How much are PGA Tour caddies paid and what are the realities of carrying a bag?

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Ben Griffin and caddie

Ever wanted to caddie on tour?

For many it is a dream but we all know that there are many mysteries lurking around the caddyshack.

Fortunately, Ben Griffin’s caddie Bryan Kopsick, known as InvestingCaddy on X, is one of the great social media follows and he’s always happy to pull back the curtains and reveal the real world existence of elite level bag carrying.

He recently wrote this on X:

“How much are PGA Tour caddies paid?

Ben’s 2024 earnings – $1,262,599
Events played – 24

$1,262,599 x .08 = $101,007.92
24 events x $2,000 = $48,000.00

Total on course earnings $149,007.92

This does not include sponsorship/off course income OR travel expenses

Ask whatever”

Just to explain, those figures reveal that Kopsick gets 8% of Griffin’s earnings on top of a standard fee of $2,000.

He quickly added: “Forecasting my total travel/professional expenses to be ~$50,000 for the year.”

That makes his earnings for the year to be about $100,000.

All very intriguing and he added:

“The more fun one was KFT tour. Last three years:

2021- $74,890
2022- $23,936
2023- $522,828

Those are HIS (Griffin’s) earnings.”

In other words, the PGA Tour is where the money is.

Q&A session on ‘X’

It all became even more interesting when Kopsick answered questions. Here are some of the best.

@MrBradThomas: “Do higher earning golfers ever take care of travel for the caddies? Like the ones taking private jets and staying in the houses each week?”

Kopsick: “Some tag along on the (private jets) for free but 99.9% of us are flying on our own dime commercially. Once this year we got stuck during the Delta outage and I got on the private plane for free. First time I’d ever done that … it was quite cool.”

@StriderChick: “Which day is the worst for you?”

Kopsick: “Mondays are the longest days usually with travel to the next event and getting to course to do some work. Occasionally those Monday evening walks are the best times though and where I can get great work in. All depends on if it’s like a 4-5 hour travel or 10-11.”

@sidecarcap: “What, if any, differences do you see in the mental game at various levels of pro golf?”

Kopsick: “High level pros are able to get to a flow/alpha state and stay there for a longer period of time. i.e they can play a lot of holes without thinking “f**k I’m playing really really good what am I doing right.” I see less physical/visual frustration out of top players too.”

@Danley007: “I caddied in 1993. Got paid $400 a week base. 5% of winnings if cut made. 8% if top 10. 10% for a win. I made it 8 events. Had to quit. 2 cuts made. An extra $200. Couldn’t financially make it work. However, one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

Kopsick: “It’s hard! We missed like 7 of my first 9 cuts together and after expenses I think Ben and I both lost money. Lost $ my first 2ish years doing it. I’m so grateful to have hung on and had support system at home to let me do this crazy thing.”

@PeteAnRepete: “How did you manage that percentage? Haven’t heard of many guys that stray from the 5/7/10.”

Kopsick: “All what the player wants to pay. Ben is a great guy.”

@nuggetpalooza: “I guess my question is two-fold: 1) Are you happy? 2) Do you feel this wage is fair?”

Kopsick: “1. F**k yes I am. I have the coolest job in the entire world 2. Oh yes I do. Beyond fair. I have zero pro golf talent and can eat ice cream the night before a round.”

@CrownTown_nft: “How much prep each week?”

Kopsick: “I spend probably 30 hours working before the tournament starts. Prep work can be walking course, looking at stats/shot link data, practising with the player etc. I’ve only worked for Ben professionally.”

@golfingalldayf1: “Are expenses substantially cheaper on the KFT?”

Kopsick: “I spent about $32,000 on KFT last year and that’s with a lot of free housing and less events. Yardage books are extra expense plus housing. Flights are a little more because I do treat myself if the price is right to a better seat.”

Ben Griffin’s bag: here’s what Kopsick carries

Driver – Mizuno ST-X 230
3-wood – TaylorMade Qi10 Fairway – BUY HERE
Fairway woods – TaylorMade Stealth
Irons – Mizuno Pro 241
Wedges – Muzuno T22
60 degree – TaylorMade Milled Grind 4
Putter – Scotty Cameron Tour Only Concept 2 GSS

Mizuno Scotty Cameron TaylorMade

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