“Teamwork done to a tee”: a golf caddie’s perspective on their perceived role and associated skills

Objectives: This study explored what caddies perceive as their role and the associated skills required to support golfers.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were completed with seven Professional male caddies from the United Kingdom (3 Caddies) and USA (4 Caddies). Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and reflexive thematic analysis performed.
Results: Thematic analysis generated twenty-one lower-order themes and six higher-order themes, which were organised into three dimensions; (i) the demands of being a caddie; (ii) caddie’s expertise to do the role; and (iii), importance of support.
Conclusion: Caddies demonstrate expertise in a range of areas from perceptual to intrapersonal skills when developing and maintaining effective golfer-caddie partnerships. Our findings highlight the skills the caddies require are role dependent. The findings from this study have implications on understanding future training needs for caddies in relation to maintaining effective golfer-caddie relationships and best practices to support caddies.