THE JOB
Clubs, ball and advice
A caddie may carry the clubs, drive a cart or pull a trolley, search for the ball and give advice before the stroke. A player may have only one caddie at a time.
Check a jobA caddie is the one person you may ask for advice.
Under Rule 10 of the Rules of Golf, a caddie can carry your clubs, search for your ball and help you plan a shot. But some jobs stay with the player, and the player takes the penalty if the caddie gets it wrong.
- Carry and search
- Advise, then step away
- Player decides
- The caddie's job in three lines
THE SHORT ANSWER
Help is allowed,
within limits.
The Rules list what a caddie may always do,
what needs permission, and what is never allowed.
ON THE GREEN
Mark, lift, clean
On the putting green a caddie may mark the ball, lift and replace it, and clean it. Elsewhere, lifting a ball to be replaced needs the player's say-so each time.
Where the limits are
THE WORD
From cadet to caddie
Scottish Golf History traces caddie to the French le cadet, the youngest of the family. In 18th-century Scottish towns, caddies were general porters and errand boys.
See the numbers
FOUR LIMITS TO KNOW
Advice yes,
aiming help no.
Golf is a game of skill and personal challenge, says the purpose of Rule 10, so the help a caddie can give stops at certain points.
Ask your caddie, nobody else
During a round you must not ask anyone for advice other than your own caddie, and must not give advice to other players in the competition.
No markers on the ground
A caddie helping with direction must not set an object down to show the line, and must not stand where you are aiming while you play.
Step out before the swing
From the moment you take your stance, the caddie must keep out of the area behind you on your line of play when the help is about aiming.
No umbrella during the stroke
You must not play while a caddie is deliberately placed to shelter you from sun, rain or wind. Holding your own umbrella is fine.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
The bag has a limit,
and so does the help.
One number for what the caddie carries,
one for what a slip by the caddie costs.
14 clubs
Most clubs a player may carry
A player must not start a round with, or have during it, more than 14 clubs. A player who starts with fewer may add clubs up to the limit.
CLUBS · RULE 4.1b
2 strokes
General penalty in stroke play
The player is responsible for the caddie's actions during a round. Most breaches carry the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play, or loss of the hole in match play.
PENALTY · RULES 1.3 AND 10.3c
A player who has help from more than one caddie at any one time gets the general penalty for each hole where it happens.
A QUICK RULES CHECK
Can my caddie
do this?
Pick a job to see what Rule 10.3b says. The bar shows how tightly the Rules limit it.
Based on Rule 10 of the Rules of Golf (R&A and USGA). A committee can also make a Local Rule banning, requiring or limiting caddies in a competition.
WHERE CADDIES CAME FROM
Porters first,
golfers later.
According to Scottish Golf History, the word cadet appears in English from 1610 and caddie or cadie shortly after, in 1634. Edinburgh's caddies formed a society in 1711, with their own rules and published fees, much like taxi cabs.
The first named caddie was Andrew Dickson, who as a boy acted as fore-caddie for the Duke of York on Leith Links in 1681 or 1682. Early golfers had no bags, so clubs were carried in a bundle under the arm.
In conversation
Questions people ask
Can a golfer have two caddies?
Not at the same time. Rule 10.3a lets a player change caddies during a round, but not temporarily just to get advice from the new one. Two or more players may share one caddie.
Is a friend carrying my umbrella a caddie?
Not unless you name them as your caddie or they also carry, transport or handle your clubs. Someone carrying a rain-suit, umbrella, food or drink for you is not your caddie on that basis alone.
Who gets the penalty if a caddie breaks a Rule?
The player. Rule 10.3c says the player is responsible for the caddie's actions during a round and while play is stopped, but not before or after the round.
Can my caddie tend the flagstick?
Yes. Removing or attending the flagstick is one of the actions a caddie may always take, and the line-of-play limits do not stop a caddie standing close to the hole to do it.
Where does the word caddie come from?
Scottish Golf History traces it to the French le cadet, meaning the youngest of the family. It notes the story that French military cadets carried clubs for Mary, Queen of Scots, cannot be right, as the French played maile, not golf.
Sources
Each figure on this page comes from the sources below.