I’ve been a caddie for nearly 20 years, with stints at some of the world’s best resorts. Although I’m not big on soapboxing, a lot of you could use some friendly advice. Before I tell you what you get wrong, let me start by telling you what you get right: you tip well.
You won’t have job security, and you’re not going to make much money. That’s what a caddie told me when I started looping on the LPGA Tour a decade ago. I thought he was joking or perhaps trying to weed me out. Within a month I realised he was just telling it like it is. Well, mostly.
When people hear what I do, they ask how I got started. I happily reply, but I can tell they are waiting for me to stop talking so they can ask what they really want to know: how do I get your job?
We have witnessed tournaments without fans – which gave us, if nothing else, a break from screams of, “Get in the hole!” Perhaps in an act of karmic grace, we have witnessed what can best be described as “The Year of the Comeback.”
When I first started caddieing, that label was reserved for players whose rounds would explode over the smallest mistake. Now, after years in this business, “land mine” means something else: anyone who could potentially blow up my career.