Caddie Magazine is the creation of Melbourne photographer and passionate golfer William Watt. After running a daily blog for about five years, and working as a versatile graphic designer for a hospitality company, when the idea for Caddie came to him, William found himself perfectly placed to bring this ambitious idea to life.
Having been an ‘average’ player for about 15 years, William made a decision to give golf a ‘proper go’ in 2014. The more he played, the more he loved it, and it wasn’t long before he found himself consumed by the sport, which included reading every magazine there was on the subject. ‘I was buying the various magazines out there, like Golf Digest etc, and I found they could only hold my attention for about 10 minutes before being discarded.’ William recalls. Then, while travelling through Berlin, he went to the famous mag store ‘Do you read me?’ and was inspired by the incredible independent magazines from all over the world on every topic imaginable. ‘Why couldn’t golf, a game with such a global reach and eclectic community, have something of this standard?’ he wondered.
Later that summer, whilst chatting with one of his eventual co-founders, Jane Knight, about her experience getting into golf, William realised how male-dominated golf can be. ‘When buying a new set of clubs, Jane was asked several times if they were a gift for her father or husband… That didn’t make sense to me – it’s a game for everyone, any age, skill level, gender, whatever.’
Together with Jane, a mate from his street photography days Dave Carswell, and school friend and amazing writer Cam Hassard, Caddie’s first print issue was launched in 2015, offering a fresh, editorial and non-gendered approach to the game.
‘As a starting point’ William explains, ‘we want each volume to be a truly great read’. To this end, the photography, print quality, design but most importantly the storytelling is utterly compelling. ‘My focus initially was very much on the aesthetic we were trying to create. But I’ve learnt through conversations and constant feedback that it’s the stories that bring people back for second and third reads’ William says.
Case in point – the latest issue includes words and pictures by Walkley award-winning Australian war photographer Andrew Quilty, documenting the golfing scene in Kabul, Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. Now THAT’S a story worth telling.
Caddie Magazine is biannual, with releases on June 1st and December 1st. Subscribe online (The perfect last minute gift idea for Dad!), or buy at stockists listed here.
