How To Become A PGA Caddy: Skills, Salary, Steps 2025

Landing a job on the PGA Tour is the ultimate goal for any aspiring caddy, but the path is often unclear and intensely competitive. You might be wondering how to break into this exclusive world, what skills are truly required, and if it’s a realistic career path. This guide cuts through the noise, providing a data-driven roadmap based on the proven pathways and essential traits of the world’s best caddies.

To become a PGA Tour caddy, you must gain extensive golf experience through established routes like starting at local clubs, working up through developmental tours, or leveraging a background as a former player. Success requires a deep blend of golf IQ, physical stamina, and exceptional interpersonal skills.

Leveraging extensive analysis of available data and established patterns, this guide unpacks the proven approaches and critical insights you need to navigate the journey. We’ll break down the six primary pathways to the tour, the non-negotiable skills you must develop, and the unfiltered financial realities of the job.

Key Facts

Performance-Based Pay is Standard: A PGA Tour caddy’s income is primarily tied to their player’s success, typically structured as a weekly base pay of $1,500-$3,000 plus bonuses of 5% for a made cut, 7% for a top-10, and 10% for a win.

Top Earners Exceed $500k: Caddies for elite players can earn over $500,000 annually, with some surpassing $1 million. For instance, Ted Scott reportedly earned $360,000 from Scottie Scheffler’s 2025 Masters victory alone.

High Expenses are the Norm: Caddies operate as independent contractors and are responsible for all their own travel, lodging, and healthcare expenses, which can easily total $50,000 or more per year.

Physical Demands are Intense: The job requires walking 5-10 miles per round for multiple consecutive days, often in extreme weather, while carrying a golf bag that weighs between 15 and 20 kilograms.

Formal Training is an Emerging Trend: To gain a competitive edge, aspiring caddies can now enroll in formal programs, such as the Professional Caddie Certification Program offered by NC State University, which teaches advanced skills in agronomy, green reading, and player psychology.

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What a PGA Tour Caddy Really Does: Beyond Carrying the Bag

A PGA Tour caddy is a player’s most critical asset, responsible for everything from pre-round equipment preparation and strategic course management to in-round club selection, green reading, and providing vital emotional support under pressure. Think a caddy just carries a 20kg bag for 10 miles? Think again. Here’s what the job truly entails.

The role is a high-stakes blend of strategist, psychologist, logistician, and coach. A top-tier caddy provides a level of support and expertise that directly influences the outcome of a tournament. Their duties are comprehensive and critical to a player’s performance.

Preparation: This starts long before the first tee. A caddy ensures every piece of equipment is accounted for and in perfect condition—from clubs and balls to rangefinders, towels, and even snacks. They are the player’s mobile support system.
On-Course Strategy: This is where their “Golf IQ” shines. Caddies provide precise yardages, help select the right club for every shot, and are instrumental in reading the complex breaks and speeds of the greens. They analyze wind, elevation changes, and course conditions to give their player the best possible information. A detailed yardage book is their bible.
Player Support: A caddy must be a master of emotional intelligence. They act as a sounding board, a motivator, and a calming presence. They know when to offer encouragement, when to provide a reality check, and when to simply listen. Under the immense pressure of a PGA Tour event, this role is non-negotiable.
Logistics: From managing a player’s gear during travel to communicating with tournament officials, the caddy handles the details so the player can focus solely on their game. They are also responsible for course maintenance duties like raking bunkers and repairing divots.

Step-by-Step: The 6 Proven Pathways to Caddie on the PGA Tour

To become a PGA Tour caddy, follow one of six proven paths: start at local clubs, volunteer at events, work up through minor league tours, or leverage existing relationships as a friend, family member, or former tour player yourself. While there’s no single application form, the road to the tour is paved with experience. Here are the six most common routes caddies take.

Path 1: Start at Local Golf Clubs and Resorts

The most common starting point is to gain experience at a local private or public golf course, which provides essential training in course management and golfer interaction. This is the foundational route for anyone wondering how to become a PGA caddy with no prior professional experience.

Working at a high-end country club or a renowned public resort like Pebble Beach or Pinehurst teaches you the fundamentals. You learn how to manage a bag, interact with players, understand course etiquette, and begin developing an eye for reading greens. Many clubs offer caddie training programs that provide a structured entry point. This path is all about building a base of practical knowledge and, just as importantly, being in the right environment.

Pro Tip: As Jordan Spieth’s caddie Michael Greller proved, starting at a local club isn’t just about learning the ropes—it’s about being in the right place at the right time. Greller was a teacher caddying on the side when he first connected with a young Jordan Spieth, a relationship that blossomed into one of the most successful partnerships in modern golf.

Path 2: Work Your Way Up Through Lower-Level Tours

Gain invaluable professional experience and build your resume by caddying on developmental circuits like the Korn Ferry Tour or PGA Tour Canada. Think of these as the minor leagues of professional golf. For aspiring caddies, this is the journeyman’s route to the big show.

Players on these tours are hungry to make it to the PGA Tour, and they need skilled, professional caddies to help them get there. Building a reputation for excellence on these circuits is a direct line to getting noticed. As players graduate to the next level, they often bring the caddy who helped them succeed along for the ride. Key developmental tours to target include:

Korn Ferry Tour
PGA Tour Canada
PGA Tour China
Sunshine Tour

Path 3 & 4: Leverage Your Network (Friends & Family)

For many players, trust is the top requirement, making close friends (like Rory McIlroy’s caddie) or family members (like Dustin Johnson’s brother) a common choice. This path isn’t available to everyone, but it highlights a critical element of the player-caddie relationship: absolute trust.

A caddy is privy to a player’s innermost thoughts and anxieties during competition. Because of this, many professionals prefer to have someone they know implicitly on the bag. Quick Fact: Trust is so crucial that some of the biggest names in golf, like Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, keep it in the family (or circle of friends) for their caddie. McIlroy’s caddie is his lifelong friend Harry Diamond. Johnson’s brother, Austin Johnson, has been a fixture on his bag for years. This trend extends across tours, with players like Brooke Henderson finding success with her sister Brittany Henderson as her caddie.

Path 5 & 6: The High-Experience Routes (Former Player or Volunteer)

Advanced paths include leveraging your own pro golf experience or taking a chance by volunteering at smaller events to connect with a potential rising star. These two routes represent opposite ends of the experience spectrum but can both be effective.

The Former Player
Some of the best caddies are those who have “been there.” Having experience as a professional golfer, even on the Korn Ferry Tour or other mini-tours, provides a deep understanding of the pressure and strategy involved in competitive play. Brett Waldman, a professional caddie since 2005, is a prime example of a former Korn Ferry Tour player who successfully transitioned to caddying. This background gives them instant credibility and an innate ability to see the game from the player’s perspective.

The Volunteer
Offering to caddy for free at a mini-tour event is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. It’s often described as a “crap shoot” because there’s no guarantee of success. However, it gets your foot in the door, allows you to network, and gives you a chance to connect with an undiscovered talent. If you loop for a player who gets hot and climbs the ranks, you might just climb with them.

The Essential Skillset: 10 Core Traits of an Elite PGA Caddy

To be a successful PGA caddy, you must master a blend of skills: deep golf knowledge, physical stamina for walking 5-10 miles with a heavy bag, emotional intelligence to manage a player under pressure, and meticulous attention to detail. It’s not enough to know the rules; you have to embody a wide range of professional traits. As you read through this list, which skills are your strengths, and which would you need to develop?

Deep Golf Expertise (Golf IQ): This is fundamental. You must have an encyclopedic knowledge of golf rules, strategy, and course architecture. Understanding ball flight, reading greens, and analyzing wind patterns is non-negotiable.
Exceptional Communication: You must know how to deliver the right information at the right time. This means being a clear advisor, a patient listener, and a trusted confidant.
Meticulous Course Expertise: Before a tournament, elite caddies walk the course and create detailed yardage books, noting every hazard, slope, and nuance of the greens.
Elite Physical Fitness: Carrying a 15-20 kg bag while walking 5-10 miles a day, for up to a week straight, is a massive physical challenge. Strength and endurance are essential to avoid injury and stay sharp.
Unwavering Mental Toughness: You must remain calm and focused, even when your player is frustrated or the pressure is immense. You are the steady hand on the tiller.
Rock-Solid Emotional Intelligence: You need to read your player’s mood and know exactly what they need in a given moment—be it a word of encouragement, a strategic discussion, or silence.
Laser-Sharp Attention to Detail: From counting clubs to noticing a subtle change in the wind, your ability to focus on the small things can make a huge difference in your player’s score.
Strong Organizational Skills: Managing equipment, travel logistics, and tournament schedules requires you to be organized and prepared at all times.
Decisiveness: You will be asked for your opinion on crucial shots. You need the confidence and knowledge to provide clear, decisive advice.
Loyalty and Discretion: The player-caddie relationship is built on trust. What’s said on the course, stays on the course.

The Financial Reality: Unpacking a PGA Caddy’s Salary and Lifestyle in 2025

A PGA caddy’s salary combines a base pay (around $1,500-$3,000/week) with performance bonuses (typically 5-10% of winnings), but they must cover all their own travel, lodging, and healthcare expenses as independent contractors. The financial life of a PGA Tour caddy is a true high-risk, high-reward endeavor. While the upside is tremendous, the costs and lack of security are significant.

The compensation structure is fairly standard across the tour. It’s designed to heavily incentivize performance—when the player earns, the caddy earns.

Performance Tier	Typical Caddy Percentage
Player Makes the Cut	5% of Winnings
Player Finishes in Top 10	7% of Winnings
Player Wins the Tournament	10% of Winnings

This model means that a caddy for a top player can have an incredible year. For instance, when Scottie Scheffler won the 2025 Masters and its $3.6 million prize, his caddy, Ted Scott, reportedly took home a $360,000 check for that week alone. Top caddies can easily clear $500,000 and even push past $1 million in a great season.

The Reality Check: While a top caddie can earn over $1 million in a great year, they are also responsible for up to $50,000 or more in their own expenses. It’s a high-risk, high-reward profession.

This brings us to the crucial flip side: expenses. Caddies are independent contractors, not employees. This means they pay for their own flights, hotels, rental cars, meals, and health insurance. This can add up to over $50,000 annually. Furthermore, job security is precarious. If a player goes into a slump or simply wants to make a change, the caddy can be fired with little to no notice.

Gaining an Edge: The Rise of Professional Caddie Training & Certification

While not mandatory, formal training like the Professional Caddie Certification Program offered by NC State demonstrates commitment and enhances credibility by teaching advanced skills. As the role of the caddy has become more professionalized, so too have the pathways for learning the trade. While on-the-job experience remains king, a new wave of certification programs is helping aspiring caddies build a stronger foundation and gain a competitive advantage.

A leading example is the Professional Caddie Certification Program from NC State Continuing and Lifelong Education, created in partnership with the Tour Caddie Collective. This program is designed to provide the kind of insider knowledge that used to take years to acquire. The curriculum, often taught by experienced tour caddies, covers advanced topics such as:

Advanced green reading techniques
Agronomy (understanding turf and course conditions)
Creating and using professional yardage books
Crowd management and tournament logistics
The psychology of the player-caddie relationship

Completing a program like this signals to potential employers that you are serious about the profession and have invested in developing the high-level skills required to succeed on tour.

To truly prepare for the demands of the job, equipping yourself with the right professional-grade gear is a smart investment. Having top-quality accessories like a reliable rangefinder, durable rain gear, and a comfortable bag strap can make a significant difference during long tournament weeks.

FAQs About Becoming a PGA Caddy

How much do PGA Tour caddies really get paid?

Their pay is a combination of a weekly base salary, typically between $1,500 and $3,000, and a percentage of the player’s winnings. This bonus is usually 5% for making the cut, 7% for a top-10 finish, and 10% for a win. Top caddies can earn well over $500,000 in a year.

What are the main requirements to be a golf caddie?

There are no formal education requirements, but you need a deep understanding of golf (high Golf IQ), excellent physical fitness, strong communication skills, and mental toughness. You must be able to read greens, calculate yardages, and provide strategic advice and emotional support under extreme pressure.

How can I become a caddie if I have no experience?

The best way to start with no experience is to apply for a caddie training program at a local country club or a well-known public golf resort. This provides the foundational skills in course management, player interaction, and etiquette needed to advance in the profession.

Do you have to be a good golfer to be a successful caddy?

While you don’t need to be a professional-level player, you must have a solid understanding of the game, including rules and strategy. Many successful caddies are very good golfers themselves or have a background in competitive play, as it helps them relate to the player’s mindset and on-course decisions.

How physically demanding is caddying on the PGA Tour?

It is extremely demanding. A caddy walks 5-10 miles per round, often for 5-7 days in a row, while carrying a heavy bag weighing 15-20 kg. They must endure all weather conditions, from intense heat to cold rain, which requires a high level of physical endurance and stamina.

Final Summary: Your Path to a PGA Tour Bag

Becoming a caddy on the PGA Tour is a demanding but incredibly rewarding career for those with a deep passion for golf. It is far more than a simple service job; it’s a professional role that requires a unique combination of technical expertise, physical resilience, and interpersonal mastery. As we’ve detailed, there is no single application, but rather a series of proven pathways built on experience and relationships.

To succeed, you must focus on the core pillars of the profession.

There Are Multiple Paths: Whether you start at a local club, grind it out on developmental tours, or leverage a background in competitive golf, the key is to gain relevant, hands-on experience.
It’s About Skills, Not Just Carrying a Bag: Your value lies in your Golf IQ, your ability to communicate under pressure, and your meticulous preparation. These are the skills that separate the best from the rest.
Understand the Financial Realities: The earning potential is immense, but it’s directly tied to performance and comes with significant personal expenses and a lack of job security. It’s a high-risk, high-reward profession.

The journey to the PGA Tour is a marathon, not a sprint. Take the first step today by exploring opportunities at your local club or researching the developmental tours. With dedication, a commitment to learning, and a bit of networking, a spot on a PGA Tour bag is an achievable goal.

Last update on 2025-09-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

How to Become a PGA Caddy: Skills, Salary, Steps 2025