PGA Tour caddies are highly visible but often less publicly recognized than the players they support. They walk every hole, study every green, and carry the weight of a player’s entire season on their shoulders. Most fans never ask what that loyalty is worth. The answer will genuinely surprise you. These are not just bag carriers collecting pocket change on the weekend.
Elite caddies can earn millions in a single season when paired with a dominant player. The money is real, the stakes are high, and the system is more complex than you think. Here is exactly how it all adds up.
What caddies earn every week
PGA Tour caddies typically earn a weekly base fee ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. This stipend helps cover their expenses regardless of how the player performs in any given week. Veteran caddies or those working for higher-ranked players can command a slightly higher base fee. This weekly sum is a necessary financial cushion that keeps caddies afloat even when their golfer misses the cut.
The 2025 FedExCup Regular Season had 36 events, while Reuters reported the 2026 schedule includes 35 official FedExCup stops. The 2025 PGA Tour handbook says voting members must play at least 15 PGA Tour co-sponsored or approved tournaments to retain voting membership. A full-time PGA Tour caddie’s base pay depends on how many events the player enters. For example, a caddie working 20 events at $2,000 per event would earn $40,000 in base fees before expenses.
Where the real earnings begin
The most exciting part of a caddie’s pay is the percentage they earn from tournament winnings. These bonuses are typically structured around the golfer’s finish, 5% of earnings for making the cut, 7% for a top-10 finish, and 10% for a tournament win. These numbers are negotiated individually but have become the industry standard. With PGA Tour prize purses hitting record highs in recent years, those percentages can add up to serious money.
If a player wins a tournament and takes home $1 million, the caddie could earn $100,000 just from that single win. Every player-caddie agreement is different, but this general structure remains consistent across the tour. A caddie who works alongside a top-10 player week after week can steadily build annual earnings well into the six-figure range through these performance bonuses alone.
The caddies making millions
Not all caddies are equal when it comes to their paycheck. Some sit at the very top of the sport’s financial ladder. Ted Scott’s estimated earnings working for Scottie Scheffler were roughly $2.5 million in 2025. While Scheffler’s 2024 season yielded a massive $5.3 million haul for Scott, their 2025 campaign, featuring six victories, ensured the caddie once again out-earned most PGA Tour professionals.
Michael Greller has reportedly earned millions since joining Jordan Spieth. Steve Williams is widely estimated to have earned millions while caddying for Tiger Woods, with one calculation placing his Woods-era prize-money share around $8.83 million before sponsorships and fees. These stories show that aligning with the right player can turn a caddie role into a genuinely life-changing career.
A more grounded reality
The headline numbers are exciting, but the average caddie’s experience is far more modest. In 2025, the average PGA Tour player earned approximately $2,335,280. Following standard pay structures, a caddie for an average-earning player would indeed gross between $120,000 and $180,000 annually, though their net income is heavily impacted by significant professional overhead.
Bryan Kopsick, Ben Silverman’s caddie, earned $149,007.92 in 2024, including $101,007.92 from Silverman’s prize money and $48,000 in base fee. However, after deducting travel expenses of around $50,000, Kopsick’s net earnings came out to just under $100,000. His candid breakdown on social media gave fans a rare and honest look at what life as a mid-level tour caddie actually costs.
Fun fact: Masters players were required to use Augusta National’s own local caddies for nearly 50 years, until the rule was finally dropped in 1983.
Boosting the bottom line
Prize money and base pay are not the only ways caddies earn. Sponsorships have become a meaningful income stream for those inside the ropes. The Association of Professional Tour Caddies (APTC) website lists Jani-King, Valspar, The Caddie Network, and Therabody as current sponsorship partners.
One of the most popular sponsors, Valspar, awards caddies for wearing their hats during PGA Tour events. The average payout is reportedly $5,000 to $8,000, but it can go higher based on the golfer’s performance.
The APTC keeps caddies updated on health insurance, travel options, deals, and scheduling. It also plans dinners and work events on the road with sponsors and works to break down the caddie stigma that has developed over the years. Membership in the APTC gives caddies access to group deals and support systems that individual contractors simply could not arrange on their own.
Why caddies are worth every dollar
A caddie’s value goes well beyond carrying clubs from hole to hole. For decades, the role of a caddie was fairly clear: carry the bag, clean clubs, replace divots, help read putts, and scout the course. Today, a caddie is much more and is seen as a close member of a PGA Tour pro’s inner circle. Modern caddies are strategic partners who help shape every decision made on the course.
Up-and-coming PGA players benefit from the wisdom and expertise of veteran caddies. Cameron Young enlisted veteran looper Paul Tesori in 2023 and soon after ran to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play final, which was one of his strongest early results with Paul Tesori. Young credited Tesori’s course analysis as “unbelievable“. Stories like this confirm that a great caddie can be the difference between a good season and a great one.
What eats into a caddie’s pay
Caddies are classified as independent contractors, which means they carry all of their own expenses. Many caddies cover their own flights, hotels, rental cars, meals, and other work expenses. One caddie described travel as one of the most unpredictable and costly parts of the job, noting that Delta outages and delays are just part of the deal. Hotel costs, meals, and ground transport across 20 or more tournaments each year add up quickly.
Caddies also note that players may drop out for extended periods when dealing with injuries, leaving their caddies idle and searching for other players to work with temporarily. This instability is one of the key challenges of the profession. A caddie’s income depends entirely on the health, form, and schedule of another person, which makes financial planning genuinely difficult.
Little-known fact: Augusta caddie Willie “Cemetery“ Perteet earned his nickname from President Eisenhower after surviving a stabbing and waking up in the hospital morgue.
How to become a PGA caddie
Getting started as a PGA caddie does not require a formal degree or certification. There is no single required degree or universal certification, but the job depends heavily on golf knowledge, trust, networking, and tournament experience. Many caddies start working right after high school or college, and what matters most is building up a reputation as a knowledgeable caddie. Networking and trust are the true currencies of the profession.
In 2025, a new Professional Caddie Certification program launched at Lonnie Poole Golf Course. Created by prominent tour caddies and endorsed by the APTC, the course includes instruction from a PGA rules official, sports psychologist, and technology specialists. The program reflects the growing demand for trained caddies at clubs, resorts, and lower tour levels. Formal pathways are now opening up for those who want to pursue this career with a competitive edge.
TL;DR
- PGA Tour caddies earn a weekly base fee of $1,500 to $3,000 per event.
- They earn 5% to 10% of their players’ prize money, depending on finishing position.
- Established PGA Tour caddies can reach six figures, but net income varies widely after travel and professional expenses.
- Top caddies like Ted Scott can earn over $5 million in a single dominant season.
- Caddies pay all their own travel costs as independent contractors.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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