a young golfer used Caddy Time to find a looper for a tournament Former LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman has invested in Caddy Time, a peer-to-peer marketplace that pairs golfers with area caddies on demand. With just 1% of North American courses offering caddie services, Caddy Time was launched four years ago to fill the gap. Amateurs look to hire a looper either to simply upgrade their recreational round experience—it’s the golf equivalent of flying first class— or to gain expert advice on reading putts and managing risk in tournament play. “I’ve dedicated my career to pushing boundaries both on and off the golf course. Joining a brand that shares my passion for performance and enhancing the golfer experience allows us to give back to the sport, driving it to new heights and elevating the future of the game,” Norman said. The Great White Shark who spent 331 weeks as World No. 1 over his career, second only to Tiger Woods, will also serve as a brand ambassador. Caddy Time CEO Brett Jaffee, clearly buzzing with excitement over earning the golf legend’s stamp of approval, called the newly forged partnership ‘surreal’ and admitted he wasn’t exactly sure how it all came together. While previous deals—including linking up with The PGA of Canada, the Korn Ferry Tour, and the World Golf Competition—helped validate the startup’s concept, Norman’s backing marks a whole new level of industry acceptance. “Very quickly it was evident that Greg got the vision—it fit his brand—and talks just continued to progress to the point that we got ourselves into really talking about the deal. We are pinching ourselves. It’s such a wonderful partnership,” Jaffee said. 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Those [issues] haunt amateur golf facilities, and adding caddies addresses all three in one fell swoop.” Golfers looking to hire a caddie for an upcoming round, plug in their tee time info, including specific preferences to tailor the experience—whether they’re seeking a caddie to lean on for risk/reward strategy and green reading or simply someone to rake traps and serve as a second set of eyes to help track down balls. If a requirement is that they speak fluent Korean too, there’s an option to add that request. While it may take a couple days to get a match outside of major golf bastions, in high-demand areas it can be pretty quick. “If you wanted to post a round in Houston or Boca Raton right now, it wouldn’t last one minute,” Jaffee explained. “They would gobble it up—it is a shark frenzy in some cases. In Boca, they’re making $100, and it’s terrific money in Houston as well—probably $75. We have caddies in the New York area when that season opens up who will be making over $150 an hour. It’s a wonderful job if we can create more and more of them, we are just doing a benefit to the community.” On the caddie side, a vetting system helps filter out inexperienced prospective gig workers, and as with Uber, both parties can rate each other after a round. “We have a self-reported assessment developed by behavioral psychologists that looks at individuals’ golf knowledge, skills, and abilities. If you have a high knowledge, skill, and ability in golf, you’ll also be a very good caddie,” says Jaffee. On the final piece of the equation—golf clubs—Caddy Time is often welcomed with open arms as they benefit the overall operation. “We optimize pace of play, we deliver real-time repair to the course, and the integrity of the scores is optimized as well because too many of these charity tournaments are not fun to play in anymore," Jaffee said. "You come in and get pencil-whipped by the team that is 25 under—and also the most inebriated,” he joked. While currently focused on the domestic market, Caddy Time has already paired golfers with caddies across four continents, from Rio de Janeiro to Aqaba, Jordan. The company envisions expanding into Australia and New Zealand markets, where the Great White Shark—the greatest golfer ever from Down Under—provides instant credibility. “We can start growing these jobs in every nook and cranny that is a golf community," Jaffee enthused. In an era where technology is constantly creating new efficiencies, Caddy Time is proving that brokering caddie-player relationships can be simpler than teeing up a golf ball. And with Norman in the fold, the feeding frenzy is only beginning. Follow me on Twitter. Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades