Summing It Up
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“Caddyshack” gave everyone lots of laughs, but it certainly didn’t serve as a management primer for how clubs and resorts should approach this vital aspect of their operations. If life at your course still imitates the movie in any way—with scruffy caddies hanging out in the bag room or the shade of the caddy master’s hut, waiting hours upon hours for a “loop” and coping with the boredom through gambling and fighting— you’re not only cutting into the profitability of your golf related operations, but also risking serious damage to the overall service provided to members and customers, and therefore to your property’s reputation and ability to attract new business. Waiting around is part of a caddy’s job description, but through “suggested“ pairings, a caddy master can minimize the idle time (which in this case can indeed be the devil’s workshop). During a tournament, though, it’s unavoidable—so be sure your caddies know how they’re expected to behave when they’re not part of the action, too.
A more realistic movie about what caddying is like today might not be as funny, but would certainly demonstrate the value to be gained from managing this staff as intensely as any other department. Many clubs and resorts now utilize sophisticated training and organizational programs that promote better caddy performance and player satisfaction. And some wellknown properties find value in using outside contractors that specialize in finding, training and providing the best available caddy talent in a given area. High-End Hosts Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Ill., is one of many courses that have made major investments to recreate the traditional Scottish or Irish golf atmosphere on American soil (for details on Conway Farms’ painstaking efforts in this regard, see C&RB’s July 2005 issue). And like his counterparts at other “high-end traditional” courses that are pursuing the same goals (see also C&RB’s coverage of Bandon Dunes in Oregon, September 2005, and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, January 2006), Jeff Mory, Conway Farms’ Director of Golf, emphasizes that caddies—perhaps more than any other employee group—can make or break the success of these properties.
Many courses, in fact, have banned golf carts altogether in the name of tradition, and mandated that caddies be part of the experience. But beyond just being there to do what a cart can’t, caddies at these clubs must have the skills, wherewithal and personality to provide course knowledge—and service—that would otherwise be unavailable or inaccessible.
“We have caddies who have been around here for ten years,” Mory says. “They can provide detailed and vital information that has been gained from hundreds and hundreds of rounds on the course.” This guidance is particularly helpful at member-guest tournaments where, typically, a large portion of the field is unfamiliar with the course. Rather than having to worry about making sure their guests have important course information, members can rely on the caddies to provide it, and focus on enjoying their rounds.
An important side benefit of efficient caddy programs at walking-only courses like Conway Farms is how they can protect the golf course, not only during the busy seasons, but also when the course is under distress. Conway Farms has gained significant maintenance advantages from its highly organized caddy programs, Mory feels.
Utilizing well trained caddies can also speed play—especially when cart-path restrictions are in force. And even on the nicest days, Mory notes, good caddies can regulate the pace of play much more efficiently to help groups finish at noticeably faster rates, by providing club recommendations, reading greens, fixing divots, raking sand traps, tending the flagsticks, and fore caddying—not to mention their contibutions to curtail the aimless searching for a wayward ball, because 1) they’ve been able to fully observe the shot and 2) are much more familiar with the course layout.
Training Camp
Just what should be involved to have “well-trained” caddies? Ron Chmura, head professional at Greenacres Country Club in Lawrenceville, N.J., teamed with his wife Linda (who acts as the club’s retail operations coordinator and caddy master) to institute an advanced and progressive caddy program at their club over ten years ago. The program’s success comes from two main components: a threepart training and certification course, and a scheduling system that arranges caddies in pairings or groups prior to the actual day of a round or event.
Experienced caddies can carry two bags, but rookies should spend their first season focusing on one golfer at a time.
The training course begins with an hour-long session on the driving range, followed by another hour on the golf course itself. Because not all new caddies have played or are familiar with golf, Ron Chmura makes sure to explain the basic duties of a caddy to the new recruits, as well as what the players—and the club—expect of them. At this phase of training, he stresses, no information is too basic—including which employees caddies should report to upon arriving, where the golf bags are kept (and how they are arranged), and where the player will expect them to be prior to the round.
New caddies are also taught the proper way to carry a golf bag and how to handle and care for golf clubs. Then the USGA rules that pertain to caddies and equipment are explained, along with the relevant local club rules.
After the initial orientation, new caddies participate in an on-course training session, to become familiar with the layout of the golf course, learn the pin placement system and tee box orientation, plus special information, such as the holes where they’re expected to fore caddy.
Finally, recruit caddies undergo a period of apprenticeship, usually lasting one season, where they are paired with a more veteran colleague and only allowed to carry one bag per round. The experienced caddies are expected to provide the caddy master with feedback about their protégés, which the club staff then uses to direct more individualized attention to caddies who need more guidance—a process, Chmura notes, that helps give members a better experience on the course.
Once a caddy base is established and trained, the focus then shifts to figuring out the best methods for organizing and scheduling caddies, while maintaining the traditional relationship between the club or resort and caddy. “The golf shop only acts as a medium, and wage laws must be observed,” Ron Chmura notes. “Caddies are essentially their own private contractors.” While this prevents clubs and resorts from officially aligning caddies with specific tee times, there’s nothing wrong with expediting such arrangements in the form of “suggestions.”
At Greenacres, Linda Chmura formulates pairings and calls all caddies on the Wednesday before they are
expected to work. All caddies are told to appear approximately 20 to 30 minutes before their starting time. This eliminates the need for any sort of caddy facility and prevents the caddies from hanging around the bag room or in the cart storage facility.
This is certainly beneficial to the club itself, Ron Chmura notes, because the danger of any resemblance to “Caddyshack” is completed eliminated. “The caddy master doesn’t need to constantly be outside keeping control, and the guys aren’t going to be hanging around and getting into trouble,” he says. C&RB
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