THE WINE OF THE COUNTRY
BY RICK MACKENZIE

Rick Mackenzie, a native of Scotland, has been the Caddie Manager at St. Andrews since 1992. He recently was instrumental in helping design and create the Caddie Connect program, a joint training course between the St. Andrews Links Trust and Elmwood College in neighboring Cupar. Mackenzie, is also the author of "A Wee Nip at the 19th Hole," a delightful history of the St. Andrews caddie.

Bernard Darwin, one of golf's foremost writers gives sound advice to golfer's visiting the Home of Golf.

"The golfer who does not take a caddie at St Andrews denies himself the wine of the country", of course, in some cases, this wine can be more vintage than others! But unlike past caddies who were seen as the target for a thousand sarcasms and, "something between a hindrance and a help" to their golfer. Today they are all things to all men, guide, part psychologist, stand­up comedian, history teacher, storyteller and golf pro' all rolled into one.

Over the years there has been a corresponding rise in the profile of those caddies fortunate enough to carry for a top golf professional, most caddies though, still carry at their local course, where their life is neither secure or luxurious. Out in all weathers, and as a rule their contribution can go unnoticed, unless there is a problem.

It can be reasonably assumed that most golfers have some kind of expectation of the kind of service they should receive when hiring a caddie, the luxury of playing a round of golf with a caddie is something that most golfers coming to St Andrews look forward to. So, what should your caddie do for you?

To understand this, you first have to understand what a golfer goes through while standing on the first tee. Filled with anticipation, excitement, the adrenalin is flowing, his expectations are high. This is when the caddies' job starts, he has to calm the golfer, make him feel at ease and display an air of authority. Assurance is what the golfer is looking for, they need to know that they are in capable hands, and of course, while the caddie carries more than the weight of the player's clubs on their shoulders, the first thing to understand about caddying is that it's not brain surgery, it's far more complicated than that!

The caddie smoothes the way for the golfer to play to the best of their ability, using their skills and talents with as little disruption to their concentration or enjoyment of the round as possible.

His knowledge can make the difference between a good scoring round and a bad one and working well together covers the whole spectrum of emotions and demands. Carrying the bag, replacing divots, raking bunkers and tending the pin are some of the more basic aspects of the job, gone are the days when the caddie had only to: 'show up', 'put up' and 'shut up'.

They have to know where the trouble is, know all of the yardages and be able to read the greens, letting you walk off your bad shots in silence, and get as excited as you about the good ones. Above all, the good caddie should leave the visiting golfer with many enjoyable memories of playing the course for the first time.

Caddies will always find a rationalisation for everything and they appreciate the oddities of the game and the people who play it. They look for the positive in every situation, there are no what-ifs or negatives, and while caddying isn't a difficult job, it is difficult to do well, and a sense of humour can encourage or lift the mood during those moments when everything is going wrong. Bad lies, bad bounces, bad weather, even good weather can all add to the pressure the caddie has to endure.

One of my senior caddies was at pains on one unusually calm day explaining to his golfer who wasn't playing well, that it isn't always like that. "In fact", he enthused, "when the wind blows in St Andrews sir, the sheep hold onto the gorse bushes with their teeth"! The ball and club-making skills may have disappeared but their humour remains part of the caddie's legacy to golf.

Now the role of the caddie has been taken to another more professional level, with the introduction of Caddie Connect, a training programme designed to lift the profile of the caddie not only in St Andrews but elsewhere. It is the first training scheme of it's kind in Britain developed for caddies by St Andrews Links Trust and Elmwood College. It will improve the level of skills and services caddies offer the golfer, with particular emphasis on course and man management, the Rules of Golf and golf etiquette. Designed to assist participating Golf Clubs who wish to become involved in the programme, it will provide the tools needed to uniformly train and monitor the caddie to the 'St Andrews Standard', which is a measurable, national standard with the Scottish Qualification Authority accreditation.

Caddie Connect Programme Update

The first group of 24 caddies successfully completed an in-house pilot Caddie Connect training program this July. The first official course for caddies will be offered this autumn by Elmwood College. Niall Flanagan, Golf Services manager for the St. Andrews Links Trust said, "We are delighted with the success of our first trainees. There has been enormous interest from around the world in Caddie Connect and we felt it was important to run a pilot course in-house with trainees before making the course more widely available."

Golfers traveling to the British Isles in the future an look forward to even more fulfilling experiences with caddies as the number of graduates from the Caddie Connect programme grows.