CADDIE'S ROLE: On a Tour that normally considers travel a ride in a courtesy car to the nearest airport, and a direct flight to the desired destination, last week was something of an adventure.

Instead of the usual dash for Munich Airport after last Sunday's end of play, many players and caddies relaxed at the bar.

With Crans-Montana in Switzerland being a bit of an overland journey, even if you fly as the closest international airport is two and a half hours drive away, the habitual fliers decided that this time the journey may be of interest as opposed to simply getting there. Deals were struck for one-way rentals to Crans. For players the type of car rented seemed of paramount importance; for caddies the price was the deciding factor.

There were incidents along the scenic route through the Alps, but none as dramatic as the "Mitsubishi Tommy" episode some years back before the demise of the Austrian Open. A caddie somehow made an arrangement with the courtesy car personnel to take a car to the nearest train station near Salzburg so he could catch the train to the next event in Munich. Tommy's Mitusbishi was moving so well he decided to take it over the border and leave it at the nearest train station in Munich. The car was retrieved but Tommy was never seen again.

"Laughing Boy" and his wife had their own car with them as they were going to complete the "European" swing by road, ending up in Cologne which made it an easy round trip back across the channel to England. When you arrive at the border in Germany off the A96, one wrong turn through immigration and you could be in any one of three countries - Italy, Austria, or the desired Switzerland in their case. There is an obligatory toll that must be paid by all motorists using the motorways in Austria and Switzerland. Another caddie joined them for the trip.

The frugal caddies figured that they could avoid the Austrian vignette by taking some back roads and weave their way back over the border towards their desired destination. An hour after their detour towards the San Bernadino pass they picked up a sign for Milan and figured they had better turn around and invest in the vignette.

Bubba Dickerson from the US decided on his first trip to Europe, and having missed the cut in Germany, he would take the scenic route through Switzerland. Travelling with his girlfriend, the Dickerson duo could not be accused of travelling light. A golf bag and three treasure-chests made it necessary to rent the largest vehicle possible. Bubba's caddie and chauffeur's one duffel bag was easily accommodated in the Mercedes station wagon. What didn't sit well in the diesel engine was the unleaded petrol that was poured in liberally at their first fuel stop. Out they pulled onto the route that would lead them to the spectacular Furka pass and caddie Ron decided to take advantage of the last straight piece of road for the foreseeable future; put his right foot to the floor and the engine shut down.

Ron realised immediately he had put the wrong fuel in the car. Diesel at the petrol station in the US is more distinguishable than in Switzerland. The unleaded petrol for diesel was a bad selection, especially with the amount of luggage on board that now had to be transferred to a taxi and onto a train with at least two changes and into a taxi again. The Furka pass had to be abandoned, so they missed out on the eagerly awaited vista.

For those of us who made it safely over the pass, we all agreed that we should take more road trips, but of course most of us will revert back to the car-to-the-airport option and the most direct flight. Over the pass we came across some golf courses perched on high which resembled fantasy golf courses more than the real thing. Greens set atop perches with edges that fell into a seeming abyss and fairways situated on slopes that would test the balance of mountain goats made the course at Crans-Montana look positively flat.

The tradition continued once everyone descended on the 1,500 metre ski town for the annual European Tour stop. Half the tour got lured into buying more discounted Ebel watches than they needed. The usual evening festivities took more than the sea level toll, with the alcohol having more effect at altitude. The caddies fourball tournament went ahead on Saturday evening on the nine-hole course across the road from the main course.

With restricted starting times this year not everyone got to play. The more affluent professionals supported the event with generous prize donations. The younger players offered their moral support by spectating and attending the prize-giving in the caddie HQ of the week, the "taxi bar". David Howell presented the prizes to the winners, Gerry Byrne from Dublin and his own caddie Jason Hempleman from England. The trip was both spectacular and memorable in comparison to the habitual airport routine and staying in Crans for the week was pretty good too.