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Caddies

Caddying is a profession. We built TeeTimes to treat it like one.

Caddies get a record of their work and a fair turn at the bag, and 5% of what clubs pay us goes to their development.

Set up your club Book with a caddie
A caddie in a club bib carries a golf bag across a fairway and looks back toward his golfer.
Why we built this

Why we built this

I kept meeting caddies who had carried bags at the same club for twenty years and had nothing on paper to show for it, because nobody had ever written their work down. TeeTimes already records every round, so we give that record to the person who earned it.

Mutondi · Founder, TeeTimes

The work

Caddying is skilled work with nothing on paper.

Most caddies learnt to read greens and club a golfer over years, and are paid per round with no payslip to show for it.

  • R0

    Income when ill or injured

    Caddies are paid per round and treated as casual workers, so they have no pension fund, medical aid or unemployment insurance.3

  • 4 000+

    Caddies in South Africa

    Unisa counts about 4 000 across 400 courses in one report2 and puts it nearer 40 000 in another.1

What caddies get

A monthly statement a bank can check.

Each caddie gets their rounds, fees and tips for the month on one page. A bank or landlord can confirm it online with the code at the bottom.

The record belongs to the caddie. It follows them to every club they work at, and they can ask for any period up to two years.

Earnings statement

Thabo M. · Kingfisher Ridge Golf Club

March

Rounds
46
Caddie fees
R16 100.00
Tips, card
R1 440.00
Tips, cash (recorded)
R3 900.00
Total earnedR21 440.00

Verify at teetimes.co.za/verify/7KQ2-M9XD

An example statement. Figures come from the rounds the club recorded.
The day

Caddies know their rounds the evening before.

Nobody should travel to the course at 5am for a round that isn't there. Tomorrow's tee times go to each caddie by message and onto the list in the caddie shed.

Work goes round in turn

When a golfer asks for any caddie, the board offers whoever signed in first. If the caddie master picks someone else, they record why, and the month's report shows it.

Caddie shed · Saturday

Next out

  1. 1SiphoSigned in 05:42
  2. 2LeratoSigned in 05:50
  3. 3ThembaSigned in 06:05

On the course

  • Thabo07:40 · 2 bags
  • Nomsa07:50 · 1 bag
The screen in the caddie shed, with example names.
Qualifications

We start with experience and help caddies add certificates.

Most caddies learnt the job on the course, and South Africa has no national caddie qualification yet. Each caddie's years and rounds go on their record from day one, and every certificate they earn is added to it.

Thabo

12 years at Kingfisher Ridge · 1 380 rounds

Speaks isiZulu and English

  • Course knowledgeAssessed by the club
  • First Aid Level 1Certificate

“Ask me about the 7th green.”

What a golfer sees when choosing a caddie. Ratings and earnings are never shown.
Built around the caddie

Decisions we made with caddies in mind.

  • Ratings stay private

    Only the caddie and the caddie master see them, because one bad Saturday shouldn't follow anyone around.

  • No phone needed

    Many caddies don't have one, so the caddie master prints the same statement and pins tomorrow's rounds in the shed.

  • Caddies sign off their fund

    A caddie representative approves every payment out, because it's their money.

  • A caddie can answer back

    If a golfer leaves a low rating, the caddie can add their side, and the caddie master reads both.

The caddie fund

Caddies sign off what their fund pays for.

The club adds a levy to every round, which golfers see as its own line when they book. Every payment out is recorded with what it bought and which caddie representative approved it.

Caddie fund · January to June

Raised from roundsR41 380.00

Paid out

  • Course feesFirst aid, 6 caddiesR7 200.00
  • Funeral coverJan to Jun, 31 caddiesR9 300.00
  • Rain jackets31 caddiesR8 060.00
BalanceR16 820.00

Each payment approved by the caddies' committee chair.

An example fund report with example figures.

5%

Our commitment

5% of what clubs pay us goes to caddie development.

It pays for courses, exams and the equipment the work needs, and caddie representatives help decide where it goes. Every payment we make will be listed on this page with what it paid for.

For golfers

Ask for a caddie by name or take the next one in turn. The fee is in your total before you confirm.

For clubs

Your caddie master runs the day on one board, and the statements and fund report come from the same records.

For clubs

Your caddies have earned a record of their work.

Bring them onto TeeTimes with your tee sheet.

Book a walk-through Book with a caddie

Sources

  1. 1.Unisa, An education lifeline for golf caddies, 1 February 2023.
  2. 2.Unisa, Golf Caddies Capacity Development, accessed 20 October 2026.
  3. 3.City Press (Jeff van Rooyen), Why South Africa's golf caddies are still treated like cheap, unskilled labour, 11 August 2024.

Photo by Ryan Caven on Unsplash, taken at Dumbarnie Golf Links, Scotland.