ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 21: Andrew Novak of the United States speaks with his caddie Jeff Hamley on the first hole during the first round of the TOUR Championship 2025 at East Lake Golf Club on August 21, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
ISI Photos via Getty Images
In the last few decades, professional caddying at the tour level has evolved from transient work, with loopers changing from course to course, into long-term partnerships built on trust and teamwork.
“The chances of success in the caddie world are very slim,” professional caddie Jeff Hamley said during an interview with Break80 Golf. “You look at Ted Scott—he worked for years before Scottie Scheffler. The history for most caddies is many years with many golfers before finding success.”
Many of these partnerships evolve from friendships, with brothers or former teammates becoming caddies for aspiring professionals. Others begin through recruitment, as players change caddies and veteran loopers with lengthy résumés become available.
For one caddie on tour, the journey started with a PowerPoint presentation.
Jeff Hamley, the caddie for Andrew Novak, made a career pivot eight years ago. His plan was simple: leave his recruiting sales position to pursue his dream of becoming a professional caddie.
“I met a friend through a handyman of mine named Colton Hiese, who caddies on the PGA Tour for Ricky Castillo, and Colton said he could introduce me to a couple of players in a random last-minute situation,” Hamley said during an interview with Break80 Golf. “I told him, ‘Yeah, if that comes up, give me a call.’”
That journey began with a rushed trip to the Bahamas to caddie on the Korn Ferry Tour. Introduced to multiple players during the tournament, it was a chance conversation with Andrew Novak’s father at the airport that brought the two together.
Fruitful as it proved to be for his career, the trip to the Bahamas cost Hamley more than he earned in weekly pay and his percentage of winnings. The experience highlights the financial risk faced by aspiring caddies as they struggle to make ends meet, often sharing hotel rooms, rental cars, and other expenses with fellow caddies.
PGA Tour caddies receive a weekly stipend while actively working, typically ranging from $1,000 to $2,000 or more depending on the player and their earning level. They also receive approximately 8 to 10 percent of a player’s winnings. On developmental tours, where purses are significantly smaller, caddies earn considerably less.
“We had six caddies staying in a two-bedroom house that week, so the room was cheap, but the flight and the food were not,” Hamley said. “I made $900 that week but spent $1,700.”
After joining Novak’s bag, Hamley spent time learning from some of the profession’s best. He found several mentors, including Joe LaCava, Henry Diana, and Eric Larson, who served as role models as he learned the profession.
“I grew up playing a nine-hole inner-city muni course that really introduced me to the game at a young age,” Hamley said. “This course would have tournaments for juniors every Friday, and we would play in these tournaments. If one of us was doing better or got into a playoff, we would caddie for each other. I fell in love with the role at a very early age.”
The biggest adjustment from childhood caddying to the professional level was learning the mindset of elite players—a combination of fierce competitiveness and the confidence that every professional can compete with the best in the world. The technical skills were largely transferable from Hamley’s earlier playing and caddying experience.
The 2020 season was productive, with multiple top-15 finishes, including a victory, before the tour shut down because of COVID-19. Based on those strong finishes, Novak and Hamley appeared destined for the PGA Tour, but the pandemic delayed the graduating Korn Ferry Tour class of 2020 by an additional season.
The team reached the PGA Tour in the fall of 2021. During the 2021–22 season, Novak recorded four top-25 finishes and made 12 of 26 cuts. He added two top-10 finishes in 2023 before breaking through in 2024. With greater success and increased earnings came an even greater attention to detail.
“We did use the Pythagorean theorem one time earlier this year at Harbour Town,” Hamley said. “There is a tree on the 15th hole, a par 5, and we were trying to figure out if the 5-wood would have enough clearance. We use a lot of math. The focus is on creating a golf shot. How far is it? Where is the wind? What is the slope? They want to know what the facts are.”
Now an established PGA Tour player, Novak is ranked 85th in the world and has earned $13.5 million in career tour earnings. Hamley has even left a personal touch on Novak’s tour bag.
“We each have one thing. Andrew’s is a memento from his friend Kyle. Mine is a Stevie Williams golf ball—an extra ball hidden in the bag,” Hamley said.
From a dream to becoming the caddie for one of the PGA Tour’s rising players, Hamley’s story illustrates how preparation, persistence, and a willingness to take financial risks can turn a passion into a career.
Timothy is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf and sports writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. Timothy can be reached at break80podcast@gmail.com for inquiries or story leads.