A golfer can only have one caddie at a time

Paul Casey of England speaks with his caddie on the fifth hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow on May 5, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. PHOTO | STACY REVERE |

What you need to know:

  • Lord Delamere was recognisable from a distance because of his entourage of caddies.
  • Under the Rules of Golf today, this is not possible as a golfer can only have one caddie at any one time on the golf course.
  • The player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules. For any error made by his caddie, the player suffers the applicable penalty.

The late Lord Delamere was reputed to have been an avid golfer in his day.

Between the 1920s and 1930s, he was known to play several rounds of golf at Njoro Club and Muthaiga Golf Club. He so loved the game that he might be the only person to have been President (equivalent of Chairman today) of both clubs at the same time.

He was President of Njoro Club between 1921 and 1931 and of Muthaiga Golf Club between 1930 and 1931.

Lord Delamere was recognisable from a distance because of his entourage of caddies.

He had one caddie to carry his box of cigars, another for his golf balls, a third for his field glasses, a forecaddie or two as well as his “bag-carrying” caddie.

Under the Rules of Golf today, this is not possible as a golfer can only have one caddie at any one time on the golf course.

I have never needed more than one especially when I have had the best caddie in Kenya today, Martin.

I believe that if all caddies were like Martin, the enjoyment of game of golf would be infinitely better. He is soft-spoken, humble and has a good knowledge of the Rules of Golf. I have learnt a lot from him in the last few years.

Unfortunately, not all caddies are like Martin.

HITTING GOOD SHOTS

This was going through my mind this past weekend when a gentleman I was playing with happened to get a greenhorn caddie. After a slow start on the round, the gentleman started hitting some good shots, 5 holes into the game.

On the sixth hole, he played a perfect chip shot from off the short rough near the green. The ball landed softly on the green and rolled gently towards the hole. The ball came to rest against the flagstick with part of the ball above the level of the lip of the hole.

His caddie merrily strode from across the green and picked the ball before any of us could say “good-birdie”.

Seeing the caddie striding purposely towards the flagstick, we had all assumed he knew to push the flagstick to the side and let the ball fall to the bottom of the hole before picking it up.

My good friend wore the pained expression of a person who had swallowed some bitter herbs.

His potential birdie had now been turned into a par since he incurred a one-stroke penalty for his caddie lifting his ball in play without first marking the position of the ball.

The ball had to be replaced in the same position it was before it was lifted. It is therefore not enough to play well if you have a caddie who knows nothing of the Rules of Golf.

The player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules. For any error made by his caddie, the player suffers the applicable penalty.

Golf clubs should probably get a system of vetting and ranking caddies according to their knowledge of the game. Recently, Dr and Mrs Mwangi Njehia sponsored a nationwide caddie competition in support of these vital yet neglected building block in the game of golf.

Unlike other tournaments that get a lot of mention by Golf Captains and the media, this tournament went unnoticed. It is probably time that this good couple received support to widen the scope of the tournament in order to recognise the best performing caddies under various categories.

Wouldn’t it be better if you were able to tell when you had an A Category caddie (like Martin); one who has a good knowledge of the Rules of Golf and can give you clear signs from 200 yards away that you need to play a provisional ball?

How caddies can cost you strokes: I have heard of several ways in which caddies have cost their players a few strokes on the course. These caddies go by several titles. Here are but a few:

The gambler: not all caddies are averse to betting on the players who they are caddying for. This type of caddie is known to use a “foot-wedge” to miraculously make your ball ricochet from the deep woods to a favourable lie just at the edge of the rough with a very clear shot to the green. The gambler has earned a few golfers disqualifications.

The stomper: this is by far the most common. He will stomp in the rough in search of your ball. He is very useful in flattening the grass around your ball when you finally find it. By improving the lie of your ball, he earns you a 2-stroke penalty in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.

The line reader: This is the caddie who claims to know how to read the lines on the greens. They will perfunctorily point out line without a second thought. Woe betide you if they touch your line of putt or if they cling longer than they should behind you as you putt.

Line readers have cost a few golfers 2-stroke penalties or loss of hole because of these mistakes.

The blissfully ignorant: these have been known for sins of commission and omission.

The most interesting one I heard, was when a player hit his ball out of bounds and the caddie did not think it was necessary to inform the player, who could not see that the ball flew out of bounds from the teeing ground.

A benevolent passer-by flung the ball back onto the course.

The caddie did not inform the player of the incidence until they were on the next hole by which time it was too late to make amends and the player was disqualified.

The majority of caddies are honest, hardworking individuals who are eager to help us make the best of the game that we enjoy.

More people should join Dr and Mrs Mwangi in celebrating the ones who make an effort to serve us better.

Golf clubs need to invest in their caddies to ensure that their standards improve. We may not be allowed more than one caddie, like the years past, but one good caddie is all we need out on the golf course.

[email protected] The author is a Kenya Golf Union Executive