Becoming a professional caddy is a demanding yet rewarding role that goes far beyond simply carrying a golf bag and raking bunkers. Looping for a tour pro makes you a strategist, a psychologist, a logistician, and a trusted partner on the course. This guide will walk you through the essential skills, daily responsibilities, and mindset required to caddy at the highest level of golf, breaking down exactly what it takes to succeed on the bag.
The old caddy mantra used to be, "Show up, keep up, and shut up." While that holds some truth, the modern tour caddy is an active and influential teammate. Your player is the skilled artist, but you are the architect providing the blueprint. They are trusting you with their livelihood, and your preparation, judgment, anddemeanor directly impact their performance. You’re not just carrying a bag, you are managing a one-person business where the product is a score, and your job is to remove every possible obstacle and clear the path for your player to execute.
The best caddies win tournaments for their players on Mondays and Tuesdays, long before the first shot is hit on Thursday. Exceptional preparation is what separates a bag carrier from a professional looper.
Your first job upon arrival is to become an absolute expert on the golf course. A standard yardage book isn’t enough. You need to walk the course - ideally without your player - and create your own notes. Your goal is to chart details no one else sees.
Your second responsibility is to know the person whose bag is on your shoulder better than anyone. This relationship is built on trust and communication over hundreds of hours.
Predicting how weather will influence a golf ball is part art, part science. You need to be the resident meteorologist for your team.
This is where your prep-work pays off. Your presence should bring clarity and confidence, not confusion. Your job is to make every decision as simple as possible.
Providing a yardage is a detailed process. When the player asks, "What have you got?" you don’t just give them a number from a laser. You deliver the full picture.
An ideal yardage exchange might sound like this:
“We've got 152 yards to the pin. It’s 144 to carry the front edge and 165 to get to the back. There's a slight help from the left. Factor in the downhill lie, and for me, it’s playing a solid 148. The big miss is long, short is fine all day.”
You’ve provided multiple data points and a clear strategic recommendation. You've confirmed the plan and reinforced the play, allowing them to swing with conviction.
You suggest, but the player decides. Your job is to provide all the variables - the "playing number," the wind, the lie, the shot shape they see. Sometimes a player will have a feel for a certain shot, like a knocked-down 7-iron when the yardage says full 8-iron. Your role is not to argue but to confirm their feeling or present a clear reason why your play might be better ("If you don't catch that knockdown perfectly, you'll be in the front bunker."). It’s a dialogue built on mutual respect.
On the green, you are the second set of qualified eyes. Use the detailed charts you developed in practice. When your player walks you through how they see a putt, your job is to either confirm their read or offer a different viewpoint.
You are an advisor. You provide your expert reading, a recommendation, and then you step away and let them own the final decision.
This is perhaps your most important role. A golf round is an emotional rollercoaster, and you're the steadying force. Great caddies know how to speak and when to be silent. After a bad shot, your reaction matters. A calm demeanor, taking the club, cleaning it, and speaking only about the next shot keeps your player grounded in the present. If they make three birdies in a row, your job is to keep them from getting ahead of themselves, gently refocusing them on the next tee shot. You control the emotional thermostat.
After the scorecard is signed, your work continues.
Caddying for a professional golfer is about being impeccably prepared, communicating with clarity, and providing unwavering support. It requires a selfless attitude where every calculation, suggestion, and action is made with one goal in mind: helping your player perform their best.
Building that strategic pro-caddy mind is a process, and it’s something you can start developing on your own course right now. It's precisely why we created Caddie AI. We give you instant access to that tour-level strategic thinking for every shot you face. When you are looking at a tricky lie, unsure about the best play on a par-5, or just need a simple club recommendation, our app acts as your personal caddy, helping you make smarter, more confident decisions so you可以专注于击球。
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