1. John Franks caddies for Andrew Coltart

Introduction

In mid November, StrokeAverage.com Director John Franks was asked by European Tour professional Andrew Coltart and his manager Andrew Chandler of International Sports Management if he would take a close look at Andrew's game by spending a week caddying at the upcoming Dunhill Championship in South Africa. John enthusiastically agreed and kept a caddy’s diary of how the week progressed.

In preparation, John spent a few days before the trip with Andrew and his family in the gorgeous city of Edinburgh where they practiced at the newly opened and excellent Archerfield Golf Club.

Monday 04 December

As I got off the plane in Kruger after flying through the night, the heat just hit me. Welcome to beaming sun and 40 degrees centigrade. I traveled 40 minutes in a courtesy bus with tour player friends Ross Fisher and Tom Whitehouse to arrive at the Malelane Hotel (look out deck pictured right) at Leopard Creek Golf Club, the tournament stage. At check in I was startled as a huge bug flew by my head. And I began to feel uneasy when Tom whispered over my shoulder "Get used to it Johnny". Most of the day was spent sun bathing by the pool as Andrew was delayed on his travels.

Tuesday 05 December

After my first night in the hotel and a spider in my bed I realized that I was in the middle of the jungle and had better get used to it. We started the day off in the gym arriving at the course at mid-day. Then, with warnings not to venture near the water’s edge or into the long grass unless I want to be bitten by a black mamba, we set off on our practice round in 40 degrees of heat with Ross Fisher and his caddy Adam (myself, Andrew and Ross are pictured right). I spent most of my time learning the distances that Andrew hits the ball and in doing this, I found that the course was set up for the long hitters. Strategy would be very important as there was far more trouble at our Driving Distance compared to the long hitters.

Wednesday 06 December

Wednesday was Pro-Am day and it was hot. The amateurs were good fun to play with and we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere with baboons strolling around us. The highlight of the round happened on the 9th (our last). As we walked down the fairway close to the left rough Andrew shouted "Johnny, look out!" I leapt out of my skin and darted to the side only to reveal both Andrew and the guys laughing their heads off. I of course called my boss for the week a few names whilst regaining my composure. In the evening I had a chance to catch up at dinner with some of the guys who I used to play alongside.

Thursday 07 December

Round 1 and guess what, it was hot. Following a short warm up we teed off the 10th at 6.55am (Andrew doesn't take long to warm up before competing). After making a good Par at the 1st he holed out from the greenside bunker on the 2nd and we were off and running. We adopted a conservative strategy on the Par 3's and 5's and as the day progressed, Andrew’s long game was excellent highlighted by my shot of the day, a 251 yard 3 Wood into the 2nd (our 11th) which finished 15 feet from the stick. He ended the day with great 3 Iron approach shots into his last three holes shooting 69 for tied 4th place. We didn't practice after the round but headed over to the gym for a workout.

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