The Business Side of Being A PGA Tour Caddie
A chat with Joel Stock - caddie for Will Zalatoris.
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Today At A Glance:
PGA Tour caddies are seeing more money from their players and endorsement contracts. I spoke with Joel Stock — caddie for Will Zalatoris, about the business side of being a caddie on the PGA Tour.
Read Time: 6 Minutes.
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Hey Golfers —
Median PGA Tour earnings in 1990 were $72,517 — they have skyrocketed in the last 30 years. In 2022 — median PGA Tour earnings were $1,028,455. From 1990 to 2022, median PGA Tour earnings grew by 14 times.
Taking it further, only one player made over $1 million in 1990. While 126 players made over $1 million in 2022.
The growth in PGA Tour earnings has trickled down to PGA Tour caddies.
In the 2022 PGA Tour season — I estimated that three PGA Tour caddies made over $1 million. And Rory McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, made around $2.5 million. That number would have been good enough for 54th on the 2022 PGA Tour money list.
PGA Tour caddies are typically paid in two ways from a PGA Tour player.
Weekly base fee
Weekly earnings rate
On top of typical caddie earnings — caddies make money from endorsements.
Last week — I had the chance to chat with Joel Stock, caddie for Will Zalatoris. We spoke about the business side of being a PGA Tour caddie and the path to becoming a PGA Tour caddie.
Joel played golf at the University of Oregon and graduated in 1997. His path to becoming a PGA Tour caddie was a little non-traditional.
Played on development tours
Played in a band with his brothers
Opened a coffee shop — eventually sold it
Worked in the mortgage business
Worked in the family lumber business
In 2009 — Joel received a phone call from a former teammate and roommate at Oregon. On the other end was Ben Crane — asking Joel to caddie for him for two weeks on the PGA Tour. Joel didn’t know it then — but those two weeks were essentially an interview to caddie for Ben full-time. Joel got the job.
Joel is in his 15th year as a PGA Tour caddie — he had some great insight on the business and money of being a caddie.
Caddies are paid a weekly base fee when they are competing. Most caddies are paid between $1,500 and $2,000. Joel mentioned some could command more.
The most common weekly earnings rate is 7% of what a PGA Tour player makes that week and 10% for a win.
Looking at the year-to-date numbers before U.S. Open week — two PGA Tour caddies have made over $1 million this year. And Ted Scott, Scottie Scheffler’s caddie, has made around $1.4 million for the year. Ted’s year is good enough for 87th on the PGA Tour money list.
An additional income source for caddies is bonuses. At times, a PGA Tour player will pay out a bonus to their caddie.
Christmas
PGA Tour Status
High Playoff Finish
Let’s look at the money PGA Tour caddies can make off the course.
Have you seen a caddie wearing a Valspar hat? Valspar sponsors the Valspar Hat Program and pays out around $550,000 in yearly bonuses. The average annual payout for a caddie in the Valspar Hat Program is between $5,000 and $8,000. While some caddies make over $10,000 for wearing a Valspar hat.
The hat a caddie wears is typically their money maker for endorsements. A PGA Tour caddie for a top 20 player in the world can expect to make between $50,000 and $100,000 per year in endorsements.
Some contracts a PGA Tour player signs require the caddie to wear the respective brand’s hat. For example — a Nike-sponsored player will have a requirement from Nike of the player’s caddie to wear a Nike hat with no other logos.
Joel has only had a hat deal until recently. A few opportunities have presented themselves, including a one-year contract with apparel company Saxx.
Saxx has signed endorsement contracts with four PGA Tour caddies through the end of the year. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed — but each caddie has a $1,000-a-month allowance to hand out free products to other caddies, family, and friends. Saxx is also donating $100 for every birdie made by the caddies' players during the remainder of the professional golf season to the Testicular Cancer Foundation.
Most PGA Tour caddies spend between $1,000 and $2,000 per week on expenses. Joel estimates that he averages $1,500 per tournament on expenses. Airfare and lodging are the most expensive line items on expenses.
When it comes to lodging — Joel almost always stays with someone. Whether in a hotel room with another caddie or a group of caddies renting a house.
PGA Tour caddies are running their own business. Most caddies have an LLC or S-Corp to run their revenue and expenses through.
Caddies do not have health insurance — although the PGA Tour has a payback policy where they will pay a percentage of a caddie’s health insurance. Being a solo business owner — they do not have a company-sponsored retirement plan. Joel puts money into an IRA to save for retirement.
With Will Zalatoris being out for several months due to injury — I asked Joel how that has impacted him from a financial standpoint. Joel has welcomed the time off after traveling for 20 to 30 weeks per year for the last 15 years. His wife is a teacher — he has enjoyed spending time with his family.
Joel has also filled in a few times for other caddies. And he told me, “Will did something very nice for me.” Leaving it up to our imagination what that nice thing is.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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