Life as a Caddy

I have spent this last summer caddying at Kingsbarns Golf Links. Over the course of the season, I have averaged five “bags” a week. I have caddied for everyone from CEOs and former European touring pros to people who have only been playing a few months.

Kingsbarns 3rd hole

Both through observation and direct advice, I learned a lot during the season of caddying. My own game’s course management has matured. My views on people and career options have changed and solidified. Unexpectedly, my opinions and thoughts on course design have changed.

I saw two handicappers shoot 90 and I saw “fourteen” handicappers shoot 73. I had golfers hand me three identical balls on the first hole and quietly say, “Make sure we never lose a ball.....” Always keep an eye on your playing partners!

Many setting out on their first UK golf trip have never had a caddy. Here are some advice and some thoughts on taking a caddy:

Should I get a caddy?

-A caddy can be indispensable when playing a course you have never seen. The sixty or seventy pounds you pay the caddy is easily worth the enjoyment of knowing where to hit the ball off the tee and having your putts read on unknown greens. If money is an issue, take a single forecaddie, who will give lines, yardages, and read putts for all the players in the group.

The 7th and 15th greens at Kingsbarns

He misread my putt!!!

-How often during a round do you make twenty-five foot putts? Even fifteen-foot putts? - Once or twice a round most likely. Having a caddy give you the line doesn’t magically improve putting skills. Further, the line of a putt can vary drastically depending on the speed with which the putt is struck. Meaning that your caddy can give you great lines all day, but if you hit the putts too hard or soft, they aren’t going to fall! I say this having witnessed golfers get angry with caddies for having “misread” putts that in reality were perfectly legitimate lines. All of this being said, nobody is infallible, and caddies do misread putts as well, just be careful to judge.

Kingbarns' 12th hole

How much should I pay?

-The standards for paying caddies can be confusing for people on their first trip. At Kingsbarns, the rate is 45 pounds plus gratuity. The suggested gratuity is ten pounds for “met expectations” and fifteen pounds and up for “exceeded expectations.” Most caddies that I talked to average around 67 pounds a bag during the season. In the UK, I would suggest paying a good caddy 60 pounds, and I would suggest paying a great caddy 70 or even more if your wallet allows. (Don't be afraid to pay a horrible caddy low numbers...)

Devilishly tricky par 3 13th

Enjoy it!

My most important piece of advice has to do with the overall enjoyment of the round. Kingsbarns is one of the most picturesque and beautiful courses that can be played in Scotland. I repeatedly caddied for people who were so caught up in their bets and scoring that they never looked up and took the time to realize just how lucky they were. They let scoring poorly or losing money completely ruin what otherwise could have been one of their most enjoyable rounds. I am the first to admit that golf can be the most frustrating and annoying thing in the world, but if you make it over here to Scotland to play, do your best to step back and as my dad would say, “enjoy the breeze!” 

Par 3 15th hole with a difficult forced carry over the water

Upcoming plans

At this point in the summer, I have stopped caddying and have just completed a short internship with Golf Monthly, the leading golf magazine in the UK. I learned about golf journalism gained general knowledge about the golf industry. Hopefully this will result in some positive changes to both the blog and my writing! Keep an eye on the blog for some exciting new course and equipment reviews!

Ireland Golf Trip

The 2012 Ireland Golf Trip was my first visit to Ireland, my first taste of Irish golf, and my first time experiencing the “package” golf trip. I was eager to compare the great Scottish courses to their Irish contemporaries. Our trip lasted one week and included six rounds of golf.

Those on the trip included my ever-present golf buddy Matt, his dad, and a group of his father’s friends (all of whom were from New Zealand). During the week, I experienced the New Zealander’s calming laid-back attitudes, along with their extreme generosity. A special thanks to Matt's dad Nick, who made the trip possible. 

Ardglass Golf Club

The trip began with a round in Northern Ireland at Ardglass Golf Club. Ardglass has a beautiful clubhouse that is part of an ancient castle. The first five holes on the course are stunning. The par-3 second was especially impressive with cliffs on the left and a forced carry of nearly 160 yards to reach the green. There was a noticeable lull in the quality of holes between the sixth and eleventh. This sag in remarkable holes left a slightly negative taste, but from the twelfth onward, the design regains form and finishes strong. The eighteenth provides a final chance for birdie with a beautiful elevated tee and a drivable green. If you are in the N. Ireland playing Royal County Down, I would strongly recommend making the effort to go play Ardglass.

Ardglass's practice putting green and clubhouse

Par 3 second with a large forced carry

Par 3 tenth hole with an elevated tee

Royal Portrush

Royal Portrush’s rating of fourteenth in the world speaks very strongly about the course. Our trip came to Portrush two weeks after the Irish Open. This meant that the greens were in excellent condition, but it also meant that much of the rough had been cut or trampled down by the galleries. This was great for me since my driver was slightly wild throughout the round! Very few weak holes could be found and my only complaint was the lackluster 18th hole. 

Well bunkered first hole with an elevated green

Fourth hole with OB tight right and bunkers down the left

Par 3 tenth hole with a mean pin placement... wind was strong off the right

Par 5 seventeenth with MASSIVE bunker short right off tee

Ballyliffin Old

When a course rater reviews a course, one of the criteria is “variety of the par fours.” This was one area where Ballyliffin’s Old Course was lacking. There was little variety between the par fours, and extremely high rough combined with strong winds made the day a grind. Upon finishing the round, none of us could recall a single hole we particularly liked (or even disliked!). The only hole that came to my mind was the par 3 sixth hole, which with its elevated green reminded me of the thirteenth hole at Muirfield. Nick Faldo had come in and redesigned (added a few bunkers) to a number of holes on the course along with completely redesigning one of the par 5s. None of the Faldo redesign holes were particularly interesting. We didn’t play the Ballyliffin Glashedy Links, but I hope it has a better selection of par 4’s. After looking through the photos from the day, none were especially interesting, which does speak to the quality of the course.  

Par 3 sixth with elevated green

Donegal

I would have greatly benefited from having played Donegal Golf Links prior to our round. Despite having a forecaddie for the group, multiple blind approach shots and blind tee shots led to bad results due to sheer ignorance about the layout. The par 3 fourth hole was extremely good. Bunkers left and high rough low right made the long par 3 challenging, but score-able. Donegal was an enjoyable course, but I wouldn't go out of my way to play it again. 

Beautiful par 3 fourth! Best hole on the course in my opinion

Par 5 eighth hole... After the drive it is an awkward approach to the green. Must have seen it before to score well!

Co. Sligo

County Sligo offered the best views of any course played on the trip. Beautiful mountains framed one side of the course with water and beaches lining the other side. A high, elevated third tee provides the best chance to take the great view in. The course was not excessively long, but required thought and well positioned shots. I would strongly suggest a round at Co. Sligo to any visiting golfers.

View from the elevated third tee box towards the water! (Mountains in the picture below were behind us)

Par 3 ninth hole with gorgeous mountains in the background

Seventeenth fairway hidden within the hillside

Enniscrone

Enniscrone was our last course and turned out to be the favorite of multiple people on the trip. Most of the holes are set within deep dunes, giving a secluded feeling on each hole. Six new holes were built ten years ago. Those six holes were extremely strong and took the course to the next level. Further, the six new holes were not uncharacteristic from the course and fit in well overall. My only complaint for the course was too many blind tee shots. Even with a caddie, I was confused on many tee boxes, and having seen the course before would have paid dividends. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Some of the holes were gorgeous, and you'll have to take my word that a visit is necessary! 

There are benefits to the “plan it yourself” golf trip, including freedom and flexibility. Having experienced both at this point, it is also very nice to be driven everywhere, have problems solved, and everything planned. If it is your first trip to the UK for golf, I would give serious to using a golf travel company (something I wouldn’t have said pre-Ireland...). I would recommend visiting Ardglass, Royal Portrush, Co. Sligo, and Enniscrone. We all had an excellent time, and I am already planning my next trip back to Ireland, particularly the southwest corner!

Royal Dornoch

Our trip to Royal Dornoch exemplified perfectly the difficulty of golf trips without a car. It was another trip with my good friend Matt, and it lived up to all expectations. We took multiple trains, which eventually dropped us in the very remote town of Tain, Scotland. From Tain, we took a bus to the town of Dornoch. We then found that Dornoch has no taxi companies, so we hopped a ride on a school bus to our B&B. Our journey had taken us deep into the Scottish highlands to play what is one of the best ancient links courses in Scotland. I had a personal goal of playing Dornoch, because it was the home course to Donald Ross, the course design master who brought the world Pinehurst #2, and my home club, Biltmore Forest Country Club, in addition to many other greats.

We played a twilight round the evening of our arrival. This allowed us to get a good look at the course before our early morning tee time, but also to slow down, and let everything sink in while the course was empty. The decision to play the twilight round was excellent. We made our scores irrelevant, and brought the design and course layout to the forefront. Between our two rounds played, we were able to grasp the course, and realize that it was one of the best ancient links in Scotland. As my dad would say, "We sat back and enjoyed the breeze!"

 The course begins to come alive on the par-3 second. It is a 175-yard hole with a raised green and severely sloping sides, both spilling into small collection areas. With green complexes like this one, it is easy to see where Donald Ross found his inspiration for Pinehurst #2. His signature small greens, with beautiful bunker complexes, definitely have their roots at Dornoch.

 The course dramatically opens up from the third tee onwards. The beautiful sunset during out twilight round was a perfect way to end the day. (This photo taken while walking to the 18th.)

The bunkering on the 5th hole is classic. With a set of bunkers guarding a right side bailout and three massive bunkers endangering huge hitters and short approaches, there is plenty to think about on the tee. Lots of room on the left side of this fairway makes it obvious that if played correctly, a good score can be had. Getting greedy or leaking the ball right would lead to big numbers.

 The 161 yard par-3 6th has a massive slope on the right side, and bunkers and gorse guarding the left. A confident tee shot is a must. This is one of the holes at Dornoch that is truly fun. We spent time chipping around and hitting multiple approaches into this small challenging green.

 This famous view at Royal Dornoch is from the 7th tee box looking back at the majority of the course. It was absolutely stunning.

The par-3s at Dornoch really stood out. This picture of the 10th green shows the clever green complex, with bunkers guarding nearly every miss, even over the green. The par 3s varied in length, with the longest reaching 175 yards. They were challenging and fun to play, while not presenting unenjoyably long beasts.

The finishing holes were strong, and the 17th was particularly fun to play. The 16th required a straight tee shot, which we found to be a theme on nearly every hole. A premium was put on straight drives, and long rough bordered by gorse was quick to catch any wayward balls. If you could drive the ball straight, you could go low. I had two eagles on the back nine during the twilight round (on 12 and 15), along with two double-bogeys (on 14 and 16), where I hit it in the gorse.

The course conditions were superb. Being a "golf nerd," I always look out for types of grass, and particularly the conditions of the greens. The greens had nearly no intruding grasses, poa annua, or other impurities. They rolled very true.

Unfortunately, we had a negative experience with the staff at Royal Dornoch. Due to our random assortment of trains and buses, we arrived for our 6:30 twilight round at 14:00, planning on slipping out early. After a massive meal in the clubhouse and an hour spent putting, we asked the pro at 16:30 if we could tee off early. The course was completely empty. He said that we were the next tee time, but if we wanted to go off early, we would have to pay 40 pounds each to upgrade from a twilight rate. I understand that rules are rules, but while we sat for two more hours, not a single person teed off. Letting two students off two hours early would not have hurt the club, and I wouldn’t be writing this negative blurb right now. The rude and illogical way they went about letting us tee off was a disappointment. It put a stain on what could have only added to the trip. Luckily, the great golf overshadowed the pro-shop staff.

In the category of "Old Scottish Links," Dornoch is unquestionably one of the best. It had the beautiful Old Tom Morris design elements of Machrihanish, with some of the fun of Cruden Bay. Golf was first played in Dornoch in 1616, and if it weren't so darn rural, it would get the same amount of play as Troon or other contemporaries. I don't know when the next time I play Dornoch will be, but I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to make the journey.

**I forgot to add one more comment on the course. On the negative side, the course had no yardage markers. There was a 200 yard stone and a 150 yard stone, but other than that, literally nothing. Without a range finder, many club choices and yardages had to be guessed. This was one of the only negatives of the golf course itself. 

St Andrews Links - Behind the Scenes

If you have ever played at any of the St Andrews courses, thinking back on the round, did you see any greenskeepers? I seriously doubt it. The St Andrews Links hosts tens of thousands of rounds every year. Despite this huge number of rounds, the courses stay in incredible condition, and you never see work being done (other than the odd bunker re-build mid-winter). To give a unique look at the dedicated and unseen group who keeps the Links in such great condition, I interviewed Gordon Muir, the Director of Greenskeeping at St Andrews Links.

-How long have you been working at the St Andrews Links? 

I’ve been here almost 21 years. I started here in Sept 1991 as head greenkeeper on the Eden course and in October 2000 was promoted to my current position as Director of Greenkeeping.

-What previous positions did you hold before coming to St Andrews?

 I came up through the ranks at Fraserburgh Golf Club, a 27 hole members course in the NE of Scotland where I started as an apprentice and was head greenkeeper for 11 years before I left.

-How many greenskeepers does the links employ?

Around 50 full time employees plus 6 full time mechanics. From mid April until early October, we take on a further 20 students who are going through greenkeeper training/college or have worked on golf courses around the world and have some experience.

-How do you set up the courses to handle the massive numbers of rounds played?
We have enough staff to allow us to carry out 90% of the essential work before golf starts each morning, cutting most areas, setting the course up, moving holes etc. (Keep in mind the first tee times are at 6:30AM). The Old Course is closed on Sundays, during which we take advantage and bring a full team in to do things such as topdress the greens or anything else that would be disruptive to golf. We have what we call a “maintenance morning” on each of the other courses where greenkeepers have the right of way until 9am on one course/day. During the off-season we’re not as busy, and jobs such as aeration can be carried out.

-How often do bunkers need to be re-built? 

Depending on their location and how much traffic they get, they can last up to 6 or 7 years. Road hole bunker by the 17th green needs to have the face of the bunker replaced every year, but some of the small bunkers that are rarely visited can last 7 years easily.

Road Hole Bunker - www.weiunderpar.com

-How does typical course care differ from tournament course preparation (ie for the Dunhill or Open)? 

There is very little difference. When it comes to something like the Dunhill, we would cut all areas every day from a week beforehand whereas we would normally only cut tees, surrounds and fairways 2 or 3 times a week. Greens are cut every day anyway from April until October. Depending on weather and growth we might roll the greens more often during the period. It’s unlikely we would alter the height of cut but that would be growth dependent. We would have timed any topdressing or fertiliser applications so that they wouldn’t fall the week before the tournament and we wouldn’t aerate the greens in the close lead up to an event

-Outside of mowers, what piece of greenskeeping equipment is most vital to the operation?

Probably the variety of aeration equipment we have to punch holes in the ground although the turf irons/rollers have proved to be a good piece of kit.

-If you could send a message to all golfers playing the links, what would it be?

Be considerate of others using the Links and show respect. Replacing divots, repairing pitchmarks or raking bunkers for other golfers are all extremely important. Throwing away litter and avoiding areas that impact the wildlife are also important.

-How do greenskeeping tactics vary between the Old Course and the Castle Course, with over 600 years separating the two?

The principles are still the same. We’re still trying to promote the finer fescue and bent grasses at both locations and keep the playing surfaces firm. The big difference is the soil type on the fairways since the Castle is built on agricultural land and it will take many years of drainage and sand topdressings to get it to resemble the Old Course. The Castle course greens are more “pure” than the Old course ones at the moment as they have not been infested with poa annua, or annual meadow grass but that will inevitably find its way in there over time.

Castle Course 17th Green

-If you could change the make-up of any of the courses (ie. grass type, number of bunkers, drainage systems), what would it be?

From an agronomy point of view, it would be great to get rid of all the poorer grasses in the sward, such as perennial rye grass, yorkshire fog and poa annua to name but three. To have a pure fescue/bent sward would be dreamland, but I don’t think we have the ability to achieve that in my lifetime, and if we did, we might discover that heavy traffic routes might struggle withstanding the wear and tear without ryegrass present. Managing the gorse and stopping it spreading everywhere, especially into areas of heather or dune grassland, is something I would like to achieve. We’re working hard at controlling to gorse as well as trying to re-introduce heather into many areas. A review of the bunkers and the position of some such as the New course fairway bunkers would be good as a lot of them are at a distance that only penalizes poor shots from high handicap golfers.

-In light of the recent sustainable greenskeeping conference int St Andrews, what are the main steps St Andrews Links takes in order to be environmentally friendly? 

We have always managed the courses with what could be described as a low input programme with minimal watering, fertilising and the limited use of pesticides, working with nature and the indigenous grass types, climate and soils. In the last year, by carrying out an audit of our irrigation system, we have reduced our water usage by around 30% just by reducing the arc that sprinklers throw so we’re not watering the rough and bushes. Away from the courses themselves, we’re always looking at ways of reducing our energy and managing our waste so that we recycle more and send less to landfill.

Conclusion:
The next time you are at the St Andrews Links, take the time to fix your ball marks, replace your divots, and be courteous. Also, take a moment to appreciate the hard work that goes into making the St Andrews Links some of the best maintained in all of Scotland. 

Renaissance Club

While sitting on the train to North Berwick on my way to Renaissance Club, I fully expected to compare every aspect of Renaissance Club to its neighbor, Archerfield. On the train back to St Andrews post-round, I had come to realize that the golf at Renaissance Club offers something different to the club just down the coast. Archerfield’s two courses are there for the entertainment of the members, but at Renaissance, Tom Doak created a challenging world-class course, worthy of fighting its way into the upper half of the UK's top 100 courses.

Renaissance Club opened up in 2008 with a similar ethos to Loch Lomond. Different from most Scottish courses, a largely international membership base is able to fly in and relax in a golfing haven, hidden from society, while being provided with anything of which a golfer could dream. To exemplify this, we overheard the chef asking a member, “What would you like for dinner tomorrow?” to which the member replied, “Lobster would be good...” The chef answered, “I’ll have one brought in.”

         
The temporary clubhouse would make most permanent clubhouses jealous. Marble floors, sinks, and showers in the locker room make me wonder what the permanent locker room will be like. (Could we see a PowerShower rating of 10??) I could go on about the club’s offerings and treatment of the exclusive membership, but what really stood out was the golf course. (Click on the pictures to see full, large detail.)

The hole in the above picture is the 4th. After a strong first three holes, this fourth sets the tone for the round. The fairway has plenty of room to the left, but the left tree forces the golfer to favor the right side of the fairway. The green complex is something of genius with bunkers short right, and a massive backstop on the left side of the green, again encouraging the right side of the fairway for an optimal angle into the backstop. 

The 7th hole is a dogleg right with the picture above being taken right at the bend of the dogleg. The green was extremely large with a tree guarding far left pins, slopes guarding the front, and bunkers guarding the right side. 

The 8th hole (green above) is a drivable par 4. It is also the first place that the original stone walls surrounding the course come into play. The green, like many others on the course, is massive and very undulating. None of these pictures do the slopes justice. The unfinished clubhouse can be seen in the background... It will be extremely impressive. 

At the turn, a member of staff came out to offer us tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks.

                           

There wasn't a single weak hole on the back nine. The 10th, pictured above, is a long dogleg right requiring a carefully placed drive on the left side of the fairway. In another stroke of designing skill, Doak placed the last bunker on the hole at 185 yards out. How many par 5s have you seen without a single bunker around the green? Instead of bunkers, large slopes guard the green. 

The 11th hole was my favorite hole on the golf course. It was an extremely strong hole, which carefully straddled the balance between too difficult and enjoyable. The picture above is taken from the tee, while the picture below is taken looking backwards from the green. The pictures don't do the massive scale of the hole justice. 

Another massive green is found at the 11th with bunkers forty yards out, thick grass and dunes left, and slopes filtering towards the ancient walls to the right. A common theme seen at the course is open, harmless entries to the greens, but miss left or right, and you're in trouble. 

The 14th hole puts a premium on accurate driving. I know this personally, as I was stuck in a deep fairway bunkers on the right side of the fairway (look carefully in the picture). A "figure 8" style bunker guards the dead center, but a natural chute on the left side of the fairway will slingshot a good drive past it. 

The 18th hole was playing downwind during our round and I took full advantage with a high flighted "North Carolina" style drive. The wall running across the fairway makes for a distinctive last hole that will not soon be forgotten. A shelf on the back left portion of the green makes for an interesting pin in a "make or break" situation. 

As you can tell from this writeup, I can only say good things about Renaissance Club. I was treated extremely well and everyone was extremely friendly. The course was in perfect condition, although the greens were slow. I can't wait to go play again when the greens are running fast on a less windy day. I found myself wanting to write about every single hole on the course.

Looking over the 14th, 13th, and 11th holes on the course.

After reading about the course and hearing me sing its praises, you may ask yourself, why isn’t Renaissance higher in the Top 100 in the UK? The main reason is that, due to its young age and high level of exclusivity, much of the golfing world has not seen Renaissance Club. That is how the membership likes it. Another reason would be the lack of seaside views, like those found at Kingsbarns or Castle Stuart. According to my host, once the new seaside holes are finished, they will welcome the ranking panelists. At that point, I would be shocked if Renaissance doesn’t place solidly within the top 100. 

THE NEW HOLES:

There are a number of new holes in the process of creation at the course. They will change the routing fairly drastically. I am going to focus on one hole in particular that will likely be the signature hole. It is a par four with the sea down the entire left side. I was told by my host that the range of tee boxes will allow the hole to be made barely driveable if hosting a Scottish Open or other event. I cannot wait to play the course again once these holes are complete. 

Tee box set within the dunes

New fairway being shaped right beside the beach

New green with grass growing immediately ocean-side