For caddies, coronavirus worse than any hazard on course

Tiger Woods and Joe LaCava, who carries the bag for the 15-time Major champion. Caddies are paid a weekly wage to cover expenses and may earn up to 10 per cent of a golfer's prize money. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Tiger Woods and Joe LaCava, who carries the bag for the 15-time Major champion. Caddies are paid a weekly wage to cover expenses and may earn up to 10 per cent of a golfer's prize money. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

LONDON • Caddies are golf's unsung heroes. They will never earn the riches made by some of the millionaire players, and many will struggle badly during the PGA and European Tour shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"There is zero job security," said chairman Sean Russell of the European Tour Caddies Association, which represents about 150 members. "There is no contract. Some caddies have been sacked the week after a player has won a tournament. It is not like a normal job."

Conversations that the association was having with prospective sponsors were also halted following a groundbreaking agreement with the Tour. From this season, caddies will be paid, through the association, to have a logo on items associated with their trade, like a hat, bag strap and even yardage books.

The agreement will be particularly helpful for those carrying bags for lesser-known players.

Caddies are usually paid £1,000 (S$1,763) weekly by the golfer, mainly to cover the usual travel and hotel expenses, and a percentage of the prize money, which can go up to 10 per cent for a victory.

But with the schedule heavily disrupted with 12 European Tour events, on top of the Masters and the World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies events being postponed or cancelled, the season may resume only in June at the earliest.

"At the moment, those chaps who caddied for golfers who were successful last year and those who started the season well will be all right," said Russell. "But for others, they still have to pay the mortgages, put food on the table and there are bills to be paid."

While he acknowledged that the British government's relief package will cover a percentage of self-employed people, it will still take a couple of months for the measures to kick in. This is why his members have had to find part-time jobs, even those who would normally earn extra money by working at exclusive golf clubs, which are now closed because of the social distancing measures imposed to stem the spread of the Covid-19 disease.

"Some are having to do jobs they would not normally be expecting to do at this time of year to make ends meet just about," he said. "One lad I heard is delivering parcels.

"It is not unusual in the off season for some to work for Amazon or as taxi drivers. However, as we say, being a caddie is a lifestyle, not a job."

  • $1.7k

  • Weekly wage caddies would forgo while golf tournaments remain on ice.

He admitted that although a caddie's job is financially precarious, they could at least look forward to a resumption of the season at some point, whereas other people will be financially ruined by the contagion.

This is why the 55-year-old former civil servant, who began operating on the European Tour in 2010 and works for the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, says his peers will not be whining about their lot.

"Ours is not a sob story because golf will resume," added Russell.

"But the guy who has the small business into which he's sunk his life savings, whose deliveries from China have dried up, whose customers go elsewhere and don't return - that's the guy who won't have a business when this is all over.

"We will still have ours."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 07, 2020, with the headline For caddies, coronavirus worse than any hazard on course. Subscribe