5/18/22

The origin of caddies in golf goes back to Northern Europe in the early 19^th Century. Today, it is a very lucrative profession on the professional tour. On the tour caddies are expected to partner with their golfers as coaches and advisors, in addition to providing the physical service of carrying and tending after their golfer’s equipment.  The going rate for this service is about ten percent of the golfer’s earnings.  Beyond the professional tours, while not as common for the “everyman” golfer, there are still caddies employed in the 21^st Century at most high-end, private courses. Generally, a caddy in the United States can earn at least $50 (a lot more at many places) a loop for one bag. Today, caddies come in all shapes, ages, and ethnicities.  However, this was not always the case. 

For lots of boys in America when my father was a boy in the 1930s and 1940s, caddying at a golf course was a great way to earn money.  In those days, boys would show up at all types of courses (public and private) and offer to carry a golfer’s bag for a fee. Not a lot of experience was required to caddy.  A boy just had to have the strength and stamina to carry the bag.  It was a great way to burn off energy, be outside, be a part of a game, and get paid. What else could a boy want?  This was in the day when golf carts were not the norm at courses; golf was still considered a game for walkers.  Some, today, still feel the golf is its purest when the players are walking.  The PGA Tour prohibits the use of motorized carts by players except in the most extreme cases where a golfer is physically disabled.

Given the history of caddying, what happened in America over time was that caddies were seen as a luxury for the rich and elite.  “Daily fee” (public course) players could not afford a caddy and opted to carry their own bags to enjoy the game and save money.  Then, as motorized carts became more available and public courses could charge a fee to significantly boost revenues, public course caddies died out.  For the “daily fee” golfer, carts were cheaper than caddies anyway.  It was a win-win for the average golfer and golf course. Caddying became the extravagance of affluent golfers at exclusive, private courses. In addition, given the “servant catering” environment at private courses, the profession of caddying took on more of a servitude tone.  To complicate caddying more for African-American caddies, the history of golf and course access for African-American golfers was riddled with segregattoin, exclusion, and denial.  In my father’s youth, most golf courses were white only for golfers, but caddies could be, and in most cases were, black.  That distinction was directly related to the history of slavery and the Jim Crow Era in America.  A very common practice in the southern part of America was that there were rules at some courses (most notably Augusta National in Georgia), that the golfers were white ONLY, and the caddies were black ONLY. This distinction was a direct vestige of the long-practiced slave-master relationship in many other aspects of American culture.

The effect of this history on my personal perspective, as a black man and lover the game of golf, is complicated.  I am guessing that I am not alone in this. In fact, I think that most current-day black golfers have this conundrum, dare I say duplicity, of the heart which spills out in multiple ways. Some of the spillage includes:

• refusing to ever caddy because of its history with race in America
• having mixed feelings about black boys and men who decided to caddy and are still caddying
• even though there are bucket-list, great, and historic courses on lots of lists (i.e. Augusta National), dealing with feelings of guilt about playing a course that once was segregated
• feeling unwelcome or uncomfortable at courses with predominately white clientele, even if your actual welcome is warm and genuine
• forming black only golf clubs
• feeling some guilt for loving and playing the game of golf at all

I am sure that these complicated emotions about golf are among many other symptoms faced by black golfers of all types. I think, though, that young, 21^st Century African-American golfers are more comfortable in their own “golf skins” than their predecessors. The overt racism and exclusion, once fundamental in golf culture, has subsided significantly.  Many pioneers over the years, both black and white, have changed the culture of the game for the better. That gives me hope for the current and next generation of black golfers.  My prayer for them is that they can enjoy this great game with a fullness of heart and joy. The game can definitely have that effect on people, even under the most challenging circumstances.