General / Editor / 24 August 2007 / 2

Former Tour pro Roger Chapman talks about the man on the bag

I first came across Tour caddies at the 1974 Colgate PGA Championship at Royal St George's golf club. My coach, George Will was playing and as I lived in Sittingbourne, Kent, at the time, decided to go down and watch.

George was playing with another Scot called Willie Milne but on the first tee it was plain to see that Willie's caddie was drunk! He was Irish, and had that look, boxers broken nose, and craggy features from a lifetime on the booze. He was given his caddie bib, which all caddies have to wear, featuring the player's name and also sponsors of the Tournament. This particular gentleman could not get his bib on and tie it around his waist. My mother went over to help and nearly fainted at the smell of his breath!

Caddying has all changed now, but in my early years on Tour we had real characters, 'Tiny' (5ft nothing), 'Yorkie Bill', 'Silly Billy" and 'Jungle Jim'. These guys lived on the road and were hardened drinkers. They caddied locally through the winter to get some money together before going on Tour in Europe. They would always tap you up for a fiver here and there and you know they would go down to the nearest pub and drink it away.

One of these 'gentlemen', because he had no abode, would get a house brick and throw it through a shop window and wait for the police to arrive. They would arrest him put him at Her Majesty's pleasure for the winter with three hot meals a day and be released in time for the following season!

I have to say it has all changed now. The guys who caddy on European Tour now can make a serious living, given the money the players are playing for. If you can get a player who is winning a million Euros a year, he's laughing all the way to the bank. Wages are around £800-£900 a week. The player usually gives 5 per cent of his winnings, 7.5% for a top ten finish, and 10% for a win. So if you do the maths it can be a very lucrative time. The caddie also sees the world, as we now go to most of Europe, the Middle East, Far East, Australasia, and South Africa. For a young guy to travel the world - what an experience.

Most, if not all, these caddies have nicknames. Some of them are a brilliant play-on words. There is one Australian caddy called Cornflake, because he looks like a cereal killer. He got into an altercation with a Scottish caddy who gave him a head-butt, so David Howell named him Crunchy. Crunchy Nut Cornflake!

Some other nicknames are 'Seagull' (because he keeps shitting on everyone). 'Rod Stewart' because he's a dead ringer for the Scottish crooner. People actually go up to him and ask for his autograph. 'Toffy Tim' because he went to University, 'the Brain', because he didn't. David Kirk (who tragically died in a car accident on the way to a tournament) we called him Captain (Star Ship Enterprise) and you wouldn't want to argue with him, he as a tough Glaswegian with a huge scar down his face!

It's essential to get on with your caddie; after all, you spend 12 hours a day with him, 5-6 days a week. He is your right hand man, your valet, and when you arrive at the course, he will have sorted out your locker, gone to various manufacturers to collect new golf balls, gloves etc. Maybe most importantly, he will have walked the course so he knows it as well as possible.

Over 24 years the caddy I valued most was Colin Byrne, who now works for Retief Goosen. He was brilliant, did everything that was needed and became a good friend. Equally as good was Darren Reynolds from Bray near Dublin. He is a great character with a fine sense of humour who became a good mate and now caddies for Ryder Cup hero, Paul McGinley.

Another I got on with was 'Edinburgh Jimmy', my wife couldn't understand much of what he said but I got used to it and can inform readers that he told a lot of bad jokes. Miles Elliott was a strong and silent type who knew when to speak and when not. Gary Tilston (his twin brother also caddies) they still caddie today, and last but not least, the Professor (deceased).

There was one American that caddied for me, a guy called Nick de Paul. He used to caddie for a great player, Graham Marsh (Swampy) the Australian. In those days we didn't have range balls, so we sent our caddies out to the range and hit our own bag of balls to them. It was dangerous stuff; people would come back with lumps and cuts where other players had hit them by mistake. Nick de Paul had a baseball glove and he used to catch them whilst he was with Swampy. I sent him out to the range and he was running all over the place trying to catch the golf balls, which was all quite embarrassing! He later went on to caddie for Seve Ballesteros and won a couple of majors with him.

Caddies are a breed unto themselves, all characters and a unique group with a nomadic personality.

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1. Ann-Catrine Ström | 12 November 2007

   Hi,
   Very interesting to read this artical about caddies. I have met some of them. I used to be an aupair in Esher, Surrey in 1989-1990,I'm from Sweden. We visited a pub called The Albert Arms and got to know some of them. They lived there, some of them above the pub and some of them in a flat across the road.
   I have many good memories from this year and some of the caddies we met were: Andy Bladen (Rod Stewart I think), Malcolm Mason, Ricky Roberts, Gary Tilston, Jimmy (can't remember his last name), very short and a wonderful man. He died some years ago I heard.
   Best regards
   Ann-Catrine Ström

2. gillian ferguson | 02 May 2010

   I have fond and fun memories of the Tilston twins,big blond almost identical boys back in the early nineties. I first met Gary at the open in Troon ...what a character.Met Guy in York for the first time...like two giant drunk peas in a pod! Ah happy days.xx

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