Advanced technology and business-driven decisions are making the bag-toters “as rare as double eagles.”
Caddies are quickly vanishing from golf, victimized by advanced technology that can substitute for the value they provide, and also by business-driven considerations, a recent report on Florida Today.com contended.
“Adult caddies can still be found on elite-level courses such as Orlando’s Bay Hill,” wrote Mark DeCotis. “But for the everyday player, technology and the need for courses to accommodate as many rounds as possible to generate much-needed revenue have rendered the at-times teenage bag toter irrelevant.
“Sure, carts—especially the latest ones equipped with GPS distance finders—have moved the game speedily along, relatively speaking,” DeColis added. “[But] the disappearance of caddies has removed a point of entry for future players, and begs the question of whether golf is a better game today without caddies on the course.
Ed Buckey, Head Golf Professional at Rockledge (Fla.) Country Club, related how he got his start in the game as a caddie and that he believes caddies add to the game.
“If you’re a traditionalist, that’s the way to play golf, walking,” Buckey said. “I grew up caddying at Oakmont Country Club [near] Pittsburgh. The first time we saw carts, we were figuring out how to burn down the cart barn. They were taking our jobs away.”
There were benefits to the job that had value beyond the hourly pay and tips, Buckey added. “It was a great opportunity for kids to really, I think, grow up, learn etiquette,” he said. “You were dealing with successful people at a lot of these country clubs. You kind of aspired to be a member some day. I think it was a good education.”
But today, Rockledge CC is an exception among the many courses that now prohibit walking the course or playing without a cart, except for off-peak late afternoon or early evening hours. In addition, the design of many new courses, built around communities of homes, has spread tee boxes farther and farther apart, making carts a necessity.
Modern-day golf, like the rest of the U.S., has become motorized. And modern-day golf, like the rest of the U.S., is beholden to economic realities.
“I think the caddies are also gone because of cost,” said Brian Nemschick, Head Golf Professional at The Majors Golf Club in Palm Bay, Fla. “It is way more expensive to take a caddie then it is to take a golf cart. I think the entire industry is based on cost. If it were cheaper to have a caddie then take a cart, there would still be caddies. The only place you see caddies now are at very exclusive and pricey golf courses.”
And that, Nemschick believes, is a detriment to the game.
“Golf is not better that caddies are gone,” he said. “The walk when you have a caddie is very enjoyable; carrying your own bag and playing is not nearly as enjoyable. As far as being motorized, it is probably bad for health reasons (for) more out-of-shape people, but for the average person probably more enjoyable, because they are less tired at the end of the day.”
Justin Wasson, Head Golf Professional at Viera East Golf Club in
Rockledge, Fla., feels the everyday player really doesn’t need a caddie.
“The guy that plays once a week, once a month, or a once-a-year kind of thing, it’s not going to do a whole lot of good for them,” Wasson said. “Business-wise, you’re talking however long it takes with a caddie, versus putting people on a cart.
“There’s a pretty big difference,” he adds. “You’ve got people who are really good players, are going to play with a caddie, and it’s going to actually make a lot of sense to them. Just the everyday guy who just comes out here and there, the caddie’s just not going to do a whole lot of good for them.”
For the elite player, the caddie assists in gauging yardage, club selection and the finer points of approaching shots, among other things. But with the technology now available on carts, as well as hand-held GPS-equipped devices, measure yardage, the everyday player has fewer worries in those areas.
Brant Craddock, Director of Golf at Walkabout Golf Club in Mims, Fla., caddied for 15 events on the PGA Tour in 1996 and 1997. Craddock broke in as an informal caddy for his grandfather, pulling his pull cart at the age of 4 or 5. He fondly recalls finding a plethora of quarters on the greens that were used as ball markers.
Craddock bemoans the disappearance of the caddie, for the fact that the everyday player might enjoy the experience a caddy provides.
“It would help people learn the game faster,” he feels.
Paul Hodges of the Melbourne (Fla.) Men’s Golf Association didn’t tote bags when he was young, but he learned a lot about the game from caddies. He also understands why they aren’t part of the game today.
“Caddies were quite good for my game of golf; they got me playing regularly to a 9 handicap in the late 1950s and early 1960s,” he said.
“Another positive about caddies and the game is that they kept the game moving,” Hodges said. “Most of the time, they were very good at watching a golfer’s shot and there was no—or very little—time wasted searching for errant shots or selecting clubs for the next shot. Usually after one or two holes, caddies knew the capabilities of ‘their’ golfer.”
But that was then and this is now, he added.
“As you know, golf is a much more popular game than it was a number of years ago, and it is relatively affordable if played at public or semi-private courses,” Hodges said. “I have often wondered if it’s popularity would be as great if the everyday golfer were faced with the added cost of a required caddie.
“Let’s face it,” he added, “in this day and age, caddies at all courses probably would be unionized, and the cost of a caddie probably would double the cost of 18 holes, plus the player would still be expected to come up with a generous tip.”
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