A caddie is the person who carries a golfer's bag and helps during the round: reading yardages, suggesting clubs, raking bunkers, tending the flag and reading putts. Under the Rules of Golf, a caddie is the only person besides your partner who can give you advice, and you can have just one caddie at a time.
What does a caddie do?
- Carries or moves your clubs and keeps them clean.
- Gives yardages and helps you pick a club and a target.
- Reads greens and helps with putting lines.
- Searches for your ball, rakes bunkers and replaces divots.
- Keeps you calm, on time and out of trouble. At tour level this is a big part of the job.
What can a caddie do under the Rules of Golf?
Rule 10.3 of the 2023 Rules of Golf (published by the R&A and USGA) sets out the caddie's role:
- One caddie at a time. You may have a caddie, but never more than one at once. You can change caddies during a round, but not just to get advice from a new one.
- Always allowed: carrying and handling clubs, searching for the ball, giving information and advice before the stroke, smoothing bunkers, removing loose impediments and movable obstructions, and marking and lifting the ball when it's clear you'll take relief.
- Only with your permission each time: restoring conditions that got worse after the ball came to rest, and lifting a ball that has to be replaced.
- Never allowed: conceding a stroke, hole or match for you, dropping or placing your ball when you take relief, or deciding for you whether to take relief. The caddie can advise, but the decision is yours.
Can a caddie line up a player?
Not once you start taking your stance. Rule 10.2b(4) says that from the moment you begin taking your stance, your caddie must not deliberately stand on or close to an extension of your line of play behind the ball. Breaking it is the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play or loss of the hole in match play. Your caddie can help you aim before that, then must step away.
What if I drive a cart and someone else helps me?
A rules clarification covers this: if you drive a cart that carries your clubs, you can still hire someone to do the other caddie jobs. But if you also hire a separate cart driver, you have two caddies, which is a penalty.
Where does the word "caddie" come from?
"Caddie" is a Scottish form of the French cadet, meaning a younger son or student soldier. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces cadet in English to the 1630s, and by about 1730 a "cawdy" or "caddie" in Edinburgh was a boy or man who ran errands or carried things for hire. The golf meaning shows up in the mid-1800s (sources give 1851 and 1857). Scottish Golf History names Andrew Dickson, who carried for the Duke of York on Leith Links around 1681, as the first caddie known by name, even though the word wasn't attached to golf yet.
You'll often hear that Mary Queen of Scots brought French cadets to carry her clubs in the 1560s and gave us the word. It's a nice story, but historians at Scottish Golf History call it speculation, and there's no evidence for it.
Can caddying lead to a college scholarship?
Yes. The Evans Scholars Foundation, run by the Western Golf Association and founded by amateur champion Chick Evans in 1930, gives full tuition and housing scholarships to caddies with strong caddie records, grades, financial need and character. In early 2026 it reported a record 1,260 Evans Scholars in school at partner universities and more than 12,500 alumni.
How much do you tip a caddie?
GOLF.com's tipping guide suggests at least 20% of the caddie or forecaddie fee, and asking the caddie master or your host about local custom, since it varies by club.
FAQ
How many caddies can a golfer have?
One at a time.
Can my caddie take a drop for me?
No. Only the player can drop or place the ball when taking relief, and only the player decides whether to take relief.
Is caddie or caddy the right spelling?
Both are used. "Caddie" is the spelling in the Rules of Golf and most golf writing. "Caddy" is more common for a container, like a tea caddy.
What is a forecaddie?
A caddie who goes ahead of the group to spot where balls land, often serving a whole foursome rather than carrying bags.
No caddie? A good set of wedges helps too. Browse used wedges, read wedge bounce explained, or see more terms in the Golf Terms Glossary, including gimme and handicap.
