Okay, so funny story about how I ended up looking into what golf caddies actually pull in. My nephew, young fella, was hunting for a summer gig last year. He’s pretty obsessed with golf, spends more time watching it than doing his homework, you know how it is. Anyway, he floats the idea, “Maybe I should try caddying at the local club?”
Sounded alright on the surface. Outdoors, bit of exercise, around the game he likes. But I figured, before he dives in, maybe I should poke around a bit. See if it’s actually worth his time or just glorified bag carrying for pocket change. I didn’t want him busting his hump all summer for peanuts.
Starting the Hunt for Info
So, I started asking around. First, I rang up Dave, a buddy I hit the links with sometimes, though not as much as I used to. He plays at a semi-private place. He told me, yeah, caddies get a base fee per bag, per round. They call it a “loop”. At his place, he thought it was maybe around fifty or sixty bucks, something like that, paid by the club or the golfer directly, depends on the setup.
But Dave was quick to add, “That’s not the real money, man.” He said the real deal comes from the tips. That’s where it gets interesting, and also, kinda vague. He said a decent tip might be another fifty bucks, but a good caddy who knows the course, reads the greens well, and has a good personality? They could get a hundred bucks, sometimes even more, just in tips. Per bag!
Digging a Little Deeper
Okay, so base pay plus tips. Got it. But it sounded all over the place. I remembered this older guy, used to be a member at a place I belonged to years ago, his son caddied through college at a really swanky, old-money club. I managed to track down his number and gave him a call.
He laughed when I asked. Said his son made really good money, especially on weekends. At those high-end places, the base rate was higher, maybe closer to $100 just to carry the bag. But the tips? Forget about it. These members expected top-notch service, and they paid for it. He said his son regularly cleared $150 to $200 in tips for a single loop, especially if he hustled and really helped the golfer. Sometimes, if he looped twice in a day, he was walking away with some serious cash for a college kid.
He also mentioned it wasn’t just about carrying the bag. Good caddies know the yardages, they read the putts, they keep the clubs clean, they know when to talk and when to shut up. Experience really mattered. Newbies started lower, obviously.
So, What Did I Tell the Nephew?
After all that, I went back to my nephew. I told him, look, it’s not a simple answer. You’re not just getting an hourly wage. What you make seems to depend heavily on a few things:
- The club you work at (fancy private clubs pay way more than your average public course).
- How good you are at the job (knowing the course, reading greens, personality).
- Who you’re caddying for (some people tip generously, others… not so much).
- Tips, tips, tips. That seems to be the biggest factor by far.
From what I gathered talking to people, a caddy at a regular local club might hope to make, let’s say, $100 to maybe $150 per round, all-in, if they get decent tips. But at those exclusive places? Could easily be $200, $300, or even more per round if you get good bags and know your stuff. And don’t even get me started on what the pros pay their caddies on tour – that’s a whole different universe, involves percentages of winnings and stuff.
In the end, I told him it could be decent summer money, way better than flipping burgers, but he’d have to work for it and understand that the pay could swing wildly day-to-day based on those tips. He ended up trying it for a bit, learned pretty quick that showing up on time and having a good attitude went a long way.
