Caddies at pro tournaments

[rudebhoy]

Probably a silly question, but one which has been bugging me for a while.

Why do caddies carry the bag rather than use a trolley? It seems crazy to me when a round can take 5 hours and some of temperatures are pretty intense in the States and elsewhere. Is it a macho thing or to protect the course?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I think it is to protect the course and speed things along. The caddie can walk pretty much anywhere carrying a bag whereas with a trolley they would have to take some very strange routes to avoid greens, fringes etc.

I'd love to do it but I don't envy them long term as those bags are huge and must be a fair old weight.

 

[Capella]

It depends on the tournament/tour. On the smaller tours they sometimes do use a trolley (and the players who don't have a caddy do as well, of course), but on he European Tour and PGA Tour, use of trolleys is usually forbidden. When I volunteered at the Ladies European Masters last year, trolleys were allowed, but on the last day they wanted to ban them for the tv cameras and also demanded that every player in the groups which would be accompanied by the tv cameras needed to have a caddy (I think they had to go back on this in the end because some of the players just weren't willing to comply) ... basically it is for show.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I do find it rather a weird sight when you see pros pushing a trolley...just not right

 

[Beezerk]

I'll take it a step further, why don't they have proper carry straps rather than those tour bag single straps?
Is it a "I look cool with this" thing?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Think it's as simple as it being a mandatory condition of the tour on the European and PGA tour. It's not so strict the further down the levels you go.