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The Black Golf Caddy:
A Victim of Labor Market Discrimination
Wornie Reed1
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Abstract
For generations, country clubs and the Professional Golf Association
(PGA) Tour featured white golfers crossing manicured fairways, followed
by black caddies carrying their bags. Now most clubs rely on golf carts;
and pros on the PGA Tour are attended by highly paid white caddies. The
transformation of the golf world has mirrored larger shifts in the American
workplace, in which the increased status and increased earnings of skilled
work have been accompanied by a de facto “push out” of black workers.
In the 1960s, the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour began being
more popular and more profitable. Many observers credit this development
during this period to Arnold Palmer’s charismatic, swashbuckling style of
play and to the growth of televised golf. The increased popularity of the
sport involved wide scale marketing of golf ’s big three – Arnold Palmer,
Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player. By end of the 1960s, Lee Trevino was added
to the mix, making the big four. Golf caddying was becoming a respected
profession, as the caddies for the big four became famous in their own
right. These caddies were Ernest “Creamy” Carolan, Angelo Argea, Afred
“Rabbit” Dyer, and Herman Mitchell, caddies respectively for Palmer,
Nicklaus, Player, and Trevino. Since at the time most caddies were black, it
is not surprising that two of the four – Dyer and Mitchell – were African
American.
The 1960s and 1970s launched the glory years for caddying, as
caddies benefited from the increasing popularity and hence increasing
money prizes available in professional tournament golf. In fact, Alfred
Dyer, Gary Player’s caddy, was able to send a son to Princeton University
(Sailor 2003), a financial feat unheard of among caddies before the 1960s.
However, as the status of caddies increased, the presence of African
American caddies steadily decreased.
1 Please address all correspondence to Wornie L. Reed (wreed5@utk.edu).
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Historical Background
When golf and country clubs were established in the United States
in the late 19th century, caddying was a menial low-paying job typically
reserved for poor African American youth, some of whom were only eight
or nine years old. Into the early 20th century, black boys caddying merely
exemplified wide spread use of child labor, like the armies of children
working 14 to 16 hours per day, six days per week in mills and coal mines.
Often, black boys filled the caddying ranks because they were not allowed
in the dangerous, but slightly higher paying mills and coal mines with white
youth (Sinnette 1998). Most caddies were males, until recently, when a few
white females began caddying on the PGA Tour. Currently, these females
are most often the wives or daughters of the professional golfers. There is
no record of a black female caddy who has worked regularly on the PGA
Tour.
In their eagerness to earn as much money as possible, a caddy at a
country club would walk as many as three 18-hole rounds per day, that is
12 to 15 miles, often carrying two bags, each weighing between 30 and 50
pounds.
Since golf was seen as an idyllic exercise and as another position
for the black servant class (Sinnette 1998), and also because it was not as
dangerous as factory and mining jobs, national campaigns against child
labor excluded child caddies, most of whom were black. Consequently,
black youth labored on, making very little money. In the 1920s and 1930s,
a caddy could work all day for $1. By the 1950s, the wages increased to $2
for carrying a single bag for 18 holes, about 50 cents per hour, and $3 to
carry two bags of golf equipment.
Without child labor laws protecting them, black youth dominated
the field into the 1940s and 1950s; many starting when they were less than
ten years old. Alfred “Rabbit” Dyer started at nine in the 1940s. He and his
father worked at the same country club in Louisiana; his father caddied for
Gary Player in the 1960 New Orleans Open. Rabbit then caddied for Player
in the 1962 New Orleans Open (CaddyBytes 2007). Jerry Osborn, another
black former Tour caddy, started at eight years of age, as did Freddie Burns,
the long-time caddy for Hal Sutton.
Currently, most caddies at country clubs are teen-agers; some
are older men, especially in the South. As young black caddies aged, they
became experienced adults at country clubs and on the PGA Tour Because
the Masters Tournament was hosted by the Augusta National Golf Club, this
club launched many caddies who became fixtures on the Pro Tour Since
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all participants in the Masters Tournament had to use local caddies, pro
golfers became familiar with them and sometimes brought their favorite
caddies onto the PGA Tour.
Because of the Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club
was the source of many caddies who became fixtures on the Pro Tour.
Several of the Augusta National caddies were legendary . There was Willie
“Pappy” Stokes, the godfather of caddies at Augusta National, having won
fives times as a Masters caddy with four different players between 1938
and 1956. He is credited in caddy circles at Augusta National as the man
who taught most of the “name” caddies there how to read the undulating
greens. Mostly, the star pros kept the same caddy at the Masters through
the years. Willie Petersen won five Masters caddying for Jack Nicklaus.
Nathaniel “Iron Man” Avery won four times with Arnold Palmer; O’Bryant
Williams won three times with Sam Snead; Fred Searles won twice with
Byron Nelson; and Carl Jackson won twice with Ben Crenshaw. Even
Augusta National member and avid golfer President Eisenhower had the
same caddy through the years—Willie “Cemetery” Poteat (Clayton 2004).
As regular caddies for star players over the years, the top Augusta National
caddies were instrumental in establishing the role of regular professional
caddies.
Caddies on the PGA Tour did not have it easy. Of course, most of
these golf servants were black. Until 1961, when the PGA Tour was forced
to discontinue its practice of barring African Americans from playing on
the Tour, the players were all white and most of the caddies were black.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, black caddies traveled from event to event
across the country on greyhound buses, segregated to the back of the bus,
and changing their clothes in the woods or in the parking lot (Caddy Bytes
2007).
As caddying on the Pro Tour began to rise in status, another
significant development occurred in caddying. In 1983 Augusta National
Golf Club stopped its practice of requiring players to use club caddies in
the Masters Tournament. Players then began to choose their own caddies
for the Masters and they were mostly white. This practice reduced the
participation of the famed Augusta National caddies, and affected a long-
standing tradition at the Masters—white players with black caddies in
white coveralls. As Rabbit Dyer explained, “White caddies did not come
out on tour until the early 60s – it was below them to caddy back then”
(CaddyBytes 2007). Although a 1961 ruling decreed that the PGA Tour
could no longer bar African Americans in the Tour, all players were white
and most caddies were black, with the exception of Lee Elder who was
admitted to the Tour before 1975. He was admitted to play in the Masters
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Tournament in 1975.
Advent of the Professional Golfer
The professionalization of golf caddies followed the
professionalization of golfers by several generations. Professional golfers
were not a privileged group in the early part of 20th century America.
Until Walter Hagen established professional golf by making more money
playing golf than teaching it (Smart 2005), the main role of the golf pro was
“giving lessons, supervising the pro shop, overseeing the care of the course
grounds, and building and repairing golf clubs. He did the bidding of the
golf club members, who were from the upper class, and was treated the
same way as butlers, chauffeurs, and maids” (Clavin 2005: 37).
Hagen started as a caddie at the Country Club of Rochester and
became a club pro in 1912, receiving $1,000 for eight months’ work . During
this time, few pros at country clubs averaged more than $50 per week . By
1913, Hagen was 20-year old head golf pro, yet he had to beg his employers
for time off to play in the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Boston
. This was the historic tournament won by Francis Ouimet, a 20-year old
amateur and former caddie at The Country Club who defeated the British
golfers Harry Vardon and Ted Ray . Vardon was golf ’s first superstar and
Ray was the reigning British Open champion . Ouimet’s victory changed
the American perception of golf from a sport for rich foreigners to a sport
that everyday people could play.
Walter Hagen finished third in the 1913 Open. He was then
sponsored by members of the Country Club of Rochester and won the
1914 U.S. Open at Chicago’s Midlothian Country Club. There, for the first
time, golf pros could enter the clubhouse. Hagen initiated this practice by
marching into the locker room instead of changing shoes in the parking
lot as pros had previously been compelled to do (Gabriel 2001). Not only
was Hagen the first American professional touring player, he was also a key
participant in the creation of the Professional Golf Association (in 1916).
After winning the 1919 U.S. Open, Hagen left his club job and become the
first golfer to earn his livelihood completely from tournament incomes and
endorsements.
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Table 1: Total Purses on the PGA Tour by Decade
Year Number of Events Total Purse
1938 38 $ 158,000
1950 33 459,950
1960 41 1,335,242
1970 55 6,751,523
1980 45 13,371,786
1990 44 46,251,831
2000 49 157,000,000
Source: J. Luft. 2000. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/statitudes/news/2000/08/28/
tigermoney_statitudes/
Professional golf grew steadily during the first decades of the 20th
century, with sharp increases in status and earnings after 1950. In the 62-
year period between 1938 and 2000, purses grew 1,000-fold (See Table 1).
The huge increase in total purses between 1995 and 2005 is credited to the
impact and popularity of Tiger Woods, who joined the Tour in 1996.
Professional Caddies
The role of the professional caddy goes beyond carrying the bag
and handing the player a club. A good caddy who knows the game of
golf can play a major role in the success of his player. Caddies prepare for
competitive rounds by walking the course, checking yardages, and finding
trouble spots on the course. They may be involved in crucial decisions
during play . For example, they advise the pro on club selection, a decision
influenced by estimated wind speed and direction and the terrain of the
golf hole. They also assist with “reading the greens,” determining the effect
that undulations in the green will have on the path of putts.
The early caddies on the PGA Tour were a “ragged crew of
itinerant African-Americans who, like their pros, followed the sun from
one tournament to the next, eking out a living as they lived on the edge of
society. These ‘professional’ caddies were the last in line when it came to
respectability” (Babbles 2007). With the increased status of the PGA Tour
and the increase in tournament purses in the 1960s, more players began to
have regular caddies; and of course, since most of the caddies were black,
caddies on the Tour tended to be black.
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Caddies are paid according to the earnings of the professional golfer . Caddy
pay is a closely held secret and the pay formula varies slightly between
golfer-caddy teams. However, the typical formula is widely reported.
Caddies on the Tour are generally paid $1,000 for each tournament played,
plus at least five percent of the player’s earnings. If the player finishes in the
top ten places, the caddie gets seven percent of the player’s earnings, and
if the player wins the caddy gets 10 percent. Thus, as the prize money for
tournaments rose, caddies began earning more as well (See Table 2).
Table 2: Earnings of Leading PGA Tour Money Winners by Year, with
Corresponding Estimates of Caddy Earnings
Year Earnings of Leading
Money Winners*
Estimated Caddy Earnings
1955 $ 63,122 $ 6,176
1965 140,752 13,773
1975 298,149 29,174
1985 542,321 53,066
1995 1,654,959 161,938
2005 10,628,024 1,039,955
*Source: L. Ruberstein and J. Neuman. 2006. A Disorderly Compendium of Golf.
New York: Workman Publishing.
The calculations of the 2005 estimated caddy earnings in Table
2 were based on the typical formula—10% for wins, 7% for top ten
finishes, and 5% for non-top tens—applied to Tiger Woods’ tournament
by tournament earnings in 2005, as he was the leading money winner
that year. The resulting caddy earnings rate—9.785% of the pro golfer’s
winnings—was applied to the other years, 1955 to 1995, for the respective
estimated caddy earnings.
Currently, about 70 caddies on the PGA Tour make $100,000
or more for about 30 weeks’ work, as few golf pros play in more than 30
weekly events per year.
Steve Williams, caddy for Tiger Woods, has even started a charitable
foundation with some of the millions he has made carrying Tiger Woods’s
bag.
Caddying has established itself so well in recent years that there is a
professional association, the Professional Tour Caddies of America (PCTA)
which includes some 130 full time PGA Tour caddies. The majority of PGA
Tour players are said to employ PTCA caddies. To qualify for membership,
a caddy must have worked a minimum of 15 PGA Tour tournaments. The
PTCA advocates for caddies by working “closely with PGA Tour Officials
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and personnel to assure policies and communications between the PGA
Tour and PCTA Tour caddies is accurate and positive” (PCTA 2007). The
PTCA operates a mobile restaurant and gathering place for all caddies that
is set up at many Tour venues.
Disappearance of Black Caddies on Tour
The professionalization of the role of the caddy has come at the
expense of blacks. In 1998, only one of the top 50 golfers on the PGA
Tour employed an African American caddy: Freddie Burns, caddy for Hal
Sutton. As Burns tells it, “In 1981, there were twice as many black caddies
as whites. Now [in 1998] I’m the only one carrying a top-50 bag” (Sailor
2003). In 1998, 55 PGA Tour players earned over $1,000,000 in prize
money, which meant that 54 white caddies earned at least $100,000, with
only one black caddy, Freddie Burns, earning as much (Benet 2002). In
2007, with Sutton past his prime and no longer playing the PGA Tour, the
figure has moved to zero. No player in the top 50 and virtually no other
player employs a black caddy on a regular basis. Not even Tiger Woods
employs a black caddy.
What Happened?
Clearly, African-Americans were prominent among the
professional caddy ranks when caddying was first established as a
“profession. ” However, Africa Americans are no longer at the top levels
of their profession. What happened? Several developments undoubtedly
affected the status of African Americans as caddies. One was increasing
use of motorized golf carts which have replaced caddies at the majority
of golf courses. Nationally, only 7.3 percent of the 16,398 golf clubs in the
United States with at least 18 holes offer caddie services (Fowler 2007).
Another development was the growth in employment options for black
youth, along with a growing disdain for such a subservient-appearing job
as caddying.
Although the widespread use of golf carts and poor image are
relevant to the radical decline in numbers of black caddies, it is critical to
note that the position of “the caddy” remains a fixture of golf tour. Only the
color of these caddies has changed. African American caddies have been
the victims of a process that journalist William Rhoden calls “the Jockey
Syndrome” (Rhoden 2006).
Similar “Push out” Scenarios
African Americans dominated the jockey ranks from the era of
slavery up through the end of the 19th century; and they represented an
overwhelming majority of professional horse trainers. Former slaves who
worked closely with animals naturally continued to work with horses.
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Many gained considerable status as winning jockeys and trainers. During
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, horse racing grew in the United
States. However, the emphasis was more on the horse than on the jockey.
Between the end of the Civil War and 1900, the status of the jockey
increased substantially, with leading jockeys earning between $5,000 and
$6,000 per year, seven to ten times the income of the average worker of
that time (Rhoden 2006). The leading jockey of this era, African American
Isaac Murphy, earned more than the entire payroll of the leading major
league baseball team during this period. However, by the turn of the
century, as horse racing grew in status and in financial rewards, whites
became increasingly visible as jockeys, quickly pushing blacks out of their
former occupation.
Jimmy Winkfield, the last of the great black jockeys, won the
Kentucky Derby in 1901 and 1902, but was forced out of the country to find
work as a jockey, as it became extremely difficult, if not impossible, for him
to be hired to race. He moved to Russia in 1904, where he because the most
celebrated athlete in the country (Hotaling 1999). With the elimination of
Winkfield, the pushout of African American jockeys was complete. This
process had actually started in 1894 when a racing “union,” the Jockey Club,
was established by several prominent thoroughbred owners and breeders.
Headquartered in New York City, it became the administrative arm of
the horse-racing industry. Among its tasks was the licensing of jockeys.
The practice of not licensing black jockeys, combined with the growing
reluctance of white horse owners to hire black riders, were driving forces
in the demise of black jockeys in America (Rhoden 2006).
This “push out” scenario reflects broad labor market discrimination
dating back to the 19th century. For example, up to around 1820, a large
proportion of the artisans in Philadelphia were free blacks. However, the
number of these black artisans had declined significantly by 1837 after the
influx of European immigrants and the concomitant “push out” of black
workers in skilled trades (Darity 1990).
Other push outs from skilled trades occurred later in the century
in the United States in general and in the South in particular. At the end
of the Civil War, there were five times as many black skilled artisans as
whites in the United States. Many slaves who had been trained in skilled
trades became urban contractors; a combination of former slaves and
freed blacks dominated the skilled trades (Hine, Hine, and Harrold 2005).
Consequently, skilled trades were seen primarily as “black jobs. ” However,
throughout the latter third of the 19th century, black skilled artisans steadily
lost ground. By 1900, while there were twice as many black skilled artisans
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(most of whom lived in the South), as there had been in 1865, blacks
represented a rapidly decreasing proportion of the skilled labor force. As
southern white workers began crowding into cities and competing with
blacks in the traditional skilled trades, the emerging trade unions restricted
and eventually prevented the employment of blacks in the transportation
service, new mills, and construction, where new techniques and skills were
being introduced (Moreno 2006). “Racial discrimination was undoubtedly
a major factor in the decline and eclipse of the [black] skilled worker”
(Darity 1990:108).
Conclusion
In golf, as in horse racing and skilled trades, as occupations gained
status, African Americans were pushed out and replaced by whites. While
the golfing establishment did not organize and use unions to exclude black
caddies, as had been done in horse racing and skilled trades, black caddies
have been the victims of systematic labor market exclusion. The process by
which this has occurred may very well be explained with macro-economic
principles described by Deidre Royster (2002):
…economists’ concern with formal institutional
arrangements, such as contracts, property rights, laws,
regulations, and the state, have tended to downplay the
potential importance of the ways in which informal norms
and networks affect how institutions “act” economically
(p. 30).
This perspective argues that white workers continue to engage in customs
of black exclusion despite laws and regulations designed to prohibit
such action. Royster (2002) described social “networks of inclusion” and
“networks of exclusion” that operate to produce racial inequality in labor
markets.
The disappearance of black caddies on the PGA Tour—as well as
the Champions Tour and the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour—
is a recent example of a phenomenon that has happened several times in
African American history: blacks dominate the ranks of an occupation
until whites are attracted to it. This attraction is often the result of the work’s
increasing in status, which is associated with increased remuneration for
the work. Money and status attract whites, who move into the occupation
and push blacks out.
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