I'm not cheap enough to take a caddie. I can't afford the $100 a round the guy deserves and can't morally pay any less. As a union contractor I know a little something about pricing yourself out of the market. Like I have said many times before, it is the one occupation once dominated by minorities that is now lily white. An obvious sign of over pricing.
I can't fault you for calling it as you see it, but that last bit tells me you don't see very much outside your regular sphere. I say that because in the 100 established clubs within a 30 mile radius of Central Park,your statement of demographics, "now lily white," couldn't be more misstated. I have caddied in this district for 35 years; I was a caddiemaster for 16 of those years; I trained new caddies for the MGA at their Caddie Academies for a handful of these years. I've called six or seven clubs "home" during that time and became intimately familiar with the day-in, day-out operations of about 40 of those 100...
Sorry for the resume, but that's to foundation my report which sees: about 45% African-American, about 30% Latino-Hispanic, about 25% White. I could break it down by ages there too, but it's not germane.
But as to the original question, and some of the response therein, I think this:
A. I completely understand both the cost and interference factor a randomly assigned caddie can yield. They are mostly unnecessary and expensive for me too, as you can imagine. And while I've never been, I hear the resort courses are indeed populated by many 30 and 40-year old leathery white guys who are called "pro jocks" and all the pejoratives it implies.
B. I really think the Caddie relationship to a player is best enjoyed in the familiar setting...be it a young guy, an old guy, a white guy, a latino guy or what have you, the most rewarding experiences are probably NOT for the visitor but for the member who knows nothing else and whom enjoys the caddie corps for who they are--like a bunch of guys who you are in your softball league on different teams over the years.
C. Yet the question really did revolve around the visitor, the guest, the architectural voyeur who wants to "experience" the course; there I say that those who feel that they do this best alone...are on a small ego trip about their own experience. I can understand resisting a talkative sort with all sorts of unsolicited info, and reads and so forth. But Christ, one is kind of stupid to not use a veteran caddie as a resource for those investigations.
D. I know most of the competition players (both inside and outside the club) value an experienced caddie at these courses...they don't want a bored white teenager or a guy who doesn't understand the nuances of a round as it reveals itself on the course, or some such.
E. And there is then...the unaccompanied player...certainly there are divots and ball marks to clean up, as well as cart traffic to guide, the reminders of slow play and there are other expedient measures that a large outsiders' crowd on a private course make necessary. I remember that Bill Gallo, the old sports cartoonist for the NY Daily News tried to drive his cart over a FOOTbridge, and crashed off the side into a creek...he was just shaken up, his passenger had to be hospitalized.
cheers
vk