It’s not unwelcomed sometimes if your golfer walks in after nine holes, especially if it’s raining. However, this has now happened on two consecutive days to me, and just to me. The other three golfers in the group have steadfastly carried on, but it’s been my client who has thrown in the towel. And further, it has been a woman in both instances.
Now, I am trying not to get too paranoid about this, but maybe it’s just me and my poor line of chat. First of all lovely Toni, a top News Corp executive complained of having a sore back about the seventh and intimated her retiral at the half way house. And then yesterday, sweet Anina from Beijing developed a very nasty cough down the eighth fairway and bailed out.
Still, I was out with two of the most characterful caddies again, Cologne Tom who is now based at the Old Course and The Coach, who is a very humorous Elvis lookalike musician, who hails from Glasgow. The Coach was saying that he had been out with an R&A chap in the morning who had mused over a tricky short putt and turned and declared ‘just like my ex wife’. The Coach looked questioningly and the chap obliged some further illumination by adding ‘a nasty five footer!’
It was funny when we’d met our clients too, who had been standing outside the caddie shack, patiently waiting for us. I came out first and introduced myself. There were two couples of Chinese origin who looked surprised when the door then opened and the striking six foot five, film star looking Cologne Tom strolled out. He greeted them in his usual charming way and they were just beginning to get their heads round his rather significant persona when suddenly, the shack door opened suddenly again and Tom’s son Zach, who is even taller and is a male model, appeared in his sun glasses and designer stubble, looking like he should be hanging about a red carpet in Cannes rather than the Castle caddie shack.
There was a sudden pause and the little, and slightly shy, Chinese lady giggled and said something in Mandarin to her girlfriend, which I’m sure was not uncomplimentary and I can only guess was roughly translated as ‘Whaaw!!’