Caddie Golf Tours

Our San Francisco golfers arrived in St. Andrews this evening and we meet in the legendary Dunvegan Hotel, 120 yards from the Old Course, to have a wee chat about the golf arranged this weekend. Dunvegan Hotel & Bar St. Andrews After a couple of business (heavy) meetings in Paris and London the golfers have reached the peace and quiet of St. Andrews, and my goodness the classic Scottish links golf lined up for these two chaps will allow them to be subsumed into golf in Scotland...without them even realising it! The 18th Tee Old Course, St Andrews The weekend itinerary follows, it is intense, a degree of fitness is required, but my goodness it is good:  28th March 7:00am Old Course, St. Andrews 28th March 1:00pm New Course, St. Andrews 29th March 7:50am Old Course, St. Andrews 29th March 1:30pm Kingsbarns Golf Links, St. Andrews 30th March 7:30am Jubilee Course, St. Andrews 30th March 2:00pm Carnoustie Championship, Dundee The bridge to 18th green Car...

A collection of photographs taken today around the first tee and 18th green of the Old Course here at St. Andrews. Today was the official practice round over the Old Course for the top amateurs from across the world participating in the prestigious Links Trophy. 1st tee Old Course St. Andrews 18th green Old Course St. Andrews View taking in 18th green & 1st tee Old Course St. Andrews The Links Tournament Scoreboard Starters Box at the Old Course St. Andrews This will be the first year that I will not be caddying in the tournament due to an unfortunate clash of dates. This is a great contest with 144 international players who are a minimum +3 handicap golfing across the 'toughened up' Jubilee Course and Old Course with the top 40 & ties qualifying for two rounds on the Old Course on Sunday. I will miss being involved this year but should have an opportunity to watch some play on final day Sunday.

The Old Course at St. Andrews has been closed to local and visiting golfers since Monday 6th May due to the R&A Golf Club playing their annual Spring Meeting. Here is the official tee time sheet for today: http://www.standrews.org.uk/Ballot/Ballot-Results?date=09/05/2013 R&A Clubhouse Old Course St. Andrews Today, Thursday 9th May, is the last day of the competition and the Ballot will open up tomorrow for locals and visitors alike. The majority of the caddies are delighted and this marks the real beginning of the caddie golf season where many will be looking to hit two rounds a day Monday - Friday with a single round flung in on Saturday or Sunday. I personally will be aiming for 8 rounds per week with the weekend being kept free for competition golf with my St. Andrews Golf Club. The following link shows the official tee times for tomorrow Friday 10th May with play beginning at 06.30am and going through to 17.50pm. I do think that the last tee time might struggle ...

Finally...my 2013 caddie season on the links of St. Andrews begins tomorrow 28th March at 10.10am with Klaus, from Germany, who I caddied with last July. He has kept in touch via a few emails and informed me in December that he and Marion, his wife, had secured their tee time on the Old Course. The stroll up 18th fairway of the Old Course It will obviously be good to be back out on the great links and as a bonus we will be staying for the weekend to open our holiday home (read caravan), prepare it for the season ahead, play some golf, meet some friends and enjoy life back in the Kingdom of Golf.

The build up to the release of the MUST READ golf book of the year is only a couple of weeks away from my old (read really young & talented) friend and fellow Old Course Caddie Oliver Horovitz. This is the first review I have seen. Expect to see and read a few more. Oliver is going to be on CBS This Morning with Charlie Rose to talk about his book on Monday 18th March and I expect he may get on a few more shows...we do (not) expect fame to change him!?! I wrote a wee promotion about the book a month or so ago and it can be found on my Blog at the following link: http://caddiegolftours.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/american-caddie-in-st-andrews.html If you haven't pre-ordered your copy yet, you can do it right here, right now: http://amzn.to/WbvTVM.

John Boyne, Caddie. I began my caddie career at the St. Andrews Links by chance not by design. My wife had encouraged me to attend a four day course being held in St. Andrews by the then Caddie Master, Rick MacKenzie, who after it was finished invited me to join his caddie Team for the summer of 2002. I thought that one summer caddying on the Old Course was too good an opportunity to miss for an enthusiastic golfer like myself, so I accepted. I am still here. There is a lot to enjoy about working on the St. Andrews Links not least the friendships that have been made with my fellow caddies and golfers from across the world. These are ties that remain strong and true. It is also amazing to think that you have become a link to caddies and golfers that have gone before stretching back centuries.     A few golfers that stand out from the +1500 rounds I have caddied at St. Andrews were the courageous blind lady golfer who went round the Old Course in 124 sho...

American-Caddie-St-Andrews-GrowingUp Oliver, our good friend from New York, who seems to have been hanging around the Old Course in St. Andrews for as long as my 11 years has been diligently working away on his book in-between golfing, caddying on the legendary links golf courses of St. Andrews and attending classes at Harvard University. Ollie blasting it on the range at Dukes Course St. Andrews Ollie wins a hat (!) at St. Andrews Caddie's Golf Day Every year sometime around mid May, much like a returning migratory bird, Oliver Horovitz swings round in front of the R&A clubhouse, strolls down the gentle slope to the St. Andrews Caddie Pavilion, wearing a big wide smile and one of his trademark baseball caps perched in a manner and tilt that is unique to those of a younger generation from the USA. A warm handshake and 'hey...whats happening'? Oliver has returned for another summer on the Links of St. Andrews...and it is a better place because ...

The first 2012 golf outing for the OysterCatcher Golf Society will be held over the last weekend in February and the members will be residing in the wonderfully indulgent North Berwick Golf Lodge, www.northberwickgolflodge.co.uk   The OysterCatcher 2012 Spring Competition will be played over a selection of the East Coast's best golf links: North Berwick West, Gullane 1&2, Dunbar and perhaps Craigielaw. Tee times are being actively pursued and should not present any problems at this time of year. Let the discussions begin about where we play. I will put out a wee thought to my fellow OysterCatcher Golf Society members that we may have to be physically prepared for what the Scottish golfing Gods will throw our way weather wise...it is February after all!     

Exclusive Offer April Golf 2012  Kingsbarns and Fairmont St. Andrews Monday - Wednesday April 2012 Two nights accommodation Fairmont St. Andrews Full Scottish Breakfast each morning 18 holes of Golf at Kingsbarns Golf Links 18 holes of Golf at The Torrance Course From  £349  per golfer based on double occupancy Kingsbarns Golf Links, Par3 15th Exclusive Offer October Golf 2012  Kingsbarns and Fairmont St. Andrews Monday - Wednesday October 2012 Two nights accommodation Fairmont St. Andrews Full Scottish Breakfast each morning 18 holes of Golf at Kingsbarns Golf Links  18 holes of Golf on The Torrance Course  From  £369   per golfer based on double occupancy The Torrance Course, 18th green and fairway Please contact Caddie Golf Tours for availability of the above two offers Kingsbarns Golf Links and The Torrance Course both are used as Open qualifying venues when the Championship...

A limited amount of Tee Times for golf on the Old Course at St. Andrews have become available for 2012 season.  The dates are in late April, mid-late May, 18th green Old Course, St Andrews 1/2 dozen through late June and a few spread across July. Please contact Caddie Golf Tours via my web site www.caddiegolftours.com for specific dates and include t he name of the Lead Golfer plus  the Names and Numbers of the golfers in party.  The tee times for the Old Course are much sought after and there are a finite number being released so why not contact your fellow golfers this weekend and we can begin the process of arranging your trip to St. Andrews.