Caddie or Caddy: How to Correctly Spell The Term For Your Golf Partner

Rickie Fowler(Right) and his caddie, Joe Skovron(left).

Is it Caddie or Caddy?

In golf, the correct spelling is "caddie". It's very common for the words "caddie" and "caddy" to be used interchangeably. These two words, however, do not have the same meaning. This is largely due to the fact that homophones are a tricky part of the English language. Have you ever wondered: "did I even spell that correctly?" If so, you are not alone. In this post, we'll tackle the true meaning of both words and resolve this once and for all.

What is a Caddie?

A caddie, according to numerous dictionary sources, is a person hired to carry a golfer's bag and equipment. From experience though, most of us that have caddied in the past have learned that a caddie is so much more than that.  To name just a few responsibilities, a good caddie:

• is an expert at reading greens
• uses eagle eyes to find golf balls
• is a magician when it comes to repairing divots 
• Is excellent at using a divot tool to repair ball marks on the green
• has an extensive understanding of the newest rules of the game
• knows the course inside out
• knows how to rake bunkers properly, removing any trace of footprints or signs of play
• is ever aware of how far his golfer hits each club
• is an expert decision maker, especially in match play situations

To sum it all up a caddie is a golfer's most trusted advisor, ever ready to make sound decisions and steer the golfer in the right direction, if situations of uncertainty arise.

What is a Caddy?

This term has nothing to do with golf and tends to have a slightly different meaning depending on where you look. Grammerist.com defines caddy as a small holder for tea. Dictionary.com, however, defines it as a small storage container, which could hold anything from tools to hygiene products. This spelling could also be used to refer to the car brand Cadillac, which is quite common. None of these should be confused with your most trusted advisor on the golf course.

What We Learned

Whenever we're talking about golf, "caddie" is the correct term used to refer to the person that assists the golfer on the golf course. So, be careful not to mistakenly refer to you most trusted golf advisor as a small container for holding tea. If you think I've missed some key responsibilities of a caddie, please leave a comment with some of the responsibilities you've had when you caddied.