In golf, a caddy (or caddie) is the person who carries a player's bag, and gives insightful advice and moral support. A good caddy is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the best strategy in playing it. This includes knowing overall yardage, pin placements and club selection. Golf is a sport in which individual players or teams hit a ball into a hole using various clubs, and also is one of the few ball games that does not use a fixed standard playing area. ...

Etymology

The records are not certain, but historians believe that Mary, Queen of Scots, came up with the term "caddy" in the late 16th century. Mary grew up in France where military cadets carried golf clubs for royalty. It is possible that Mary brought the custom to Scotland, where the term evolved into the word "caddy." Mary I (popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots: French: ); (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587) was Queen of Scots (the monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland) from December 14, 1542, to July 24, 1567. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II...

Alternatively, the word "caddy" may have originated from the Malay word 'kati'. Kati is a measure for tea leaves and is printed on boxes used to carry and collect the tea leaves, hence its use in terms reflecting carrying and collecting. The Malay language, also known locally as bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. ...

Also, the word may have originated from the Welsh term "cad", which is a "battle", "contest", or "test", such as the Cad Goddeau.

Types of caddying

Traditional caddying involves both the golfer and the caddy walking the course. The caddy is in charge of carrying the player’s bag and both the caddy and the golfer walk at the same pace. This is the most common method used in golf clubs and is the only method allowed in the PGA (Professional Golf Association) and LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association). The Professional Golfers Association is the professional body which represents the interests of teaching and club golf professionals in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. ... LPGA stands for Ladies Professional Golf Association. ...

Fore-caddying is a type of caddying where the caddy is always ahead of the golfer, marking the golfer's shots where they land. The caddy will start out a hole by running to the landing spot of his/her golfer’s tee shot. The job of the caddy is to mark the ball with a towel, stick, etc. so that the golfer does not have to waste time searching for it. If the hole is long and requires multiple shots before the golfer can reach the "green" (the putting surface at the end of each hole), then the fore-caddy will go ahead to the next landing area and mark his/her golfer’s ball until the ball reaches the green. Once the golfer is on the green, the fore-caddy maintains regular caddy duties like raking sand traps and taking the pin out of the cup. After the golfer is finished putting on the green, the fore-caddy returns to his/her duties and heads out to the next hole’s landing spot. This routine continues for the remainder of the course. The main purpose of this type of caddying is to let the golfers ride in carts if they are unable to walk the course with a caddy.

Cart-caddying, a type of fore-caddying, consists of a caddy driving a cart for the entire round of golf. The main job of the caddy is to drive ahead of the walking golfer and mark the golfer's ball before they get there. Getting to the ball first, the caddy can determine what type of shot the golfer should play.

Duties

The main duty of a caddy is to carry the player's bag. Other common duties include:

• cleaning clubs and golf balls
• raking bunkers and sand traps
• obtaining yardages
• replacing/repairing “divots” (chunks of the fairway)
• tending and removing the pin/flag
• making small talk

Other duties which caddies are obligated to do if experienced enough are: A bunker or sand trap is a hazard in the game of golf. ...

• reading greens
• helping with club selection

Caddies must be alert at all times. Any penalty caused by the caddy is added on to his/her golfer’s score. The caddy should be aware of his surroundings at all times, especially when players are hitting. Standing in other golfers’ lines of putting or lines of sight while they are hitting a ball is strongly discouraged. Also, the caddy is expected to know the rules and point out any rule-breaking on the part of the golfer, such as knowing the maximum amount of clubs a player is allowed to carry. A caddy on the PGA Tour, Miles Byrne, became famous when he forgot to count the clubs in Ian Woosnam's bag (only 14 allowed) before the final round of the British Open. His mistake cost Woosnam two strokes and possibly the championship. The PGA Tour is an organization headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA that operates the USAs main professional golf tours. ... The cover of Ian Woosnams 2003 autobiography. ... The British Open is the title or popular name of a number of sporting tournaments: The British Open golf championship A tennis tournament often called the Wimbledon championships British Open Squash British Open snooker. ...

Psychological Duties

A duty of a good caddy often overlooked is the ability to keep their golfer focused and not waiver psychologically from the task at hand. This is clearly the toughest of all caddy skills to learn and it requires a great deal of experience and understanding of the game of golf. A caddy that can positively impact the psyche of their golfer, especially if the golfer is not consciously aware of what the caddy is trying to do, can be extremely valuable. Golf arguably relies on mental aspects of the body more than any other sport in today's world and if the mind is not comfortable, calm, and focused, disaster is likely to occur. A crucial factor in performing the psychological duties of a caddy is that to be as effective as possible, the caddy must know the golfer very well. This is typically only possibly if the caddy is on the pro tour, a family member/friend, or works regularly for the same member at a country club. Psychological caddying can be as simple as distracting the golfer as you walk down the fairway after a poor tee shot by talking about something the caddy knows will make the golfer be happy or laugh. While this may sound superficial, it can have an amazing effect on the mental state of the golfer as they enter into their next swing. The caddy might also try talking out exactly how the golfer wants to hit the next shot because positive visualization can be the difference between a birdie and a bogey.

Other psychological duties that a caddy may partake in would be slight swing corrections. Obviously out on the golf course is not the time to completely change a golfer's swing but if the caddy has seen the golfer shoot multiple rounds under par and multiple rounds in the 80's, it is likely that there are slight tendencies that change within the golfers swing which drastically effect their scoring ability. If the caddy is skilled enough, discussing these changes can often make the golfer aware of something they did not even realize they were doing. Good examples of slight changes in a golfer's swing that could make an enormous difference in their score would be the speed of their take-away, early hip movement, a shoulder dip, too much wrist action, a retraction of the arms, poor balance, and a rushed or sloppy follow through.

It should be noted that all psychological duties should only be acted upon by the caddy if he/she feels very comfortable with their golfer and believes that their knowledge and experience is sufficiently reliable.

Weekly schedule

Caddies are most frequently employed at clubs on weekends, when the majority of country club golf takes place. Some (but usually not as many) opportunities to caddy exist during the week, as well. Additionally, caddies are often allowed to play the course at which they caddy for free, usually on a Monday (the day that most private clubs choose to close their course for maintenance). On pro golf tours, professional caddies accompany their player to all events, which usually take place from Thursday through Sunday. Additionally, the player may hire their caddy to carry their bag for them during training sessions and practice rounds.

Pay scale

At most clubs, caddies are paid at the end of the round by cash, or receive a payment ticket for which they can redeem their wages in the clubhouse. Generally, the player will tip the caddy based on their performance during the round, with extra money given for exemplary work. Most American club caddies earn between $40 and $60 per bag, though newer caddies will often earn less and more experienced caddies or caddies working during a tournament or high-stakes match will often earn significantly more, upwards of $100 per round, per bag, at times. It is considered acceptable to ask a professional at the course what the average pay for a caddie is, as courses differ.

In a professional golf tour setting, a player often pays their caddy a percentage of their winnings, which can be as high as 10%. A common pay scale is 5% for making the cut, 7% for a top 10, and 10% for a win. The caddy also usually receives a salary, as the player may not be guaranteed to win money at every tournament the player enters. // Professional golf is one of the more lucrative sports in the world for both men and women, but it is has a very different structure from other sports, especially team sports. ...

Attire

• Collared shirt
• Khaki shorts or pants
• Gym shoes or golf shoes (lots of walking and standing)
• Smock
• Towel
• Hat
• Divot tool
• pencil, scorecard, and pin sheet
• small amount of sand (used to fill in divots)

Alternative names for a caddy

• Bagger
• Bag-carrier (sometimes used pejoratively)
• Jock
• Looper
• Lugger
• Noonan
• Weekend Warrior

Note: Caddy is used near the southern border of the United States and in Mexico in reference to a person that is very lazy. Border stone at Passo San Giacomo between Val Formazza in Italy and Val Bedretto in Switzerland Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. ...