Watson to play at St Andrews

Tom Watson has this week confirmed that he will be in St Andrews in July for the 150th staging of The Open Championship. Last year at Turnberry he came so close to becoming the oldest ever winner of The Claret Jug, but eventually lost in a play-off to fellow American Stewart Cink.

Watson is known as one of the all-time great wind and links players. He has won a staggering five Opens (four in Scotland), and almost made it 6 down on the Ayrshire coast last year. He has never won at St Andrews, and believes that his chances are a little slimer now that many of the holes on The Old Course have been lengthened. The 4th worries him in particular, because if it plays into the wind, he may not be able to reach the wide part of the fairway off the back tee. But if his game clicks into gear, he is still a wonderful ball-striker, and it would be great to see him involved come the back nine on Sunday.

One thing is for sure, there would be no more popular a champion at St Andrews than Tom Watson.

Caddies

The caddie fee in Scotland or Ireland is possibly a little higher than you would pay at your local country club (£60 GBP including tip is generally expected), but in return you will receive the advice which could define the overall enjoyment of your golf trip. Most of the top courses now have caddy programmes in place where only the best local caddies are bestowed on the visiting golfer. Some even impose exams and entrance criteria before admittance to the caddyshack is granted. It has become such a sought after profession by members of the local communities that the lazy and those without a keen golfing brain need not apply. The window of the caddyshack at St Andrews displays a large number which signifies the number of caddies sent out on that particular day. Demand is such that during the summer months, this number often reaches the 100 mark by lunchtime.

In the nearby bars, you will always hear the conversations of 'who is the best caddie in town'. In my experience, the true contenders never seem to enter these fiercely contested debates. Their slightly more reticent retort usually goes along the lines of, "...I've been walking this course for 40 years, but I'm still learning new things every day...". However, as a general rule across the links courses, you are more likely to receive one of the better caddies through a morning tee-time. An earlier start (and more importantly, an earlier finish) seems to be the reward for climbing the caddiemaster's ranking list.

There are some courses where I would say taking a caddie is almost compulsory. Not because the club force it upon you, but because of the difficulty of the course. Take Royal County Down for example. Even a scratch handicapper would have no chance of breaking 80 round here on his debut without the help of a caddie. Blind tee-shots, hidden bunkers, and severely sloping greens are something that a newcomer cannot overcome without the aid of some local knowledge. Another great example is the 12th hole on the Old Course at St Andrews. From the tee it looks like a wide open fairway. But the contours cleverly disguise half a dozen nasty bunkers that can easily turn a 4 into a 7.

But a caddie is so much more than a directional aid. Aside from reading greens, his most important job is course management. This is where a caddie can really set about lowering his employer's score. A great example of this is on the 14th of The Old Course. Many golfers go straight for the green with their second shot on this par 5 hole, without realising they are attempting a 200+ yard carry over the unseen Hell Bunker. Unless the caddie feels this shot is well within the golfer's capabilities, he will often suggest a lay-up down the 5th fairway. This leaves a longer approach, but it takes Hell Bunker out of the equation and provides the best angle into the green.

Although the stereotypical image of the drunk and dishevelled caddie is slowly changing, you only have to look to a request made by Old Tom Morris in 1864 asking for caddies to "...appear clean and moderately sober..." to realise that some things will never completely change.