How to Become a PGA Tour Caddy
So you want to become a PGA Tour caddie? Let’s just say you’re not the only one. The life of a professional caddie can be top-notch if you’re looping for one of the top players in the world, but caddying for players struggling to keep their tour cards isn’t as glamorous. It’s a risky way to make a living, but if you’re serious about getting to the highest level of caddying, there are a few paths you can take to achieve your goal.
Paths to Caddying on the PGA Tour
There are more paths to caddying on the PGA Tour than the six examples listed here will, but these examples lay out your best chance of reaching your goal.
Have Professional Status
Brett Waldman caddies for Daniel Berger on the PGA Tour and has been a professional caddie since 2005. Waldman also had his shot at the professional ranks on the Korn Ferry Tour, including a full season with 18 starts in 2011.
Like Waldman, many PGA Tour caddies either hold, or have held professional status themselves. Golfers still working towards their own dreams of playing on tour can supplement that goal from inside the ropes by caddying for players who don’t need a weekly commitment from their caddie.
You may be surprised just how thin the line is between some caddies and elite players. In 2020, Sophia Popov missed out on getting her LPGA Tour card and instead of playing, served as Anne van Dam's caddy at the Drive On Championship at the end of July and beginning of August. Less than four weeks later, she won the AIG Women's Open Championship. Yes, as a player.
Be Related to a Great Player
Many professional golfers have a sibling or other relative on their bag. Afterall, if you can’t trust your family, who can you trust? Oftentimes, professional golfers have a brother or sister who has been part of their journey since the beginning. Other times, a significant other or cousin can be a temporary fill-in. If you have a relative who appears to be on the path to professional golf, consider caddying for them in local events to build a good on-course relationship. A few relative player-caddie combos include:
- Dustin Johnson and Austin Johnson (brother)
- Brooke Henderson and Brittany Henderson (sister)
- Lee Westwood and Helen Storey (wife), also Sam Westwood (son)
- Mark Calcavecchia and Brenda Calcavecchia (wife)
- Steve Stricker and Nicki Stricker (wife)
- Matt Kuchar and Sybi Kuchar (wife)
- Stewart Cink and Reagan Cink (son)
Be Friends With a Great Player
Players often ask close friends to caddie for them early in their careers. However, when those players sense the highest level is right around the corner, they often replace their friend-caddy with a more experienced, proven caddie, one who has “been there, done that” and understands how to navigate major championships. Along the way, there have been plenty of bff’s who have shared a caddie-player relationship. Some examples:
- Rory McIlroy and Harry Diamond
- Rickie Fowler and Joe Skovron
- Will Zalatoris and Ryan Goble
- Ben Crenshaw and Carl Jackson
- Lee Trevino and Herman Mitchell
Work Your Way Up
You can't really control having a sibling, cousin, or best friend on the cusp of the PGA Tour, or having good enough game to try professional golf yourself. But anybody can put in the work and climb the ladder. It’s a long way to the top, but it’s possible to get there if you stay patient.
Start on lower level tours such as the Sunshine Tour, PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour China. It's common for locals to have the opportunity to caddy for touring pros when these lower-level tours, the ones two or more steps away from the top, come to town. Good caddies are hard to come by. Once you gain experience inside the ropes in a professional setting, you build your resume and you could get scooped up by a player on his or her way to big things.
Volunteer
Put yourself out there for free at a local event. It’s a crap shoot, but it might just be the beginning of something big. There are plenty of mini-tour events played throughout the U.S. where you can let a local course know that you’re willing to caddie for any player in need. It could lead to regular work if the player climbs the ranks of professional golf.
Be a Local Looper
In 2011, Michael Greller was working as a teacher and earning some extra money on the side as a caddie when he met and looped for an amateur golfer named Jordan Spieth. The rest is history and Greller is still on the bag 12 years later.
You’d be surprised how far caddying at your local club can take you. Will you have to loop for some people who can’t hit out of their own shadows? Yes. But private clubs, especially the higher-end clubs, have some really solid players as members, as well as guests. You never know who you might get hooked-up with.
Great public courses, such as Pinehurst and Pebble Beach, also offer caddie services. If you become a regular caddie, you never know what situations can arise when professional events come through town. The most infamous example is when Matt Kuchar won the 2018 Mayakoba Golf Classic with local caddie, David Giral Ortiz, on his bag. Obviously, the big story to come from that was Kuchar’s lack of compensation to Ortiz, but he won with a local guy nonetheless.
How Much do PGA Tour Caddies Make?
Now that you know how to make it as a PGA Tour caddie, you need to know how much PGA Tour caddies get paid. A good rule of thumb is that a PGA Tour caddie makes about 10% of whatever their player makes for the week. This doesn't include meals and lodging, which is normally also covered by the player.
With that said, the average caddie can make up to $3,000 for a tournament. Caddies who work for the top players in the world can exceed $500,000 yearly. Your pay is completely determined by the performance of the player, unless you secure other sponsorship deals.
Qualifications of a PGA Tour Caddie
While there is no set standard for the qualifications a PGA Tour caddie needs to possess, there are some undeniable qualities that a good caddie should have at the highest level.
- Ability to map out a golf course based on your player’s game and yardages
- Understanding of different turf grass and course conditions
- Endurance to carry a bag and walk for four rounds, plus practice rounds (around 25-30 miles)
- Inherent ability to stay calm under pressure
- Solid math skills to decipher yardages and slope
- An open schedule where you are tied to your player
- Non-hesitant to redirect spectators
Conclusion
If you are interested in becoming a PGA Tour caddie, we wish you the best of luck. It’s certainly possible, but like any dream career, you’ll take some bumps and bruises along the way with no guarantee you’ll reach your ultimate goal. Enjoy the journey.