Reminiscences On The Golf Caddy

Once upon a time, there were no golf carts for carrying golf bags around the golf course. The bags were carried by people who were called caddies. Now a dying breed, golf caddies are still the stuff of golf "whale tales," the butt of jokes, and the subject of comedy movies.

A Grand Tradition Reduced To Farce

Many have heard tell of the famous old caddie William Gunn, a.k.a. Caddie Willie, who is said to have labored most of his adult life at the illustrious St. Andrews course in Scotland. More recent lore is of the caddie shack, where every sort of mischief may have occurred out of the sight of a club's members. Who can forget the hilarious movie of the same name that forever changed the way we think about groundskeepers, gophers, and country club members?

Caddies of History

Expert opinions abound as to just how caddies came to carry golf bags around a course. An old tale handed down through generations has it that the early caddies were true students of the game, far better than the players for whom they toiled. The caddie worked the course only to better understand how to beat it. This theory gained currency in the year 1913, when Francis Oimet, a former American caddie, defeated the two best British golf pros of the time, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, in the U.S. Open.

Introduction Of The Golf Cart

Golf carts were introduced in the 1940s, and caddies ever since have been fighting an uphill battle to survive. Most country clubs today own a stable of electric or gas-powered carts that allow players to zip effortlessly around a course. Of course, players who still want to walk can either carry their own golf bags or tow a pull cart behind them.

As for caddies, they can be too expensive for many players, and too troublesome for a club to keep around. These days you have to rake the sand trap for yourself. The greatest loss, though, is a fine tradition, gone the way of milkmaids and butlers, one supposes.