Caddying for Your Own Junior Golfer, Without Becoming the Problem

The Rules of Golf start from yes. Rule 10.3a says “A player may have a caddie to carry, transport and handle their clubs, give advice and help them in other ways allowed during a round”. The same Rule then points to a Local Rule a committee may adopt “prohibiting or requiring the use of caddies or restricting a player’s choice of caddie”, and The R&A’s model wording for it gives “not allowing a parent, relative or another player in the competition” as an example of a limit.

So permission is the organizer’s decision, and junior organizers use all three options. We read six organizers’ own pages on October 11, 2026: three are set out here and three in the next section. The words in quotation marks are theirs. Each policy is that organizer’s alone: none of them tells you what another tour does.

U.S. Kids Golf, Local Tours: Tournaments FAQ, Local Tour Rules & Regulations, Caddie Tips, Caddie Conduct and Report Form, read October 11, 2026

AJGA: Conditions of Competition and Local Rules for AJGA Championships, Spectator Code of Conduct, read October 11, 2026

Drive, Chip and Putt: Frequently Asked Questions, read October 11, 2026

The other three organizers follow in the next section, with what the six pages say when read together.

These three were read the same way, on October 11, 2026, and the words in quotation marks are the organizer’s own.

Hurricane Junior Golf Tour (HJGT): Hurricane Junior Golf Tour Policies, read October 11, 2026

Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) Junior Tour: Junior Tour Membership Policies, Divisions, read October 11, 2026

USGA: U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior: Are Caddies Allowed?, read October 11, 2026

Read together, the six pages say this:

• Two allow a parent on the bag. U.S. Kids Golf on its Local Tours, where a player 8 or under must have a caddie, and the GSGA Junior Tour in its Beginner and nine-hole Intermediate divisions.
• One allows a caddie by age and does not say who. The HJGT’s policies page covers players 13 and under.
• Two do not allow a caddie. The AJGA, unless its national headquarters permits one, and Drive, Chip and Putt at its qualifying stages.
• One allows a caddie but not a parent. The USGA, at the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
• Only one states a minimum age. U.S. Kids Golf says 15.

For any event not on this list, and for any level of event these pages do not cover, ask the tournament office three things: may a player in this age division have a caddie, may it be a parent, and is there a minimum age. Get the answer for the specific event and division, not for the tour in general.

Under the Rules, what you do decides which one you are. The definition of a caddie says: “A person who carries, transports (such as by cart or trolley) or handles a player’s clubs during play is the player’s caddie even if not named as a caddie by the player, except when done to move the player’s clubs, bag or cart out of the way or as a courtesy (such as getting a club the player left behind).” Where caddies are not allowed, carrying the clubs is the thing to avoid.

Rule 10.3a draws the other side of the line. A person who “walks or rides along with the player or who carries other things for the player (such as a rain-suit, umbrella or food and drink) is not the player’s caddie unless they are named as such by the player or also carries, transports or handles the player’s clubs”. Whether you may walk along at all is the organizer’s spectator policy.

The difference shows up in advice:

• What advice is. The definition: “Any verbal comment or action (such as showing what club was just used to make a stroke) that is intended to influence a player in” choosing a club, making a stroke, or deciding how to play during a hole or round. It “does not include public information”, such as the location of things on the course, “The distance from one point to another”, wind direction, or the Rules.
• Who the player may ask. Rule 10.2a says that during a round a player must not “Ask anyone for advice, other than the player’s caddie”. The caddie definition calls a caddie “the only person (other than a partner or partner's caddie) a player may ask for advice”.
• The line of play. Rule 10.2b says “The player must not get help with the line of play or other directional information from any person other than their caddie”, with limited exceptions.
• When it applies. During a round. Rule 10.2a “does not apply before a round, while play is stopped under Rule 5.7a or between rounds in a competition”.
• The penalty. A breach of Rule 10.2 carries the general penalty, which the Rules define as “Loss of hole in match play or two penalty strokes in stroke play.” It is the player who gets it.

Organizers add their own spectator terms on top. U.S. Kids Golf’s Local Tour rule sheet says “Spectators may not give players advice during the round. Spectators are not permitted to walk in the fairway or on the greens.” Our guide to parent rules at junior tournaments covers watching from outside the ropes. If you would rather play alongside than carry or watch, a parent-child tournament makes you a partner, which is a third thing again.

Rule 10.3 states its own purpose: “The player may have a caddie to carry the player’s clubs and give advice and other help during the round, but there are limits to what the caddie is allowed to do. The player is responsible for the caddie’s actions during the round and will get a penalty if the caddie breaches the Rules.” Rule 10.3b then gives three lists, which it calls examples.

Always allowed. Among the actions the Rule lists:

• “Carry, transport and handle the player’s clubs and other equipment (including driving a cart or pulling a trolley).”
• “Search for the player’s ball”
• “Give information, advice and other help before the stroke is made”
• “Smooth bunkers or take other actions to care for the course”
• “Remove or attend the flagstick”
• “Mark the spot of the player’s ball and lift and replace the ball on the putting green”
• “Clean the player’s ball”
• “Remove loose impediments and movable obstructions”

Only with the player’s authorization, which must be “given specifically each time rather than given generally for a round”:

• “Restore conditions that were worsened after the player’s ball came to rest”
• “When the player’s ball is anywhere except on the putting green, lift the player’s ball under a Rule requiring it to be replaced”

Not allowed. A caddie may not take these actions for the player:

• “Concede the next stroke, a hole or the match to the opponent or agree with the opponent on the match score”
• “Replace a ball, unless the caddie had lifted or moved the ball”
• “Drop or place a ball in taking relief”
• “Decide to take relief under a Rule”. Here the Rule adds that “the caddie may advise the player to do so, but the player must decide”.

Rule 10.2b sets limits around the stroke itself. They are the ones to learn before the first tee:

• No object on the ground for aim. When helping with the line of play, “The caddie must not set an object down to provide such help”.
• Not behind the ball for aim. From the moment the player begins taking a stance until the stroke is made, the caddie must not deliberately stand “on or close to an extension of the line of play behind the ball” to help with aiming.
• No physical help or shelter during the stroke. A player must not make a stroke “While getting physical help from their caddie or any other person”, or with the caddie deliberately positioned to “Give protection from sunlight, rain, wind or other elements”. Holding the umbrella over your golfer stops before the stroke.
• One caddie. “The player must not have more than one caddie at any one time.”

And the rule that should shape everything else you do: “If the caddie's action breaches a Rule or would breach a Rule if the action was taken by the player, the player gets the penalty under that Rule.” An organizer can narrow the job further. The HJGT’s page, for one, says caddies may not “get involved in ANY RULINGS”, and U.S. Kids Golf’s rule sheet limits what a player or caddie may use a cell phone for. Read the event’s own sheet.

This section is guidance. Nothing in it is a Rule of Golf. Where an organizer has said something on the point, we quote it. The rest is our own suggestion.

Two organizers put it in writing. U.S. Kids Golf’s Local Tour rule sheet says “Caddies are asked to please refrain from over-coaching the player”, and its Caddie Tips page asks caddies to “Encourage your player after both good and bad shots, and make sure he/she is having fun.” The GSGA Junior Tour’s policies give examples of over-coaching: “Physically positioning the player or club in preparation for a stroke”, “Simulating the technique of the golf swing with the player before or after a stroke” and “Having lengthy discussions with the player regarding club selection, method of play, etc.” Its stated aim for a caddie is to “work to have fun and keep the player having fun while allowing the player to learn and play his/her own game”.

Our suggestions follow from that:

• Swing instruction. Leave it for the practice area and the coach. A round is not a lesson.
• The decision. Give the yardage and the wind when asked, hand over the club the player names, and let the player choose. A caddie may give advice under the Rules, but being allowed to is not a reason to.
• The score. Write it down after the hole and leave it there. Do not add it up aloud.
• Your reactions. Aim to look and sound the same after a poor shot as after a good one: no sigh, no grimace, no muttered correction. Stand in the same place on a hard hole as on an easy one.
• A bad hole. Do less. Hand over the next club, give the yardage if asked, and let your golfer walk to the next tee at their own pace. If they want to talk, listen. A few calm words and a move to the next shot are enough.
• The debrief. Save it for later, if there is one at all. Our car ride home guide covers that conversation.

This is our own worksheet, not an organizer’s form. Sit down with your golfer before the event and settle each question. The second column is a suggested starting point. Your golfer’s answer is the one that counts.

The checklist. Before you leave home:

• Permission, for this event and this division. May the player have a caddie, may it be a parent, is there a minimum age, and does the caddie need a bib or to be named before the first tee shot?
• The event’s rule sheet. Read what it says about carts for caddies, cell phones, distance-measuring devices and dress. U.S. Kids Golf’s Local Tour sheet, for one, applies its dress code to “PLAYERS AND CADDIES”.
• The clubs. Count them. Rule 4.1b says a player must not “Start a round with more than 14 clubs”, and the limit “includes all clubs carried by or for the player”.
• Your pockets and the bag. U.S. Kids Golf’s Caddie Tips list “some tees, a golf ball, a divot repair tool, a pencil, and a coin or ballmarker”, and “snacks, drinks, and sunscreen for you and your player”. Add rain gear and a towel.
• The scorecard. Know who is marking your golfer’s card and whose card your golfer is marking. Under Rule 3.3b it is the player who certifies the hole scores and returns the card.
• The clock. Ask the organizer when to arrive. U.S. Kids Golf’s page suggests “about an hour before your player's tee time” and being at the starting tee “at least 10 minutes before the player's tee time”.

Our etiquette guide for a first competitive round covers what the player needs to know on the tee and the green.

No Rule sets an age at which a parent stops caddying. Some organizers settle it for you at their events: the AJGA’s local rules do not allow a caddie unless its headquarters permits one, and the USGA does not allow a parent to caddie at its two junior championships. Everywhere else it is a family decision, and the simplest way to make it is to ask.

Ask your golfer directly whether they want you on the bag for a given event, and accept the answer. Wanting to play a round alone, or with a different caddie, is not a rejection of you. Walking as a spectator, where the event allows it, is one step back, and sitting a round out is another. Our guide to how much parents should watch covers the same question from outside the ropes.

Caddying for other golfers as a job is a different subject. If your teenager is interested, our guide to becoming a youth golf caddie covers how a teenager joins a club’s caddie program, and the Evans Scholarship guide covers the scholarship for caddies.