Life as a Caddie

Life as a caddie is not as glorious as most would imagine. It’s more than just heavy bags and cool vests. There is travel, sweat, and egos to deal with. But for those golfers who love the PGA tour but just don’t have the ability to play on tour or the money to attend all the events, life as a caddie is an option. This month we at USGolfer will delve into life as a caddie and what exactly you need to do to become a caddie on the PGA Tour.

Here is an in-depth list of the requirements for becoming a caddie on the PGA tour:
Carry a Golf Bag for 18 holes a day
Know a pro golfer gullible enough to hire you as his caddie.

That’s it. There really are no set requirements to being a caddie. You just have to meet a professional golfer who believes you would be an asset to him in a tournament. Now, that being said, there are many things you can do though to increase your chances of meeting and impressing said PGA pro with your golf knowledge and bag carrying aptitude. One thing you can do to impress said PGA pro, is to become a member of the Professional Caddies Association.

Through the PCA, Caddies or potential caddies can gain valuable knowledge and training by completing their Apprenticeship Program, which covers many aspects of the caddie profession including the following topics:

History and Perspective of the Game Introduction to Caddying Team Work Fore caddying Responsibilities on the Course Yardage book, Pin Sheets and Signals Course Management & Maintenance Rules of Golf Golf Terms Health and Nutrition

Once this is completed, Caddies can attend a certification school and eventually enter a Master Caddie Program through the PCA. The goal of the PCA is to educate and train potential Caddies in an effort to increase the respectability of the Caddie profession. Once a caddie has finished these courses he should be well prepared for life on any tour. However, life on the tour as a caddie is not necessarily the most secure job. There can be a high turnaround in the caddie business and the pay is not great unless you are attached to one of the top golfers. To find potential players to caddie for, a caddie can attend different outings and look for golfers who, for some reason, need a caddie. If you get picked, don’t screw up, or it could be a really short round. There are other caddie associations around the world such as the European Tour Caddies Association. The ETCA also offers travel and hotel discounts for caddies to make life on the tour less demanding on the caddies tight budget.

While life on the tour as a caddie can be rough, it can be very rewarding especially if you can caddie with some of the elite golfers. Seeing those amazing shots on TV is awesome, but that can’t come close to the experience of watching and learning from these gifted athletes first hand. For more information about becoming a caddie, please check out the PCA worldwide website at www.pcaworldwide.com.

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