Although it's over seven months since Paddy and Gerry Byrne (who are not related) began life on Tour, it seems a lot shorter than that to them. Once you are sucked into the travelling circus, however, it's easy to lose track of time. They opted for the caddie life despite different backgrounds, but for similar reasons.
Gerry, 35 and married with children, had eased into the routine of a civil service job in Letterkenny and wanted to explore another lifestyle before it became impossible. Paddy, in his early 20s, was presented with a caddying opportunity, didn't have any other pressing commitments and so followed the circus out of town. At 23 years of age and tiring of the 6 a.m. starts involved in driving a van in Dubai for his father's company, Paddy figured he had "nothing to lose" by picking up Paul Lawrie's bag in Dubai last February. How right he was. When his player missed the cut by eight shots, Paddy was not deterred. Going on tour would be "a good idea, do some travelling, see the world" he figured.
A minor jaunt down the coast to Qatar for his second week's work resulted in a stark change of fortune; they won by seven shots. The ups and downs of his new job became immediately apparent to the novice who hadn't yet got over the strap scars of his heavy Wilson golf bag.
The year was chugging along nicely, Paddy was enjoying working for Lawrie and experiencing mainland Europe for the first time, even if the euphoria of the initial win had eased off. Then late on the third Sunday of July Paddy found himself traipsing the Angus coast in pursuit of the British Open Championship.
Lawrie's victory took at least a week to hit home with Paddy. He suddenly found himself in the company of people he had only ever seen before on television. He had idolised Colin Montgomerie for years from his front room, now he was "hanging out with him".
It was definitely a case of good timing with Paddy. He chose the right year to start with Lawrie. If he had started a year earlier he would not have had the same experience, as his boss was then in relative obscurity. Or maybe Paddy should have started caddying years ago and inspired Paul to an earlier prime!
Paddy has become an instantly successful caddie, something that he senses the more established toters resent. This does not worry him. He's won the Open, he's caddied in the Ryder Cup, he is off to Kiawah Island in November to challenge the three other major winners for a last place softener of $150,000. An all-expenses-paid trip with all the trimmings of such a prestigious event will end a dream year for Paddy. Gerry, with a handicap of 12 and a passion for the game, stumbled onto his first bag at the Irish Open four years ago where he was working as a marshal. Gary Emerson's regular caddie didn't show up one morning and Gerry was the substitute on hand. He went seven holes with Emerson before his regular showed up. Gerry Byrne was hooked and decided to make some enquiries into what it took to become a tour looper. After talking to some of the tour caddies he soon realised that you didn't have to be a good golfer to be a competent caddie. His interest was heightened.
He phoned Emerson and asked him if he could work for him in Penina and Madeira earlier this year. It seemed a good idea to show up at the early events "with a bag". After all he didn't want to leave one dole office for another. Gerry's preconception was that all the caddies would be friendly and embrace him with open arms. Not this lot - a new face is competition for a reservoir of bags already suffering from drought. He was ignored by most of them until well into the year. The initiation process on tour is a lengthy one. It usually involves a roughing up from Edinburgh Jimmy or a "head-off" (threat of violence) by Spanish Dominique as well as months of isolation.
In that sense, being ignored was the best scenario for the newcomer. To Gerry's amazement it was the players who were most welcoming. When Tiger Woods played in Heidelberg in May he found himself in the lockerroom with the superstar. He was so gobsmacked the best line he could muster was "could you sign this hat for me?" After his superstar initiation, he found himself later in the week in Mark O'Meara and Nick Price's company and was better prepared this time. They actually had a conversation. Gerry was under the impression that a golf week started on Wednesday. His first shock was to find out he had to report for duty on Mondays. He was surprised by all the silly little things he had to do, like marking the golf balls, checking the gloves were the right size, reading the yardage book, giving the right number, wind direction, remembering how far his player hits the ball, the danger areas and so on.
When it came to the decisionmaking process he quickly learnt the importance of decisiveness - no ifs, buts or maybes, is it a six or seven iron? He also learnt that you only hear when you are wrong, the good clubs are taken for granted. Gerry was taken aback by the amount of caddie changes during the season. We refer to these as "jockey-changes", the rejigging of player-caddie relationships. Coming from the job-for-life scenario of the Social Welfare office in Letterkenny, it was a bit of a shock to Gerry that you could be riding high one week and "on the spit" (looking for a bag) the next.
He adapted to the day-to-day routine, feeling that at each outing he had to prove himself, taking no employer for granted. No "sickies" in this job, if you don't show, you don't get paid. His weeks were largely coloured by the performance on the course. The highlight of the year was at the K-Club where he helped Emerson keep his playing card for next year with a good tournament. Luxurious events like the BMW tournament in Munich also stand out when Gerry reflects on the year. Rolling up to the course every day in a brand new leather-seated navigation-assisted seven series made him forget his station for the duration of the daily trip.
The glamour of international travel didn't last long with the newcomer. Hanging around airports on a Sunday and Monday soon wears thin. He was grateful to relatives living in London whom he could stay with on the Sunday night turnarounds, enabling him to save on expenses.
The emotion felt in one week surpassed the stimulation or intensity experienced in a lifetime at the office. In the Dutch Open his player experienced the low of an opening round of 80 only to shoot 65 in the second round - and still narrowly miss the cut.
Both of the newcomers agree emphatically that they have had a fantastic year. For Gerry the "dream" is coming to an end with the "normal" life calling him back to reality. For Paddy . . . well he hasn't woken up yet, and when he does it will be the rattle of the clubs on his back that will stir him and not a van full of deliveries on a Middle Eastern morning.
