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CaddieMaster Manages Caddie Programs
It’s sort of a dream of mine to play golf on a course that has a well-run caddie program. Or actually, on a course that has any sort of caddies at all. Every course I’ve played eschews caddies in favor of golf carts. And from a financial standpoint, I don’t blame them. When you take on caddies as employees, you assume a massive obligation, including payroll taxes, workman’s compensation, and other liabilities.
Golf carts, on the other hand, are simply a revenue stream.
But I recently ran across a company called CaddieMaster that may help to alleviate some of that burden. CaddieMaster basically allows a course to “outsource” its caddie program. Caddiemaster handles recruitment, training, and management of caddies and caddie masters. It’s sort of like a caddie Administaff (a company which offers off-site human resources management for small busineses, and which Arnold Palmer endorses).
I love the idea, and hope that it brings caddies back to many, many courses. If there was a public course in my area that offered a good caddie program, I’d go out of my way to play.
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I recently worked for this company, and let me tell you that if 60 minutes did an undercover investigation, it would be downright comical. I persoanlly have over 10 years of “high end” country club experience. Over the years I have caddied for likes of Dan Quayle, Peter Ueberoth, and many influential and powerful men accross the United States. At no time in the hiring process were my qualifications, references, or experience addressed. In fact, when I did express my history, I received a bit of an attitude from management. I was told the training process was 20 hours, it actually was before sun up, to sun down 4 days. I believe it was more like 48 hours. During most of the training process I was sometimes tag teamed by two trainers at the same time. No matter what I did, it seemed to be wrong, and I am talking about a bag being asked to be moved literally an inch a few times. It was downright absurd. The jokers who trained me, I had more experience than all of them combined. At certain points during the training as a prospective employee that is being trained, you are asked to play some golf to help with the training. I tell you what! The guys who were real good golfers and had experience cadying, are with out a doubt being predjuiced against, where as the “green” were actually treated in a much different fashion. I compare the training to that of the military, where trainers are told to break down the prospective employees who are good golfers( or better than the trainers) and have vast experience caddying. They were downright rude to me, and were very pleasant with others who had no experience caddying, and were lesser skilled golfers. Now what kind of company that is trying to establish a quality caddy program, would run itself like this? And it is all true what I say.
Recently there was an article in Golf weekly, where an editor blasted the caddy’s at what he referred to a well known P.G.A tour tournament hosting course. He was relentless about the lack of excellence with-in the program, right down to robotic, and rehearsed and scripted behavior by the caddys. The man hit it on the head! Truth is, the company is for lesser experienced, weaker type caddys, who cannot make the cut at the truly elite country clubs in the United States. Ask anyone who is anyone at a top notch facility about this company, and you will quickly see that their repuation is poor at best. This is why most of the courses that use the company,are public facilitys only. Or very busy resort courses, where the golfers are a very high handicap quality, and usually do not know a good caddy if it hit them in the head! Good players, know good caddies! Accomplished players, know good caddies. 24 handicaps who flock to a resort style course, because it host a P.G.A tour event, do not know good and proper caddies.
Augusta National uses this company, and this is the one exception from what I have spoken about, but I assure you that it will not be long til that changes. Remeber, good players, know good caddies!
Posted by Paul Azinger ( anonymous ) on 05/21
I agree 100 percent with the comment above.. I too have worked for this company and have seen first hand some of the worst caddies and worst caddie managers I have ever worked for or with. Caddiemaster has some of the top resorts in the world and its not because of some world class military style training .. its because they are the only caddie company of their type.. If another company were to compete against a company like caddiemaster and would be able to recognize nobody needs to memorize a script or be militarily trained, then caddiemaster would fall off the face of the earth.. Caddiemaster charges guests obscene amounts for caddies but yet half these caddies even after training are clueless to the caddy game.. caddiemaster likes to employ people who have little or no knowledge of golf and then train them the cme way.. It works as the gentleman above said at resort courses with players who have no clue what a good caddy is.. On top of all that caddiemaster keeps a strict gag order on most all facilities about tipping your caddy.. Most all charges to a guest of a course are charged for a caddy yet dont know it because it is hidden.. Pebble Beach caddies now have a caddie union to seperate themselves from caddiemaster because of all the money that was being funneled away from then.. Newly aquired Glen Eagles had a top top caddy program with guys that have been there 30 yrs.. thirty caddies walked out on this horrible money sucking program.. Until the law is laid down on this company they will continue to grow..
Posted by greg norman on 12/15
i live in palm springs calif ive worked on the pga tour since 1990.caddiemaster is a total joke they bill players 30 to 50 per player and pay out 10 per player.they hire clueless clowns that will run down the fwy and they dont know anything about the game.caddiemaster is just a total joke, a friend of mine,who worked for mark omeara when he won his two majors was hired bye caddiemaster in a couple of months he was fired for not knowing how to caddie,lets ask omeara if jerry can caddie i think so,omeara has not made a nickel since jerry was let go. caddiemaster is a double bogey swifty
Posted by patrick swift on 01/15
I find these comments rather strong and well taken. Although I am curious as to the validity of the comments and their application at this time in 2010? Regardless, I have experence as a caddie as well at Pelican Hill and am desiring to take it to the next level, working with a touring Pro or a more challenging role. I am a scratch golfer and am well endepth to the knowledge necessary to be a true caddie in every sense. Please any comments or advice would be sincerely appreciated.
Posted by Donald Cox on 04/06
I agree with above comments with regards to caddiemasters. It is a complete joke and what they do is border line illegal. I worked for them at TPC of Scottsdale and would never even consider working for them again. You have to sit in a cart barn for hours on end with set report times. You get terrible paychecks and if a player doesn’t want to tip the managers don’t go to bat for you, is that not part of what they do. The company is ignorant and I hope to see it go away soon.
Posted by puuter on 04/15
I work for Caddiemaster, I’m not going to disclose which course. But I will comment on the first guys post. I went through the same type of training he went through. Yes it was four days long sun up sun down, and it was almost like a boot camp. But, there is a very important reason why they use this training technique. They are known for having the cream of the crop when it comes to the caddies they supply to a course. Other courses I have worked for have had crack heads for caddies, convicts, alcoholics and drug attics; these people should not be allowed anywhere near a country club. All of my references were checked, and I went through an extensive interview process. It consisted of first a group interview with about eight people where we were asked multiple questions about hospitality, golf, etc. From here if you got past the interview, an executive phone call is made to your cell phone and you have to have a conversation with someone high up in the golf club. Again questions are asked retaining to hospitality, golf knowledge, questions like what would you do in this situation, etc. From here you move to the training. Yes the interview and training process is really extensive but from the numerous golf courses I have worked at, I can honestly say that the Caddiemaster company can really improve and save a dying caddy program. As for the people complaining about sitting in cart barns and having set report times, THAT’S PART OF BEING A CADDY. To me they all sound bitter and biased as to their stance on the company. Who knows they were probably fired; judging from their attitude toward they job they don’t need to be working as a caddy anywhere anyways.
Posted by Caddy on 06/02
CM fills a niche at resort and high end clubs, and by and large they do a fabulous job. Each of the comments above, though, have a certain validity; the comments are just expressed from differing perspectives. It’s true that many caddies with lots of experience get weeded out during the hiring process with CM, but it’s not because they’re too experienced or too good at golf. If a seasoned caddie gets eliminated by CM it’s invariably because he has a poor attitude about working FOR a company and abiding by that company’s policies, as expressed in training. The adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is very apropos in this situation.
CM is very much ‘caddie by the numbers’ and if you like to stray outside their lines you will not last long with them. That is why CM favors golfers with less or no caddie experience, because they can learn and apply their newfound skills the ‘caddiemaster way.’ Experienced caddies who are flexible enough to do it the CM way can do very well with the company. It’s also very evident that some courses are better for the caddies than others, as pay can vary substantially between courses. If you are at the right course you will probably stay as long as possible because the money is great. At others the pay is so low you won’t stay longer than a couple seasons. The guy who caddied in Scottsdale probably fell into the latter category. On the brighter side, the training they provide is really top-notch and you can apply it anywhere you go and do quite well.
Now, regarding the caddie managers, CM does seem to have trouble hanging onto them, probably because they are expected to drive all over the country for seasonal courses and the pay is very low for the amount of work they have to do. If a manager says he doesn’t want to travel he will be ‘released’ from the company or he won’t be hired into management. CM usually only promotes from within, which is smart because the managers know the caddie side of the business very well, but if you are a family person you most likely will have a very difficult time staying with the company due to the constant moving around and low pay.
In summary, some will do well with CM and others won’t. Doesn’t that sound like life in general?
Posted by DOUBLE BREAKER on 11/23
no facial hair huh?...hmmm even Arnold Palmer let me caddie for him ...WITH a ponytail no less…
yea you guys got it down..the way you look is REAL important to how fast you can carry a bag or two down a fairway! I’ve Caddied on every tour in this country and my goatee has never affected my ability to read a green. Also it has never affected my plus 1 handicap. Cant wait to be inerviewed by these clowns!
Posted by doublebogey on 12/12
I worked for this company in two different locations,one they no longer have a contract with.I went to Pinehurst knowing a thing or two about the game and had a awsome customer service backround to boot. I made good coin during seasons but had to endure a ton. As the programs eveolved so did the managements hands in it’s operations. I did meet some lifelong friends in new places and met a lot of great people who I looped for. The program was a joke when I got there but became better for a short period. I was very close to the managers at the time and knew the inside stories of what this place was about. I enjoyed the people as I have said but here is what made me leave. First scheduled times and not getting out (ok that’s the game) but if you are going to make me be there and wear a uniform and wait for 6 hours you better pay me as you are requiring me to be there. Secondly,I had a white(required polo on and it had a small Pinehurst logo on it,but was told by Jim the caddie manager(Jim the guy who came from Myrtle Beach and New York not the local Jim) it was no good. Heck I worked at Pinehurst why no small logo is beyond me.This guy was a complete jerk and everyone but his kid hated him and his smug attitude. Secondly I was suspended for a week due to missing a loop. Well this loop was on my scheduled day off and a Request by a golfer I did not know. I did nopt even find out I had a request until the day of actually an hour before it. When I returned from my scheduled day off I was told by Jim wish I remebered his last name(not Smith)that I was suspended. That did it for me there as I took time off and when I tried to return he told me they were not taking guys back who left. I actually left due to my girlfriend at the times mother dying and funeral stuff. This guy was a jerk did I say that.The training which I was part of that training team was a joke and just an excuse to play golf on good courses. What a joke this place was as now that I have left the area I see it now,the tow the company yes man line was crazy. This Jim clown couldn’t run a register at a Burger King. They had to many rules to live and work by and not enough caring or support for their employees. If you are going to require people to be in uniform and work scheduled hours and to be there then you have to by law pay them for that time,in the winter there were days we had to be there and didn’t make it out for a loop in 4 days. I could have been working a second job instead.Legal laws are broken by this company and other s are done but
I Will not say which ones.
Posted by jahmoke on 02/06
Well I can def. tell you that caddiemaster does not have top notch caddies. Of course they have some good ones at certain areas. But its not about being a company man or going thru some retarded training. its about knowing the game of golf and knowing how to adjust to a player and bring out the best in his game. Not to follow some stupid robot like script where the caddy is thinking so many company trained things that he forgets why he is even there. But mostly what the problem with caddiemaster and why I left and why MOST leave is because they steal your money. They charge guests at the resorts obscene few and the caddies get 30-40 percent of the charged fee. But it doesnt end there. They also dictate the tip to the guest as well. and they train you to give them a gratuity card with a low ball tip on it. So they double whammy you. They take most of the fee your player paid and they tell that player what to tip you. it is based nothing on your skills as a caddy. Its based on making the company money.. Period. Oh yea guess how much they pay you for 4 days of military style training that is both pointless and embarrasing?? 0 thats right u get paid nothing. This company is a joke and any comment above that doesnt think so is clueless..
Posted by Greg Norman on 03/19
Directed as Donald Cox. Hi Donald. I am currently living in Dublin Ireland and am heading over to California for a few months from May. I have been looking into a caddy position in Pelican Hill without much luck. i know this is unrelated to your comment but I was hoping you could give me some information on their caddy programme. I know all about what a prestigious course it is but from your experience, would they hire a caddy for 3 months of the summer from abroad? I’m a single handicap golfer with five years caddying experience. Your help would be much appreciated if you even still visit this site!
Posted by John Craven on 04/18
Does Pebble Beach use the services of Caddie Master?
Posted by nick on 07/09
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