There is no doubt that a golf caddy plays an important role in any golf game. An essential part of the caddy’s job is to assist the golfer and attend to their individual needs and wants. Their primary duty may be to carry the golfer’s clubs and maintain their scores, but they also have a wide range of other duties to fulfill on the course. Wondering how does golf scoring works? Caddies can help you with that too.
The golf caddy can be a great asset to the golfer, but make sure you know what is expected of your caddy before you make a move. The more prepared you are before making a move, the more you will be able to take advantage of the service offered by your caddy.
On a perfect day at the course, it’s rare that you’ll need a caddy. If you’re using your own clubs, there’s not much to do other than give you advice when asked. But if you’re playing with rental clubs or unfamiliar equipment, or if there are long stretches of time between holes where nothing needs to get done, it can be helpful to have somebody with some knowledge about the game by your side for the day. This article will let you know what you need to know to get the most out of a caddy in your next round.
Caddies are generally independent contractors, and so their relationship with the course may vary. They may simply be offering free advice when asked, or they could be working in some sort of partnership with the course. In that case, they’ll have specific jobs to do during the round and will have been briefed on what you’re looking for ahead of time as well as what they’re responsible for. If you have any confusion about which caddy you’ve been paired with or how their fee is structured, ask the pro shop staff before you begin your round.
The duties of golf caddies
Golf caddies are generally responsible for carrying your bag, but this can range from just bringing the clubs out to the first tee to carrying them all day (including during play). But the questions must be spinning in your head, “what is a golf caddy?”, “what do they do actually?”. The majority of caddies will fall into the middle of this spectrum and typically just carry the bag when walking off between holes. If they are going to be carrying your bag all day, check if they’ll have a club attached to their cart. The following is a list of their responsibilities that you can take a quick look at:
1. Club Handling: At the start of each hole, your caddy will hand you the clubs you need for that hole. They’ll also take care of your shoes and packs as they arrive at the tee.
2. Maintaining the cleanliness of the golf clubs and other golf equipment: It’s their job to keep the clubs clean so that you can play with a clean set of clubs each hole.
3. Keep track of your score: It generally falls on the golfer to keep track of their own score, but caddies can have good knowledge of a golf course and can help you out. Some even carry small devices to keep track of scores for you!
4. Load/Unload clubs: Loading and unloading the golf bag into the golf cart is typically done by the golfer, but a caddy can assist and help get a bag up on to something if they’re nearby and nothing needs to be done.
5. Request yardage: If you’re unsure of the yardage on a shot, it’s your job to ask for it, but a caddy can be good at estimating distance as well. Just don’t expect them to have exact yardages!
6. Position the ball: When you strike the ball, your caddie may need to move around to get the ball in position for you.
7. Collect balls: While it’s typically best for you to deal with this, a caddy can help with picking up loose balls.
8. Begin play: This is perhaps the most important function of a caddy and will vary depending on their specialty. It may be as simple as asking where you should start your next shot and when to ‘waste’ balls. In some cases, a caddy may not be allowed to begin play until the previous hole has been completed, so it’s important to determine if this will happen before you enter a partnership with them.
9. Maintain the course: If there are certain areas of damage on the course, it will be their job to maintain the territory and ensure that damage doesn’t grow.
10. Bring a bag of balls: If you need to practice or hit balls, they can bring a bag of balls out to you at any time. On some courses, this service is provided by an additional charge which is clearly displayed in the golf shop.
11. Check the course and general conditions: If the course is wet, they will make sure that they are aware of this and can tell you if the golfers at that hole will be affected. If there are any hazards or hazards on the course, they may inform you of these before teeing off so that you can plan accordingly.
12. Other technical functions: On most golf courses, caddies are expected to help with other ‘technical’ tasks on the course. Examples of this include identifying hazards, cleaning golf balls and maintaining the course (such as mowing the fairway).
13. Provide instructions: A caddy may be able to give you instructions on how to play certain shots.
You’ve already got a general understanding of what a golf caddy is. At this point, you should decide if you will benefit from a golf caddy’s services or not! If you’re playing on your own, there’s not much point in having someone carry your bag for you for the day. But if you’re using unfamiliar clubs or renting clubs, a caddy can be a great help. If you’ve decided against, or don’t need the services of a caddy, don’t feel obligated to hire one.
