How To Make Your Caddy Happy
There are plenty of opportunities throughout the day to make your caddy happy (or not so happy), and we’ll start from the very beginning of the day: The bag drop.
Bag Drop
When you arrive at a course nice enough to have caddies, odds are there will be a bag drop with someone waiting to help you with your clubs. Be nice to this guy, don’t just pop your trunk and wait for him to grab your bag. You don’t need to learn his life story, just say hello, grab your sticks, and leave them with him. Maybe, toss him a $10. This will make your caddy happy because he or she will know how your interaction with the bag attendant went. Who do you think the bag attendant hands your bag directly to? Your caddy. And if your interaction with the bag attendant was easy and positive, he will definitely relay that information to your caddy. This, of course, happens after poor interactions too. Start out on the right foot before you even meet your caddy-Be nice to the bag guy.
The Golf Bag
Who carries your bag all day when you take a caddy? And who carries your buddies bag all day? The easiest way to make your caddy happy from the moment he or she picks up your bag is simple: Have a good, light bag. If you have a cart bag, ask your caddy if they have a lighter bag that you can transfer your clubs into before the round. Chances are they will. If you bring a carry bag, just make sure it has a decent strap, working legs and isn't too heavy. Keep your bag light - If the weather is good, all you need on the golf course is your clubs, balls, tees, gloves, and a ball marker. Drinking water will be available on the course. Golf bags get really heavy when they contain 2 month old beers, uncharged speakers, a weighted swing tool, and a ball retriever. Lighten up your bag, make your caddy happy.
The Round
A round of golf takes a long time, typically between three and five hours. That is a lot of time spent with your caddy, and you and the caddy will both have a better experience if you do the following:
- Pay attention to your pace of play-Caddies spend hours on the same course every day. Most love doing it, but they don’t want to stand around all day either. Sometimes you can’t control the pace of play if you’re behind a slow group. But if you can control the pace of play, any caddy would appreciate you doing so. Don't spend 10 minutes looking for balls in the weeds, just take a drop. Don’t mark 7 inch putts, tap them in. And if you block your tee shot into narnia, try to be self sufficient by grabbing a 7 iron and pitching wedge and get back in play. All of these things are crucial for the pace of play on a walking golf course.
- Don’t passive aggressively question the first few reads of the day-You might have pulled the putt. You may have misinterpreted the caddies language or read. Maybe you’re just a bad putter? Regardless, you need to give the caddy a few chances to give some good reads - tour players misread putts and make poor strokes every day. One or two misreads are to be expected from the best caddies in the world. On top of that, there’s absolutely no benefit in giving a caddy a hard time about bad reads. That just makes them feel bad and will probably make you play worse. If you come to the conclusion that your caddy can’t read greens, just take their reads with a grain of salt, or politely tell them you’d like to read the greens for yourself. Don’t blame the caddy for missed putts. Even if the caddy gives you a horrible read, you were ultimately the one who decided to take their advice and hit it where they told you to. You as the golfer make the final decision on where to hit the putt. This goes for made putts too. Caddies don’t make or miss putts. Golfers do.
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Be Polite, Positive, and Tip Well-Caddies don’t mind if you’re terrible at golf. Almost everyone they caddy for is. Just play quickly, be a nice person, and give them a decent tip. Caddies are one of golf's greatest traditions. If you ever have the chance to have a caddy carry your bag, do it. A good caddy will enhance your experience at any golf course significantly.
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