Adventures of an English caddie in Ireland

The date is Tuesday 11 June, 2004 and the time is shortly before 7pm and we are walking through the gates of Royal County Down Golf Club, we leave our bags at the entrance and make our way to the pro shop to meet the guy who we are going to be staying with for the duration of our stay in Newcastle. He takes us over to the bungalow which he rents, located just 50 yards from the gates to the club on Golf Links Crescent, and once we have been shown to our room we get chatting to Stephen Sweeney and we quickly arrange our first night out in Newcastle, County Down. My abiding memory of our first evening in Newcastle is the brilliant, warm sunshine and calm sea, finding a subway and walking down the high street for the first time. Our first night out in Newcastle was in the Percy French, the public bar on the site of the Slieve Donard Hotel which can be seen from all parts of the town. A few drinks later and we returned to the house, I was sick and from then on I gained the "Huey" nickname. Our Irish adventure had begun, and for me it was the beginning of a passion for a country which I became a man in and had more great experiences than any other. 

The next day, Wednesday, is members day at Royal County Down Golf Club, one of two days out of seven where the visiting golfer is locked outside the gates and only the fortunate few can play the magnificent Championship Links of Newcastle, County Down. It is also our first day as caddies. The three of us, myself, James and Paul are asked to meet the caddie master (known as Barney) in the clubhouse, where we receive guidelines about being a caddie and what is expected of us and we chat about our backgrounds and our golfing experience and receive our red bibs. Royal County Down employs a coloured bib system which indicates the experience and quality of knowledge etc that a caddie has. Blue is worn by a bag carrier. This is a largely completely inexperienced caddie who is aged 15 and under and has barely played golf let alone carried a golf bag before. It is the level at which many who come to register each April begin at and they get paid £15 plus gratuity. Then there red bibs which are worn by standard caddies, these are people who have limited caddying experience but who have played the game and have a good knowledge of golf, which the potential to earn promotion to senior caddie within a few years of caddying on the links. These people are paid £25 plus gratuity.

And then there are senior caddies who wear yellow bibs. These are the experienced guys who have been caddying at Royal County Down for many years and have pretty much seen everything a round of golf on these magnificent links can offer. They are paid £45 plus gratuity. Myself and James were put into the same group, Paul was in another group and we each caddied for renowned and important members of the golf club, it was a quick introduction to caddying on the links and caddying for members. To be honest the walk was enjoyable but the work wasn't, I skipped quite a few members days in the remainder of the summer. It was probably a mistake long term but members do not have to tip and the experience is not an enjoyable one. The summer of caddying was under way. 

Getting jobs at Royal County Down depended on three factors: Demand for caddies - the number of golfers looking to get a caddie; Experience and colour of bib - if a golfer wants an experienced caddie then generally they would get one, unless they were all already out on the course; Number of caddies waiting and the time you arrive - the earlier you get there the better, there wasn't a voicemail service in use like there is at St Andrews Links, it was down to you as the individual to get there as early as you could to see what jobs there were coming up.
Caddying at Royal County Down was what I call "Real caddying". There are no yardage markers like you will find on the fairways of the St Andrews Links courses, the only yardage markers are on the tee and the rest is down to either the caddies knowledge or the strokesaver book which the golfer could purchase at the start of his or her round. The first few rounds were very much about learning where to stand and learning about the golf course. There are many blind tee and second shots at Royal County Down so standing in the correct position could be critical to finding the ball for the next shot. Tee shots on the second, fifth, sixth, ninth and eleventh require a completely blind carry to the fairway and on those holes it was essential for one caddie in the group to go forward to spot the balls and ensure it was safe to play. Learning yardages became easier and easier over the season because I used the strokesaver to remember certain points on each hole and I would know it was 225 yards from the middle of the gorse bushes on the right of the fairway to the front of the first green.

Another aspect of the "Real caddying" at Royal County Down was "double bagging", this involves caddying for and carrying two golfers bags, generally one would be carried and one would be pulled or pushed on a trolley. I did this on a few occasions in my first season at Royal County Down and once I even did back to back double bag rounds, leading to a 12 hour day on the golf course and a pretty extreme case of sunburn for all of us. Paul in particular was soon peeling his skin off like a snake I seem to remember. It was a double bag job in August 2004 which I will remember as my best caddying experience of the first season at Royal County Down. Excuse me here because I really cannot remember names from nearly ten years ago but I clearly remember the experience. They were a group of four men in their 30's from New York and I was caddying for all four of them while carrying one bag and pulling another on a trolley, I caddied for them for five rounds in a week on the championship links and it was a truly great experience.

We had a real laugh and I was made to feel at ease by all of them, and this allowed me to express my knowledge clearly and succinctly because I never felt under pressure, all of the guys played decent golf and at the end of the week I was £500 better off (I made a total of £250 in tips, which was incredible for a red bib caddie), and they went into the clubhouse to tell Stephen, the assistant pro and person we were staying with, that I should be a senior caddie or yellow bib. This gave me such a confidence boost and confirmed that I could indeed do the job of caddie to decent standard and that I belonged among the group of elite caddies at Royal County Down.

The summer of 2004 was a Euro summer with the European Football Championships taking place in Portugal and England were considered a real contender with an emerging young talent in Wayne Rooney leading the charge alongside Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham. The team featured Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell, who had gone the whole league season unbeaten for Arsenal and they formed the backbone of a squad who were seen as a genuine threat to the European champions France, hosts Portugal and perennial underachievers Netherlands and Spain. England controversially lost on Penalties to the hosts Portugal in the quarter-finals and in a tournament of upsets the Greeks incredibly defeated Portugal in the final to walk away with the Henri Delaunay Trophy. Paul had a significant bet on one of the matches and came away with over £200 in winnings, the lucky devil. 

During the 2004 season both Paul and James returned home early and I was able to build more a friendship with Stephen, we went out more with his mates (Reeve, Rory, Paul, Ryan, Catherine, Alanna) and his girlfriend (Alison) and we would stay in touch after I left Newcastle on a sunny Sunday morning in August. We had many great nights out in Newcastle at O'Hares (CP, Central Park), Quinns and the Anchor Bar, watching the 2004 US Open and USPGA Championships. One of those such nights out included my first real experience with the opposite sex, I am ashamed to say at the then age of 20, I was pretty naive back then but it was all part of what would make Ireland so special to me. I grew up there, more than anywhere else, I became a man in the town of Newcastle and the fantastic country of Ireland.

2004 was my introduction to caddying and to Ireland, it was not to be a once in a lifetime experience and the summer of 2006 was to stand as the most memorable I have had in my lifetime.