How much to tip Caddies at Bandon Dunes

[VariedFerrules]

I am reaching out to the experts here, as this is my first trip out to Bandon (my first real golf trip period).  My golfing buddy and I decided over a year ago that we were going to bucket list a trip out to Bandon from Colorado, and we cannot be more excited. We are going full tilt, 36 a day with a caddie.  My question is, I do not want to under tip, and be stuck with a caddie after the first day that does not want to be with us because we are cheep.  I was planning on $40 tip per round, in addition to the $100.00 fee they charge for the caddie.  Is this appropriate?  I appreciate your feedback!

 

[puttnforthe8]

7 minutes ago, VariedFerrules said:

I am reaching out to the experts here, as this is my first trip out to Bandon (my first real golf trip period).  My golfing buddy and I decided over a year ago that we were going to bucket list a trip out to Bandon from Colorado, and we cannot be more excited. We are going full tilt, 36 a day with a caddie.  My question is, I do not want to under tip, and be stuck with a caddie after the first day that does not want to be with us because we are cheep.  I was planning on $40 tip per round, in addition to the $100.00 fee they charge for the caddie.  Is this appropriate?  I appreciate your feedback!

 

Yes...that is more than acceptable.

 

If at the end, you think a "bonus" is warranted, that is also an option - I usually do this.

 

If you don't have a caddy yet, may I suggest Tyler Mulkey.

[VariedFerrules]

perfect, thanks for the input, we requested Squid, if he is available....

 

[BG5]

$140 for a caddie at Bandon is a great day and I guarantee if you give somebody $140 they will be pretty happy.

 

The website suggests $100 per caddie and add in tip if they deserved it.  If a caddie makes $110-$120 that would be perfectly fine by most of them.

 

Now I have always been under the impression that if you are going to request people then your tip should be $125 or higher especially for a guy like Squid.

 

I think a safe bet is $120 and your caddie will be happy.

[VariedFerrules]

my other question is, do the caddies at Bandon get the entire $100 fee or does the course get a part of that?

 

[BG5]

Caddies get all of the money at Bandon.....so $120 will def put a smile on their face.  Even $110 wont have them mad

[Golfnuck]

The way I reconcile the fee plus tip is to divide by hours on the bag.

 

Normally it works out to approx 5 hours all together.  This is especially true if you use the same caddie all trip and in subsequent trips.  They will usually met you a bit earlier and stick around a bit after the round.

 

So my usual is $130 to $150 (this on a bad rain day) which is $26 to $30 per hour. 

 

There is usually a little extra on the last day.

 

Also this is for a single bag.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Golfnuck

[AlwaysLayUp]

$100 is fine per round. It's like tipping 18% at a restaurant. Tipping $110 or $100 won't move the needle on a caddie. They really care about volume. People go there and play 36 in a day, so 2 rounds and 2 bags per round is $400 per day. I know it's not a ton of money in most standards, but cost of living there is so low and it's cash under the table. 

 

If you go, they will try to give you the same caddie for your whole trip. So what I did was $100 per round, then at the end of the trip on the last round gave an additional $100 because he was great, and I got an ace on #5 on Pacific on my last day thanks to his advice. 

 

THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO ACTUALLY GET A CADDIE. DON'T GET CHEAP AND TRY TO CARRY YOUR BAG. IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXPERIENCE IMPORTANT FOR THE COURSE TO KEEP THEM GETTING LOOPS.

[Rory4Pres]

A couple weeks before my Dad and I played there, Michael Jordan played there and gave his caddy a $5000 tip.  

 

Maybe consider that amount on the upside of how much you choose to tip.  haha.

[Golfnuck]

4 hours ago, AlwaysLayUp said:

THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO ACTUALLY GET A CADDIE. DON'T GET CHEAP AND TRY TO CARRY YOUR BAG. IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXPERIENCE IMPORTANT FOR THE COURSE TO KEEP THEM GETTING LOOPS.

 

Spot on.

[carrera]

On 4/28/2021 at 9:16 AM, AlwaysLayUp said:

$100 is fine per round. It's like tipping 18% at a restaurant. Tipping $110 or $100 won't move the needle on a caddie. They really care about volume. People go there and play 36 in a day, so 2 rounds and 2 bags per round is $400 per day. I know it's not a ton of money in most standards, but cost of living there is so low and it's cash under the table. 

 

If you go, they will try to give you the same caddie for your whole trip. So what I did was $100 per round, then at the end of the trip on the last round gave an additional $100 because he was great, and I got an ace on #5 on Pacific on my last day thanks to his advice. 

So you only paid the base $100/bag each round, until you got to the final round?   I always pay $120-140 per round (high end if the weather was terrible) and then usually a bit more for the final round assuming the caddy was good.  Most do it that way...else your caddy might think that you are a non-tipper (which technically you are if you pay $100 per round)....I wouldn't want the caddy thinking they were stuck with a tightwad, even if it will be made up at the end.

 

To the OP, you can get "caddy cash" at each pro shop prior to each round, which is charged to your room, so no need to arrive at the resort with a giant wad of bills.

 

 

[blink3665]

I was one of those "cheap" people that didnt get a caddie. I understand what you're saying about keeping the loopers employed though. In retrospect, I would have gotten a forecaddie at least. We played as a 3some and we got a single with a caddy for 3 of the rounds. The caddies were very helpful (voluntarily, I didnt ask for help since they werent my caddy, and I wasnt paying them. It was never at the detriment to their own player.). That being said, I tipped the caddies post round because it really did add to the experience. Just knowing where the misses and safe spots are, plus the stories.

 

Russ has been there for 10 years and knows everything about everything. Definitely look into getting him. There was a caddy who had been there for only 2 weeks, and that was a little rough. My advice would be to ask for a caddy that has at least a few years of looping at Bandon.

[pseudoswede]

There was a WRX'er from Denver who moved to Bandon to loop a few years ago. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find his username anymore.

[deadsolid...shank]

On 5/4/2021 at 5:52 PM, pseudoswede said:

There was a WRX'er from Denver who moved to Bandon to loop a few years ago. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find his username anymore.

It was Conqueso, then he changed his name to LooperCon. That’s what it is now. Good guy and a good player. Bet he’s a good caddie too. He was actually from Loveland Pseudo (if we’re talking about the same guy). 

[BG5]

Who are some of the better Caddies at Bandon?

[ronnbee]

On 4/28/2021 at 2:14 PM, Rory4Pres said:

A couple weeks before my Dad and I played there, Michael Jordan played there and gave his caddy a $5000 tip.  

 

Maybe consider that amount on the upside of how much you choose to tip.  haha.

no way thats true--he is cheap with tipping

[Zach Silver]

I had a caddie only carrying my bag for the week so to compensate I gave $140 per round.

He seemed satisfied with that amount, for a double bag I would imagine less is accepatable.

[BG5]

Is $100 a man for a double bagger acceptable?

[TurnDog69]

On 4/28/2021 at 12:14 PM, Rory4Pres said:

A couple weeks before my Dad and I played there, Michael Jordan played there and gave his caddy a $5000 tip.  

 

Maybe consider that amount on the upside of how much you choose to tip.  haha.

From a net worth perspective, me tipping $125 is equivalent to Michael jordan tipping about 125k I think. LOL

[carrera]

On 5/17/2021 at 5:01 PM, BG5 said:

Is $100 a man for a double bagger acceptable?

That is the base fee without tip, so...not acceptable unless your caddie was terrible.

[BG5]

Would $110 be ok for a double bagger?

[2bGood]

I don't like to give them any money, but I do let them know that when they die, on their deathbed they will receive total consciousness. 

[Slippin_Jimmy]

I've always done $120/round and $250 total if I play 36 in a day.  This would be my portion of a double bag.  Typically the caddie has preferred that we just pay for both rounds at the end of the day.  This figure has always been greeted with thanks and my typical caddie accepts my requests when I visit, so I assume he's fine with it.  I've given an extra $20 on days when I've really slapped it around out there.  I don't know that I answered your question BG5 but I hope that is helpful.

 

 

[BG5]

7 minutes ago, Slippin_Jimmy said:

I've always done $120/round and $250 total if I play 36 in a day.  This would be my portion of a double bag.  Typically the caddie has preferred that we just pay for both rounds at the end of the day.  This figure has always been greeted with thanks and my typical caddie accepts my requests when I visit, so I assume he's fine with it.  I've given an extra $20 on days when I've really slapped it around out there.  I don't know that I answered your question BG5 but I hope that is helpful.

 

 

Thank you

[scarf_face]

Okay I feel like there is definitely some perspective here that can be shared if people are going to look at threads like this and make decisions on tipping their caddies. In no particular order:

 

- don't decide how much you are going to tip beforehand. See what the caddie does for you and how your experience is. There are a TON of caddies at bandon and they all have a different flow.

 

-FWIW $100/bag is the BASE RATE. to not tip on top of this would be like not tipping at a restaurant. to tip $10 on top of this would be like tipping 10% at a restaurant. only for the absolute worst service. in which case the gentlemanly thing to do would be to pay the guy anyway, unless he was actually insulting towards you or something, and let caddie services know about the situation so there can be constructive feedback, change caddies, and move on. the feedback IS shared with all the caddies directly and also comments from guests are posted anonymously for caddies to read

-to be candid $120/bag is commonly considered the "minimum" (base rate + $20 tip ... paying $100 would be considered NO TIP and tipping $20 would be the minimum tip to maintain decency as a person) and honestly if you have a caddie that has been there for more than a few weeks, none of them are out there working for the "minimum" if you catch my drift. there are hundreds of caddies at Bandon and hundreds of them are Bad a**. a lot of them used to be lawyers, engineers, golf pros, you name it. not that that matters but you've got some really smart, hard working guys/gals at your service. honestly the difference between even $120 and $125 is huge and adds up and means a lot to the caddies. to be honest the sentiment for any veteran caddie, if they get $120 for a bag, they are walking to their car replaying the day in their head going "crap what did I do wrong?" ... also to anonymously quote another caddie "if I get $480 (for a double-double - $120/bag) I f****** HATE you (the guest) ... but if I get $500 ($125/bag) I would go into the next fairway and punch somebody in the face for you if you asked me to" LOL ... just one candid sentiment to give some perspective. a little bit goes a long way, but $120 is considered the minimum. if your caddie is on one of his first loops or doesn't provide anything extra than carrying the bag, and raking traps, then sure. but a lot of these guys are providing services ranging from ... providing EXPERT club selections and tee lines based on winds, pins, conditions, etc., reading every putt, playing storyteller/historian, honestly I've seen many give the equivalent of one-on-one playing lessons WHEN ASKED FOR BY THE GUEST, (consider what an 18 hole playing lesson would cost with a PGA pro when you consider your caddie tip) and even as far as being a week-long ambassador to the game for beginner golfers.

-since people are asking, I would say first-hand that the general consensus is that $140-$150 per bag per 18 holes is what a veteran caddie who is actually providing playing tips, reading greens, course knowledge, club/shot selection, etc., is going to be happy with. and if they really help you and you really enjoy the experience don't be afraid to go more

-keep in mind too that a lot of the threads people are reading/posting from, say, 2018 and s*** talking about the caddie fee and tips ... uhh the price of EVERYTHING has gone up what 30%, 50% since then? 

-keep in mind that before a good caddie even sets out on the course. yes they get ot keep all the money. but they are buying their own uniforms. keep in mind there's nowhere to live in bandon and many are living 30 miles away commuting every day. keep in mind no benefits no insurance, if they are sick or injured it is on their dime. keep in mind your average caddie before he even steps on the course has two pairs of $200 hokas with inserts. a $600 rainsuit. a $600 rangefinder. a $100-$200 garmin watch. paying $25-$40 per pair for smartwool or sealskinz socks not just buying fruit of the loom. you get the idea it all adds up. and is the pay worth it YES if the tip money is there, but it's not like a mcdonalds job ... these are contractors that have legitimate recurring expenses that come out of their pocket in order to show up for work prepared every day and stay healthy ... and all that stuff getting used and abused and destroyed by the elements every day. 

-keep in mind that the caddies are required to show up to work at least 60 minutes before your tee time in case the group decides to go out early ... the average double-double is a 11-13hr day (not including any commute) (sometimes with a lunch break sometimes without).

do the math on that and the base bag fee is what $16, $17/hr? that's what they are paying for fast food. trust me 99% of the caddies are not out there doing this for fast food money. it's the tips that have guys moving to a town where there's nowhere to live, no dating scene, living out of their cars, nothing to do but work, ... in many cases moving their families there if they have one and saving up to buy some dramatically inflated property ... they are doing this, like all tipped professions, not for the base rate but FOR THE TIPS and it's the $140-$150 guys and the guys who have a really great time and go even higher than that or kick in something extra at the ned of the week that are attracting the best caddies on the planet to come from all over the country and many other elite clubs (augusta, seminole, whisper rock, you name it) to carry the bag of any joe willing to pay the fee who shows up at bandon

it's really simple if you come to bandon and are worried about the extra $20 just don't take a caddie, or split a group caddie and take care of that guy. because trust me there are other guys who want that caddie.

 

think of this too and know this: you can do all the debating you want. all the hemming and hawing "well, they keep the whole fee. well, but wear and tear on their bodies. well, cost of living. well, if they work a ton they can make six figures if they work 60+ hour weeks nearly year-round for blue collar work" blah blah blah. we have a real simple law to help clear this up and it factors in everything and tells you what the balance point is automatically: it's called the law of supply and demand. 

so know this. given ALL the factors in the system. the law of supply and demand tells the real answer: there still aren't enough caddies to fill all the caddie requests every day, and there are 500+ caddies this season shooting for 600 and there are still groups that WANT to hire a caddie and would gladly tip handsomely and they are unable to do so because there aren't enough caddies available. so if the pay were too high for the circumstances and difficulty of the job, that wouldn't be the case, there'd be surplus caddies. it's that simple. so if you go to bandon, obviously the vast majority of requests are able to be filled by hook or by crook by the virtuosos down at caddie services, but still consider yourself fortunate to have somebody on your bag at all because it's not a given. and if you don't want to tip your caddie - by all means $120/bag if they do nothing for you (AND FOR THE RECORD LOL THERE SHOULDN'T BE A DISCOUNT FOR DOUBLE BAGGING ! ! LOL), but go into it open-minded and be willing to make a fair exchange for services rendered based on your personal experience ... I just hope what is shared here gives some perspective on how to make that decision ... but if you're not willing to do that even if the guy is a 10 year vet who kicks a**, at least do the honorable thing and give somebody else the chance to hire that caddie. but far far far better would be to ALWAYS take a caddie, enjoy the f*** out of it, and at the end of the day when you're thumbing through your wallet for what to kick the guy on top of the $100, just know that if your thumb lands on that second $20, or on that $50 instead of that $20, it's going to be one of the best thing you could EVER do with that extra $20 or $30 in your life, is kick it to one of the dudes/dudettes who has decided to earn their living as a professional caddie at bandon dunes. 100%. no doubt. just do it. and point people to this thread when they ask.
 

Edited June 15, 2022 by scarf_face

[JimmyC59]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:34 PM, 2bGood said:

I don't like to give them any money, but I do let them know that when they die, on their deathbed they will receive total consciousness. 

"So, that have that going for them, which is nice."

[blink3665]

18 hours ago, scarf_face said:

Okay I feel like there is definitely some perspective here that can be shared if people are going to look at threads like this and make decisions on tipping their caddies. In no particular order:

 

- don't decide how much you are going to tip beforehand. See what the caddie does for you and how your experience is. There are a TON of caddies at bandon and they all have a different flow.

 

-FWIW $100/bag is the BASE RATE. to not tip on top of this would be like not tipping at a restaurant. to tip $10 on top of this would be like tipping 10% at a restaurant. only for the absolute worst service. in which case the gentlemanly thing to do would be to pay the guy anyway, unless he was actually insulting towards you or something, and let caddie services know about the situation so there can be constructive feedback, change caddies, and move on. the feedback IS shared with all the caddies directly and also comments from guests are posted anonymously for caddies to read

-to be candid $120/bag is commonly considered the "minimum" (base rate + $20 tip ... paying $100 would be considered NO TIP and tipping $20 would be the minimum tip to maintain decency as a person) and honestly if you have a caddie that has been there for more than a few weeks, none of them are out there working for the "minimum" if you catch my drift. there are hundreds of caddies at Bandon and hundreds of them are Bad a**. a lot of them used to be lawyers, engineers, golf pros, you name it. not that that matters but you've got some really smart, hard working guys/gals at your service. honestly the difference between even $120 and $125 is huge and adds up and means a lot to the caddies. to be honest the sentiment for any veteran caddie, if they get $120 for a bag, they are walking to their car replaying the day in their head going "crap what did I do wrong?" ... also to anonymously quote another caddie "if I get $480 (for a double-double - $120/bag) I f****** HATE you (the guest) ... but if I get $500 ($125/bag) I would go into the next fairway and punch somebody in the face for you if you asked me to" LOL ... just one candid sentiment to give some perspective. a little bit goes a long way, but $120 is considered the minimum. if your caddie is on one of his first loops or doesn't provide anything extra than carrying the bag, and raking traps, then sure. but a lot of these guys are providing services ranging from ... providing EXPERT club selections and tee lines based on winds, pins, conditions, etc., reading every putt, playing storyteller/historian, honestly I've seen many give the equivalent of one-on-one playing lessons WHEN ASKED FOR BY THE GUEST, (consider what an 18 hole playing lesson would cost with a PGA pro when you consider your caddie tip) and even as far as being a week-long ambassador to the game for beginner golfers.

-since people are asking, I would say first-hand that the general consensus is that $140-$150 per bag per 18 holes is what a veteran caddie who is actually providing playing tips, reading greens, course knowledge, club/shot selection, etc., is going to be happy with. and if they really help you and you really enjoy the experience don't be afraid to go more

-keep in mind too that a lot of the threads people are reading/posting from, say, 2018 and s*** talking about the caddie fee and tips ... uhh the price of EVERYTHING has gone up what 30%, 50% since then? 

-keep in mind that before a good caddie even sets out on the course. yes they get ot keep all the money. but they are buying their own uniforms. keep in mind there's nowhere to live in bandon and many are living 30 miles away commuting every day. keep in mind no benefits no insurance, if they are sick or injured it is on their dime. keep in mind your average caddie before he even steps on the course has two pairs of $200 hokas with inserts. a $600 rainsuit. a $600 rangefinder. a $100-$200 garmin watch. paying $25-$40 per pair for smartwool or sealskinz socks not just buying fruit of the loom. you get the idea it all adds up. and is the pay worth it YES if the tip money is there, but it's not like a mcdonalds job ... these are contractors that have legitimate recurring expenses that come out of their pocket in order to show up for work prepared every day and stay healthy ... and all that stuff getting used and abused and destroyed by the elements every day. 

-keep in mind that the caddies are required to show up to work at least 60 minutes before your tee time in case the group decides to go out early ... the average double-double is a 11-13hr day (not including any commute) (sometimes with a lunch break sometimes without).

do the math on that and the base bag fee is what $16, $17/hr? that's what they are paying for fast food. trust me 99% of the caddies are not out there doing this for fast food money. it's the tips that have guys moving to a town where there's nowhere to live, no dating scene, living out of their cars, nothing to do but work, ... in many cases moving their families there if they have one and saving up to buy some dramatically inflated property ... they are doing this, like all tipped professions, not for the base rate but FOR THE TIPS and it's the $140-$150 guys and the guys who have a really great time and go even higher than that or kick in something extra at the ned of the week that are attracting the best caddies on the planet to come from all over the country and many other elite clubs (augusta, seminole, whisper rock, you name it) to carry the bag of any joe willing to pay the fee who shows up at bandon

it's really simple if you come to bandon and are worried about the extra $20 just don't take a caddie, or split a group caddie and take care of that guy. because trust me there are other guys who want that caddie.

 

think of this too and know this: you can do all the debating you want. all the hemming and hawing "well, they keep the whole fee. well, but wear and tear on their bodies. well, cost of living. well, if they work a ton they can make six figures if they work 60+ hour weeks nearly year-round for blue collar work" blah blah blah. we have a real simple law to help clear this up and it factors in everything and tells you what the balance point is automatically: it's called the law of supply and demand. 

so know this. given ALL the factors in the system. the law of supply and demand tells the real answer: there still aren't enough caddies to fill all the caddie requests every day, and there are 500+ caddies this season shooting for 600 and there are still groups that WANT to hire a caddie and would gladly tip handsomely and they are unable to do so because there aren't enough caddies available. so if the pay were too high for the circumstances and difficulty of the job, that wouldn't be the case, there'd be surplus caddies. it's that simple. so if you go to bandon, obviously the vast majority of requests are able to be filled by hook or by crook by the virtuosos down at caddie services, but still consider yourself fortunate to have somebody on your bag at all because it's not a given. and if you don't want to tip your caddie - by all means $120/bag if they do nothing for you (AND FOR THE RECORD LOL THERE SHOULDN'T BE A DISCOUNT FOR DOUBLE BAGGING ! ! LOL), but go into it open-minded and be willing to make a fair exchange for services rendered based on your personal experience ... I just hope what is shared here gives some perspective on how to make that decision ... but if you're not willing to do that even if the guy is a 10 year vet who kicks a**, at least do the honorable thing and give somebody else the chance to hire that caddie. but far far far better would be to ALWAYS take a caddie, enjoy the f*** out of it, and at the end of the day when you're thumbing through your wallet for what to kick the guy on top of the $100, just know that if your thumb lands on that second $20, or on that $50 instead of that $20, it's going to be one of the best thing you could EVER do with that extra $20 or $30 in your life, is kick it to one of the dudes/dudettes who has decided to earn their living as a professional caddie at bandon dunes. 100%. no doubt. just do it. and point people to this thread when they ask.
 

 

Lots to unpack there.

 TLDR: Don't be a cheapskate, tip $140-150 for good service, $120 is the min for min effort. If you can't tip more than the $120 carry your own bag.

 

I'm curious about your background. Sounds like actual Bandon caddy perspective? Honestly, I didn't take a caddy because I really couldnt afford one and I didnt wanna be the cheapskate that was holding onto every bill in my wallet with dear life. The caddies that other people in our group had were great. One was ok, and probably didnt deserve the $140. The second caddy deserved all $150. (I did tip both caddies since they were very helpful to me, not at the detriment to their actual client.)

[I3erto]

We always do 125 a round...  and we always offer to buy them drinks/snacks at the turn/half way houses..  and don't show up w/ a cart/staff bag packed full..  that is just a dick move 🙂 

 

Also at Bandon you can get "caddie cash" and charge it to your room when you check in for your round at the pro shop if you need any..

 

Cheers!

[callawayjay]

I guess I’m in the minority. $100 tip (after the fee)to me for something you never get to experience is nothing. You’ve already saved your $$$ to go why not overtip the caddies. You’ll be remembered in case you go back. 

[delftw]

4 hours ago, callawayjay said:

I guess I’m in the minority. $100 tip (after the fee)to me for something you never get to experience is nothing. You’ve already saved your $$$ to go why not overtip the caddies. You’ll be remembered in case you go back. 

^^^this. Ive been with the same group twice, I think every guy in our group went minimum $80 on top of the $100, I personally went $100. And like others said, we offered them anything they wanted to at the halfways houses/ etc. Bandon is not a cheap trip anyways, if youre worried about the difference between 120 vs 130, etc. just grab a $5 rikshaw and skip the caddies