golf illustrated edition one preview

6 Golf Illustrated’s historyThe origins of this 113-year-old journal.

8 Inside Royal LythamVenerable history of the 2012 Open venue.

24 Caddies of the Old Grey ToonA celebration of the bag men of St Andrews.

36 PING AnserLouise Solheim on the legendary putter.

38 King of the CastleMark Parsinen on the birth of Castle Stuart.

49 Words from the wiseArnie, Annika, Dye, Torrance & Schofield.

64 Classic imagesDavid Cannon’s GB&I courses photo essay.

92 Four days in JulyTom Watson’s incredible Turnberry story.

100 The hole cutterThe great golf ideas we take for granted.

102 A long roadOn the road with the TaylorMade tour truck.

114 The artisansA movement which is growing in stature.

126 Wine cellarOlly Smith tastes a selection of pro labels.

130 Pipe dreamsA homeless pro trying to turn his life around.

138 Inside OdysseyA rare look inside the birthplace of the 2-Ball.

150 P. RuddyMeet one of the great characters of Irish golf.

162 The swingGolf’s moving parts distilled into a drawing.

Golf Illustrated is published quarterly in the UK by Bauer Consumer Media. Reproduction in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher is strictly prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, art, or photographs. Copyright Bauer Media.

Subscriptions: Golf Illustrated is available only via subscription. Visit www.greatmagazines.co.uk/golfillustrated or call 01858 438823 (quote AXAA).

Editor: Chris Jones (01733 468382) Commissioning Editor: Jock Howard (01733 468695) Editorial Assistant: Linda Manigan (01733 468243) Head of Publishing and Design: Richard Browne (01733 468240) Senior Production Editor: Rob Jerram (01733 468631)

Art Editor: Paul Ridley (01733 468466) Art Editor: Mal Bailey (01733 468244) Web Producer: Harriet Linton (01733 468646)Commercial Director: Stuart Adam (01733 468589) Brand Director: Matt Warne (020 7208 3557)

Editor-in-Chief: Andy Calton (01733 468633) Managing Director (Sport): Steve Prentice Group Managing Director: Rob Munro-Hall

Write to: Golf Illustrated, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. Tel: 01733 468000. Email (editorial): [email protected] Visit: www.golfillustrated.co.uk

volume 1 edition 1

Cover: Old Head, by David Cannon.Right: Cooling the milled grooves of an iron.

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06

G o l f I l l u s t r a t e d

‘Golf – a Weekly recorde of Ye royal & ancient Game’ was started in 1890, as a weekly 16-page journal. It cost 2d and was published every Friday. Its first issue claimed that while golf ‘had long been scotland’s national game, its popularity had extended in recent years to all of Britain and its colonies’.

for a while, around 1894, it came out bi-weekly and was published on tuesdays and fridays. It was also an early supporter of ladies golf and incorporated a section “on the ladies’ links”.

on June 9th, 1899, it announced that from the following week it would have a new format with an enlarged size, better quality paper, sumptuous illustrations and containing a new series of articles by the famous player and writer, Horace G Hutchinson.

It appeared the next week as Golf Illustrated (Golf magazine had recently started up in the united states, hence the name change) – “the Weekly organ of the royal & ancient Game”. Now it cost 6d, and the glossier magazine had better pictures and looked at instruction in greater depth. as before, the magazine reported on all major historical events, with interviews, results and stories.

On the first page of the first issue of the new Golf Illustrated, there was a vitriolic attack on the poor old golf photographer: “every broad-minded golfer will admit the interest and the value of good photographs taken on the links. there is no reason why this operation should not be performed in an efficient manner without being brought painfully before the notice of the player. It is only the obtrusive photographer, who wants every one around to know all about it, and wants the whole green for himself and his apparatus, who makes himself obnoxious. a bounder of this description is a nuisance,

and ought to be pelted off any recognised Golf links with his own plates.”

right up until the 1980s, Golf Illustrated provided a valuable service by publishing fixture lists and results from many of the golf clubs. this was particularly relevant in the early days when newspaper coverage of the sport amounted to practically nothing, and – of course – radio and tV were not a factor.

It also carried, as was the style of the day, lovely verse sent in by readers and by the writers themselves.

You need to remember this was a time when journalists were treated together with the professionals as not fit for clubhouse access. they were viewed as a nuisance at

many of the larger clubs and were often embarrassed by being barred.

It was a breakthrough at an amateur Championship at st andrews when journalists were allowed into the clubhouse of the royal & ancient on payment of 25s, and provided they were vouched for by Bernard darwin. eventually, the Golf Writers’ association was established in 1938.

The first Editor of Golf Illustrated was AJ robertson, who was followed by the great Garden smith. smith edited from 1899– 1913, and became famous for tirelessly campaigning for the government of the game to be put in the hands of the r&a, which it finally was in 1908. Smith was followed by the even greater Harold Hilton, who won two open Championships (1892 and 1897) while still an amateur, as well as four amateur Championships.

an appeal by Hilton to the readers in 1926 was partly responsible for sending the first Great Britain & Ireland team to Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts, for the first ever Ryder Cup in the following year. Golf Illustrated also played a significant role in later years, when interest waned because of american domination, for keeping the ryder Cup going.

from 1910 (when it started and was won by abe Mitchell, samuel ryder’s personal coach) until 1975 (when it was won for the sixth time by the great Michael Bonallack) the Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was one of the top amateur events in the country. anyone who was anyone played in it, and in 1930 (his annus mirabilis) Bobby Jones, arguably the greatest amateur ever, won it.

We are very proud of the heritage and history of this august publication, and we hope its rebirth will enjoy just as great a history in illustrating and shaping the game we all love. We hope you enjoy it, too. The Editors

‘Anyone who was anyone played in the Golf Illustrated Gold Vase amateur event’

The original By The Editors

launched in 1899, Golf Illustrated was the record of the game for 100 years.

Above: The cover from the first issue of Golf Illustrated on June 16th, 1899, with a story about Harry Vardon’s Open victory at Royal St George’s.


07

t H e H I s t o rY

above: amateur legend Harold Hilton (1869-1942), open Champion in 1892 and 1897 and a former editor of Golf Illustrated.


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Join the game’s greatest players in stepping into the clubhouse at royal lytham, host

of the 2012 open Championship.

Shaped bylegends

Words Duncan Lennard Photography James Cheadle


10


one of golf’s most cherished qualities is that you and I can tread in our heroes’ footsteps. at royal lytham and st annes, that begins with your very first footfall. The clubhouse’s front step is an unremarkable concrete affair – were it not for its middle right portion, worn down a full two inches below the outsides. Harry Vardon played his part in grinding that step. so did seve, and tiger Woods... and pretty much every golfer you care to name in between.

“every day, when I arrive at work, I make a point of standing on the step and thinking of all the legends that have been there before me,” says secretary designate Charles Grimley. “seve, my hero growing up... Bobby Jones, who won the open here in 1926... It’s a subtle thing, and many would step over without thinking. But it makes you feel quite humble. It sends a shiver down my spine. I get it every day.”

The step makes a fitting portal to a clubhouse that breathes golf. the game’s history lines its red-brick walls; its corridors vibrate with memories of more than a century of colourful characters. Characters like the founders of the club itself – a crew who, in 1897, drew up the plans for this phenomenally grand building at a time when royal Birkdale’s clubhouse was a corrugated iron shed near the current 4th green, people were still using the gutty, and golf in england was still in its infancy.

“Birkdale’s clubhouse was about right for the times,” says former club captain and historian steven reid. “this was just daft. But then the founders of royal lytham & st annes were no ordinary people. they were wealthy cotton mill owners from Manchester, who came up to the coast to take the waters – as you did in Victorian times.

“they founded a club here in 1886, and for 10 years or so used a room in the st annes Hotel for their clubhouse. But they coveted the impressive clubhouse at Hoylake and commissioned its designers, liverpool firm Woolfall and Eccles, to build them one of their own. they elected to build it on an incredibly lavish scale. they were people

with a love for the game, and with vision: they intended this clubhouse as a gift to the future; we’ve been lucky to inherit it.”

royal lytham’s founders certainly were people with vision. In the late 19th century, when the game was dominated by gentlemen amateurs, neither professional nor female was widely encouraged; yet lytham actively promoted both.

In 1890 they laid out a purse of £53 to stage England’s first ever significant professional golf tournament. ten prominent golfers, including old tom Morris and Willie Park, attended. Meanwhile ladies, with their own course, were part of the fabric of the club from the outset. aided by founder member and tour de force Issette Pearson, lytham’s female membership totalled 200 within six years of the club’s inception. under her direction, lytham’s desire to stage a ladies’ national championship aligned with the nascent ladies Golf union’s will to do likewise in the club’s staging of the first Ladies’ Amateur Championship.

From the outside this enormous edifice could appear imposing. Yet from the inside, those twin spirits of inclusiveness and love for the game that underpinned the club’s genesis are still very much in evidence today. this is a club that exists to accommodate, not intimidate – and its rich heritage, proudly displayed, offers a fascinating insight into a century of golf to anyone who would care to take a tour.

The entranceMount that historic first step and push through the front door and you find yourself not in some grand, opulent hallway but an oaken bag drop area. Informal and reassuringly golfy, it puts you instantly at your ease. It also confirms the fact that despite its lavish proportions, this is a building that puts golf first.

above the bag drop is an impressive oak mural listing the significant events hosted by lytham, and their winners – from Willie fernie in 1890, to Catriona Matthew at the 2009 ricoh ladies British open. there is of course plenty of room for 2012 and beyond.

a revolving door takes you through to a large, open hallway clad in more oak, its golden hue formal yet welcoming. two large bay windows look south-west, to the first tee. Black and white pictures of former members and professionals adorn the walls. old tom Morris keeps watch over the signing-in book, courtesy of an atmospheric George reid photograph. In the far left corner is large ironwork open fire, believed to pre-date the clubhouse by around 50 years. It is kept going by hall porter shaun smalley, who is on hand to greet both member and visitor alike. despite the hall’s size, the warmth of the oak and the aroma of burning coals conspire to create an intimate feel.

one thing lytham’s founders admired about Hoylake’s clubhouse was its upside-down nature, the first floor reserved for clubrooms, food and functions, while the ground floor was for golf. Lytham’s clubhouse echoes this.

“It’s a clubhouse for golf,” confirms

‘They elected to build the clubhouse

on an incredibly lavish scale’

Previous page: the step onto which every visitor to royal lytham treads has been worn down by over 100 years of daily use. right: the club’s crest over the stairs.


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13

I n s I d e l Y t H a M

Grimley. the upstairs is for before and after the game, while the ground floor is very golfy. at lytham we are proud of the welcome we give to visitors, and this big, social hallway makes a great first impression – especially with that fire going. It’s the ideal place to meet your playing partners, or opponents.”

The locker rooma double door off the hallway leads to the locker rooms. to walk into them is to walk straight into history; the locker area has never been modernised since it was first used in 1898. Victorian metal girders, painted in that ubiquitous deep, mossy lytham green, support the ceiling above rows of original, polish-scented oak lockers. the only obvious difference between now and 1898 is the century of spike marks that emboss the benches. on closer inspection, time’s only other impact is in the occasional second keyhole on the locker doors, as the lockers – just a handspan-and-a-half across – fought in vain through the decades to contain ever-expanding golf bags.

The stairsleading up and out of the hallway an impressive, returning walnut stairwell links the golf-related lower floor to the social rooms upstairs. on your left, as you mount the steps, is a bramble-scratched gutty golf ball. once the ball was out in the open, and members flicked it for luck as they went out to play. now it is in a display case.

“the ball belonged to the famous scottish amateur freddie tait,” explains reid. “It was the one he used in an epic 36-hole challenge match, set up here in 1899 between tait and Hoylake’s John Ball, shortly after Ball had bested tait at the 37th in the British amateur. “tait was three-down with five to play in this rematch, but won the next three before halving 17. at 18 he drove into a bunker but found the green, rattling Ball – who three-putted. tait celebrated his one-up revenge win by playing his bagpipes through the clubhouse.”

Within four months of this match tait was dead, killed in action in the Boer War. such was the impression he made that lytham’s members decided to create a new event, the tait Memorial Medal, and donated a tremendous mural of carved oak to record the victors. this tablet, complete with the crest of his regiment, the Black Watch, adorns the stair wall above that gutty.

Ball also went off to war, and a picture of him on a horse in south africa, originally published in Golf Illustrated in 1900, is mounted just a little further up the stairs. “You had to provide your own horse,” adds reid. “Ball’s charger was funded by three golf clubs – liverpool, leasowe, and lytham – who put up £15 each.

“However, according to Golf Illustrated the horse in this picture was not the one bought for him by the clubs. When that horse arrived in south africa, the unfortunate beast was shot from under Ball.”

above the stairwell, and under a large window displaying the club’s crest, is a

rather incongruous minstrel’s gallery. It appears to serve no purpose other than to link the billiard room to the toilets. “It’s entirely possible that it was put in to let members dash off to the loo after they had played, and be back in time for their next shot,” laughs reid. “otherwise it’s a bit of a loop around the landing.”

further around the stairs is a portrait that brings to life one of the astonishing marathon professional challenge matches that drew healthy purses and great crowds at the turn of the 19th century. this one, played in 1905, was an england v scotland affair, with the great Harry Vardon and JH taylor playing a foursome against James Braid and sandy Herd.

these challenges were as much a feat of endurance as golf – on this occasion 72 holes at each of st andrews, troon, lytham and deal. the prize was £400, put up by Hulton Press and the news of the World. the painting shows the 6,000-strong gallery that turned up to watch the lytham leg.

for the record, the epic contest concluded at deal, with Vardon and taylor 8-up.

The landingluke donald will win the 2012 open. or at least, he will if he can retain his world no.1 status until July. We can say this with utter confidence because since the Sony World rankings began in 1986, the lytham open has always been won by the player ranked World no.1. that’s seve in 1988, tom lehman in 1996 (he was number one for just that one week) and david duval in 2001.

lytham celebrates its impressive list of open champions with a prominent wall display at the top of the stairs. Images of the 10 winners, including the likes of Gary Player, Bobbys Jones and locke and Peter thomson are on sliders, affording both a neat display and space for future champions.

opposite the champions’ wall is a case displaying memorabilia from past open Championships. the most evocative is the board displaying Bobby Jones’ scorecards from his 1926 triumph. the numbers –

‘At Lytham we are proud of the welcome we give

to visitors’

opposite: the names of the winners of every major event at royal lytham look down upon visitors as soon as they enter the clubhouse, where upstairs members can enjoy a post – or pre – game drink. Above: The score legend from the first competition ever played at Royal Lytham, in April 1886.



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recorded in those days by a scorer rather than the players themselves – are all pretty neat until the back nine of the fourth round – suggesting no little jostling from the large and unrestrained galleries that followed an epic tussle between the three americans Jones, Walter Hagen and al Watrous.

Jones’ cards are also intriguing for the six-inch measurement, marked on the cards and spanning their width. “at this time stymies were valid unless your blocking ball was within six inches of your opponent’s,” reid explains. “the scorecard was your means of checking.”

that open saw to it that Bobby Jones would remain the only open Champion to pay admittance to his own victory. disappearing to his hotel for lunch between his two final Friday rounds, Jones returned to the course only to find he had left his competitor’s badge behind. the fellow on the gate didn’t recognise him, and wouldn’t let him in. Jones calmly found the entry fee and paid up. His amateur status ensured he would finish the 1926 Open Championship two shillings and sixpence out of pocket.

all champions have donated a club, and all are displayed here. Included is the 9-iron seve used to birdie 16 in 1988, the shot which effectively saw off nick Price’s spirited challenge. elsewhere is Peter thomson’s putter from 1958, Bob Charles’ sand wedge from 1963 and tony Jacklin’s from 1969. Jacklin, incidently, lost his winner’s cheque in ’69, and a duplicate had to be made out. the original was then discovered, and is on display here. It was for £4,250.

Beside the open display is some club memorabilia, including the score legend from the first competition ever played at royal lytham – in april 1886 when the club had only been open for five weeks. Founder member and future captain John Mugliston won with a 123, net 98, but perhaps even more impressive is the feat of the last-placed competitor, WP fullagar, who kept going to the end to shoot a 244, net 214 – an average of 13.5 shots a hole.

‘The only obvious difference between

now and 1898 is the century of spike

marks that emboss the benches’

left: from the Great triumvirate to tiger Woods, they’ve all tied their laces on this bench in the locker-room.


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17


Hidden round the corner from this display is an unremarkable image of 10 gentlemen. It does, however, record the first major professional golfers’ event ever held in england. taken in november 1890, it includes the likes of old tom Morris, Willie Park, the winner of the first Open Championship, and 1883 open Champion Willie fernie, whose rounds of 77 and 78 were good enough for a five-shot victory.

further around the landing, and past the club’s trophy cabinet, we come to what has affectionately become termed the rogues’ Gallery – pictures of every captain from 1886, including Mr Boddington of Cream of Manchester fame, who was captain from 1896-1898.

“Poker was huge here in the 1950s,” says reid. “one of these gentlemen went back to his wife one night and suggested she pack up and move into the Majestic Hotel she had admired so much. He had just lost his house on a hand of poker.”

also on the landing, and opposite an enormous billiard room amply housing three full-size slate-bed tables, is a lecturn holding a copy of the times from the week of the clubhouse’s opening – March 5, 1898. serious stories of new bylaws for the regulation of the river thames and the national Canine defence league’s protests against cruelty in trying to eliminate rabies, mingle with tittle tattle ads for get-rich-quick schemes, miracle hair growth remedies and, yes, how to turn your old jewellery into cash. there is, however, no mention of the new clubhouse.

the far end of the landing leads to the dining areas to the north-eastern aspect of the clubhouse, but there is one more display – three golf clubs built by George lowe, the club’s first professional. A prolific course designer, lowe laid out the club’s new course in 1897, much of which is still in play today; but he was most respected as a clubmaker. these circa 1900 clubs, a niblick, driving

iron and cleek, with the blades’ leading edges set outrageously ahead of the shafts, demonstrate two of his patents. His first – for a matching set – passed the test of time with flying colours; the second – for an anti-shank design – fared rather less well.

The clubroomthe true value of the upside-down nature of royal lytham’s clubhouse hits home with the clubroom, a magnificent fusion of high ceilings, oak honours boards, portraits and enormous windows offering stunning southerly views across the course.

from the window on the far right you feel you are perched almost on top of the 18th green. Immediately below is the site of a bunker, now grassed over, found by Walter Hagen in 1926, after almost landing his approach in the hole in an effort to catch Bobby Jones. Just to the right is the little swale from where seve almost chipped in in 1988; and in the distance is the 18th tee,

‘There are pictures of every captain, including one Mr Boddington’

left: Inside royal lytham’s locker room, and the roll-call of open Champions who lifted the Claret Jug there: Bobby Jones (1926), Bobby locke (1952), Peter thomson (1958), Bob Charles (1963), tony Jacklin (1969), Gary Player (1974), seve Ballesteros (1979 and 1988), tom lehman (1996) and david duval (2001).


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scene of tony Jacklin’s famous “What a corker!” drive in 1969. across to your right is the par-3 1st where, in 2001, Ian Woosnam made a beautiful sunday two to lead the open – blissfully unaware of the two drivers nestling in his bag.

lytham’s history is as peppered with such moments as its links is with bunkers – and another takes pride of place in the clubroom.

arguably lytham’s most famous single shot was struck by Bobby Jones in 1926, from the dune scrubland to the left of the 17th. Jones nipped a mashie (about a 4.5 iron) off the top of the sand, carrying the ball 175 yards over more deadly scrub to the green. as famed golf scribe Bernard darwin said at the time, “a teaspoonful more sand would have meant irretrievable ruin.”

that very mashie now sits in a display case under the definitive portrait of a blue-jumpered Bobby Jones, which gazes down on the room’s occupants. Its head, having benefited from some wire wool, is as clean as that strike on 17. the leather grip looks impossibly thin and shiny.

Jones was famed for gauging the worth of his opponent with some searching eye contact on the first tee – and to look at John Berrie’s portrait is to know how he would have studied you if you were taking him on.

Polite yet confident, it’s the kind of look a pace bowler on a hat-trick gives to a tail-ender arriving at the crease. Jones’ friend Clifford roberts, with whom he founded augusta national, believed this image was Jones’ best likeness, once saying: “It captures Jones more than every other picture.”

further down the room, on the same wall, is the silver Iron trophy. one of lytham’s most prestigious Cups, the presentation includes the signatures of winners, including those of John Ball and former Golf Illustrated editor Harold Hilton – the only amateurs besides Jones to win the open Championship.

the silver Iron was presented to the club by lytham’s most colourful member. squire talbot Clifton owned the land on which the

Right: A player’s eye view of the magnificent clubhouse, from the left-hand bunkers on the 18th fairway.


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current course is built, and became the club’s first president.

“There used to be a pond by the first green,” says reid. “one day squire Clifton hit into it, and told his caddie to jump in and retrieve his ball. the caddie, who had a new suit on and was scared about what would happen to him when he got home, refused to go in. fuming, Clifton played out his round. When he finished he got all the caddies together, and told them to get his ball. they all refused. so he took a handful of sovereigns out of his pocket and threw them in the pond. all the kids dived in.

“the caddies hid when he turned up. If he hit a bad shot he’d pick you up and shake you like a rabbit. He once picked up his caddie and threw him over the railway line to get his ball. on another occasion he was giving a young lass a rollicking. she threw the clubs down, shouted “You can carry your own bloody clubs,” and stormed off. “on Clifton’s next round he specifically asked for her.”

at the head of the room is another portrait – of John Mugliston, affectionately named ‘uncle John’, as the picture was donated by his nephews. It’s a name though, that also encapsulates Mugliston’s avuncular role within royal lytham and st annes; he was instrumental in setting up and establishing the club.

The loftthe links of royal lytham may have an uncanny knack of uncovering the world’s best player, but one player who never won the open here was Jack nicklaus. He did come close though – and steven reid inadvertently discovered just how close when rifling through the stacks of mysterious boxes in the clubhouse’s loft.

“I discovered a strip of 16mm film,” he recalls. “after having it converted dVd, we watched it and discovered it was the BBC’s footage of the 1963 open, with commentary by Henry longhurst and Bill Cox. Watching

the coverage, you got the distinct impression they had only two hand-held cameras to cover the event. You also got the impression they had worked out nicklaus was going to win, because he was pretty much the only golfer they followed.

“the footage shows him birdieing 14, then dropping one on 15 and 17 before hacking up the last. there was then the briefest coverage of the group behind, american Phil rodgers and eventual winner Bob Charles, before the commentary abruptly informs us there will be a play-off tomorrow. that’s it. the end. the BBC’s coverage is over, and there is a scarcely a shot shown of the eventual champion.

“Happily, I can’t see the same thing happening come July.”

‘All champions have donated a club, and all are displayed here’

above left: a portrait of Bobby Jones hangs above the very mashie he used to hit arguably lytham’s most famous single shot, in 1926. above right: a portrait of founder member and future captain John Mugliston hangs at the head of the clubroom. right: there’s a club on display from every royal lytham open champion.

Royal Lytham & St Annes hosts the 141st Open Championship from July 19-22, 2012. Visit www.royallytham.org


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The caddies of the Auld Grey Toonthe game has moved on, and there are those who believe caddies are a dying breed. But at the Home of Golf, the bagmen are a breed apart.

c a d d I e s


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27

c a d d I e s

You know things are a bit different when the caddieshack (sorry, caddie ‘Pavilion’) looks a bit like a posh house in Mayfair. It’s a two-room, two-bathroom dwelling which (given its proximity to the old course) would sell for a small fortune, in the unlikely event it ever went under the hammer. Inside, it is clean and tidy, with a state-of-the-art flat-screen tV and a whiff of new paint. the two toilets are spotless. there is no sign of litter, no half-eaten sandwiches, no fag butts.

caddying has changed a bit over the years. In the 1820s, a large proportion of caddies were red-faced, badly dressed ruffians who were either intoxicated, certifiable, or both. A famous caddie of the time was ‘daft Willie Gunn’, who used to wear three pairs of trousers and three bonnets. the custom in those days was that a caddie would receive clothes from his

various masters. Gunn was eccentric, in that he liked to wear these all at the same time; cutting off the sleeves of his many jackets, in order to get them on.

No such behaviour would be tolerated in 2011. their dress code stipulates there will be no tracksuits, no blue denim jeans, no football colours and no “articles of clothing likely to cause offence to our customers”. caddies are expected to carry a wet towel and a pitch repairer at all times – their “tools of the trade”. tough guys will go round twice in a day. a guy called Jim Napier wrote himself into folklore a couple of years ago, by caddying for four rounds in one day (two on the old, one on the New and one on the Jubilee).

on the notice-board in the Pavilion, advice is offered about how to improve your cardiovascular condition through “Kettleball training’. “tuna salad” is on the menu would you please, and though Irn Bru (made from girders!) is also on the menu, there is an option of diet Irn Bru!

there is even a notice about caddie Grooming which reads: “all caddies are

expected to show proper hygiene, clean clothes and clean hair, and be clean shaven.” No alcohol of any description is permitted within the Pavilion or its surrounds; and no smoking either.

Quite how ‘lang Willie’ (another infamous bag-carrier in st andrews in the early 1800s) would have fitted in here is a moot point! Willie smelt of drink and other, even more unpleasant odours. He insisted he never drank anything but sweet milk; and yet there was hardly a day in the year when he wasn’t found drunk on the course.

In the early days at St Andrews, the first caddies were fishermen. “Carrying the bag” or “grass hoppin” was something they did when they couldn’t fish for one reason or another. the word “caddie” originally comes from the french ‘cadet’ meaning ‘a little chief’. In around 1700, it was applied by scottish irony to street loafers, guys who were happy to do odd jobs and run errands.

these days, most caddies have mobile phones (though any caddie caught using one when working on the course will have their licence suspended with immediate effect).

Words Jock HowardPhotography Iain Lowe

overleaf: st andrews caddies in 1892, illustrated by golf historian david Joy. old tom Morris is on the far left, while Willie Joy, the tall caddie in the centre, was david’s great grandfather. left: former milkman Jimmy Bowman, 74, has been a caddie at st andrews for 37 years. above: every caddie needs a licence, they must pass tests and be assessed.



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some tweet; others facebook. In the caddie Pavilion – in which there is a pleasant aroma of aftershave and where Bill Bryson books sit alongside expensive magazines – you are about as likely to find empty cigarette packets and whisky bottles as you are haggis with legs.

In recent years, they’ve even changed the rules a bit about caddying at st andrews. It used to be that if you wanted a bag, you turned up at some unearthly hour like 3.20am, queued for maybe five hours, and then went out on the links. First come, first served. “that’s all gone,” says Jimmy corstorphine, whose Granny lived for 101 years in the town and whose family have been in St Andrews for five generations. “the problem was that if you came down here, you were meant to stay down here; but that was never strictly adhered to. so, guys would come out of the pub, sign up their names, go to bed and then come back in the morning; and that was unfair. on Saturdays, it is still first come, first served; but for the rest of the time, we have lists.”

there are about 150 registered caddies in st andrews. seven of them are women. In order to become a caddie, you have to undergo a training programme. this involves two weeks learning about things like customer service, etiquette and the rules of Golf. on top of all that, you have to learn about the courses; their history and geography. Ninety per cent of your caddie work will be on the famous old course, but you’ve got to expect to work on the others as well. after you’ve done all the classroom stuff, you’ve got to caddie for about 30 assessed rounds before you get your licence.

“It gives them a pretty good grounding in what st andrews is all about,” says robert thorpe, caddy Master at st andrews links trust. “It’s important they understand what’s gone on here. effectively, once they’ve done their training, they are licensed to work. they are self-employed but licensed by us. We give them a certificate and a bib.”

the fee at the moment is £45 per round [about £5 of which goes to the links trust]. ‘You’ve got to caddie

for about 30 assessed rounds before you get your licence’

Right: The no-nonsense caddie’s pavilion by the first tee; it contains a tV, lockers, noticeboards and vending machines.


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on top of that they would hope to get a tip of anything from £10 upwards. ask any of them what their biggest tip ever is, however, and they go all coy and shy on you.

“Have you met stumpie?” says coyne, changing the subject. “He’s a one-legged rook who has been on the old course for 23 years. His best friend is a caddie called denis Mitchell, and he eats out of denis’ hand. It’s uncanny, but at the end of every season he disappears, and reappears the next spring; and he always seems to know where denis is on the course.” and, sure enough, a few minutes later, we come across stumpie, who is in the garden of the Jigger Inn, with his friend denis, who is enjoying a pre-lunch pint.

Just talking to the caddies, you appreciate the love many of them have for this wonderful, old, university town. Most of them know how lucky they are, caddying at the Home of Golf, on hallowed turf, where it all started over 500 years ago. some of the caddies are second or third generation st andrews caddies. others have been doing it a couple of weeks. a lot of them live in town,

or just outside. Most of them are steeped in the history and traditions of the game.

and so, it goes without saying that all of them are aware of how intimidating it can be to stand on that 1st tee, with the menacing royal & ancient clubhouse standing, staring, right behind you, like some austere club secretary. the caddies appreciate that all the history can make the knees turn to jelly and play havoc with swing thoughts. Indeed, all the ghosts of the past (all the famous names who have set foot on the course from old tom Morris onwards) sometimes make it very difficult for a visiting golfer to draw the club back at all, after he has been announced by the starter!

one of the unique things about the old course at st andrews is that whatever time of day you choose to play, there are bound to be a bunch of people watching your every move, on the streets which run alongside the 18th, ready to laugh hysterically when you hit one sideways, or nod approvingly if you don’t. the 1st fairway may be one of the widest in the world at 129 yards, but it often doesn’t seem that way; and anyway

sometimes some people need 130 yards!“I was caddying for a guy a couple of

weeks ago, whose first shot hit the Caddie Pavilion,” says Jimmy Bowman, a 74-year-old, who has caddied in six opens. “sometimes, people are so nervous they freeze completely,” says coyne, who plays off a handicap of 12 and has been a caddie for 19 years. “and it can work the other way. the old course is like that. It can inspire as well as intimidate. I’ve seen a load of players shoot their best round ever here. only last month, I had a 14-handicapper shoot level par. so much of the old course is about the short game. If you keep them left off the tees, then it can happen.

“But, we’ve all seen the other side as well. We’ve seen our share of air shots. I caddied for a r&a member in a medal, who shanked his ball on the 18th and it hit the buildings on the right and bounced back into play. His approach then hit the Woollen Mill and bounced back onto the green; from where he holed the putt! so, he was out of bounds twice, and yet still made a birdie!”

“at the end of the day,” says corstorphine

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Above left: Old Tom Morris at the first recorded snack cart, established in 1856. Above right: Stumpie the one-legged rook is fed daily by the caddies. Right: Bruce Sorley, 60, has worked the links for 37 years. formerly a merchant seaman, he jumped ship in New Zealand, was deported and went back to st andrews where his brother was an open caddie.


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‘I once caddied for a guy who took 17 shots to get to the 1st green... and he still wanted a line on his putt!’


35

c a d d I e s

“we don’t mind how well or badly someone is playing; just as long as they’re happy. I once caddied for a guy who took 17 shots to get to the 1st green, and still wanted a line on his putt!”

at many other places, the caddie is an endangered species; not at st andrews. unlike almost anywhere else on the planet, the number of caddie rounds is actually going up. earlier this year in July, they beat the record, and 243 caddie rounds in a day were recorded. trying to manage that sort of number, on a daily basis, is quite a business; especially as the very nature of the ‘ballot’ for the old course means that many players don’t know whether or not they will be playing, until the evening before.

the caddies of st andrews represent a huge cross section of society. students carry bags alongside teachers; lawyers alongside labourers. “We’ve had accountants,” says coyne, “and we’ve had a guy who was on the apprentice. We’ve even had millionaires, who’ve opted to take up caddying in order to get out of the rat race.”

some caddies are good players; others aren’t. Back in 1999, a handful of st andrews caddies went on an all-expenses paid trip to america, where they played Pebble Beach and spyglass Hill. compare that to Bowman, who has caddied for 37 years and is considered to be one of the best in the business; and yet has never played in his life! “I tried it once, but I couldn’t keep my head down.”

for years, the place for caddies to drink was the 19th Hole. “I had a guy once,” says Jimmy corstorphine, “who told me when I met him, that he was just here to tell his friends that he had played a shot on the old course at st andrews. He hit a tee shot down the 1st and then told me to go and retrieve his golf ball. He then paid me a fee, tipped me, and said: ‘Now Jimmy, where can we go for a drink?’ I told him the 19th Hole was open. We sat in there, and he got

his scorecard out, and asked me to write on it how far past Granny clark’s Wynd his drive had gone. I wrote it had cleared it by 50 yards, which it had.” sadly, the 19th Hole, which was on the right of the 18th green, was turned into flats many years ago.

the Jigger Inn (the pub on the right of the 17th fairway of the old) then took over as the caddie’s official watering hole. This small white building was originally the stationmaster’s house, when a train used to come to town; and for decades caddies were known to jigger in and then stagger out! there was even a little poem written about the place: The Jigger Inn Bar, a place of renown,is known by the caddies as best place in town, it’s clean and it’s friendly, with plenty of cheer, the service is great and so is the beer.

“that’s all changed as well now,” says dave coyne. “the Jigger is now owned by the old course Hotel. In the mid ’90s a lovely texan couple called Jack and sheena bought the dunvegan pub, just on the corner, over the back of the 18th; and ever since then, that’s been our main drinking place. It’s closer for us, and more convenient.”

corstorphine, who is 75 and carried his first bag when he was 13, has enough stories to fill a bookcase. He remembers caddying for sean connery, when he was playing against a reverend. “We were playing the 4th and sean hit his ball stiff,” he says, “and as we were walking up to the green the reverend nodded at him. sean says to me ‘He’s given me this Jimmy. We’ve won this hole’. the reverend then takes three more putts and taps in for a bogey. all hell then broke out, because the rev said he hadn’t given sean his putt! sean then started shouting at this guy: ‘You may stand on a pedestal, but I’ll have you off it, if you behave like this. In fact, if you want the match that bad, you can have it.’ and with that, he called me over and said: ‘Jimmy, we’re off.’ and we walked in from the 4th!”

Bruce sorley has been caddying for 37

years. He used to be a merchant seaman, but jumped ship while in New Zealand, and was deported. He came to st andrews, where his brother, John, was a caddie legend, and has never left. “I caddied for tiger in the 1995 open here, when he was still an amateur,” sorley says. “I’d been on his bag the week before, at carnoustie, for the scottish open, and that’s a week I’ll never forget. He never took his driver out the bag, except on the 18th, made the cut easily, and was only a couple of shots off the lead. We played with Monty in the first two rounds, and we were hitting 2-iron past Monty’s driver. I had a drink with tiger and his dad afterwards.”

“I caddied for President clinton,” says Bowman, “just after he left office. I was a bit nervous, because he had six security guards with him. on the 14th, a couple of girls who had heard he was on the course, came out to get their picture taken with him. He tipped me $100 at the end, but sadly then stopped his playing partner tipping me as well! But the ex-President did say afterwards: ‘If you’re ever over the other side of the pond, and need anything, just phone my office.’ I’ve never taken him up on that. Yet!”

there are other stories, like the time a Japanese group went missing because they didn’t have any caddies, and were eventually found playing the 14th of the Jubilee course thinking they were still on the old. or the time an american dad, putting on the 1st, told his son to move back, because his shadow was over the hole, and the son fell into the swilcan Burn in spate, and had to play 17 holes covered head-to-toe in mud.

But, it’s time to retire to the dunvegan. after a pint of Belhaven Best, coyne starts to get all rudyard Kipling on me. “If you can caddie for both a Morris Minor and a lamborghini, and treat them both the same, you will be a great caddie.” few have seen more Morris Minors and lamborghinis than the caddies of the auld Grey toon.

overleaf (left): dave coyne has the caddie mantra tattooed on his leg: “caddying isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. Good caddying! Know the course, turn up, put up, shut up!” overleaf (right): the starter’s box in 1895 and today’s pavilion. left: Jimmy corstorphine, 75, has been caddying since 1949. His grandmother lived for 101 years in st andrews.


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