole golfing life.

The most important ability of a caddie is green familiarity. In theory in your notebook is a sketch or notes of every green and how fast and slow they are, and the breaks.

Next is knowing yardage, and accuracy of yardage gets more important the closer you are to the green.

That said, you only give that info to the player if he asks for it. If he's familiar with the course, then I guess he'll need that less. But if he's new to the course, you're there to assist in yardage and reads.

A good caddie needs to be emotionally invested in his player. He doesn't need to be a cheerleader, but the apathy will show if you don't really care about the player.

I have played with caddies who weren't so good at reads and yardage but we had a good time because I felt that he or she cared for my game as much as I did.

Oh yeah, good caddies have good eyesight. You're another pair of eyes to see where the ball is going especially if it's veering off the fairway. You can imagine how useless a caddie is if he cannot see beyond 150 yards. Going back to the tee on a stroke and distance penalty for a lost ball REEEAAALLLY sucks, as what happened to me yesterday.

The cleaning of clubs and lugging the bag around is there, but stay with your player at all times, be sure that he has what he needs before you move off to rake that bunker or fix that divot. Your player may need you more than you think especially if he doesn't know the course too well. You may need to call off OB left, hazard right, and another hazard 250 yards further out, just to warn him of the places where he shouldn't be.

It may sound weird, but a caddie is the player's soul mate for four hours. That's a pretty long time, so you either keep each other up and have fun, or it'll be a four hour ordeal that you can't wait to end. There's some chemistry involved, so like relationships, no one is at fault, you just don't gel well together.

Regardless of how you think about your player, it's his game, and his time, so the caddie always plays second fiddle in this game.

bhilton said:

We have the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship coming in town in a couple of weeks and I'm volunteering to caddy for the tournament. Having never caddied before, this is a new experience for me. Does anyone with caddy experience have any tips they can offer? I know the general stuff about raking bunkers, keeping the balls/clubs clean and also knowing that the rules apply to me as a caddy just as much as they do for the player, but that's about the extent of my caddy knowledge.

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1. No spikes! Caddies can not wear spikes.
2. Shut up, keep up.
3. Know the rules by heart.
4. Talk to the player, ask what she wants from you.
5. Be positive, your positivity will be picked up by the player.
6. Rake, get the divots, don't repair ball marks.
7. Don't read lines on the green unless asked for.
8. Keep clubs clean, balls clean, put clubs in the bag in the order the bag was delivered to you.
9. Don't smoke on the course, eat and drink when it won't affect the player.
10. Your food and drinks can't be in the way of the stuff the player needs. Don't forget to eat and drink though!
11. Personally I offer a drink to the player every other hole, after they've shot their tee shot.
12. Personally I offer food to the player evert fourth hole, together with the drink.
13. Keep a wet towel handy, keep at least one dry towel in the bag at all times.
14. Get the flag, attend it when your player plays (it's not common to attend for another player). Don't put the flag on the ground.
15. Know distances, know pin positions. Know how to read pinsheets!
16. If the player is uncertain, tell them the distance again. Ask what club they need for that distance, know if a miss short or long is better and take that into consideration for your advise.
17. I forgot: always keep your eye on the ball! You know where it is, make sure your player does not play another ball.

Try have fun, it's a hard job

I've caddied a few players, in both national and international matches. My countries amateur championships, both stroke play and matchplay for instance

jhstew1 said:

how well do you know the course?

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I know the course extremely well. I used to be a member there and played about 5-6 days a week

Great advice from all above. I caddied when I was younger (from 7th grade through college) and was fortunate to caddy in a few State Opens and State Amateurs. The problem with being a "new" caddie is there is so much to think about, whereas a veteran caddie does a lot by reflex and without thinking. I hope you get the chance to carry someone's bag - enjoy the experience.

bhilton said:

I know the course extremely well. I used to be a member there and played about 5-6 days a week

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then you will do great, all that knowledge will def help someone

bhilton said:

We have the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship coming in town in a couple of weeks and I'm volunteering to caddy for the tournament. Having never caddied before, this is a new experience for me. Does anyone with caddy experience have any tips they can offer? I know the general stuff about raking bunkers, keeping the balls/clubs clean and also knowing that the rules apply to me as a caddy just as much as they do for the player, but that's about the extent of my caddy knowledge.

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Sounds like a really great and FUN opportunity. I hope you have a great day out there.

Talk to your player before hand and find out what they want exactly. I caddied a few events on the futures(symetra) tour. One of the players wanted me to do everything yardages, lining up putts and shots, and all the usual stuff. The other players just wanted me to carry the bag, talk to them, and that was about it.

Sounds like a great experience enjoy yourself and have fun. Remember to stay positive and rules officials can be your best friend.

bhilton said:

We have the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship coming in town in a couple of weeks and I'm volunteering to caddy for the tournament. Having never caddied before, this is a new experience for me. Does anyone with caddy experience have any tips they can offer? I know the general stuff about raking bunkers, keeping the balls/clubs clean and also knowing that the rules apply to me as a caddy just as much as they do for the player, but that's about the extent of my caddy knowledge.

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Really basically if they do something to end up in a stressful situation watch for brain farts. Players get angry or embarrassed and that part of their brain where the little things you need to do right gets shut off for some reason. You are part of the side with the player and some things you do can cause problems or penalties for the player, for instance:

- Stay off the players line - unless they want help reading a putt. Always watch for where you are.
- Don't search for any ball unless you are asked to. You are part of the side and if you move the ball its the same as the player moving the ball. That and they may not want to find the ball. Don't feel bad if they ask you not to search for that very reason.
- Make sure they have the right ball when they end up in bad places. They can lift to identify if they announce to their fellow competitor and mark before they do. Even if you are annoying about it preventing them playing a wrong ball could earn you their gratitude.
- Make sure they announce provisional balls to their fellow competitors. "I am playing a provisional" is the right thing to say.
- Don't touch anything on the green but the flag. Don't stand near the flag unless you are removing it and don't remove it until asked. Make sure you can get the flag out of the hole before the ball gets there when attending the flag. Don't attend the flag for the fellow competitor - even if they ask, if they hit the pin in the hole from on the green the penalty goes to your player.

Thanks for all the tips. They had a quick "class" to briefly go over the things we will need to know and some of the stuff of what to do and what not to do, but I knew I could probably get a caddies advice on here.

wrap the towel around the irons so they dont click together when walking. Guy Boro's told me about that when I was carrying for him, he said that is a huge a pet peeve for most Pro's