CADDIE'S ROLE:I WAS approached by a film production company a couple of years ago about an idea of bringing my weekly column to the TV screen. Immediately recalling my initial trepidation about writing a column for this newspaper, I was sceptical about what we could do to bring the underworld of caddying to a documentary-style format.
Lotus Films convinced me that we had an opportunity to portray a topic that hadn’t been explored before and that the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) would surely be interested if we could present the concept to them in an alluring way. We made a proposal and it was accepted by the BCI. Of course the documentary, which was to be two hours of television time, turned out to be something completely different and undoubtedly better than the original plan had suggested.
I was caddying for Retief Goosen at the time of the proposal and naturally being associated with a quality brand name such as Retief, and the circles he moves in, was very appealing to any prospective ‘sponsor’. Playing with Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in the exclusive gated community of the Isleworth Estate in Florida is naturally an exotic image for any potential programme backer to savour.
The only thing predictable in the world of professional golf is that it is going to be an unpredictable journey. A short while after the proposal had been accepted myself and Retief parted company and the BCI were concerned that this was going to compromise their end product.
I recall telling those concerned that in hindsight our split was actually better for the documentary because when you work for top players their expectation of their caddie is high and the idea that he is engaged in some side show while trying to assist him win a tournament probably wouldn’t sit that well with him.
So, as I came to grips with the end of a thriving five-year relationship with a superstar golfer, I started to think of the future and where it would take me and more importantly with whom. It was an interesting plot for a documentary which was going to try to portray the reality of caddying for a professional golfer and so the timing for exploring that sub-culture on tour was perfect.
The mystery tour continued and Lotus Films put myself and Garry Keane together. Garry is a director who admitted that he knew very little about golf which to me was instantly appealing. People who know about golf tend to ask the more standard golfie questions and not the probing human interest ones that intrigue me on a daily basis on tour.
We met up and discussed our ideas for the documentary and I quickly recognised that the easiest way to make a go of something is to embark upon it with someone you like. Garry and his production team made our Bagman documentary an intense but thoroughly enjoyable experience.
We chose the Irish Open at Baltray as the opening week of our four weeks of filming. The amount of filming we didn’t use amazed me as a novice to the documentary scene. The intrusion of a microphone almost constantly picking up your every grunt and utterance took a while to get used to.
Our next outing was at the Open Championship in Turnberry and all the international flavour that such a prestigious event brings with it.
We moved immediately to my young player’s, Alex Noren, homeland of Sweden for a low-key event in world terms but highlight of a young Swede’s golfing calendar.
After an interlude with the swashbuckling Columbian Camilo Villegas at the Open there was some doubt as to where and with whom I would finish the year.
What did transpire at the end of a summer of filming was Alex produced a script that we all had dreamed of but in reality just hoped for.
In our final week of shooting Alex won in the glorious surrounds of the Swiss Alps to provide the ultimate denouement to an inspiring adventure which can be seen on Setanta Ireland before the final round of the Masters next Sunday and part two airs the following night. It is like the visual of this column. I hope you get to see it.
