There are golf courses, and then there are experiences. Lofoten Links, perched on the rugged Norwegian archipelago above the Arctic Circle firmly belongs to the latter category! With dramatic mountain backdrops, midnight sun, and fairways carved through one of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes, it has already broken into the top 100 courses in the world. And behind the scenes, helping shape an elite caddie service to match that reputation, is Allen Ruegg.
Picturesque Lofoten Links, ranked inside the world’s top 100 golf courses
From Cabot Cape Breton to Norway
Allen is no stranger to world-class golf. Before arriving at Lofoten Links, he served as Caddie Master at Cabot Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada, one of North America’s most celebrated resort destinations. That experience gave him a blueprint for what a premium caddie programme looks like at scale. Now, with Lofoten Links still in its growth phase as an emerging global resort, Allen is laying that same foundation on Norwegian soil.
Graham Curry, CEO of Handicaddie sat down with Allen to hear about his experience building the programme, what life looks like running a caddie operation under the midnight sun, and what he’d say to caddie masters who are still on the fence about making the switch to a dedicated caddie management system.
First impressions of Handicaddie
Graham: Allen, before you implemented Handicaddie, what were your initial thoughts? Did you have any concerns going in?
Allen: Honestly, not really. I think we’re in a pretty unique position here because the programme was still very new when we started, I had only just launched it. So the manual workload wasn’t overwhelming yet. But having been a caddiemaster at a busier property before, I understood the value immediately. I thought, this is going to be really beneficial when we grow. It just eliminates so much of the back-and-forth, individually asking caddies for their availability, keeping track of who’s free, that alone is a no-brainer from an efficiency standpoint.
Comparing tools: Caddy Central vs Handicaddie
You mentioned you’d used caddie management software before at Cabot. How did that experience shape your approach here?
Allen: The software I used back then, Caddy Central, I think it was called, was pretty dated. It was just a website, no app component, and I had to go in and manually create each booking individually. It was much more labour-intensive. So coming into this with Handicaddie, the difference was immediately noticeable. It’s a much cleaner, more seamless setup. The update that happened a couple of months ago made it even better, I can’t even remember what it looked like before, it’s just so much more intuitive now.
A day in the life under the midnight sun
What does a typical day look like for you using our system?
Allen: So I started the winter by sending out email blasts to golfers in the US, Canada, and the UK to promote the caddie programme here. As those requests come in, I go into Handicaddie, find the day, add the request, and then handle the scheduling further down the line. It’s simple, just pick the day and add it.
Communicating with caddies
You mentioned the messaging feature inside Handicaddie — something you haven’t fully used yet. How are you communicating with your caddies at the moment?
Allen: Right now, three caddies I have are all living in the same house as me, so we communicate pretty informally. If there’s a big group, say, 36 players and I need someone to double bag, I just shoot them a quick message directly. But as the programme grows and I bring in more caddies from Sweden and local members, I can see the messaging feature becoming really useful. Having everything in one place just makes it easier. I definitely want to start using that more going forward.
Growth at the edge of the world
Lofoten Links is a pretty unique environment, midnight sun, remote location, and an international clientele. How do you see the caddie programme growing from here?
Allen: Optimistically, yes, I think it’s going to keep growing. This is genuinely one of the hardest golf courses I’ve ever played, and the local knowledge a caddie brings is real value for golfers here, it’s not just a luxury. The main factor limiting growth is just how remote this place is; the course can only handle so many rounds.
But the numbers are already pointing in the right direction:
- May this year was bigger than all of August last year combined — and we were only open for a couple of weeks.
- As more international travellers discover Lofoten, especially Americans, who are the ones most likely to take caddies, I think demand is only going one direction.
Advice for hesitant caddie masters
If you were talking to a caddie master who was hesitant about moving to a platform like Handicaddie, what would you tell them?
Allen: I’d say just the availability piece alone makes it worth it. Not having to individually contact every caddy to check when they’re free, that eliminates so many phone calls and text messages, and so many things that can fall through the cracks. That’s an easy sell on its own. And then when you factor in the scheduling, the reports, the reviews, there’s so much more there that I haven’t even fully dived into yet.
I think some people feel like if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. From my experience, it’d be hard to deny that something like this doesn’t help. Any caddie master, any programme.
– Allen Ruegg, Caddiemaster at Lofoten Links
Looking ahead to reviews
Speaking of reviews — is that something you’re planning to use?
Allen: Yeah, actually that came up during our chat. I’d been thinking about making a printed feedback card with a QR code for golfers to review their caddies, something I was going to design myself.
Allen Ruegg is the Caddiemaster at Lofoten Links, Norway.
Handicaddie is the caddie management platform built for golf clubs and their caddies — helping caddie masters spend less time on admin and more time delivering a great experience on the course.
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