To be completely fair, we’re not choir boys, either. We vent about our players to our fellow caddies. The next time you watch a tour event in person, if you see a caddie laughing with a ra- dio or TV on-course reporter, we likely took a friendly dig at our player’s ex- pense. Hey, we have to cope somehow. – with joel beall
Why does the caddie stay? There’s a lot of money to be made out here work- ing in the game, and for most of us, cad- dieing professionally is something we love. I was lucky because I had insight from my dad. He wasn’t a pro caddie; he worked at a bunch of clubs growing up, even as a side gig when he got married to help support the family. When I start- ed caddieing, he instilled this lesson in me early: Take it or take off . That’s al- ways in the back of my head because if I don’t want to do this anymore, I know there are hundreds that would jump at the chance to take my place.
one considers a nice dude except for the caddies. He rides his caddie hard: Noth- ing is ever his fault, and when things are going bad, boy, is he in a bad mood. The worst is that he talks massive crap behind his caddie’s back. He criticises the decisions, prep and strategy after the fact, but then goes a level deeper, ripping his caddie’s appearance, be- haviour, even his drawl. The last part is especially offensive; yeah, his caddie talks a little slow, but when the player does his impression, he makes his cad- die sound like a stereotypical hillbilly. It comes off mean-spirited, done only to put his caddie down for a cheap laugh.
Undercover Caddie says the oddest thing a player has called him is a “booger digger.”
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 11
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
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