It’s one of the most popular questions in golf: how much does a PGA Tour caddie earn?
You hear it outside the ropes at the Open. You hear it in clubhouse bars. You hear it at the pub.
“How much does a PGA Tour caddie earn?”
It ought, also, to be asked – “What do they actually do?”
Because we know they carry the bag, but we also know there is a lot more to it than that.
What does a golf caddy actually do?
Of course, once upon a time a player wanted yardages, clubs kept clean (and dry), and the odd bit of shrewd advice about wind, club selection, or the line of the next putt.
Those remain a key part of the job, but there is also so much more to it, as well.
The caddie might be expected to organise the transport of clubs from one tournament to the next. Maybe not by carrying them him or herself, but if a van is doing the transporting the bag will need to be on that journey – and the caddie will have to ensure it.
The caddie will also need to make sure that during the week the bag is kitted out with all the food, nutrients and liquids required.
Liaisons with equipment manufacturers and maybe also coaching, data and management staff is a given.
At the range, a spot needs bagging, balls need finding, clubs need cleaning, alignment sticks need lining up, maybe swings need assessment and spirits need bolstering.
On the course, and off it, caddies increasingly need to be map makers, number crunchers, psychologists and friends.
The days are long and the weeks are long. It’s a multi-dimensional role with long hours during tournament weeks mixed in with more off-time than a typical job.
How much can a golf caddy earn?
In 2024, the caddie of Ben Silverman, a PGA Tour journeyman, revealed exactly what he had earned.
Bryan Kopsick goes by the name of InvestingCaddy on X and he revealed that his standard weekly retainer was $2,000.
He further explained that he gets 8% of Silverman’s earnings. He then broke this down to (24 x £2,000) + ($1,262,599 x 0.08).
That becomes $24,000 + $101,007.92 = $149,007.92
He added: “This does not include sponsorship/off course income OR travel expenses.”
Forecasting my total travel/professional expenses to be ~$50,000 for the year.”
Which puts his earnings for the year at around $100,000.
But he also pointed out that Silverman had played the previous three seasons on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour where his earnings were:
2021- $74,890
2022- $23,936
2023- $522,828
“It’s hard!” he wrote. “We missed like 7 of my first 9 cuts together and after expenses I think Ben and I both lost money. Lost $ my first 2ish years doing it. I’m so grateful to have hung on and had support system at home to let me do this crazy thing.
“I spent about $32,000 on KFT last year and that’s with a lot of free housing and less events. Yardage books are extra expense plus housing. Flights are a little more because I do treat myself if the price is right to a better seat.”
Because Kopsick understands social media he then answered a series of questions.
When asked about travel he revealed that: “Some (caddies) tag along on (player’s private jets) for free but 99.9% of us are flying on our own dime commercially.
“Once this year we got stuck during the Delta outage and I got on the private plane for free. First time I’d ever done that … it was quite cool.”
He explained that the worst day is Monday because it requires travel to the course and evening walks to get to grips with the course and the tournament site.
One follower asked about the 8% because he’d heard of an oft-quoted rule of 5% for a normal week, 7% for a top 10 and 10% for a win.
He replied: “All what the player wants to pay. Ben is a great guy.”
Someone asked: “I guess my question is two-fold: 1) Are you happy? 2) Do you feel this wage is fair?”
He answered: “1. F**k yes I am. I have the coolest job in the entire world 2. Oh yes I do. Beyond fair. I have zero pro golf talent and can eat ice cream the night before a round.”
So what about this year?
Silverman has played 21 events and earned $426,906 so he is down on last year’s effort.
Kopsik will have earned $42,000 + $34,152 which comes to $76,152.
But that’s not counting his expenses which, let’s remembers, is about $50,000.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that there is a big extra not yet factored in: winning. As noted above, players traditionally up the percentage to 10% when he wins.
It’s why many have estimated that in 2024 Scottie Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, earned over $5 million – but that, of course, is because he was looping for a very special golfer.
Using the 5/7/10% rule, Scheffler won $55,228,357 in 2024 and that means Scott took home $5,338,318.
Read next: Revealed: The mystery $10m PGA Tour man who quietly out-earned Tiger
The post Revealed: How much a golf caddy really earns in a season appeared first on Golf365.
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