Caddies carry the load as world’s best golfers battle the elements

On days like this you’ve got to feel for the caddies, sometimes even the best octopus impressions are not enough to keep your boss dry and in the style they are accustomed to.

Miserable, wet weather is by far the most challenging conditions toters face. It’s imperative they are organised and it helps greatly if they have a sympathetic player who understands the need to work together if they are to keep their “station” dry.

John McLaren has been on the scene long enough to have experienced most conditions, so anything Scotland’s west coast throws at him, he is likely to have a solution for it – but he’s still waiting for that evolutionary leap.

“We were joking yesterday, we said if evolution takes care of things then the caddy of the future will have no ears and four arms,” quipped McLaren after slipping Paul Casey’s laden blue tour bag off his wet shoulder at the recorders’ hut.

“You really need a system when the weather is against you. You also must work together as a team with your player close to the bag, everything in one place.

“Ideally your player will take the brolly for a moment as we get the club out; do the bag up, get out and do our thing with yardages, then come back together and stay in our little tent if you like. The single most important thing is to keep your station dry.”

“From there you tidy things up, then wander off before doing it all again. It’s a nightmare if your player walks off and you’re left with all the tidying up. Paul’s a smart lad, he gets that we are on the same side.”

Negotiating the greens can appear cumbersome but McLaren says that aspect is usually okay. “Once you’ve got your bag tipped, you can wander off and do what you need to do. The greens this week are very slow. Trying to judge the amount of skid when the ball lands is a challenge, it can be so unpredictable.”

Being a close student of the weather, these hardy souls are able to prepare as best they can. To start out when the elements are against you is much worse than taking it on the chin when already out on the course.

“We had four towels out with us today,” added McLaren drying off. “We also had rain gloves, Paul doesn’t use the right hand glove, but he might use the left if we need it. We also had seven spare normal leather gloves.

“Today we managed the gloves well and only changed to the second normal glove at the very end, the last shot on 18 when the rain started taking its toll.”

Apart from the numbers on Casey’s card, it sounded like a job well done.