Insider: Caddie magazine

Sports magazines make up a large chunk of the publications we come across, as enthusiasts of cycling, basketball and football pour their passion out onto the pages. Now, a new title from Australia is giving golf the indie mag treatment. For their first issue, Caddie magazine has traversed the globe in search of the greens with the best stories to tell.

From golf courses in the Arctic Circle, to an ancient driving range in Intramuros, the walled city in the Philippines, it examines the history and sociology of the sport, alongside tidbits like indigenous plant species and the best golf films. We asked editor-in-chief William Watt to tell us about the making of this issue.

In the making of this issue we:

Explored…
Golf is a game rich in history, so we went back to the origins of the game at St. Andrews, Scotland to provide some historical context for what we were doing. We aim to shake up the game a little, but we want to do it in a way that respects the traditions of golf. We also explored some of the extremes of the game, from the Arctic Circle of Norway, to the tropics of Fiji, to the bustle of Manilla and Hong Kong.

Listened to…
War on Drugs, Future Islands, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and it must be admitted, Billy Joel.

Got sidetracked by…
Actually getting out and playing golf, which was something I wasn’t prepared to give up to make the magazine happen. This probably contributed to the 18 month development cycle but also provided some of the stories that went into Volume One.

Worked from…
Caddie was put together across three continents through weekly online ‘hangouts’. The whole production team have actually only met once during a family visit to Melbourne last summer.

Met…
As industry outsiders, we’ve met a wide range of people from within the golf industry, most of whom have been great to deal with. There’s definitely a bit of an old-boys club in some parts, but things are beginning to change.

Learned…
We learned a lot about the time, cost and effort involved in creating a physical product for market. Starting out it all seems pretty straightforward, and it is really, it’s just that every step takes a lot longer than you anticipate and requires a lot more of your attention than you might like.

Were excited about…
Waiting for that first shipment was pretty damn exciting — to see more than a year of effort come to something that you can hold is incredibly satisfying and nerve-wracking at the same time. After the first read I was relieved it met my expectations (although a tad bummed about a typo we missed).

Wish that we had…
We probably wasted a lot of time initially pitching the idea to brands that just didn’t get it or weren’t appropriate for what we were producing. If I had my time again I think we would focus on getting to print earlier and taking it to brands later.

Couldn’t stop laughing at…
Everyone we pitched the idea to told us, word for word, that the magazine was ‘a great idea’. After hearing it a dozen times we started cracking up anytime we heard it.

And everyone should buy a copy because…
We think Volume One is a great read, whether you’re a mad golfer or have never swung a stick. We reckon golf is a game for everyone and that’s reflected in the broad range of stories we cover. Plus it looks great on your table and smells nice!

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