Grant85
Head Pro
Tipping culture in America is still pretty big because traditionally service staff had very poor pay and conditions. I'm not sure if it's still the case, but it wasn't so long ago that waiting / bar staff would only earn their tips with no actual wage, holidays, sick pay etc.
Obviously in the UK this was not very common and staff would generally get a wage, and from 1997 or so, the minimum wage has been enforced.
As for caddies... I think this would definitely enhance the experience for those who are playing a course for the 1st time, and will probably only play it once on their trip.
However my understanding is that a group would get a caddy and it's not so much about carrying your bags, but explaining about a hole and a strategy for each hole. Especially at some of the old links courses with blind holes. Obviously on the fairway and the green, I would imagine a good caddy would be able to give everyone a quick line, subject to practicality.
Certainly there should be capacity for a decent caddy to earn a tip from 4 players in the group, rather than just the main person who they were caddying for. Clearly that turns a £45 fee into probably £60 to £100 in most instances.
Not that I've played with a caddy, but I think it is pretty uncommon for groups to go out at St Andrews, for instance, with multiple caddies. I also believe the full time caddies at St. Andrews will often do 2 rounds in a day during the peak season. But as has been said, there may not be much to earn off season. Lets say you earned an average of £80 a day for 220 days in a year... that's only £17,600. Ok for a youngster, or someone getting a bit of life experience for a few years, but obviously not much to base a career on.
Probably the average is more than that as the FT caddies will be doing 2 rounds for 5 or 6 days a week from May to September. And there is still plenty of golf played through the winter at most links courses and no doubt capacity to get a gig overseas through the winter.
Obviously in the UK this was not very common and staff would generally get a wage, and from 1997 or so, the minimum wage has been enforced.
As for caddies... I think this would definitely enhance the experience for those who are playing a course for the 1st time, and will probably only play it once on their trip.
However my understanding is that a group would get a caddy and it's not so much about carrying your bags, but explaining about a hole and a strategy for each hole. Especially at some of the old links courses with blind holes. Obviously on the fairway and the green, I would imagine a good caddy would be able to give everyone a quick line, subject to practicality.
Certainly there should be capacity for a decent caddy to earn a tip from 4 players in the group, rather than just the main person who they were caddying for. Clearly that turns a £45 fee into probably £60 to £100 in most instances.
Not that I've played with a caddy, but I think it is pretty uncommon for groups to go out at St Andrews, for instance, with multiple caddies. I also believe the full time caddies at St. Andrews will often do 2 rounds in a day during the peak season. But as has been said, there may not be much to earn off season. Lets say you earned an average of £80 a day for 220 days in a year... that's only £17,600. Ok for a youngster, or someone getting a bit of life experience for a few years, but obviously not much to base a career on.
Probably the average is more than that as the FT caddies will be doing 2 rounds for 5 or 6 days a week from May to September. And there is still plenty of golf played through the winter at most links courses and no doubt capacity to get a gig overseas through the winter.
