How Much Does a Golf Caddie Make?
Amateur golf caddies make an average of $20-$30 per hour. A professional caddie who serves a golfer playing in PGA tournaments, can earn $1000 to $1500 per week.
Golf Caddie Earnings
| Type of Caddie | Earnings |
|---|---|
| Teenage Caddie | $15 - $30 USD |
| Amateur Caddie | $25 - $30 USD |
| Professional Caddie | $45 - $50 USD |
| PGA Caddie | 5-10% of tournament winnings + $1000- $1500 per week base payment |
| TopGolf Caddie | $8 per hour - $2000 per week |
How Much Does a Teenage Caddie Make?
A teenager can start working as a golf caddie right from 14 years of age. Teenage caddies make between $100 to $120. They will be required to carry 2 bags and help the golfer play 18 holes.
Playing a ‘loop’ consumes approximately 4 hours, which means a teenage caddie can make $20 to $30 an hour. This figure does not consider the tips.
A teenage caddie can double the above amount by earning a sizeable tip.
How Much Does a Golf Caddie Make a Year?
A golf caddie can make $50,000 to $100,000 per year. Aside from the salary that the golfer pays the caddie, a caddie an also make an extra 5 – 10 percent of the golfer’s winnings.
Professional PGA tour caddying could earn anywhere between $1000 to $2000 every week . Tiger Woods’ caddie Steve Williams is quoted to have earned $1.27 million in 2006.
According to standard pay scale agreements, in 2003 a caddie would earn 10 percent of a golfer’s winnings if they won a PGA Tour, 8 percent if they came second of the top 10 positions and 6 percent if they landed any position below 10.
In 2007, a caddy made the same 10 percent if the golfer won, 7 percent if the golfer secured any other place among the top ten, and 5 percent if the golfer landed any positions 11th or below. Caddies would return empty-handed if the golfer didn’t win any place in the tournament.
An amateur teenage caddie who starts as early as age 14 can earn around $20 to $30 an hour.
How Much do Caddies Earn an Hour?
The hourly pay of a golf caddie is between $15-50 per hour.
- If the caddie is a beginner or an amateur, they could be paid around $15-$20 an hour.
- A caddie with almost a year’s experience would be paid $25-$30 an hour.
- A caddie with good experience in golf as well as caddying would make $35-$40 on an hourly basis.
- A caddie with significant experience in caddying and golfing and one who is usually preferred by members of a club is often paid as high as $45-$50 per hour.
Apart from the above-stated minimums, a caddie would also earn through tips. The tips can range anywhere between $5 to $50, depending on the caddie’s expertise in the game and their attitude.
What is the Percentage of Winnings for Caddies?
Caddies have to pay for their travel expenses from their own pockets which take up almost 20 percent of their salary.
The standard cut that is paid to a caddie from the golfer’s LPGA or PGA tournament’s win has remained constant over the decades.
If the golfer wins the tournament, the caddie gets ten percent of the winnings. If the golfer finishes in the top ten, the caddie makes 7 percent of their winnings. They make 5 percent if the golfer lands other positions.
If the golfer doesn’t win anything, the caddie must do with the weekly payment alone.
A caddie can also negotiate their way up to higher cuts with the players. Instead of 7 percent, they could negotiate their way up to 8 percent if the golfer finishes in the top ten.
Professional Golf Caddie Salary
As per the standard agreement, a caddie earns 10 percent of the golfer’s winnings if the golfer wins the tour.
J.P Fitzgerald, who is a longtime professional caddie for Rory McIlroy, earned around $1.65 million at the annual Players’ Championship tournament. McIlroy won the tour and was awarded $10 million in bonuses for winning the FedEx Cup.
The golfer received $9 million in cash while the rest of the amount was held up as retirement funding. He also received $1.53 million for winning the championship. His caddie earned his cut of 10 percent from both the cash winnings and the winner’s amount.
Dustin Johnson pocketed $1.8 million at Oakmont in June 2016 while Sergio Garcia won $1.98 million in April of the same year for his Masters win.
How Are Golf Caddies Paid?
A professional caddie makes anywhere about $1000 – $1500 a week apart from the standard cut from their golfer’s winnings.
If the golfer enters a tournament and wins it, they have to pay 10 percent of their winnings as their caddie’s salary.
The cut goes down to 7 percent if they finish in the top ten and 5 percent if they finish in any position lower than the tenth.
A caddie can also negotiate their way up to a cut and earn a percentage or two more from the golfer’s winnings.
How Many PGA Tour Pro Golfers Pay Their Caddies?
Caddies make sizeable earnings if the golfer wins a huge amount. The caddie’s earnings completely rely on how much the golfer makes.
Caddies of pro-golfers are paid on an individual basis. Pro-golfers hire and fire caddies based on their requirements while the caddies set up payment terms with their golfers.
Though the PGA tour does not set a pay scale for caddies based on which pro-golfers pay them, below is the standard that is typically considered by pro-golfers:
If the golfer enters a tournament and wins it, they have to pay 10 percent of their winnings as their caddie’s salary. The cut goes down to 7 percent if they finish in the top ten and 5 percent if they finish in any position lower than the tenth.
Apart from this standard, a caddie also makes $1000- $1500 a week as a base payment.
Do Caddies Have to Pay Their Expenses?
Yes, golf caddies do pay their expenses for travel and boarding while accompanying their golfers when they are on tour. Usually, around 20-25 percent of a caddie’s salary goes towards travel and lodging expenditures.
A select few may get their travel and lodging expenses covered if the golfer decides to take a private jet and accommodate the caddie at a rented place. But this is not the case with most caddies.
Apart from the travel expenses, a caddie will also need to pay for his insurance and health care expenses which will cost him a big chunk from his salary.
How Much to Tip a Caddie?
As the tip differs from club to club, it’s good to have a word with the Director of the golf club or the Head of caddies in the establishment as to how much a caddie should be tipped.
Typically, for a forecaddie who tracks the golfer’s shots, a tip of $20-$25 per golfer is considered reasonable. You can pay around $40-$45 for a caddie who carries your bags. This amount is reduced for a double bag as the other golfer would also be tipping the caddie.
The frequency of payment also varies. A caddie who picks up your golf clubs at the drop of your bags also picks them up, post the end of the round. For such caddies, it would be appropriate to tip them at the end.
How Much Does It Cost to Have a Caddie?
The cost of of hiring a golf caddie ranges between $15-50 per hour.
- If the caddie is a beginner or an amateur, they could be paid around $15-$20 an hour.
- A caddie with almost a year’s experience would be paid $25-$30 an hour.
- A caddie with good experience in golf as well as caddying would make $35-$40 on an hourly basis.
- A caddie with significant experience in caddying and golfing and one who is usually preferred by members of a club is often paid as high as $45-$50 per hour.
Apart from the above-stated minimums, a caddie would also earn through tips. The tips can range anywhere between $5 to $50, depending on the caddie’s expertise in the game and their attitude.
How Much Do Golf Caddies Make at a PGA Tour?
A caddie’s earnings depend on how much the golfer makes. A few professional caddies who work for pro-golfers manage to pocket 7 figure amounts.
Topping the list of top ten caddies who earned the most in 2014, Micah Fugitt, Billy Horschel’s caddie, made around a million. Horschel was titled FedEx Champion after he won his second and third PGA tournaments. These tournaments won him a bonus of $10 million out of which he paid a standard 10 percent to his caddie.
Though the PGA tour does not set a pay scale for caddies upon whom pro-golfers pay them, below is the standard that is typically considered by pro-golfers
If the golfer enters a tournament and wins it, they have to pay 10 percent of their winnings as their caddie’s salary. The cut goes down to 7 percent if they finish in the top ten and 5 percent if they finish in any position lower than the tenth. Apart from this standard, a caddie also makes $1000- $1500 a week as a base payment.
The base pay and the standard cuts aside, caddies can also make money from sponsorships and deals. Caddies of top golfers manage to pocket $200000 a year through these endorsements while other caddies make $30000 to $50000 from them.
How Much Do Golf Caddies Make at Topgolf?
Topgolf, which is a sports entertainment community that houses a golfing area, is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has other branches in the United States.
Topgolf caddies from the Las Vegas branch earn around $2000 a week, while the caddies in the Atlanta division make around $8 an hour.
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