With the 5th leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour just completed at the Machakos Golf Club, one of the most important things I’ve learnt is the crucial role a golf caddie plays in a tournament.
A caddie is one of the most trustworthy people a player has and many of the decisions made during a tournament, which will ultimately determine a win for the player, lies in the relationship between the two. They basically have to understand each other in a way that they’re almost in sync.
So what does a caddie do?
At first, a caddie looks like a person who just carries the golfer’s clubs, but caddies are so much more than that.
They need to understand the golf course, identify landing spots, know/keep up with the weather conditions, keep the equipment clean and so much more.
Let’s look a bit deeper into some of these roles
1. Handing over the golfer their clubs while they play
I think this is one if not the most important roles we know a caddie plays. The caddie is responsible for handing the right golf club to the golfer when they are making a shot so they need to know the different clubs and how they can help the golfer make their shot.
2. Have a substantial knowledge about golf
Caddies need to know all golfing terminology and the rules of the game. Since they shadow the golfer, they cannot be ill-equipped since they sometimes need to give advice to them. This advice can come in different forms including which club would be best for a particular shot.
3. Know the golfer’s style of playing
Most golfers have their personal caddies who have learnt how their golfer golfs since they have different ways of playing.
They should be knowledgeable in what club to give and be able to give caddies advice on which club they think is best used to make a specific type of shot
4. Know the ‘lay of the land’
A caddie needs to know how the golf course ‘looks and feels’ like. For example, I learnt that some of the most difficult courses to play in are the Muthaiga Golf Club and the Machakos Golf Club – so a player would need to know where the bodies of water are, the distances to the green and so much more so that they can make it easier for the golfer
5. Giving support
All in all, a golf caddie can act like moral support as the golfers play.
Sometimes a golfer can miss their shot and get frustrated in the process and a caddy may come in to give them words of encouragement this helping them get their head back in the game.
