Abu Dhabi Golf and the like...

So i was supposed to do this blog as soon as I came back from the tournament so that it would be fresh in my mind. It did not quite work that way but I think i remember most of it. To give a bit of background on how I even got to be a part of this tournament; my roommate is a golf pro here in Dubai and works for the Butch Harmon School of Golf. He is a great guy and obviously a great golfer. He Signed up to play in the Abu Dhabi qualifier and his caddy he had used in the past was out of town. I had caddied for him the year before on a practice round and he asked me if I would be interested again in helping him out but this time for the whole tournament. I jumped at the chance... I would have never guessed that I would have been a part of a PGA tournament, I was able to marshal the Race to Dubai a year ago but this was with the players and on a bag, I could not say no. So Richard was getting a fair amount of press here in Dubai and with talking to his boss he was trying to sort out a practice round with Phil Mickelson, Richard was excited and I was pumped that I would be able to walk around a course with Phil and Bones. The first day (Monday) we got down there we hit some balls (when I say we, I mean Richard did) and I helped him with his alignment and anything else he needed. We went on the course to go have a practice round. We played with Martin Lafeber who was a great guy and showed Rich a few ways to get out of crazy deep rough. It was a chilled day and great to get on the course, although the bag that caddies carry is very heavy and I have to say I was not used to it at all. it took a lot of shifting to get it to feel right on my shoulder. Richard was put up at Emirates Palace which if you want to talk about over the top hotels this may take the cake. There is a gold bar vending machine that for $1000 US you can get your own gold bar out of it. This is one of the few stops on tour that the pros get put up at the hotels for free, most of the time they have to pay their own lodging. I believe on of my claims to fame is that I was the only caddy staying at the hotel.

Side note: Caddies don't get treated all that well on tour, they usually have to find their own way to the course and their own lodging, if a tour player doesn't make the cut the caddy gets a free lunch at the course and that is about it... There is a big dispairity between players and caddies. They must absolutely love the game of golf to do it.

The second day of practice we got to the course early as this was the day we were going to have a practice round with Phil. We got to the range and started to warm up tons of the big names were showing up on this day, coming in and shaking hands with guys and getting their gear all set up for the week. If people don't know the major golf companies throw their product at these guys, they want to have as much of it on the course as possible it is very interesting to see how it all rolls out. For example, Richard walked up to the Titlest guys and they gave him 4 dozen balls, 6 gloves and a few hats it was awesome. Anyway back to the golf, we were meant to go out with Phil but we found out that he had already set up 9 holes with Padrig Harrington and there was money on the line so away they went. As we saw them tee off I could see disappointment on Richards face and I felt it as i really wanted to walk and watch him play beside me. Richard went out after Phil and Padrig took off and we played with a local golfer who was the best amateur in the region. We played the front 9 and afterwards we thought that we would get a bite to eat and then head back to the hotel. Rich qualified for this the year before and one of the things he thought that hurt him was that he practiced too much before last year and was really tired on the day. So he wanted to get back to the hotel, go for a swim and the gym but take it easy before the tournament. We went up to get some food and Phil, Butch Harmon, Claude Harmon III and a few others were sitting there and as Rich walked by they started talking to him. They said they were going to head out and play the back 9 and wanted to know if he wanted to join them. Of course he said yes. We went back down to get ready and get over to the 10th tee. We all got to the 10th and Peter lawrie and Paul Mcginley were on the tee. As we walked up Phil asked the 2 guys wanted to make it a 4 ball and they would play pairs Peter and Paul against Phil and Rich. They agreed to it and they played for roughly $60US each, not a lot but enough to make it interesting. (Phil had just taken 300 off Padrig an hour before). We teed off and Rich out drove everyone off the tee, I would say he was a little pumped up wanting to make sure he did not look like an ass…lol (my thoughts anyway). It was amazing to watch the confidence that Phil had, and even though all the players were amazing they all gave Phil a lot of respect. As we walked down the fairway it was interesting to see the dynamic between the players and their caddies and between each other. While walking the mood was fairly chilled out and everyone was chatting, but as soon as they all came close to their ball it was very much business. Everyone was looking at their yardage books and range finders (practice round it is allowed).

I have to admit, I was having a blast, it was very interesting to be shoulder to shoulder with these guys and at times I caught myself watching instead of doing my job for Richard. I talked to everyone in the group including Phil and Bones (Phil’s Caddy). Phil actually asked me if Rich was Canadian as I was wearing a hat with a flag on it, I had told him that he was English but I was from there. He said he tries to get up to Canada to go skiing every year and it is one of his favorite holidays with the family. It was really nice of him to take the time to have a small chat with me, very nice guy. He has defiantly made a fan for life. Bones was great too, he did not talk much at all when we did out loop but I did get a chance to say how impressed I was about the fact that he gave up his seat on the private jet at the Ryder cup to give it to Ricky Folwer’s caddy as he had not been to a Ryder cup before and Bones wanted him to experience the group dynamic. To me that is class. We finished the round and it was a great time, having been so close to great golfers I have to say that it really gave me a new passion for the game. (not that I really needed more) I can see how much better these guys are, they just don’t miss shots and how they have to play every course is much more difficult than any kind of course I have had to play. I tip my hat to guys who grind it out week in and week out on either PGA tour and their caddies. At the end of the 9, which as we figured it Richard actually beat Phil over the 9 holes, Phil signed a few autographs and I got my range finder signed as well. It was an experience I shall soon not forget. I had added a few photos in the blog but there are more on Facebook or on my Picassa website. My next blog will be about the 2 days of competition. Thanks for reading.