Caddy Cachet

by Corey Grice

Renowned Resorts Are Restoring the Classic Charm of the Caddy

While studying history in college, John Kriz worked as a restaurant waiter to pay the bills. He knows that if the food is good but the service is terrible, it can make or break a meal

After leaving a job in 2003 of which he “hated every day” to pursue a career as a golf caddy at one of the West Coast’s premier public resorts, Kriz soon discovered that the same is true in the multi-million dollar golf travel industry where attention to detail is a critical element of the business.

An increasing number of top-tier U.S. golf resorts are offering caddy programs to attract upscale clientele — and the trend is reviving an age-old art in the process.

The golfer’s assistant — a longtime fixture at private clubs but less common at public facilities — withered over the years as would-be caddies embraced education over labor, and golf courses favored the profit of the power cart over the lousy reputation of the “looper.”

Today, a more professional and strategically significant caddy is emerging. “A premier facility needs to offer a premier experience; we think we enhance that with the caddy program,” says Billy Dettlaff, general manager and director of golf at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. “It’s becoming more of a trend at the higher properties and I think it will continue. It’s just a good business decision.”

Modern resorts relish the unique experience that caddy services offer their discerning daily-fee guests. But more important than increasing resort revenue (expect to pay at least $50), caddies care for course conditions, speed the pace of play and improve customer satisfaction. All of this encourages return business, the goal of any company in the hospitality industry.

The business benefits of top-notch customer service and the competitive edge of offering a memorable experience, combined with the public’s penchant for luxury, have conspired to make caddies cool again. Now many classy courses are catching the craze.

The TPC at Sawgrass, the most famous of more than two dozen PGA Tour-owned public courses and private clubs and home to The Players Championship, began offering caddies to resort guests for the first time in January. “We are extremely pleased so far,” Dettlaff says. “We hope to spread it to additional (TPC) resorts.”

Lake Las Vegas Resort, about 15 miles from Las Vegas in Henderson, Nev., started offering caddy service in February. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, a ritzy retreat in Southern California, added caddies in late 2005 as part of a $90 million renovation. And representatives at real estate investment company The Irvine Company say a caddy program is being considered for Pelican Hill Golf Club in Orange County, Calif., where two existing Tom Fazio-designed oceanfront courses will serve as the centerpiece of a new destination golf resort scheduled to reopen in late 2007 as Pelican Hill at Newport Coast.

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which opened in 1999 and boasts three of the world’s most highly-rated courses, is a walking-only facility on the Oregon coast with a strong caddy program that contributes to its growing, global reputation as a haven for golf purists. “People come here because it’s unique and authentic, and our caddies are a big part of the entirety of the experience. It’s one of the reasons we’re so successful,” says Ken Brooke, director of caddy services at Bandon Dunes.

Other destinations such as the Pebble Beach Resorts, Pinehurst Resort, The Ritz-Carlton golf properties, The Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho and Doral Golf Resort & Spa and PGA National Resort & Spa, both in Florida, have successfully offered caddies to vacationers for years.

Brand Ambassadors on the Bag

In this era of carefully crafted corporate images and multifaceted marketing messages, the caddy is a golf resort’s frontline customer service representative.

“We feel as though it’s very important to our branding,” Dettlaff says. “Really, each caddy is a club ambassador. We also turn them into storytellers. The caddies envelope our guests in some of the great history of this golf course and point out places where famous shots were hit.”

Beyond the basic service of carrying and cleaning golf clubs, a caddy’s local knowledge and gentle advice can help average players enjoy a memorable round and improve their score. After all, when guests go low, they like a resort even more. “When they have a better time, they feel better about your property — your whole property,” says Mike Granuzzo, president and CEO at Caddie Master Enterprises, a Pinehurst, N.C.-based caddy management company. “Resorts want a service that’s synonymous with the reputation of their property.”

By providing useful information about the course, nearby sights and even restaurant recommendations, the resort course caddy is a concierge, historian and tour guide in one. For example, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando Grande Lakes markets its service as “a unique Golf Caddy Concierge Program in place to enhance the round of golf.”
Kriz, the 27-year-old caddy who works summers at Bandon Dunes, describes his role as part sports psychologist, part entertainer. “More than anything, you want the guests to have a good time,” he says. “When they’re having fun, you’re having fun, you make more money and everyone has a better day.”

Offering caddy service enables resort operators to differentiate their facility from other golf course competitors in the chase for corporate outings and consumers’ recreational dollars. And caddies provide resorts with an edge after they have taken their other amenities to the max. “Your grass can only be so green and your service people can only be so friendly,” Granuzzo insists.

The cachet of a caddy also helps justify the skyrocketing rates at respected resorts where a day of golf can cost upward of $200. In fact, some destinations now require the use of forecaddies — not a traditional bag-carrying caddy but a spotter who watches from the fairway to see where golf balls land, replaces divots and carries out other tasks. With forecaddies, fees often are built-in.

Sawgrass’ Dettlaff says: “Players come here with a high level of anticipation. It can be a once-in-a-lifetime — or just once a year — opportunity to walk in the footsteps of some of the best golfers in the world. It gives them that PGA Tour experience. If we can re-create that experience, that’s an opportunity a lot of people are going to want to take.”

Building the Business

Although caddies generate additional revenue for a resort — often another 15 percent or more above basic golf rates — operators admit that a caddy program is more important from a service standpoint than boosting profits.

“We aren’t trying to raise a lot of additional revenue with the caddies,” Dettlaff says. “We’re just trying to break even.” Meanwhile, Bandon Dunes collects no revenue from caddies, who are paid directly by guests, according to Brooke.

Motorized golf carts, with their low maintenance costs and high profit potential, for years have proven too lucrative to part with. Carts are included in the basic golf fees at many resorts and aren’t going away. Hiring a caddy generally comes at an additional cost. “We’ve structured our pricing to protect our cart fee,” Dettlaff explains.

Regardless of the business objective, resorts have shown that caddies can coexist with carts — or even replace them. “The general rule was you had to have carts. It’s a revenue stream, and guests expected them,” says Bandon’s Brooke. “But we proved that if you do it right, walking-only is not a bad concept.”
The success of the caddy program at Bandon Dunes, where caddies work more than half the golf rounds annually, has prompted the resort to construct a $1 million facility for its approximately 300 caddies who will enjoy comfort and camaraderie among the new offices, locker rooms, TV lounge and cafeteria.

In order to simplify the business decisions about a caddy program, many resorts are turning to one of several management agencies. Caddie Master Enterprises is a contractor to high-end golf resorts including Pebble Beach Resorts, Sea Island Resorts, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Whistling Straits and many others.

The 13-year-old company handles all aspects of a caddy program — advertising, interviewing, hiring and training caddies — so that resort operators can focus on providing great golf and luxury lodging. Caddie Master Enterprises provides full-time managers on site at each client course and brings conventional business practices to a profession that historically was loosely run.

“Assets were under allocated to caddy programs for years and, consequently, caddy experiences have been hit or miss. It’s evolved tremendously in the last 10 years,” Caddie Master’s Granuzzo says. “Caddies leave a lasting impression on the guest and encourage players to return or tell others about the experience, which is the best marketing of all.”

Nostalgia or Novelty?

For average resort course players, the opportunity to emulate professional golfers is part of the appeal of hiring a caddy for the day. However, the trend also reflects broader social and economic inclinations.
More people today are willing to pay a premium for products and services associated with an upscale lifestyle whether in fashion, dining, travel, real estate — or recreation. Splurging for a caddy while on vacation is further evidence of a middle-class longing for luxury. For some, the caddy is simply a symbol of success. At the same time, the public’s infatuation with all things retro has fueled the resurgence of this golfing tradition of yesteryear.

From “old school” ballparks to throwback uniforms and other redesigned everything-old-is-chic-again products (think Volkswagen’s New Beetle), consumers have a love affair with new twists on classic tastes. If the privileged few in an earlier era enjoyed the services of a caddy, then the modern work-a-day family man would sure like to give it a try.

Yet to be seen is whether caddies will remain a fixture at high-end golf resorts for decades to come. Time will tell if the appeal of a caddy is limited to business travelers buoyed by an executive expense account, or those seeking a rare birthday or bachelor party blowout.

For now, like their caddies who shoulder the load, it’s a burden many resorts are willing to bear. FG