Who Pays For Caddies' Travel Expenses In Pro Golf?

Being a professional golfer comes with a lot of expenses, and it is no different for their caddies. Caddies are usually responsible for covering their travel expenses, including flights, rental cars, food, and accommodation. While the golfer pays the caddie a base salary, this is often used to cover these expenses, and the caddie's income is largely dependent on the golfer's winnings.

PGA Tour caddies are independent contractors

The classification of caddies as independent contractors can be contentious. While caddies are responsible for setting the terms of their agreements with pro golfers, the degree of control exerted by golf clubs over caddies suggests an employer-employee relationship. For example, caddy masters can reward or punish caddies based on their loyalty to the club and adherence to directions, resulting in caddies' compensation fluctuating. Golf clubs also set the bag fee that golfers pay directly to caddies, which can be seen as an attempt to avoid the employer-employee relationship.

The misclassification of caddies as independent contractors can result in legal liabilities for golf clubs, as it may violate minimum wage and overtime laws. In some cases, caddies may be owed significant amounts of money for these violations.

To address these issues, caddies have formed the Association of Professional Tour Caddies to advocate for better pay and working conditions. Despite these efforts, the total pay a caddie earns is still largely dependent on the performance of their golfer.

Caddies pay for travel and accommodation

Caddies are generally expected to pay their own travel and accommodation expenses. They are considered independent contractors and are responsible for their own costs, including flights, rental cars, hotels, meals, laundry, gas, yardage books, tips, and other daily expenses. These expenses can add up quickly, especially when tournaments are held in different locations each week.

While caddies receive a base salary, this often only covers some of their travel costs. For instance, a caddie earning $1,000-$2,000 per week on the PGA Tour is still likely to be making a loss when you consider their other expenses. Caddies with more established players may opt for larger tournament payouts over getting their weekly expenses paid.

In addition, caddies have to pay for their health care, even if it is subsidized by the PGA Tour, and they are responsible for self-employment taxes. To cut down on costs, it is common for caddies to travel together. They have also formed organizations, such as the Association of Professional Tour Caddies, to help earn more money from appearances and gain group discounts on things like health insurance.

Caddies pay for healthcare and self-employment taxes

Caddies are self-employed and are responsible for covering their travel expenses. They are also liable for self-employment taxes and must pay for their healthcare.

Self-employment tax consists of Social Security and Medicare taxes and is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners. The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. This rate is made up of two parts: 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance).

Self-employed individuals can deduct health insurance premiums, including age-based premiums for long-term care coverage. They may be eligible to deduct premiums that they pay for medical, dental, and qualifying long-term care insurance coverage for themselves, their spouse, and their dependents. However, they cannot claim the health insurance premium write-off for months when they or their spouse were eligible to participate in an employer-subsidized health plan. The deduction cannot exceed the earned income collected from their business.

Caddies' expenses include flights, rental cars, food, laundry, gas, yardage books, and tips

Caddies on the PGA Tour are typically responsible for covering their own travel expenses. These expenses can include flights, rental cars, food, laundry, gas, yardage books, and tips. While each caddie's situation is unique, depending on their arrangement with the player they work for, there are some common expenses that most caddies have to bear themselves.

Flights are a significant expense for caddies, especially when tournaments are held in different cities or countries. With the PGA Tour moving from city to city every week, caddies often have to fly to the event and then rent a car to get around. This can be costly, especially for international trips. Caddies usually have to cover the cost of their accommodation as well, which can be expensive during tournament weekends when hotel prices tend to surge.

Rental cars are another expense that caddies have to consider, as they need a way to get to and from the tournament venue and other locations during their stay. Food is also a daily expense, and while one meal may be eaten at the course, caddies usually pay for at least two meals a day themselves. Other miscellaneous expenses can include laundry, gas, yardage books, and tips.

While caddies do receive a base salary and a percentage of the player's winnings, this income is often not enough to cover all their expenses. Caddies may earn a minimum of $20,000 to $30,000 per season, but their expenses can far exceed this amount. Therefore, being a caddie on the PGA Tour can be a financially challenging endeavour, requiring careful budgeting and management of expenses.

Caddies' earnings are based on player performance

• 5% of earnings when the pro finishes outside the top 10
• 7% of earnings when the pro finishes in the top 10
• 10% of earnings when the pro wins

For example, Scottie Scheffler's caddie, Ted Scott, earned $850,000 in two weeks when Scheffler won two tournaments back-to-back. This was 10% of Scheffler's total winnings of $8.5 million over the two weeks.

Caddies with more established players may opt for bigger tournament payouts over getting their weekly expenses paid. In most cases, caddies do pay for their weekly expenses, with larger bills such as travel and lodging being subsidized by the player.

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