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caddie

{{Short description|Person who carries golfers' clubs and provides assistance to golfers}}

{{other uses}}

File:Phil & Jim "Bones" MacKay 2014.jpg consults with his longtime caddy Jim "Bones" Mackay at Muirfield Village Golf Club in 2014.]]

File:TheCaddie.jpg

File:Imaginative_Marguerite_Martyn_drawing_of_Forest_Park_Golf_Course,_St._Louis,_in_1914.jpg of a couple at the Forest Park Golf Course, Forest Road, Missouri, in 1914, while a caddie leans against a tree.]]

File:Golf caddy.JPG]]

In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintenance like repairing divots and raking bunkers. Their role extends well beyond these physical tasks, going into emotional and behavioural moral support. Whether at local clubs, public courses, or prestigious tournaments—caddies offer valuable insight on course strategy, advising on everything from club selection to reading greens and evaluating weather conditions. They often serve as a steadying presence, offering encouragement and helping players maintain focus under pressure.

Caddies are trusted for their course knowledge, adaptability, and close understanding of a player’s game, and their role is integral at every level of play. In professional and amateur golf alike, caddies often build lasting partnerships with players, developing a rapport that contributes to overall performance.

Other nicknames for the role are looper or jock.{{Cite web |title=Undercover Caddie: A longtime resort looper's friendly advice for all golfers |url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/undercover-caddie-sage-words-longtime-looper |access-date=2024-08-14 |website=Golf Digest |language=en}}

Etymology

The Scots word caddie or {{lang|sco|cawdy}} was derived in the 17th century from the French word cadet and originally meant a student military officer. It later came to refer to someone who did odd jobs.{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caddie |title=caddie, noun |dictionary=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |access-date=25 February 2019 |publisher=Merriam-Webster, Incorporated}}{{cite dictionary |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/caddie |title=Caddie |year=2019 |dictionary=Oxford Dictionaries |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=25 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225103120/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/caddie |archive-date=25 February 2019 |url-status=live }} By the 19th century, it had come to mean someone who carried clubs for a golfer, or in its shortened form, cad, a man of disreputable behaviour.{{cite news |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-strange-route-from-cadet-to-cad |title=The Strange Route from 'Cadet' to 'Cad' |work=Merriam-Webster, Incorporated |access-date=25 February 2019}}

History

The first recorded use of a caddie was in Edinburgh in 1681 by the future James VII of Scotland when taking part in the first international golf contest.{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/golfer-s-land|title = Golfer's Land|date=13 March 2015 |website=Atlas Obscura}}{{Better source|reason=User-generated content |date=January 2023}}

Earnings

Caddies pay is variable and is usually based on an allocated percentage share of prize money. At a professional level, caddies work in a high level partnership with golfers, some work as contractors to individual players in events. In 2020, caddies on the PGA European Tour became eligible to earn bonuses through sponsors' logos on their gear.{{Cite web|url=https://associationsnow.com/2020/01/golf-caddie-group-set-sponsorship-program-members/|title=Why a Golf Caddie Group Set Up a Sponsorship Program for Its Members|date=2020-01-15|website=Associations Now|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-15}}

In 2024, Golf Digest reported that Scottie Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott earned $2.6 million over the season with the world number 1.{{Cite web|url= https://associationsnow.com/2020/01/golf-caddie-group-set-sponsorship-program-members/ |title=Scottie Scheffler’s caddie made more money this season than almost every PGA Tour pro |date=2024-09-03|website=Golf Digest Now|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-15}}

Caddying fees range throughout courses across the world, however is a popular role for low handicap golfers which can provide opportunities to work with a variety of people.

In popular culture

Caddies have been depicted in television, films, and books, including:

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

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{{wiktionary|caddie|caddy}}

  • [http://www.eurocaddies.com European Tour Caddies Association]
  • [https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/golf/caddies-making-a-comeback/ "Caddies making a comeback"], The Seattle Times
  • [http://www.mcsweeneys.net/columns/notes-from-the-caddieshack "Notes from the Caddieshack"] – a McSweeney's Internet Tendency column about being a caddie in the Chicago suburbs

{{Golf}}

Category:Golf people

sv:Lista över golftermer#Caddie