WHAT COURSES SHOULD I ABSOLUTELY USE A CADDIE FOR?
What a great question! (OK, I asked the question, but I’m also providing the answer.)
It is, in fact, a question many have and there’s a few different ways to answer this.
These caddies at Whistling Straits absolutely put in their time - and got in ALL their steps - with our foursome this day.
The golf course requires a caddie with your tee time. You’d think this would be an easy thing to search for but - as many of us have realized over the last few years - searching on the internet is hopelessly broken. Thanks, AI! I just tried, in vain, to come up with my own list via searching for roughly 30-45 minutes and before I stabbed myself in the back of my palm with my pencil, I gave up. So here is an incomplete list of courses I know that - at least for SOME tee times during the day - insist you take a caddie. (Other tee times they may not require one, so that is something to understand at the time of booking. If we are booking that for you, of course, we will ensure that’s sorted and explained to you clearly.) This list is obviously quite incomplete.
If you want to ride at any of the Streamsong courses,and you’re often going to want to because the temperature there can mirror what we’re fairly sure is close to the surface of the sun (we might be off, slightly), the resort will insist that the group takes a group (or a forecaddie).
If you want to play the Straits course at Whistling Straits, host of three PGA Championships, the 2007 US Senior Open and the 2021 Ryder Cup, you must take a caddie - and you’ll need it. The official count of bunkers on the 18 holes is 967, though some suggest the actual number exceeds 1,000 (we’re not sure this is possible, but there are a lot, indeed).
Portmarnock Golf Club (the old, Championship Links, not the newer one) requires at least a forecaddie for your group, and would of course prefer that you each take a caddie.
I know the last hole at St. George’s Hill doesn’t look steep. I KNOW. But trust me when I say it’s steeper than you want it to be.
The golf course doesn’t have a formal requirement, but the layout essentially does. These courses won’t insist that you book a caddie, but if they look at you oddly when you don’t have a caddie, it’s because they’re getting a good look at what you look like healthy and happy. Because these courses will beat you even with a caddie, but especially if you are left without one.
Erin Hills - A very tough walk, many blind shots and thick rough that eats golf balls that somehow caddies find easily. You need a caddie.
Lahinch, Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Ballybunion - All of these world-class Irish courses are solid walks - but it’s the blind shots that make the caddies so valuable. It’s also the histories of the places the caddies can impart upon you, the stories they’ll tell you that you’ll think of for years afterwards.
St. Andrews (The Old Course) - The course seems so flat that when your caddie tells you to “aim at that church steeple” in the distance you realize that’s just knowledge you’d never have otherwise. And when they tell you not to aim in a certain direction because of the pot bunker you absolutely cannot see (because the course is not nearly as flat as you think it is), you’ll be ever so thankful.
Kiawah (Ocean) - Like the Old Course above, the lack of trees or distinguishing geography on the course actually makes it harder for most golfers to sort out where to aim, especially in what can be wild winds off the water. One of the best things a caddie can do is to help you understand where to miss, and the Ocean course is a great example of that.
Pinehurst No. 2 - This is not a difficult walk in any way, the course is remarkably flat. Every other thing about the course is remarkably hard. A caddie can tell you where to miss, but almost as important, he can keep your spirits high while you struggle on what seems like it shouldn’t be so tough of a round.
St. George’s Hill - This misnamed course in Surrey, England is actually a series of hills and would really be a nice course to let someone else carry your bag for you!
Nathan was on my bag on both Royal Cinque Ports and Royal St. George’s and made both rounds infinitely more fun despite the weather at RSG (see the puddles in the background).
Honestly, just for the vibes. These courses aren’t necessarily brutal walks, but they just would benefit from having a caddie on your bag (and honestly this list is way, way shorter than it could be for this category.
Royal St. George’s, Sunningdale (Old and New), Swinley Forest Go ahead and add a number of the Surrey heathland courses here, as well as the Open Rota gem on the coast. They will have stories of being on European Tour members bags in the past, insane knowledge of the course you are on, and just solid conversation to keep you on your game.
Bandon Trails This is the toughest walk at Bandon Dunes, but it’s not like you can’t do it without a caddie. But … it’s the one walk that I think a caddie can make better, not just because that walk up the long uphill par-5 16th certainly doesn’t hurt to do without pushing a cart yourself, but also because the serenity of the course, the peacefulness of each hole and the genuine perfection of each routing can be improved by your caddie pointing out the best line for your drive, where to aim and to provide a solid fist bump when you execute that perfect shot.
Carne - This is actually one that belongs in any number of categories. It’s a tough walk, but its also potentially a confusing walk because there are 27 holes and its possible to take a wrong turn without a caddie to set you right. But it’s also EASILY one of the coolest courses on planet earth … or, as they say, on the edge of the earth.
