How Much Do Caddies Make? Club to PGA Tour Pay

A caddie’s pay depends entirely on where the loop happens. A country club or resort caddie earns a loop fee of $40 to $150 per round plus a tip, with tips often making up 30% to 60% of the total. A PGA Tour caddie earns a weekly base of $1,500 to $3,000 plus a cut of winnings: about 5% for most finishes, 7% for a top-10 and 10% for a win. That percentage is where the real money hides. When a player banks a $3.6 million winner’s cheque, the caddie’s 10% share is $360,000 for one week. Here is the full pay ladder, from a junior looping at the local club to Scottie Scheffler’s bagman.

How much do caddies make by setting?

Caddie type	Base pay	Tip / bonus	Realistic annual
Local club caddie	$40-$60 loop fee/round	$20-$50/bag	$10,000-$25,000 (often part-time)
Private country club	$50-$100 loop fee/round	$60-$100+/bag	$30,000-$60,000
Prestige resort (e.g. Pebble Beach)	$100-$150/bag	$100-$150+/bag	$40,000-$80,000 seasonal
Forecaddie (one per group)	$150-$200/group	$50-$100/player	Varies with volume
PGA Tour caddie	$1,500-$3,000/week	5% / 7% / 10% of winnings	$100,000-$500,000+
Elite tour caddie (top bag)	$2,000-$4,000/week	10% of major purses	$500,000-$3M+

Figures come from The Golf News Net’s gratuity guide, Front Office Sports and Golf Monthly. Club and resort loops are largely cash-and-tip work, so a caddie’s take-home swings with how generous the members are, not just the posted loop fee.

How does a country club caddie get paid?

At club and resort level, the course sets a loop fee, and the golfer adds a tip on top. Everyday clubs run $50 to $100 per bag before tip; high-end courses post higher base fees, such as $55 per player at Erin Hills or $100 per caddie at Sand Valley plus gratuity. The tip is not optional in practice: at private clubs the standard is $60 to $100 or more per bag, and at destination resorts like Pebble Beach $100 to $150 is normal.

Because tips run 30% to 60% of the day’s money, a strong caddie at a busy club can out-earn the loop fee itself. A forecaddie, who spots balls and reads greens for a whole group rather than carrying one bag, typically pulls $150 to $200 from the group plus $50 to $100 per player.

How much do PGA Tour caddies actually earn?

Tour pay has two parts. The weekly base, usually $1,500 to $3,000 and higher at marquee events, is paid regardless of result and exists to cover the caddie’s own travel, hotels and food. Caddies are independent contractors and shoulder those costs themselves, roughly $50,000 a year on the PGA Tour, so the base is closer to an expense stipend than salary.

The winnings percentage is where careers are made. The near-universal 5/7/10 split pays 5% of the player’s earnings for most finishes, 7% for a top-10 and 10% for a win. Do the math on a signature event: an 18% winner’s share of a $20 million purse is $3.6 million, and the caddie’s 10% is $360,000 for the week. Scottie Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott reportedly earned around $5 million across the 2024 season on the back of that structure. A caddie on a journeyman who grinds cut lines, by contrast, may net $100,000 to $150,000 after expenses. Same job title, wildly different paycheck, all decided by whose bag you carry.

How much should you tip your caddie?

If you take a caddie for a round, budget the tip separately from the loop fee, because the fee often goes partly to the club. A safe rule: match roughly 50% to 100% of the loop fee as the tip at a standard club, and lean to the higher end at a resort or if the caddie genuinely helped your score. For a forecaddie shared by four players, $50 to $100 each is standard. Pay in cash at the end of the round.

This is one line item people forget when budgeting a golf trip. Our breakdown of the average cost of a round of golf folds caddie fees into the full per-round total, and if you are wondering where all the money goes, why golf is so expensive maps the rest of the spend. Planning a big buy instead? The golf club fitting cost guide covers gear the smart way.

Ready to walk your next round with a caddie? Confirm the club’s posted loop fee when you book, carry cash for the tip, and treat the number above as your floor, not your ceiling. Head to our golf hub for more of the game’s real costs.

Freshness note: tour base pay and percentage norms are private contracts and drift with purse inflation; club loop fees and resort tipping benchmarks rise most seasons. Re-check tour purse figures and resort rates each season.