David Coyne was a much loved and respected caddie at The Old Course in StAndrews for over 30 years. He loved the camaraderie and banter of the other caddies. This and the many different golfers from around the world he talked with over the years led to his idea of producing a book of amusing caddie stories.
I first met Dave in February 2022 in The StAndrews Golf Club when he brought along four folders full of images and text, all meticulously indexed. He explained his vision for the book and enthusiastically went through his collection of images with me.
Initially, it seemed a daunting project, but I was very happy to work with Dave on the challenge. Above is Dave (right) with Tom Coyne, an American author, client and friend who kindly wrote the Fore Word.
The book opens with a short history of caddies and forecaddies, the latter being the young lads who would be located up the fairway, ahead of the players, to locate the landing places of their drives. At a time when golf balls were expensive items, no-one would want to lose their ball!
Part Two recalls the stories and antics of ‘The Dawn Patrol’, the local StAndrews caddies who would turn up at the course at first dawn to grab a golfer’s bag. If lucky, they might ‘double-bag’ by also taking an afternoon bag. Good exercise, but often their extra payment would only last as long as the nearest pub!
Dave recounts the life and many humorous stories of all the caddies he knew during his 30 years on the links. Some of these had to be edited!
It wasn’t unusual for American Presidents to turn up at The Old Course, and Dave records the visits of Presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as numerous famous actors, royalty and golfing royalty.
Throughout its 180 pages, there features many wonderful photographs which were specially provided by golf photographer David Lawrence. Over the years, David managed to capture many excellent images of Dave and his fellow caddies on the course with their clients.
Part Three tells the story of how local caddie Tip Anderson developed a winning partnership with Arnold Palmer. David Joy, a local artist, playwright, illustrator and golfer, known worldwide for his impersonations of Old Tom Morris, had, over the years, interviewed Tip about his experiences with Palmer and very kindly offered Dave Coyne all his information for inclusion in the book.
Part Four offers Tip’s advice on how he advised his player, Arnold Palmer, around the Old Course, combined with more up-to-date advice from Dave.
Over the years, Dave had developed and printed several versions of course guides for the use of local and visiting golfers alike, and the book shows some of these.
Unfortunately, Dave, centre above, died in May 2023, only halfway through the production of the book. However, his writing and images were so well indexed that it was possible for myself, Dave’s wife, daughters and friends to complete the book, have it printed in August 2024, and launched during The Dunhill that year.
It is so sad he could not see his dream become reality, but hope he would have been very proud of what we produced as his legacy.