I played 18 holes today out in Long Island. Before tee off, I said to the caddy "pretend you are not a caddy for a minute. Pretend we are just 2 friends playing 18 holes together and answer this question honestly." He said ok. "If I was to light up a cigar, would the smoke bother you?" He said "If we were 2 friends playing 18 holes together, I would be bumming cigars off you and smoking them myself, so no, I absolutely dont mind." So I offered him a Siglo VI. He said club rules would not allow him to smoke a cigar while working, so I stuck it in his shirt pocket and told him to smoke it after work.
Anyway, we were talking and I mentioned a course that I have always wanted to play, but didn't know anyone there. He said he could get me on. It would be at 5am on a weekday, but he could get me on. I said that was fine with me. I'm pretty psyched!

Looks like a good fella. Caddies are always nice, the younger ones specially. Here, the old ones who would not play but will only carry are good but pretty annoying when they want to sell you balls. The young ones, ages 18-30 are really good. They play good, they carry and I really enjoy playing with them when there is nobody I can play with.

A question doc, how are caddies payed at your course? Here, I usually pay my caddy $2 for an hour of practice (I hit the balls and he collects them, brings them back and I hit again) and $3 for a young caddy who carry and play with me 9 holes. Of course they are payed every month by the club, not sure how much though.

It might sound a little but here it's a good amount for practically nothing, specially the playing caddies, they get payed to play, so it's pretty fair I think. Non members and visitor pay them more of course, and I think they are also payed more by the older players.

They also roam around the course collecting lost balls and they sell them for more profit. I always buy from them, I can get Callaways and Pro V1s for 20 cents. Not new, but in good condition most of the time.

What's the system where you are?

It's a little different here. Caddies dont play with you and they dont sell balls. They carry your bag, help you with distance to the pin, which way and how much the green breaks, and most importantly, they watch where your ball goes, that sort of thing. It is more of an employer-employee relationship. Some golfers can be real pr!cks to the caddy. I know, because I was a caddy for 2 summers when I was 13 years old. That is why I always try to create a more friendly atmosphere with my caddy (it really payed off this time.lol). It sucks having to go 18 holes with a real bastard. Caddy fees around here can range from 30 bucks to 100 dollars at private clubs plus tips. I always tip at least 30%. A good caddy can mean the difference between a good round and a lousy one. The better private clubs usually have professional caddies with lots of experience.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gasdoc,

What you said applies here to, concerning the caddy's job, but they are allowed to play as well in addition to carrying your bag, at your request of course.

It's a very good job in my opinion. If I were in the US I would like to have a part time job as a caddy during the summer. Even for full time caddies here, they still earn a lot more than their counterparts who work in other jobs. Caddies here are not college graduates, sometimes not even high school graduates, and the job earns them good money considering they have that minimum education.

In Cuba there's this little pasture in the suburb of Alta Habana/Boyeros where they have a 'country club'. There's a pool, there are squash courts, there are tennis courts, there's even a bowling alley of sorts. The best part is the golf course! It's 9 holes, but if you play from a second set of tees for the back, you can call it 18. One of the most colorful people I've ever met was a caddie there they called Piño...an old guy who is so frail he can barely drag along the hand cart that carries his ancient clubs in an ancient bag...he boasts about how he was the caddie for Sam Sneed back in the glory days of the early 1950's. There was also a good guy named Hector, and another guy they called CoCo...they were caddies with not much better to do, and we'd usually play teams...dollars vs. Cuban pesos, I could stand to lose $20 - $30, and win about a dollar! But it was way worth it. Have some very fond memories there, playing with those guys, the resident pro, and even a couple of the posters here I dragged out to the ol' goat ranch in the past.

Yes, there are cows grazing the fairways. Yes, there are kids running around selling "lost" golfballs for $2 a dozen (funny...I thought I had a sight on a ball just off the fairway, but when I got there, the ball was lost! it showed up in the offering by the kid later on!).

Anyway, Piño still walks the course, and knows every break on every green. In actuality, the greens are hand-cut by guys with a machete, so the roll isn't exactly true. And for flagsticks, they often substitute tree branches for poles. Quite a place, the ol' CC! They have a nice little bar and restaurant, and it's amazing to see all the dignitaries there...from the many embassies. Even guys from the US Interests Section go there for lessons and a round of golf! The most famous celebrity, though, was Diego Maradona. He even had an electric cart!

Oh what that place could be with some TLC...

I had another good caddy yesterday too. Actually, I'd say he was a great caddy. He was probably in his late 50s, and the round was as close to being a golf lesson as possible without actually being one. This guy's credentials were phenomenal. He worked for many years at Augusta and now he works at PGA National in the winter months, and my club in the summer months. He pointed out all my faults, and read the greens perfectly. My game improved 4 strokes over the day before. I'm gonna be requesting him a lot this summer.

You're lucky doc, today I played 9 holes with a caddy, not the usual one I am used to playing with, but with someone else, he was very dull and he never smiles however I try to act and talk friendly.

What's the course he's geting you on doc?

quote:

Originally posted by gasdoc:
I played 18 holes today out in Long Island. Before tee off, I said to the caddy "pretend you are not a caddy for a minute. Pretend we are just 2 friends playing 18 holes together and answer this question honestly." He said ok. "If I was to light up a cigar, would the smoke bother you?" He said "If we were 2 friends playing 18 holes together, I would be bumming cigars off you and smoking them myself, so no, I absolutely dont mind." So I offered him a Siglo VI. He said club rules would not allow him to smoke a cigar while working, so I stuck it in his shirt pocket and told him to smoke it after work.
Anyway, we were talking and I mentioned a course that I have always wanted to play, but didn't know anyone there. He said he could get me on. It would be at 5am on a weekday, but he could get me on. I said that was fine with me. I'm pretty psyched!

I caddied for 2 summers at a very prestigious club before I could drive. In fact, I still use the set of irons I won at the end of year caddy banquet (Ping Zing 2)

Treat your caddy well as they do know the ins and outs of the course. We had a few holes where the fairway was not visible from the tee so the caddies would be sent out as forecaddies. This was a links course with unmowed rough that got to 4 plus feet long. If you golf on a couse using forecaddies know the following:

1) if you think you hit an errant shot and when you arrive find you are in much better position then you thought you were likley a recipient of the "caddy wedge" - Ditto if you are mysteriously 20 yards further than normal

2) some caddies will go through EVERYTHING in your bag. Most golfers do not carry their wallets and I know of caddies who will pocket things, including cash, that they find in golf bags. I was not a caddy who stole, this is just a warning to those who carry cash.

3) If you are a guest at a club where the member pays for the caddies still be sure to "slip" them some cash, especially if the caddy was good.

4) going off #3 above remember their name and request a particular caddy if you liked them. I know where i was it was a signup sheet at 6 am and first come first served. Nothing was better then a golfer telling you he wanted you to caddy for him at 9:30 and you didn't have to get there at the crack of dawn. Assuming you pay/tip decently your caddy will appreciate it and it will be reflected in his performance.

Whew, thats long enough

quote:

Originally posted by ryj7x47:
In actuality, the greens are hand-cut by guys with a machete, so the roll isn't exactly true.

Machetes! Damn! And I thought a local course around here was backwards for not having underground sprinklers. LOL

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gasdoc,

quote:

Originally posted by No3putts:
What's the course he's geting you on doc?

I dont know if it matters whether I broadcast it on a public forum or not, so I better not say which course a caddy is going to sneak me on at 5 am. lol. If you want, I can email you the name of course.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: gasdoc,

quote:

I caddied for 2 summers

Looper, eh? So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald...striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Pick up that wrapper.

LOL. My favorite is this one...

"Incredible Cinderella story. This unknown, comes out of nowhere, to lead the pack ... at Augusta. He's at his final hole. He's about 455 yards away, he's gonna hit about a 2 iron I think. ....Oh, he got all of that! The crowd is standing on its feet here at Augusta. The normally reserved Augusta crowd, going wild ...for this young Cinderella who's come out of nowhere. He's got about 350 yards left, he's going to hit about a 5 iron it looks like, don't you think? He's got a beautiful backswing ... That's ... Oh, he got all of that one! He's gotta be pleased with that! The crowd is just on its feet here. He's a Cinderella boy. Tears in his eyes, I guess, as he lines up this last shot. He's got about 195 yards left, and he's got a, looks like he's got about an 8 iron. This crowd has gone deadly silent ... Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters Champion. It looks like a mirac- It's in the hole! It's in the hole! Former greenskeeper, now Masters champion!"