Quick Answer: Call the caddie manager at a club with a caddie program, finish its training, and show up early for your first loops. Most programs start at age 13 or 14, and club caddies commonly earn $100 to $140 a loop with tips. Tour caddying works differently: a pro has to hire you.
Figuring out how to become a golf caddie starts with picking which job you mean, because the word covers three of them and most guides blur them together. A 14-year-old carrying a member’s bag on a Saturday morning and a tour caddie working for a top-10 player share a title and almost nothing else. One applies at the caddie yard in March. The other waits for a player’s phone call.
Start at a club. It’s the one route open to anyone, it pays while you learn, and it has launched real tour careers. Michael Greller was a teacher caddying on the side in 2011 when he looped for an amateur named Jordan Spieth, and he went on to carry Spieth’s bag on the PGA Tour.
Three jobs share the title
The club route, the destination route, and the tour route have different gatekeepers, different starting ages, and different ways to go wrong.
| Route | Who hires you | Usual starting age | What decides your income | Biggest risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club caddie | A caddie manager | 13 to 16 | Club fee plus tips, times your loops per week | Slow weeks and weather, since nobody guarantees a loop |
| Destination or links caddie | A trust or resort caddie program | 16 and up | A daily rate plus gratuity | A short season and fixed application windows |
| Tour caddie | One professional player | Adults | A weekly fee plus a share of winnings | Losing the bag, and paying your own travel |
Everything from here to the tour section follows the club route, because it’s the only one open to a 13-year-old with no experience.
Do you need to play golf to be a caddie?
No. The Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) says many teens who want to caddie don’t play at all, and it points them to a free Caddie Academy and an early call to a caddie manager. Learn par, bunker, fairway, and how a yardage marker works before day one, since that vocabulary saves you a rough first week. Strong players do have one edge: they spot a shot’s problem before the golfer does.
How to become a golf caddie at 13 or 14
Clubs set their own minimum age, and the training you finish first varies more than the age does.
| Program | Minimum age | What you finish first | When it happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western GCC | 13 | A work permit from school, then on-course training | Applications open before the season starts |
| Nakoma Golf Club | 14 | Three mandatory sessions of about two hours each | Three Saturdays in May 2026 |
| MGA Caddie Academy | 14 | A free after-school session from 4 to 6 p.m., with a certificate at the end | April, with pre-registration |
| Naperville Country Club | Not listed | A written exam, then at least six on-course training classes | Next season’s schedule posts in February |
| St Andrews Links trainee | 16 to 21 | An application, then a training programme | Applications open in January for an April to October season |
Here’s the sequence those programs share:
- Find clubs with caddie programs. Use the Caddie Locator under the Caddies section of wgaesf.org, and check your regional association’s list too. The MGA counts more than 200 clubs and public facilities with active programs in the New York metro area, and the J. Wood Platt trust covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
- Contact the caddie manager. At some clubs the title is outside services director, and at others the head pro runs the program. Call or email in winter, because the MGA warns that managers fill their needs before the school year ends.
- Finish the training. Don’t pay for a certificate until the caddie manager says the club wants one. The MGA’s academy costs nothing, and clubs such as Nakoma and Naperville train new caddies themselves.
- Sort out the paperwork. Some clubs want a work permit from your school, and minors face extra forms in some states. Some clubs also ask new caddies to sign a statement confirming they work as independent contractors, and most want an emergency contact on file.
- Play the course when the club lets you. Many clubs open the course to caddies at select times, and the MGA calls that a golden opportunity to learn the game and sharpen your caddying.
The first season is mostly walking and waiting
An 18-hole loop is about a four-mile walk with a bag over 40 pounds, according to the MGA, and a typical round takes four hours. New caddies often start their day between 6 and 7 a.m., tell the caddie manager they’ve arrived, and wait for an assignment. Nakoma lists Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and event days as its busiest, and Naperville expects 15 to 20 or more loops per season from each caddie.
Scheduling is moving online. The MGA partnered with the ClubUp scheduling service so caddie managers can confirm availability in advance, which cuts the early-morning logjam in the caddie yard.
Learn the yardage markers and how to read a yardage book in the offseason, since “how far is it to the green” is the question you’ll hear most. Then take every loop you’re offered in year one. Caddie managers give the better assignments to the caddies who showed up reliably, and you can’t build that record by turning down a Tuesday morning.
Four Rules of Golf that trip up new caddies
Rule 10.3 puts it bluntly: the player is responsible for the caddie’s actions during a round, and the player takes the penalty when a caddie breaks a Rule. Learn these four before you carry a bag in a competition. The 2023 edition reworded Rule 10.2b(4), so read the current text on usga.org.
- Stay out of the zone behind the ball. After your player starts taking a stance, you can’t deliberately stand on or close to the extension of the line of play behind the ball until your player makes the stroke (Rule 10.2b(4)). The USGA and R&A clarified the Rule in 2019 after two tour penalties.
- Ask before you lift a ball. On the putting green you can mark, lift, and replace the ball. Off the green, lifting a ball for your player needs authorization, and the player has to give it each time, not once for the whole round (Rule 10.3b).
- Advise on relief, but let the player decide. You can recommend an unplayable-ball penalty drop. The player makes the call and does the dropping (Rule 10.3b).
- Don’t concede the next stroke, a hole, or the match on your player’s behalf (Rule 3.2).
Add the basics of the Rules of Golf to your offseason reading. The MGA says a good grasp of the Rules makes you a more valuable caddie to your player.
How much golf caddies make, and why the numbers disagree
Published figures for a club loop run from $30 to $300, and the gap comes from what each source counts. Pay figures below reflect each page as of October 3, 2026.
| Source | Figure | What the figure counts |
|---|---|---|
| Nakoma Golf Club, 2026 | $30 to $40 per loop, plus a possible tip | The club’s rate by caddie rank, Rookie to Honor, before tips |
| Independent Golf Reviews, 2026 | $100 to $140 per bag | Club fee plus tips, per bag |
| CaddieCollege | $60 to $150 per single bag, $120 to $300+ per double | Doesn’t say, and the same page quotes $40 to $120 per loop for beginners |
| Jobs In Sports, March 2026 | $150 to $300 per round | Tips included, and the page quotes it for beginners at most courses |
| Indeed Salaries | $32,008 a year, U.S. average | An annual average that doesn’t say how many loops it assumes |
Two things drive the spread. The club sets a fee and the golfer decides the tip, and CaddieHQ says some clubs keep part of that fee to run the caddie program. Your caddie manager’s number is the only one that matters at your club.
Bag count changes the math too. Carrying two bags means collecting from two players at many clubs, while some caddies discount the second bag. Loops per week matter more than the rate: two loops at $100 pays $200, and six loops at $120 pays $720. Those rates are illustrations from the $100 to $140 range, not a promise.
Wait time eats into the rate as well. Say a loop pays $100 with tips and takes four hours on the course. Add a two-hour wait in the caddie yard, which is an assumption, and you’ve earned about $16.67 an hour.
Clubs classify caddies as independent contractors, so nobody withholds tax from the money. Tell a tax preparer about the income, and ask a parent to help if you’re under 18.
Tour pay runs on a different scale. A weekly fee of $2,000 to $3,000 is common, plus a share of the player’s winnings. The usual split is 10 percent for a win, 7 for a top 10, and 5 for making the cut, though sources disagree on which finish earns which share and the PGA Tour doesn’t regulate the deals. A $3.6 million winner’s check pays the caddie $360,000 at 10 percent, which is what Ted Scott reportedly earned after Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 Masters win.
Expenses cut deep into the weekly fee. Michael Bestor, who caddies for Kevin Streelman, has put a tour caddie’s yearly costs at $25,000 to $50,000, and a missed cut pays only the weekly fee.
How to become a PGA Tour caddie
PGA Tour caddie credentials go out only at a player’s request, so you can’t apply to the Tour itself. Front Office Sports puts the number of caddie jobs at about 150 at any one time.
Working caddies describe a few ways in. Some start at Monday qualifiers and on the Korn Ferry or LPGA tours, where not every player has a full-time caddie. Others are friends or college teammates of a player who made the Tour. Danny Sahl, who caddies for Corey Conners, told Golf Monthly to “go find the guys who are just turning pro.”
Expect to earn little at first. Bestor says new tour caddies need savings, because the first year or two can pay almost nothing. One unwritten rule: don’t approach a player who already has a caddie, since tour caddies look down on anyone who does.
In Golf Digest’s Undercover Caddie series, an anonymous tour caddie says players have leaned toward mini-tour friends with no caddie experience, and that those friends sometimes add stress. The same writer expects every caddie to lose a bag eventually.
Treat tour work as a lottery ticket and build your plan on club loops. Club caddies earn money in season one, while tour caddies can spend a year or two earning almost nothing.
Evans Scholarship and other college money
The Western Golf Association runs the Evans Scholarship, which covers full tuition and housing for caddies with limited financial means. Since 1930, 12,575 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars, the WGA says, and 1,260 attend 27 universities now. Applicants need a strong caddie record, excellent academics, financial need, and outstanding character.
Applications open at the start of senior year, and college freshmen can apply too. College Board’s BigFuture listing says applicants need at least two years of caddie experience. To have two seasons logged when applications open, start no later than the summer after sophomore year. Check wgaesf.org for the current deadline, since third-party listings give different dates.
You don’t need to play golf. Selection rests on caddie record, academics, need, and character, not handicap. Regional trusts pay too: the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust covers clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and the MGA lists its own scholarship funds.
Caddie routes in the UK, Australia and India
At St Andrews Links, caddies are self-employed and work under a licence from the Links Trust. Golf Monthly reported in 2025 that the trust opened applications in January for a season running April to October, with trainee places for ages 16 to 21. Former St Andrews caddies describe a training weekend and 50 logged trainee rounds before full status, and one says full caddies pay a daily admin fee for the licence.
Golf Australia has recruited volunteer caddies for events like the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne. Applicants needed no caddie experience, only a general understanding of golf and etiquette, and they registered through Golf Australia’s volunteer portal.
India’s Indian Golf Union started a training program for caddies and professionals in 1957, and regional bodies still run caddie courses. The Chandigarh Golf Association’s Class C caddy training programme supplies equipment and transport for the boys and girls who join, then places graduates at local clubs and ranges. No national caddie licence turned up in the sources behind this article, so start with your nearest golf association and club.
Who this job doesn’t suit
Caddying isn’t for everyone. Many clubs treat caddies as independent contractors rather than employees, as the MGA’s guidance for new caddies says directly, and that usually means no benefits and no guaranteed hours.
The work is physical. A club loop is a four-mile walk with a bag over 40 pounds, and GolfLink puts a tour caddie’s week, with practice rounds, at 25 to 30 miles.
If you need a fixed paycheck by Friday, the caddie yard is the wrong place to look and a tour bag is the wrong bet.
Frequently asked questions
How do you become a golf caddie with no experience?
Start with a call to the caddie manager at a club with a caddie program. Finish the training, show up on time, and take the loops you get. Caddie managers hire for reliability and attitude first, and the golf knowledge comes with the first season.
How old do you have to be to be a golf caddie?
Most U.S. clubs set the minimum at 13 or 14. Western GCC takes caddies from 13 with a school work permit, Nakoma and the MGA Caddie Academy start at 14, and St Andrews Links trainees run 16 to 21. Call the club, because each one sets its own rule.
Can a girl become a golf caddie?
Yes. The Evans Scholarship is open to young men and women, and club programs hire girls too. Fanny Sunesson caddied for Nick Faldo from 1990 to 1999 and became the first woman to win a men’s major as a caddie, and Brittany Henderson has caddied for her sister Brooke on the LPGA Tour.
How much do golf caddies make?
Club caddies commonly collect $100 to $140 a loop once tips count, and busy private clubs pay more. Tour caddies earn a weekly fee of about $2,000 to $3,000 plus 5 to 10 percent of winnings. The pay section above shows why those numbers vary.
How do you find golf caddie jobs near you?
Open the Caddie Locator on wgaesf.org, then call the pro shop at any club it lists and ask for the caddie manager. Regional associations such as the MGA keep their own lists, and event organizers post volunteer caddie calls.
How do you become a PGA Tour caddie?
A player has to request your tour credential, so the real work is getting hired by one. Start on mini-tours, at Monday qualifiers, or on the Korn Ferry and LPGA tours, and build a name there. The PGA Tour section above has the full breakdown.
Is caddying a good job for a teenager?
Yes, for teens who can handle early mornings and a four-mile walk. The MGA calls the financial rewards of seasonal caddying very strong, and the Evans Scholarship is worth more than $125,000 over four years. Irregular hours and no guarantee of a loop on any given day are the tradeoff.
Your next move
If you want to become a golf caddie and winters are cold where you live, call a caddie manager this week. Northern clubs hire mostly in March and April, and the MGA warns that managers close their needs before the school year ends. Ask for the minimum age, the training dates, and whether you need a work permit, then spend the offseason learning yardage markers and basic golf course etiquette. Your first loop goes better if you’ve stopped talking by the time your player addresses the ball.