DAVID When it counts
Tournament caddying is a quieter job than people think
Casual golf can handle a joke on a bad lie. A card round cannot always. Tournament caddying is the same walking, raking, and cleaning — with the volume turned down and the numbers turned up.
The practice round is not optional if we can help it
If the committee allows, we walk it once with a notebook. Not a novel — just: 7-iron does not hold the third green, bunker short of 12 is deeper than it looks, 18 is a club extra into the breeze at 4pm. I write how your miss looks under slight pressure, because that is the shot we will see on Sunday.
How I talk on a hole that matters
I start with the number, then the wind, then one sentence of strategy. If you want silence, you get silence. If you want a second opinion, you get one opinion, not a debate society. After a double I do not do TED talks. Water, next tee, next number. The round is long. Shame is optional.
My job is to make the next shot smaller, not to narrate the last one.
Rules without turning into a lawyer
I watch for embedded lies, cart paths, wrong greens, and the moment you might play a wrong ball in the rough. I am not your referee. I am the person who says “wait” before you make it worse. If we need an official, we call one. Guessing in a championship is how you write two numbers in the box.
What to tell me when you hire for an event
Format (stroke, stableford, match). Tee colour. Whether caddies may stand on greens. Whether you want me in the practice round. If family will walk with us — I am fine with it if they know when to freeze.
I travel from Nairobi for events that are planned. Ask about tournament weeks with dates, not vibes.