Person who carries golfers' clubs and provides assistance to golfers
A caddie plies his trade, 2007
Imaginative drawing by journalist Marguerite Martyn of a couple at the Forest Park Golf Course, Forest Road, Missouri, in 1914, while a caddie leans against a tree.A golf caddie, 1790, by Lemuel Francis Abbott
In golf or disc golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who assists a golfer on the course. Typical duties for a caddie include carrying a player's bag and clubs or discs, performing any course maintenance that is the player's responsibility (e.g. repairing divots and raking bunkers) and offering the player advice and moral support. Other nicknames for the position is a looper or jock.[1]
Etymology
The Scots word caddie or cawdy was derived in the 17th century from the French word cadet and originally meant a student military officer. It later came to refer to someone who did odd jobs.[1][2] By the 19th century, it had come to mean someone who carried clubs for a golfer, or in its shortened form, cad, a man of disreputable behaviour.[3]
History
The first recorded use of a caddie was in Edinburgh in 1681 by the future James VII of Scotland when taking part in the first international golf contest.[4][better source needed]
Earnings
Caddies tend to be low paid, and usually get only a small share of prize money. At a professional level, they work as contractors to individual players but without guaranteed hours. In 2020, caddies on the PGA European Tour became eligible to earn bonuses through sponsors' logos on their gear.[5]
In popular culture
Caddies have been depicted in television, films, and books, including:
^"Why a Golf Caddie Group Set Up a Sponsorship Program for Its Members". Associations Now. 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
^Beall, Joel (23 January 2019). "Bill Murray narrates new film that explores the lives of caddies". Golf Digest. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
^Howell, Andy (15 February 2019). "Loopers: The Caddie's Long Walk". Film Threat. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to caddies.
Look up caddie or caddy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.