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
Over the past few decades, professional caddying at the tour level has transformed from transient, week-to-work into enduring partnerships founded on trust and collaboration.
“The odds of making it as a caddie are incredibly slim,” Jeff Hamley, who works for Andrew Novak, said in an interview with Break80 Golf. “Look at Ted Scott—he spent years on the bag before linking up with Scottie Scheffler. For most, the path involves a long apprenticeship with multiple players before finding sustained success.”
These alliances often stem from pre-existing friendships, with brothers or former teammates stepping into the role. Others materialize through recruitment when veterans become available. For Hamley, however, the journey began with a PowerPoint presentation.
Eight years ago, Hamley left a career in recruiting sales to chase his dream of looping on tour. A connection through a handyman introduced him to Colton Hiese, a caddie for Ricky Castillo, who offered to put him in touch with players needing a last-minute fill-in.
That opportunity sent Hamley on a rushed trip to the Bahamas for a Korn Ferry Tour event. While the week introduced him to several players, a chance conversation with Andrew Novak’s father at the airport forged the partnership that defines his career today.
The trip was a financial loss—Hamley spent roughly $1,700 on travel and expenses against $900 in earnings—a stark illustration of the economic risk aspiring caddies shoulder. On developmental tours, where purses are smaller, loopers often share housing and rental cars to survive. Established PGA Tour caddies typically earn a weekly stipend of $1,000 to $2,000 plus 8 to 10 percent of winnings.
“We had six caddies crammed into a two-bedroom house, so the room was cheap, but the flights and food weren’t,” Hamley recalled.
Once on Novak’s bag, Hamley sought mentorship from some of the game’s most respected figures, including Joe LaCava, Henry Diana, and Eric Larson. His affinity for the role traces back to childhood, caddying for friends during junior tournaments at a nine-hole municipal course.
The leap to the professional level required mastering the mindset of elite competitors—a blend of fierce drive and the conviction that they belong among the world’s best. The technical fundamentals, however, translated seamlessly from his earlier experience.
The duo posted a strong 2020 campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour, highlighted by a victory and multiple top-15 finishes, only for the pandemic to delay their PGA Tour graduation by a year. They finally earned their cards in the fall of 2021. Novak made 12 of 26 cuts with four top-25s in his rookie season, added two top-10s in 2023, and broke through for a breakthrough 2024 campaign.
With greater success came heightened precision. Hamley revealed the pair once employed the Pythagorean theorem at Harbour Town’s 15th hole to calculate whether a 5-wood would clear a troublesome tree.
“We use a lot of math,” Hamley said. “The focus is on creating a golf shot. How far is it? Where is the wind? What is the slope? They want to know the facts.”
Now a fixture on the PGA Tour, Novak sits 85th in the Official World Golf Ranking with over $13.5 million in career earnings. Hamley has even left a personal signature on the bag: a Stevie Williams golf ball tucked away as a good-luck charm, sitting alongside a memento from Novak’s friend Kyle.
From a career pivot sparked by a slide deck to the caddie for one of the tour’s rising stars, Hamley’s story underscores how preparation, persistence, and a willingness to bet on oneself can turn a lifelong passion into a profession.
