Caddy Hides Extra Club

I missed this story last week but think it still well worth a mention.

Spanish golfer Jose Manuel Lara was disqualified from the BMW International Open when his caddy was caught trying to hide a fifteenth club that was in the bag.

The discovery of the extra club apparently was made on the third hole. If the caddy had ‘fessed up to the error, Lara would have taken two strokes penalty on the first two holes. Bad. But not fatal.

Instead, the caddy tried to hide the extra club in the bushes—right under the eyes of Lara’s playing partners, Ireland’s Damien McGrane and Swede Peter Hedblom. They asked what he was up to, and the story came out.

Lara apparently had no idea what had happened.

After the round, European Tour chief referee John Paramor decided that the incident was more serious than four strokes worth of penalties and disqualified Lara. The caddy was “asked not to come back.”

Just when you think you’ve heard it all in golf … did the caddy really think he could just hide a club? Somebody was going to notice—if not the players, then a spectator, walking scorekeeper, tour official or broadcaster. This wasn’t the marquee group with huge galleries, but there had to be some people around.

Hopefully, “asked not to come back” means to professional golf … ever.

One of my dreams is to caddy for a Tour player—just for one round … or even at a pro-am. You can be sure that—although I am no professional—I know enough to count the clubs before the round. And if I get my math wrong (I am a social studies teacher after all), I surely wouldn’t try to hide one.

You can read the full story here.