Serious but civilised women's game a tonic

CADDIE'S ROLE:I HAVE to admit I had limited knowledge of women's golf until last week. I grew up playing in a club that had restricted access for women and, professionally, was fortunate enough to stumble upon the more lucrative male tours of the world. The result was that the closest I came to women's golf was walking by the red tees on my home course.

I had narrowed my counselling to professional males where the routine was pretty simple: get a player, negotiate a financial deal and prepare yourself for the worst if the putts don’t drop. Most men are not emotionally mature on the course and many have two forms of expression: silence and rage. They want to know what club to hit, not your reasoning behind the choice.

The women like to talk through from tee to pin every detail. I have never contributed to decision- making as much as I did last week caddying for Hazel Kavanagh.

My first experience of “the girls” was as a spectator at the Ladies Irish Open at Portmarnock Links last year. I have always known somebody at a men’s event no matter where I was in the world. I found myself on my backdoor step in Portmarnock as a total stranger observing what seemed like a very pleasant environment. I said to myself that, along with all those other things I must do, I must caddie for a female golfer.

At the end of a long spell on the bench from the European Tour due to an unfortunate spate of injuries to my current employer, I arranged to work for the tenacious, charming and popular veteran of the Ladies’ European Tour, Hazel Kavanagh.

Early in my career I had been used to standing in a car park looking for work and, in latter years, through text and e-mail, somehow my lines of communication kept me on a bag. This year the tournament promoter and dynamic force behind women’s professional golf in this country, Roddy Carr, persuaded me to join one of Ireland’s representatives on the LET.

As soon as I knew Alex Noren’s injury was going to keep him out until this week, Roddy had me teeing up the next day with Rebecca Coakley at the Links.

We played a practice round on the Links at Portmarnock off the tees Rebecca remembered they had played from last year. I got my first experience of women’s golf: an arrow-straight, elegant and uncomplicated game. It was neat and compact, a bit like the modern mini-cooper car, eye-catching and nippy but without the thrust of a big-engined beast. There was no dramatic back-spin, the divots were soft and discreet and the whole trip was a very civilised affair.

What a relief that the Wimbledon-style grunting does not apply to female golfers in competition. The loudest sound heard on the course was the click of a very blingy, glittering star-shaped ball-marker being removed from the magnet attached to Rebecca’s pink visor.

For the first time in my career an employer wanted to meet for coffee to discuss how the week would hopefully unfold. I rather insensitively responded to Hazel that we were joining up for the week to finish as high as we could in the Ladies Irish Open and not to arrange coffee mornings. I suspect Hazel was a bit apprehensive about having a caddie from the world of men’s golf on the other side of her bag.

When we got out on the course for our practice round on Tuesday last, Hazel realised I was there to try to help her, not intimidate her.

The Links at Portmarnock was primed for last week and, with the recent dry spell, the fairways had become very hard and fast. From a strategic perspective, this made laying up short of bunkers off the tees a little trickier, as the women tend to get more run on their shots even on softer terrain.

A further challenge on the many raised greens on the Links was that, even with mid-irons coming into the greens, with a flatter trajectory stopping the ball was not an easy proposition.

The tour referees put a dot of paint on the greens to signify the following day’s pin position. I was almost alarmed at how tightly placed the pins had been proposed for the first round. Some other caddies concurred that the dots were in outrageous positions given the relative lack of spin the girls get on the ball.

Having suggested to the tournament director the pins were a little severe, she agreed to alter the most difficult ones to make them more accessible.

My week at my first women’s event was enlightening. It was such a pleasant environment. The women are competitive but they are so in a very agreeable way. I have never heard “please” and “thank you” so much on the course as I did last week. I could never get to a divot quickly enough to replace it, my boss always assumed this duty.

And it was most definitely the first time I have kissed a professional golfer, as they all do on completion of the round.

Unlike the weather for the men’s Irish Open, Portmarnock was bathed in unusually warm summer sunshine. On Sunday the mist rolled in from the Irish Sea and enveloped the links, leaving us all on standby to complete the final round.

The delay could not dampen the feeling of bonhomie. Spectators assembled around the farmers’ market situated between the hotel and the first tee. With players and caddies mixing among the gathering, it had the appearance of a Sunday afternoon picnic by the seaside.

At most, the touring women professionals will play about 20 events this year, which makes it less stressful than the tournament-packed men’s tour but also much less financially rewarding. There is a strong sense that the girls love playing golf and they are professional about it, but it is all kept very much in perspective.

I hope I have a free week next year during the Ladies Irish Open so that I can enjoy serious golf in a very civilised and elegant fashion.