Traditionally the caddies at Augusta wear the same white boiler suits and green hats...But why?
Why Do The Caddies Wear White Boiler Suits At The Masters?
2021’s edition of The Masters tournament is nearly upon us in its normal April slot in the calendar. Last year’s event saw a very different tournament take place but one thing that remained then, and will continue in 2021, are the white boiler suits and green hats worn by the caddies.
But why exactly is this uniform used and when did it come about?
Well it used to be a widespread practice in Majors and at tour events that the players did not use their own caddies.
Instead the host golf clubs provided all the caddies for the players.
This practice mainly died out during the 1970s. The Masters became one of the last tournaments to change its policy on caddies.
Until the 1983 Masters tournament, all the caddies at The Masters were provided by the host club, Augusta National. Players were not allowed to bring their own caddie.
When it changed this policy, the Masters Tournament Committee still required all visiting caddies to wear the traditional uniform of the club’s own caddies.
This uniform is white overalls and a green cap, and is worn there all year round by the caddies. Or rather, for those months of the year that Augusta National is open to play – the course is traditionally closed between May and October.
The earliest caddies at Augusta National were poor black men drawn from the local community. The club had provided them with official uniforms to make them look smarter.
Related: Why Are The Augusta National Bunkers White?
This uniform thus became a tradition – and Augusta National does like its traditions.
Another one of these traditions is that the caddies have numbers on their overalls. The man carrying the bag of the defending champion always gets number one. The other numbers are allocated in the order that the caddies check in to register.
All the caddies in The Masters also have the name of the player that they are caddying for on the back of their overalls in green lettering.
The bagman’s uniform is not that different to that of the binmen at Augusta National. The binmen also wear green caps, but their overalls are yellow, not white.