Recently the New York Times published an intriguing article about
the demise of black caddies in the game of golf. Golfs history is rich with
stories of black caddies; in the past golfs greats including Ben Crenshaw and
Arnold Palmer had black caddies. Jack Nicklaus even used a black caddie for his
first five Masters victories. Inopportunely, the demise of black caddies has
happened at a time when the prize money for tournaments is at an all-time high.
Today, PGA Tour caddies have the opportunity to make up to $100,000 a week. In addition
to the increased money within the sport of golf, the identity of the role a
caddie plays has become exceedingly more important.
Currently a great caddie is considered an essential
component for any golfer that seeks success at the major level. Nowadays, tour caddies are considered smart people;
they have to calculate distances in their heads, predict the impact the wind
will have on the ball, and conclude how the greens undulations will affect
their player’s putt. Caddying has
increased in prestige and popularity. Yet in the past when majority of the
caddies were black, caddying was thought of as a mundane, lower class job.
The recent debates and readings under the umbrella of race
and sport have presented me with the opportunity and skills needed to
critically analyze these circumstances. The demise of black caddies, the
current identity of caddies and the increased salary of caddies are all
related. As a sport management graduate student it’s important to know how to recognize,
understand, and combat issues like this.
Aaron Woodard
KIN 577
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