Caddie Golf Tours

We have finally settled into our 'home & work' routine three/four weeks after returning from the golf holiday to Scottsdale, Arizona. Pic, right, Grand Canyon & Colorado River. A fantastic holiday, with golf on some great courses and a superb road trip in the middle to the majestic Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon both of which surprised us by being covered in snow. The journey to and from Phoenix was a wee bit fraught with flight delays due to extreme weather and then luggage going amiss though the golf bag made it through on both legs of the flight! This helped in Scottsdale as we were pre-booked, through GolfNow.com, to play at three courses on the first stage of the tour: Camelback, Wigwam and the Cholla Course at We-Ko-Pa. Pic,left, of Cameback Mountain, Scottsdale. The bags with our clothing did not turn up next morning so a trip to a mall for essentials plus a few purchases in the excellent golf shop at Camelback and we are standing on the 1st tee, i...

Now that the iidjit has done the much sought after, and frankly a rather controlled contrite apology in 'front of a select number of family, friends, business associates, backslappers & a tv camera' would it now be possible to get on with focusing on those who are actually playing golf. For goodness sake give it a rest!

The following post has just been published on the official Open web site, The Open Championship , confirming Tom Watson's entry to the tounament: 16 February 2010 16:17 GMT Last year’s Open Championship runner-up, Tom Watson, has confirmed that he will take his place on the Old Course at the 150 th Anniversary Open Championship. Despite being a five-time Open Champion and lifting the Claret Jug in Scotland on four of those occasions, the American, from Kansas City, Missouri, has never triumphed at the Home of Golf — his best result in St Andrews was a second place in 1984. After last year’s heroics, however, many will feel that he has every chance of accomplishing the feat this year. It is also hoped that Watson will compete in The Open Champions’ Challenge, a four-hole event which will be contested over the first, second, 17 th and 18 th holes of the Old Course on the Wednesday evening before the Championship gets underway. Watson came close to equalling Harry Vardon’s record o...

Gutted! Less than 10 minutes to go and Scotland leading Wales by 10 points...how can it go so wrong? Two guys sent off and 17 points conceded. Scotland gives the loyal fans a wonderful lesson on how to snatch defeat from the mouth of victory!

A wonderful surprise Christmas and early Birthday present from Lorna will have us both playing golf around the Scottsdale/Phoenix area of Arizona in roughly 10 days time. Fantastic! First few days are based in Phoenix then a short journey to the Grand Canyon for 3 days before returning to a different hotel in Scottsdale for the final part of the holiday. These last few days at home have intensified the search for golf courses to play and my list is getting longer and longer. Some contacts over in Arizona have put some good ones our way like the following: Sun Ridge Canyon, Desert Canyon, Wigwam Golf Resort, Cholla at We-Ko-Pa, Estralla to name just a few. Looks like I will be using the GolfNow.com booking system as we are pretty flexible about when and where we play and they certainly offer some great discounts on tee times the day before you wish to golf. Sunshine in January...bliss.

A wonderful distraction from all the lurid shite that has been getting dredge up about Tigger and his liasons with an awful lot of 'cock'tail girls, the BBC and British public have bestowed their Lifetime Achievement Award on the golfing genius Severiano Ballesteros . The trophy was presented, this evening, by his fellow countryman and Major winner Jose Maria Olazabal live on British TV from Seve's home in Spain. Jose got a wee bit emotional but did manage to hold it together to present the award to Seve without dropping it! I really hope that Seve will be fit enough to come to St. Andrews in July 2010. It will be f!?%$?*g amazing to see the iconic golfer back on the Old Course...if only for the Past Champions match which will be played over the 1st, 2nd. 17th & 18th of the Old course on the eve of the tournament.

The construction work for the repositioned tee on the 17th Road hole at the Old Course, St. Andrews, has been completed. The new tee, pictured below, is on the same line increasing the length of the hole by 35 yards, from 455 - 490 yards. The original championship tee that we shared with the professionals for our medal play is pictured below. This will obviously remain and I suppose if conditions got too extreme , God forbid the thought , the R&A would have the option of bringing the play forward. You've got to be looking forward to seeing some drives struck from the new tee, now that it has once again become an intimidating drive, on the world of golf's most famous par 4.

The R&A have made a small amendment to qualification for previous winners of the Open that allows Tom Watson, last years runner up at Turnbery, and Greg Norman tied for third place at Birkdale in 2008 a route into the Championship if they have gained a top ten position within the last 5 years. Here is the press release from the Open Championship official web site: http://www.opengolf.com 16 November 2009 10:48 GMT The R&A has announced changes to the entry criteria ahead of The Open Championship’s 150th Anniversary, to be played at St Andrews from 11 — 18 July 2010. A new exemption category has been introduced for the 2010 Open. Condition F(4) exempts from qualifying any past Open Champions who finished in the top 10 and ties in any of the previous five Open Championships, thus effectively providing them with a five year exemption into the Championship. “We have introduced this exemption as a direct response to seeing two of our great Open Champions, both in their fifties, chal...

I stumbled across the following notification from the R&A web site informing the golfing world that the legendary Seve has accepted an invitation to become an Honorary Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. This is an offer that simply recognises Seve's wonderful contribution to golf and should give him a wee boost in his continuing recovery from the life saving brain surgery, to remove a tumour, he underwent earlier this year. This is great to see and we would dearly love to have him back at St. Andrews in 2010. Ballesteros accepts Honorary Membership Department: Club Date: 11 Nov 2009 Severiano Ballesteros has accepted an invitation to become an Honorary Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Severiano Ballesteros first caught the attention of the golfing public when, as a 19-year-old, he finished in a tie for second place with Jack Nicklaus at the 1976 Open Championship, held at Royal Birkdale. He then went on to win five Major Championsh...

Monday 2nd November 2009 and there is no journey to my second home, the Caddie Pavilion, at the Old Course St. Andrews. My golf season at St. Andrews came to a close with two rounds last week over the Old and New courses, both par rounds from the golfer. A rather pleasant surprise considering the awful conditions for the round over the Old Course: consistant rain and wind for the whole round. James, an English club-pro based outside Munich, Germany, and had travelled with seven members from the Golf Club Gauboden for a weeks golf in and around St. Andrews. They had such a good week that he has already booked up for October in 2011. The caddying may have ended but the golf should continue over the forthcoming winter, when the weather permits! We do have a lovely invitation to Gleneagles Hotel lined up this coming Sunday from LB's cousin and hopefully we will get a game round the superb Kings Course which was designed by five time Open champion James Braid. On Wednesday 11th November...

You have to be impressed with the local Glasgow boy Martin Laird and his victory last weekend at the PGA 'Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open', clinching victory over George McNeill with a birdie on the third play-off hole. Martin becomes the first Scottish golfer to win on the PGA Tour since 1988 when the legendary Sandy Lyle won three times: Greater Greensboro' Open, Phoenix Open and then the Masters. In fact Martin is the first Scot to play on the PGA Tour since Lyle and only retained his card for the 2009 season by holing his final putt, in his last tournament, to finish on the mark at 125th on the money list. Looks like the boy enjoys the end of the season battle as he had a runners up spot in last months 'Legends Reno-Tahoe Open'. The press here in Scotland have rightly accorded him some good publicity from his win and he has now become the topped ranked Scot in the world rankings at 106. Nearest to him is European Tour player David Drysdale...

I thought you, my dear reader, may like to view some photographs that I managed to snap on a few holes of the Castle Course at St. Andrews which was opened in 2008. As you will see it was an incredibly windy day with up to +50mph winds with gusts of 60mph! It is a wonder the flags stayed in the holes. The 9th green appears to be suspended over St. Andrews Bay. The intimidating Par3 17th tee. There is a bail out towards the left bunker. The Par3 17th green and the ravine you have taken on! LB making sure the 17th flag remains in the cup. The approach to the Par5 18th green of the Castle Course.

There has been some conjecture over the last couple of months about the positioning of the 17th tee on the Old Course at St. Andrews and in an official announcement today the rumours can now be confirmed...it is to be moved! Below is the news release from the R&A informing the golfing world of the change. NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A 16 October 2009, St Andrews, Scotland: The 17th hole of the Old Course will be lengthened ahead of the 150th Anniversary of The Open Championship at St Andrews. The ‘Road Hole’, which has remained the same length for more than 100 years, will increase in length by some 35 yards to 490 yards. A new Championship tee will be constructed on the practice range of St Andrews Links Trust. It has long been suggested that the 17th hole would benefit from additional length to restore the original challenge of the hole. In advance of the 1964 St Andrews Open, three-time Open Champion, Henry Cotton, recommended the alteration stating: “I would make a tee jus...

A close friend of my wife and I had asked if I would be able to get her Step Father, Simon, onto the Old Course for a round of golf. An ambition that had been long held. Always one for a challenge I confidently said that I could and we set about organising a date for the game, a hotel and booking a local restaurant for our evening meal. I entered our names into the 'Ballot' for a tee time on Friday 9th October...we failed to secure one! I subsequently found out that the Ballot had been over subscribed by 59 other groups trying for a tee time. This meant that with Simon arriving on Thursday evening I would have to queue at the Starter's Hut first thing on Friday morning and hope that the Starter could join us up with a two ball. When I arrived, at 6.05am, there were 11 golfers already in a queue! Good grief some had been at the hut since 3.45am...that is dedication for you. The Old Course Starter did get us both out and onto the famous links at 10.20am whereupon we had a g...

The Alfred Dunhill Links Trophy has been won by the 31 year old Englishman Simon Dyson, who had a blistering start to his final round over the Old Course at St. Andrews, with six birdies in his first seven holes. After a few birdies in those initial holes on the Old Course you would normally be feeling pretty good about how the round was progressing, so goodness knows how Mr Dyson must have been feeling as he watched all those putts drop into the hole. Go on and win the tourny my son...Your time has come. My amateur golfer from San Francisco, Doug, had his best Dunhill for quite a while only missing the 'Team Event' on the final day by one shot. We managed to score -20 for the tournament but the cut for the final day was set at -21. Doug picked up 8 shots at Kingsbarns after starting out at -12. A wonderful effort. Below I have copied/pasted a full run down of the final days events as reported via the great Scottish golf web site 'Golf Scotland'. Scotland's Richie...

What a really good golf course Carnoustie is. Tough but fair and in todays conditions, a wee breeze, Autumnal cold with a watery sun it was perhaps as benign as it can get. Our Pro golfer, Richard Finch, shot a -1 under par score that should have been better but for two bogeys at 16 & 17. Our team score finished up at -5. Not bad, though we will have to score at least that again over the next two days to have an outside chance of qualifying as one of the twenty amateurs allowed to play on Sunday. Thomas Bjorn leads the competition after a blistering 64 at Kingsbarns Links. We are lined up at the Old Course tomorrow morning with a forecast of 'light rain' all day though thankfully the wind is to be light as well! The weather on Sunday is also 'light rain' but with winds of 20-25 mph! Thank goodness we have played and posted our score from Carnoustie!

The first day of the Alfred Dunhill Trophy begins tomorrow Thursday, 1st October, at the Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns Links. The Professionals and Amateur golfers have three rounds to make the cut, with play being spread upon all the courses. The final round on Sunday is held over the Old Course. Last years winner Robert Karlsson has returned to defend his title after an eye injury that has kept him out of a big chunk of the European season. Among the favourites are going to be twice winner in 2002 & 2006, Padraig Harrington, 2003 Champion Lee Westwood and the young Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy. I'll be at Carnoustie tomorrow, tee time 09.22am, with my American amateur Doug, from San Francisco's Olympic Golf Club, who I have worked with for the previous three years. Our professional this year is a tall, blond headed Englishman called Richard Finch who won twice during 2008, but is not firing on all cylinders this year. Currently sitting at 104 on the ...

A wonderful days golf was organised for the St. Andrews Links caddies at the stunningly beautiful Dukes Course situated above the 'auld grey toon' of St. Andrews w ith simply magnificent panoramic views across the historic old town, the surrounding countryside and the sea. The view from the clubhouse overlooking the 18th green with St. Andrews beyond. The Golf Manager of the championship Dukes Course, David Scott, was kind enough to arrange six tee times with our very own David Coyne, laying on bacon rolls and coffee upon arrival plus a truly memorable 'High Tea' after our round was completed. A fantastic experience that all the caddies are looking forward to repeating annually. The 'Club Sandwich' was quite probably the best that our well traveled bunch of caddies had ever eaten. This was then topped by a delightful selection of scones and cakes just to finish off what was a tremendous meal. Badgers, the 6th green at this Par 5. The golf course was originally...

The last two months of July and August have been exceptionally busy which means that I've only had fleeting visits to the Caddie Golf Tours Blog. Disappointing as I had hoped to be writing something down once a week during my golf season. It just goes to show that 7-8 rounds of caddying, Monday to Friday, at the St. Andrews Links of the Old, New and Jubilee courses takes a whole lot of time from your day. In effect I was absolutely knackered and sleep became more important than blogging! Over this month of September I hope to be able to bring you some of the people, rounds and stories that emerged over the summer along with some great pictures. The season golf season does begin to slow a bit during September, though it can be a good month at St. Andrews with the R&A holding their annual 'Autumn Meeting' on the New and Old Courses. We than have the practice rounds at the end of the month for the European Tour Dunhill Links Trophy which is played over Carnoustie, Kingsbar...

Would You Like to Play The Old Course in 2010? Now is the Time to Book!! If you are planning a golf tour to Scotland in 2010, it would be a good idea to book now which will alow you to purchase tee times at face value cost. St. Andrews Links Trust open their applications for 2010 tee times at 10:00am (GMT) on September 2nd, 2009 and the form can be found at the following address: http://www.standrews.org.uk/golf/book_golf/advance_old2010.html I recommend you get started today by confirming the number of your golf buddies that want to come to Scotland and then booking your 2010 Scotland golf trip with help from Caddie Golf Tours. I will be quite happy to talk you through the application process if you so desire. I look forward to hearing from you all over the next few weeks. Cheers, John.