1. John Franks on the bag in the Far East

StrokeAverage.com director John Franks recently travelled to the Far East for two weeks to continue caddying for European Tour golfer Andrew Coltart. This is John’s diary from the trip.

Week 1 in Thailand

Following a long flight half way across the world, I finally arrived in the buzzing town of Patong and checked into one of the official tournament hotels, which was a 45 minute coach ride from the course.

The Course and Weather. There is only one thing to be said about the weather in Thailand and that is hot, hot, hot. Because it was quite tricky in areas (example 14th hole pictured right), the course was one of those which you either love or hate. It was very different from the long tough courses that I experienced in the Middle East last month but it still favored the big hitters. And the rough around the greens was also quite awkward to play out of with the players finding chipping to be a challenge.

Practice. Due to the heat, Andrew didn't play on Tuesday. I just walked the course to familiarize myself with the layout and the all important yardage chart. On Wednesday we played the Pro-Am which ended up being fun for me. I befriended one of the participants. His name was Tony Burke, an Australian guy working for Johnny Walker. By the end of the round he had invited me to stay with him and his partner Nikki Kirkwood (who I think was running the event) the following week in Singapore. More about that later.

Tournament Report. After a three week layoff I would say that Andrew was a little rusty this week. It was like watching a good player who doesn't quite have his distances down. A cracking finish in round two meant we got in for the weekend on the mark and we finished in a tie for 63rd in the end. The eventual winner was the big hitting young South African, Anton Haig who is part of the ISM stable of players. This kid is good so watch out for him in the future.

Johnnie Walker. I must take a minute to highlight how well this event was run for everyone by Johnnie Walker. The guests, players and caddies alike. Oh and with regards to the picture below. What can I say, it had to be done!

Click here to continue