Caddies wanted: NZ PGA Championship puts call out

Approximately 80 caddies are needed for the NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship. Photo / Getty Images

The Hills course in Queenstown is ready for this month's NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship, as are the players and officials. Now all that is required is the small matter of approximately 80 caddies.

The championship, starting on March 29, is part of the Australasian PGA Tour and has attracted entries from some of the world's top professionals, as well as amateurs including Hollywood star Don Cheadle, several former All Blacks and other sporting, media and business notables.

But caddies are needed for all four days of the competition plus at least one practice round, and would need to be in Queenstown from March 27 until the tournament finishes on April 1.

Caddy Master and golf professional Andrew Whiley said caddying at the NZ PGA Pro-Am offered golfers and even non-golfers - as long as they understood the sport - a fantastic opportunity to experience the competition from the inside.

"Caddying is as close as you can get to the heat of the competition,'' he said.

"In no other sport can you get onto the field and close to action like this, and it's very exciting to be part of it, particularly for aspiring young golfers.

"The week promises to be very special, set in the magnificent environment of The Hills and working with great golfers and great people.''

Whiley said he was looking for people who were fit and able to carry a golf professional's tour bag around the course.

"While this is a wonderful opportunity for young golfers, age is not an issue, but keeping to the caddy mantra can be. A good caddy is able to keep up and shut up.''

Tournament director Michael Glading said the caddy programme would also be a great experience for the invited amateurs, many of which, have not previously played with a caddy.

"It will be a very cool experience for the amateurs seeded to play on the Saturday and Sunday [March 31 and April 1]. It will be like having someone else on their team, someone who takes the pressure off when it comes to making sure the clubs are where they should be and the bunker is raked, for example.''

Caddies will be assigned to PGA professionals on the first two days and continue with them for the last two days if the golfer makes the final cut. For the caddies of players who miss the cut in the NZ PGA Championship event there will be an opportunity to continue caddying over the weekend in the Pro-Am event.