Golfers Thread

[lichtie23]

2 minutes ago, doulikefish said:

I don't get it either but he gets the blame everytime Rory doesn't win on social media 

He plays off +3 I’m sure. Very good golfer himself. 

[Mark Connolly]

27 minutes ago, dave_binos said:

Why does he get slagged?

A lot of it is because they have been mates since they were kids, and folk think he's too scared to tell Rory what he thinks, which a "proper" caddy would.

Most don't realise he was also a brilliant amateur who qualified for the Irish Open. He knows what he's doing.

It's basically an easy excuse for people to blame DIamond rather than look at Rory's real faults

[Caledonian1]

25 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

Still remember seeing an OpenZone with Claude, where he took a right handed driver, turned it round and hit it lefty. Thing went for miles.

He was on the range with DJ on Wednesday, but think given how busy he is with all his players, sadly he doesn't have time for TV

I met Claude at a wedding at the Marcliffe in Aberdeen about 25 years ago (he was working at the Kings Links at the time) I got on great with him over a couple pints and had a laugh about me never having had a golf lesson....so, it was arranged for him to give me a lesson on the Tuesday.  I can still recall phoning up the Kings Links and cancelling a couple of hours before the lesson was due to take place.  The only regret that I have regarding that particular decision in my life is that I believe he could have made me world number one and I would currently be swanning it on the Seniors tour having bagged a good few majors......

I was at a college reunion last year and recalled this story to the lassie who's wedding it was that day.....she promptly sent Claude a text saying that I was now ready for my lesson and apologised for making him wait 25 years. (incidentally she sent that text on the Saturday night of last years Ryder Cup where he was working for DJ)

[dave_binos]

14 minutes ago, doulikefish said:

I don't get it either but he gets the blame everytime Rory doesn't win on social media 

Blaming the caddy is the easy thing to do. He will know Rory better than anyone. I’m sure if he wasn’t up to the task, Rory would have replaced him long before now. They have had success together but they just need to win that elusive major.

Mcginley is a stranger one for me. When he’s on ‘The Range’ he’s a good listen. I also think he brings out some brilliant points when commentating regarding the course and the upcoming shot but will then come out with some complete nonsense. 

[Distant Doonhamer]

21 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

He plays off +3 I’m sure. Very good golfer himself. 

I think much of the slagging is based around a view that he only got the gig because he’s Rory’s pal. 
Hadn’t realised that he was such an accomplished player. That presumably renders redundant the views of us mere mortals on all sorts things like caddying, course quality and design to name but a few. 

[pozbaird]

31 minutes ago, lichtie23 said:

I’m not a fan of Laura Davies on the commentary. She is fine as an analyst in the studio but on the mic she is bad. 

Dame Laura Davies I think you’ll find. Shame on you sir.

[pozbaird]

9 hours ago, dave_binos said:

Anyone else a sad act and set their alarm for 6am just to see the opening tee shots? I’m off as well

I’ll look out for you on Sky then. What time are you off? P&B are rooting for you. Light a candle!

[Mark Connolly]

A few guys slipping at the moment, that could be interesting

[Jimmy Shaker]

Sky showing analysis of someone's swing when there's 54 players on the course at any given time on a Thursday is a pain in the arse. 

Watched all of yesterdays play and had forgotten just how long these take to finish a round. Lawrie got back to the bar for three minutes to opening time (4h20+m) which was a bit latchy considering there was no one in front of him, but watching the evening groups was like being out with the Yanks I used to caddy for in my youth, who'd all the gear and no idea and thought nothing of taking six hours to do a round. 

[dave_binos]

I may need to switch to one of the yank channels. This strike meter is doing my tits in. 

[Scosha]

2 minutes ago, dave_binos said:

I may need to switch to one of the yank channels. This strike meter is doing my tits in. 

I find it quite interesting as I always assume these guys just pipe drivers straight out the middle. It was funny watching one this morning that was apparently 48 on the meter but smoked miles down the fairway 

[The Moonster]

4 minutes ago, Scosha said:

I find it quite interesting as I always assume these guys just pipe drivers straight out the middle. It was funny watching one this morning that was apparently 48 on the meter but smoked miles down the fairway 

What does 48 represent? I don't understand it.

[Bring Back Paddy Flannery]

Had a rare day out yesterday. I was surprised by how few Scottish accents I heard amongst the crowd and just how many Americans were in attendance. The rest seemed to be mostly English. That ballot can’t have been very random, it obviously favoured the tourists. 

I managed to get a seat in the 1st tee grandstand for Tiger teeing off and had a great spot for Bob’s birdie on the 3rd which were both highlights of the day for me. We also had a cracking seat at the 17th tee for the last couple of hours and witnessed a few rippers over the hotel. The TV didn’t do some of thise pin positions justice, some of them looked impossible to get close to!

I was warned that the Old Course isn’t a great place for watching golf because of it being so flat but I really enjoyed it and saw pretty much everyone bar Mickelson who I wasn’t overly arsed about anyway. It was some sight watching BJD and his boy strut around the Old Course with that Hooters bag.

 

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Tiger looks fucked already just making his way to the practice green.

[pozbaird]

13 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

What does 48 represent? I don't understand it.

In our terms, I reckon a ‘48’ equates to ‘jesus, hit that right off the toe but got away with it’. A ‘38’ equates to a Liz McColgan drive. Anything over ‘50” in our world equates to ‘fcuking caught that one sweet, why can’t I do that every drive?’… that’s how I’m reading it.

[alta-pete]

Article in today's Telegraph about caddies who are more than the 'hired hand'...

Spoiler

Open Championship caddies: Why it pays to have a loved one on the bag

A number of players featuring at the top of the leaderboard at St Andrews have a friend, relative or partner caddying for them

By Kate Rowan at St Andrews 19 March 2017 • 11:15am

 

Lee Westwood's caddie and partner Helen Storey Credit: Shutterstock

Things were not looking good for Lee Westwood. A double bogey on the second hole threatened to turn a bad week - one in which his involvement in the Saudi breakaway league has come under heavy scrutiny - even worse.

Lucky, then, that he had his most trusted confidant on his bag: his wife Helen Storey.

Sixteen holes later and things were looking far rosier for Westwood, who recovered to post an impressive four-under-par as he strolled around St Andrews with Storey inside the ropes.

Westwood and Rory McIlroy, who starts Friday second at six-under-par with childhood friend Harry Diamond carrying his bag, are the flag bearers for the player-caddie relationship that means more than simply being the hired help.

Fanny Sunesson, Sir Nick Faldo’s caddie who helped him to the 1990 Open title here, is better placed than any to shed light on when the caddie business becomes pleasure. She was a professional caddie for hire when Faldo recruited her in 1989 but they quickly developed a bond more akin to siblings than colleagues. “It was great [working with him],” she says. “Nick is a perfectionist and so am I.

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“We had fun, he was very focused on the course and so was I. We were a great team, and now he is a great friend, he is like family to me. He is like a brother.”

Showing the softer side of a fierce competitor, she explains: “He is family. I am very grateful to have that friendship. He is great fun, he is very witty, he is very kind. He tells great jokes, I am not as good, he is a fantastic joke teller, really brilliant, it was a lot of fun.”

Two-time Open winner Padraig Harrington was one of the first to turn to family, with brother-in-law Ronan Flood on his bag. Such is their closeness they have often shared hotel rooms.

Padraig Harrington and bagman Ronan Flood Credit: PA

Playing with McIlroy and another pre-Championship favourite is Xander Schauffele, whose caddie is his former collegiate golfing team-mate and close friend Austin Kaise.

The Scottish Open winner, who is attempting to win his first major, shot a respectable three-under-par. In a 2019 interview with the Telegraph described his friend as “a trusted advisor” and how the pair often talked about anything but golf between shots.

This is something Sunesson can relate to with how she worked with Faldo. “When we won here in 1990, it was quite intense and I ended up talking to him about everything from renovating [his house], what colour he was going to have on his walls, if he was going to get a dog. If you were in that bubble the whole time and were just focus, focus – it is very tiring.”

Fanny Sunesson was reunited with Sir Nick Faldo this week Credit: GETTY IMAGES

The Swede, 55, is acutely aware of the increasing tendency to have someone close on the bag and has the height of admiration for Storey, Diamond and Kaiser. “A big part of caddying is to keep the player in his or her state of mind to perform, and for some players the most important thing might be to have a friend. And the friend will learn the caddie job.”

Many credit Sunesson as creating the template for the modern caddie: walking the course at 5.30am every morning of a big tournament and walking each green in detail. Then comes the many facets to the job. “You are a bit of a coach, you are a bit of a butler, you are a carrier, you are a cleaner - you are cleaning the clubs,” she says.

But with the gruelling schedule comes the opportunity to experience sporting history and Sunesson cannot help but break into a broad grin as she recalls walking up St Andrews 18th fairway on way to victory as Sir Nick told her “to savour the moment and enjoy it”. Will one of Storey, Diamond or Kaiser have that same magic moment on Sunday?

 

[Distant Doonhamer]

Jesus what a cock of a being Nick Faldo is. Hopefully he won’t feature too often. 

[D Angelo Barksdale]

The Early Thursday / Late Friday draw looking the best now. Stroke differential will be about 2.5 imo.

 

[Ignoramus]

1 minute ago, Distant Doonhamer said:

Jesus what a cock of a being Nick Faldo is. Hopefully he won’t feature too often. 

There was a bit yesterday where one of the Americans (I think) was hitting a shot and Faldo said something like the lines of ‘he doesn’t have as many shots as I did’. Just a pointless arrogance now.

[Mark Connolly]

1 minute ago, Ignoramus said:

There was a bit yesterday where one of the Americans (I think) was hitting a shot and Faldo said something like the lines of ‘he doesn’t have as many shots as I did’. Just a pointless arrogance now.

It was Adam Scott IIRC