Tales from the hotel bar

Caddie's Role: The Caddies Association of the European Tour held their a.g.m. in the conservatory of the Old Course Hotel last week at St Andrews. It was a fitting location.

The soft evening light brought out the best in the view across the 17th fairway and on up to the first and 18th and into the Old Grey Toun.We have either come a long way from some damp, musty caddie shack or we are living beyond our means. Either way, it was a beautifully apt location for golf enthusiasts to gather.

In the ballroom on the other side of the hotel, the reception for the draw of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was also taking place. As our secretary, the well-spoken Martin Rowley, was giving his report for the year, a distinguished-looking man with a light beard was spotted sidling towards the heart of the meeting. It was, in fact Gianluca Vialli, the ex-Chelsea manager. He had obviously mistaken the caddies' gathering for the draw reception. As one of the caddies suggested he might be looking for the ballroom across the hall, another struck up the "Vi Al Li, whohohaoh" to the tune of Volare and the ex-manager scampered out of the a.g.m. to a full blown terrace chant of "Vialli. . .".

At an event that has a natural buzz at it because of its location, and post-Ryder Cup victory, it was always going to be a special atmosphere. Naturally everyone had their own impression of the events at the Belfry and they wanted to share them with others who would understand. After a constructive meeting, we all adjourned to the Jigger bar at the corner of the Old Course Hotel. Reuters, who sponsor the statistics cards that the caddies fill out after every round, were showing their appreciation by running a free bar.

After brief speeches from "the sponsors", including Ryder Cup references, the drinking began and the hugging continued.

There was intermittent chanting throughout the early part of the evening. Not even the fire alarm could halt Lee Westwood's oration. He had just made a pulpit for himself on a window sill when the siren began. It turned out to be a mis-directed elbow that triggered the alarm and not the Reuters representative once he saw the drinking ability of his guests.

The party was ushered outside into the relatively balmy St Andrews night.

Lee was unstoppable. The picnic table was ideally situated, illuminated by a nearby spotlight which framed the speaker perfectly with an overhanging tree. The ideal stage for a Shakesperean soliloquy. Darren Clarke got up under the spotlight after Lee and had his say, including a warm toast to the participating caddies the previous week. Sam Torrance was very gracious to Curtis Strange.

Those of us who were not at the Belfry got a taste for the atmosphere and the camaraderie that must have had such a profound impact.

THE tournament got under way, the euphoria continued, but most of the Ryder Cup players, including Clarke, admitted they had nothing left to give last week.

We were playing with Niclas Fasth, whose clenched jaw of determination had just eased out by the time he teed up in Kingsbarns last Thursday. His fist-punching looked limp in comparison to the fiery punches he had landed in the midlands the previous week. Steve Redgrave was Niclas' partner for the week.

There were many daunting tasks facing the average amateur last week apart from the usual first-tee jitters. Getting the ball airborne over the Swilken burn on the first at St Andrews and the tee- shot on the 17th are also quite a tall order for the average golfer.

The train sheds, a legacy of the trains that used to service St Andrews, cut into the infamous Road hole off the tee. The blind tee-shot is best hit over the "Ho" of the Old Course Hotel printed on the refurbished sheds. The drama on the tee is intensified with the spectators breathing in your ear as you follow through.

Redgrave is the first person I have seen actually go around the sheds and not over them and find the fairway. He hit a heel cut-shot which sent the ball spotter at the corner diving over the hotel wall for cover. His shot miraculously rounded the sharp bend like a guided missile and found the required fairway.

During one of the many idle moments that we had last week - the rounds took up to six hours each day - I asked the very big but extremely gentle ex-champion rower if he felt he had missed out on the financial rewards in his chosen sport that are available to other top professionals.

He responded that he had done well last year through after-dinner speaking and other public events. He was just grateful he had been given the talent to be very good at something.

Having been exposed to the mentality of professional golfers for too long, it was a pleasant and heart-warming surprise to hear such a humble attitude coming from a very successful sportsman. If Steve were a top golfer, there would be a long queue of caddies waiting to carry his bag.