Freddie Lawrence – Caddie, Podcaster, Golfer

Continuing the Golfing Herald series featuring various professions within the golfing industry, I recently met up with Freddie Lawrence who …

• trained, qualified and worked as a caddie at the home of golf whilst reading Psychology at the University of St Andrews.
• today caddies at Scotland’s newest links course, namely Dumbarnie Links.
• hosts the very popular and entertaining Free Relief Golf Podcast.
• is a very good amateur golfer (+1.2 handicap at the time of writing).
• aspires to one day become a professional golfer.

Hope you enjoy

First Tee

(Golfing Herald): I ‘teed off’ by asking Freddie how and where he first got into golf.

(Freddie): I got into golf through my dad. He absolutely loves golf … he lives and breathes it! He used to be an Assistant Professional (back in the 1980s) at Thorpe Hall Golf Club.

Pitch and Putt

(Golfing Herald): Whereabouts is Thorpe Hall Golf Club?

(Freddie): Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Over the years the club has had some notable players … such as Richard McEvoy and Matthew Southgate who are currently playing on the DP World Tour. So yeah, my dad got me into golf when I was about 6 years old. There was a local pitch and putt course at Belfairs Golf Club. The pitch and putt course was notorious for having acorns everywhere due to all of the oak trees so it was really bobbly! I remember going there on Sunday mornings after breakfast to play. That is probably my earliest golfing memory.

(Golfing Herald): I know from my own golfing journey that pitch and putt was a great introduction to golf before graduating to play on a proper golf course. So, what next on your golfing journey after trying to avoid the acorns at Belfairs?

(Freddie): I was more into football when I was younger so I didn’t really take golf that seriously. I had a few golf lessons and then I think I was about 11 years old when I joined Thorpe Hall Golf Club as a junior member but it was a couple of years later when I started to take golf more seriously. That was when I started playing more and getting into the competitive side of golf … with the motivation of trying to win trophies as there were a lot of good trophies in the junior section!

First Handicap

(Golfing Herald): Nothing wrong with that! Can you remember your first handicap?

(Freddie): Absolutely … my first handicap was 36. And I remember my first competition as well. It was a competition called the Bradban Trophy and I played with my friend George in a 2-ball … I think I shot 132. But it was my first 18-hole competition. I didn’t quite play to my handicap … but I beat George so I was happy about that!

(Golfing Herald): Brilliant … so how did your game develop?

(Freddie): To start playing in competitions off the back tees at Thorpe Hall you had to have a handicap of 28 or below. So that was my first target which I achieved in about a year. The following year I went from 27 to 20 and then I started to play in a lot of (local) junior opens during the summer … some weeks I would play in four or five 36-hole junior opens! And I got my handicap down to 9.

(Golfing Herald): My days of playing 36-holes in a day are long gone, never mind four of five in a week! Can you remember what clubs you were playing with at that time?

(Freddie): I had a noisy Cobra driver; some Nike irons and I can’t remember the make of the putter … though I was a bit of a demon putter!

Golfing Ambitions

(Golfing Herald): Please don’t talk to me about putting … shudder to think the strokes gained (or should that be lost) through my Achilles heel on the links! More importantly back to you … you are now down to single figures with a handicap of 9 so how did your game progress from there?

(Freddie): I kind of stagnated … I went from 9 to 7 and then back up to 9 but then that was when I met my coach Mark Sharman who I am still with today. I was about 15 years old and he asked me what were my ambitions to which I said “win major championships”!

(Golfing Herald): And how did Mark respond?

(Freddie): By saying something like “right, we are going to rip your game apart and go from there”! So, by the time I went to university in 2013 I had been a member of Garon Park Golf Complex in Essex for nearly 2 years, playing off 5. Nothing special … I had won club competitions and represented the golf club teams but never played in County teams.

(Golfing Herald): But still trending in the right direction?

(Freddie): Yeah … I had the ambition to be a better player but to get better than everyone else it was going to be a long game. It was never going to happen in the short term. I was never big or strong and having suffered knee trouble at the age of 12 I had no real strength in my lower body at that point. So, as I said, when I went to university, I was off 5.

St Andrews

(Golfing Herald): On one of your social media platforms, it says that you read Psychology at the University of St Andrews … so why St Andrews?

(Freddie): I guess St Andrews is kind of self-explanatory. If you like golf you have got to come to St Andrews as it is the home of golf where everything began.

(Golfing Herald): As a student at the University did that entitle you to a student or discounted rate to play on the Old Course?

(Freddie): As a student, you are classed as a resident so you are entitled to the resident ticket … and all residents of St Andrews are entitled to play golf on the links for a low fee. Though the fee has gone up this year which is controversial (but we won’t talk about that) but it is still very cheap!

Psychology

(Golfing Herald): And why Psychology?

(Freddie): All down to my mum in that she introduced me to the Dr Bob Rotella books. When I was 13, she got me The Golfer’s Mind and that very much started my interest in Psychology. As I said earlier, I was never the best golfer but from this book, I knew that by training my mind I could get an advantage over the other kids. I took pride in trying to be the resilient one who never gave up and having a routine and sticking to it. Also, a guy called Les Moth helped out at our junior section … he was a neuro-linguistic practitioner and he helped to focus on the mental side of the game and overall gave me a desire to major in sports psychology. So, when it came to applying to University, I selected St Andrews as my #1 choice even though you needed really good grades to get there. I was lucky to attain the required grades and studied Psychology at St Andrews, although the (4-year) degree course was not geared towards Sports … in fact, my dissertation was in Political Psychology! I graduated in 2017.

University Golf

(Golfing Herald): Earlier you said that you were playing off 5 when you went to university. So, did you shave some strokes off your handicap whilst obtaining your degree at the University of St Andrews?

(Freddie): My golf didn’t massively progress. Started at 5 and finished at 3. Even though I came here (St Andrews) for the golf I wasn’t part of the golf programme or on a golf scholarship. I don’t know if this is unique but over the four years, I played for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th University golf teams at different times! But I didn’t overdo the golf whilst at university … and during the summer vacations, I caddied at St Andrews.

Caddie Training – Part I

(Golfing Herald): Perfect timing as my next question is simply to ask how did you step into the world of caddying at the home of golf?

(Freddie): The four full-time years I had as a St Andrews caddie were throughout my university years. So, my first summer of caddying was 2014 and my final summer was 2017. When I graduated, I essentially went to a part-time role as I was trying to play full-time amateur golf at that point.

(Golfing Herald): I will return to your full-time playing but for now I would like to focus on the caddying. I assume you can’t just turn up and caddie so what was the first step in becoming a caddie?

(Freddie): You are right in that you can’t just turn up at the first tee and start caddying! I first became aware of caddying as a profession through a book called An American Caddie in St. Andrews: Growing Up, Girls, and Looping on the Old Course by Oliver Horovitz. It is an excellent book and surprisingly is very accurate. This book very much lit my imagination and made me think this is something I could do in the summers. I remember going to a university open day and seeing the Caddyshack at the time and thinking this was something I could do. So, I applied in January 2014 and then I was invited to an interview. I was interviewed by Robert Thorpe who at that time was the Caddie Master. From there I was then invited to attend the caddie training weekend at the end of March 2014.

(Golfing Herald): What did that entail?

(Freddie): The training weekend consisted of a presentation on Saturday outlining what was expected of you … to be clean and hygienic and the required etiquette such as to not ask for excessive money at the end of the round. But the best bit was on Sunday … the Old Course is closed on a Sunday and Steve Jones, a very knowledgeable and experienced caddie (he caddied for Barack Obama when he played at St Andrews), walked us around all of the Old Course from the 1st tee to the 18th green! Throughout he provided a guide on where golfers should play based on the standard of their golf, teaching us how to pace out the course, evaluate the contours of each green and so on. It was a really special few hours.

Caddie Training – Part II

(Golfing Herald): So far so good … so what next?

(Freddie): My first-year exams were completed in the middle of May so I didn’t start until the end of May. At that point, I started as a trainee caddie. There was a cohort of us … the training class of 2014! Every one of us was racing to attain the status of a full caddie. To achieve that you had to complete fifty trainee rounds and keep a record of each round, with the Caddie Master and his assistant logging each of your rounds.

(Golfing Herald): Who did you caddie for on a trainee round?

(Freddie): You could caddie for anyone but only if they had specifically asked for a trainee caddie. On my first day in the shack, I waited six hours for my first job! But that was the longest wait I ever had in the shack.

(Golfing Herald): And would the golfer who you caddied for provide feedback on you to the Caddie Master?

(Freddie): Yes, but we were not privy to any of the feedback as they would go straight to the shack.

(Golfing Herald): How long did it take you to complete the fifty trainee caddie rounds and become a qualified full caddie?

(Freddie): A great question but (luckily) I have got my log book with me of all the rounds where I have caddied … the date, the course, the money, etc. Every round! In the end, I did fifty-two trainee rounds which I completed by the 19th of July … effectively working every day. You have a badge with your bib which had ‘Trainee Caddie’ on it and the day you qualify they print ‘Caddie’ on the other side of the badge. That was a proud moment.

Full Caddie

(Golfing Herald): Fantastic … so did you just caddie at St Andrews during the summer vacations of 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 or was it more all year round?

(Freddie): It was always the summer holidays straight after my exams. From the end of May until the beginning of September. The only caddie work I would do outside of that would be at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which is usually played at end of September or early October.

(Golfing Herald): Just like playing golf I am sure that there is no such concept as a typical round as a caddie … but for the readers of this article, it would be good to know what would be involved in caddying at St Andrews?

(Freddie): Generally, a visitor would have requested a caddie when they have booked their round of golf. So, the request is in the book and the Caddyshack will then know how busy they are going to be on any given day. As a full caddie, you pay a daily admin fee for working on the links and are then granted a license to caddie, even though technically you are self-employed. When your name is called you then walk up to the 1st tee and establish which group you have been allocated. The art of being a good caddie is to figure out as quickly as possible the person you are caddying for … get them relaxed, determine what they are in terms of a golfer (though that might take a few holes) and what they want out of their round … do they want to soak up the history, shoot a good score, etc. Then during the round, my style is to take the edge off the golf as most visitors are playing whilst on holiday and very much want to learn about the history of the Old Course. For example, I could talk about the names of the bunkers and the stories behind each of them, something I learnt from Steve Jones whilst we walked around the course as part of our training weekend.

(Golfing Herald): So very much providing those lovely snippets of nuanced history for the visitor as you navigate and caddie around the historic Old Course.

(Freddie): Exactly … and I think that is what a caddie should be doing and not focusing solely on the golf. What makes the Old Course special is the history surrounding it and you have to try to share that with people as best you can.

Turn and Burn

(Golfing Herald): And could a returning visitor ask for you specifically to be their caddie?

(Freddie): Absolutely … and they are kind of the best rounds as you know you are going to caddie for a nice person, you know they are going to trust you. Though part of the fun with caddying, in general, is that you never know what you are going to get. Typically, I would caddie 2 rounds a day in the summer but with no idea what type of people I would be caddying for … they might be nice, they might be nasty … you might get paid a lot, you might get paid nothing. When I was trying to make some money there were two occasions when I caddied 3 rounds in a day … and that is called a Treble. When it was really busy you sometimes ended up having no lunch between rounds and that is known as Turn and Burn … you literally finish on the 18th green and then walk straight over to the 1st tee! You’d be silly to turn down the work.

Caddie Master

(Golfing Herald): You have mentioned the Caddie Master a few times … so could you possibly outline the remit of their role and responsibilities?

(Freddie): I can give an answer but not fully as I have never been a Caddie Master. From my perspective, I worked under two Caddie Masters during my four years at St Andrews … Robert Thorpe, who hired me, and is the guy I now work under now at Dumbarnie Links as well and in my third year, a new guy came in called Fraser Riddler. So, I worked under two different managers, with two different styles. Their general role is to anticipate the required daily level of caddies required so that demand from visitors is fulfilled and how they achieve that is down to their individual approach. And if required their role involves sorting out any bad behaviours by a caddie … and though not often, talking to a visitor who has been not so nice to a caddie. They are custodians of a role that Old Tom Morris held as he was the first Caddie Master at St Andrews … so very much stepping into the footsteps of a golfing legend.

Customer Service

(Golfing Herald): One last question for now about caddying. What would you say are the key differences between the role of a caddie at St Andrews to that of a caddie working for a Professional on let’s say the DP World Tour?

(Freddie): I think there is a gulf in difference. Whilst we are professional caddies the guys that are on tour are working for bigger money for a start so the standard is already higher and they are having to strive for marginal gains and make sure that all bases are covered. They are having to work out all the distances, where the ball can land, how strong is the wind, etc. to earn their money. We are professional in a different sense in that it is less exacting in the golfing aspect but we are probably better at customer service. That essentially is what the role is. You are spending several hours on the links with the visitor you are caddying for and so their overall impression is going to be massively influenced by the service provided by the caddie. Many visitors are actually looking for an authentic Scottish caddie that is a bit rough around the edges! When I started, I used to joke with people when they asked me about caddying in that I would say that caddies here hate three things … the English, trainee caddies, students … and I was all three of them!

Full-Time Golf

(Golfing Herald): Returning to your golf … earlier you said that when you graduated in 2017 your handicap was down to 3 and that you decided to go part-time as a caddie so that you could play full-time amateur golf … and I assume using the income generated from caddying to fund your golfing ambitions.

(Freddie): That’s right. I think I am lucky to have supportive parents and a supportive coach as well who all backed me with this venture. Basically, I got to the end of my degree and had a whole summer caddying and had saved an amount of money from caddying over the four years. I had caddied for so many (let’s call them) middle-aged to elderly golfers, mainly from the United States … a lot of them had regrets and stories that they would tell about wishing they had done this or wishing they had done that … and I realised they were just terrible stories. The more interesting stories were people who said they went into this field, but then maybe try something different … the people who actually did stuff rather than just saying I wish I had done stuff … they were the more interesting people. So, I suppose fuelled by that, at the end of the summer in 2017 I just wanted to try and see how good a golfer I could become … and not be in the position of ever having to say I was a 3 handicapper but I could have been this if I had done that!

Distance Coaching

(Golfing Herald): From the outset did you map out a plan of action, targets and objectives with (your coach) Mark Sharman?

(Freddie): Mark is based in Essex and I still live in St Andrews. Mark is interesting in that he knows the long-term picture as he used to coach golfers who played on tour … probably the most notable being Vijay Singh. He has also worked on the equipment side of the game on tour in the Wilson Truck. So, he knows the ins and outs of how tour life works. We have always been on a path where I travel back down to Essex, have a lesson and Mark sets swing goals that I have to work on back in St Andrews. I suppose our approach has never had an end aim but more trying to get better on the back of each lesson and see where that takes us … an overall plan without being specific.

Tournament Golf

(Golfing Herald): Starting with a handicap of 3 and set against the non-specific plan you have outlined, what is your current handicap and which club are you a member of?

(Freddie): My handicap today is +1.2 and I am a member of The New Golf Club St. Andrews. I am also a member of the Dukes Golf Club, which is attached to the Old Course Hotel and of the St Andrews Thistle Golf Club … and I have been a member of Garon Park Golf Complex in Essex since 2011.

(Golfing Herald): What tournaments have you played as part of your full-time approach to playing golf?

(Freddie): I would say playing in the St Andrews Links Trophy was the highlight … when the entries closed, I was 83rd reserve but just got in to play as it was a unique year because of the circumstances resulting from Covid!

(Freddie): In fact, Covid really disrupted participation in other national events. My biggest achievement at the golf club level was in winning the club championship at the St Andrews Thistle Golf Club in 2019, so that was a nice boost. Last year (2021) I played in my first Scottish Amateur Championship up in Aberdeen even though I am English which means I can now never play in the English Amateur … but living in St Andrews this Championship is way more convenient for me.

(Golfing Herald): How did you get on at your first Scottish Amateur?

(Freddie): There was an entry of over 260, playing 2 rounds of stroke play, aiming to finish in the top 64 to qualify for the match play … and I missed the top 64 by a single shot! I am going to play in the Championship again this year at Glasgow Gailes. I am playing a lot of regional and order of merit events and starting to get into national events. I am just trying to belong at that level before hopefully moving up.

Part-Time Caddie

(Golfing Herald): What would you say have been the highlights of your part-time caddying whilst playing full-time amateur golf over the past few years?

(Freddie): In 2018 I didn’t do any caddying apart from in the St Andrews Links Trophy. I have caddied in this international event a few times and that is the caddying I really enjoy … working for top-class amateur golfers. In fact, a few weeks ago I worked in the 2022 Links Trophy and had my best ever caddying result by finishing tied 3rd with Arron Edwards-Hill. Back in 2019, I did some part-time caddying at Fairmont St Andrews and I did some tournament caddying at the Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship. But the following year Covid hit and so there was very little caddying going on across the world. I am now at Dumbarnie Links doing some part-time caddying to keep the funds topped up.

(Golfing Herald): How did you end up moving from St Andrews to Dumbarnie Links, albeit on a part-time basis?

(Freddie): Robert Thorpe, who hired me at St Andrews, is now the Caddie Master at Dumbarnie Links. I saw that they were advertising for caddies and so I had a chat with Robert to say that I could help out if and when required … and the rest is history as they say! With the Open at St Andrews this year, people are flocking to Fife and so I already have some bookings for Open week at Dumbarnie.

(Golfing Herald): Something that I meant to ask earlier was after you have become a qualified caddie do you have ongoing development and training?

(Freddie): The best way to answer is that at St Andrews there is a caddie called Jimmy ‘Hotdog’ Reid. He is part of the furniture at the links and he knows exactly what is going on … he caddied at The Open in 1978 so he has been caddying for about 50 years. He has this phrase something like “if you work on the Old Course you are learning for a lifetime”. So, every day is a learning day as there will be new people and new experiences. Technically your training is over once you stop being a trainee caddie but you are always learning how to deal with people and shots will always be hit to various and different places on the golf course.

(Golfing Herald): With Dumbarnie Links being a very new course it obviously does not have the history of the Old Couse but over time it will create a history of its own and thus as a caddie there you will almost absorb that history in real time.

(Freddie): For sure. It is an interesting one as there are a lot of new caddies this year at Dumbarnie which is great as I am getting to help them out. In some ways, I feel like a senior caddie as recently a couple of the newer caddies started to shadow me! It’s fun.

Favourite Round

(Golfing Herald): Hitherto, what would you say has been your favourite round as a caddie?

(Freddie): There have obviously been lots of great rounds as people have been travelling to St Andrews for a trip of a lifetime … taking the history (of St Andrews) all in and being really pleasant throughout the round. There have been several memorable rounds during the Alfred Dunhill Links. One year we made the cut after 3 rounds when I was caddying for amateur Tony Bird playing off a handicap of 4, and the Professional in the Pro-Am team was Nick Dougherty. In the final round at the Old Course, we had Shane Lowry in our group … just a great experience. I guess the rounds where you are most nervous become memorable. I caddied several times for Peter Dawson, who was the chief executive of the R&A, including at the 2017 Alfred Dunhill Links. He is from Essex and I think he is still a member at Thorpe Hall Golf Club so we sort of bonded over that connection. I remember the first time I caddied for Peter Dawson in a fourball … there was a guy called Tucker who hit the ball OK, a guy called Dan and a guy called Craig. We were chatting throughout the round, and had a sandwich at halfway, all the standard stuff. At the end of the round, one of the other caddies said “you don’t know who those other guys are” … turned out Dan was Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States … Tucker was his son … and Craig was Craig Reedie who at the time was President of the World Anti-Doping Agency!

Free Relief Golf Podcast

(Golfing Herald): We have talked about your role as a caddie and how your golf has developed over the years, but I would now like to find out more about the Free Relief Golf Podcast that you host … so my opening question is why and when?

(Freddie): In January 2020 I actually sat down for the first time ever and planned out my whole golfing schedule for that year … unbelievable as only 2 months later was the start of the Covid pandemic! I was effectively trying to figure out the cost of playing throughout 2020. What I realised when I was booking tournaments such as the South East of England Links Championship was not being able to properly budget, apart from the entry fee … as I live in St Andrews and the event was down in Kent, England. Costs such as travel, food and accommodation over the duration of the practise rounds and the actual tournament. There was just no information out there Then only 2 months later everything was locked down because of the Covid pandemic! I have always listened to podcasts and I have always wanted to know how to do a podcast myself and so my first lockdown project was to buy a microphone, install the Audacity audio software and figure out how to make a podcast. I thought there must be other boys and girls like me who are looking to travel and play in all of these amateur tournaments but have no idea about the overall cost.

(Golfing Herald): Unlike a professional golfer, an amateur has zero in the income column but lots of outgoings in the expenditure column.

(Freddie): Exactly … so I thought wouldn’t it be great to be able to go to a place where you could click on a link to a 20-minute podcast which tells you how much a particular tournament is going to cost you, whether you live locally or travelling from different locations, some details about accommodation … and thus be able to properly plan for the whole season. I have got a bank of episodes I am working on right now. So, I have worked out for me to be able to play in the South East of England Links the overall cost will be in the region of £500.

(Golfing Herald): I don’t mean for this to come across simplistically, but from your own perspective, that sort of enables you to calculate how many rounds you need to caddie to cover the cost?

(Freddie): Exactly … it is an area which people don’t really talk about. I believe there is merit in exploring this facet of golf, as a lot of people give up on their golfing dreams too soon, usually because of the finances … and the cost of playing adds so much additional pressure.

(Golfing Herald): Am I right in thinking that your podcasts are provided as a free-to-listen service but that you have also recently launched a subscription service?

(Freddie): So far, all of the episodes and information are free, exclusively focusing on the cost of playing as I have outlined. There has been some demand from people to know how my own golf is going and that is what the subscription element is about.

Please click here if you wish to listen/watch free episodes via YouTube, Spotify and Apple or if you wish to access the subscription service to follow Freddie’s golfing journey.

Outside of Golf

(Golfing Herald): When you are not caddying, podcasting or playing, what are your interests outside of golf?

(Freddie): I have quite a few interests outside of golf. At University I started a Ukulele band called Ukelear Fusion! They have performed at the Edinburgh Fringe a few times and they have had a couple of sell-out shows. The band is my baby … I started it up as the University of St Andrews had never had a Ukulele band before. I am not very good but I did initially play with the band. I am interested in music but musically I am not a great singer and not a great player! But I am proud of starting that up.

(Golfing Herald): When it comes to the Ukulele, my wife and I have been to live shows by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain on a couple of occasions.

(Freddie): I saw them play in Southend in November of last year. They are the real deal.

(Golfing Herald): The range of songs that they cover in their unique style is something else … such as Psycho Killer (Talking Heads), Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols) and Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana).

(Freddie): My mum introduced me to them via their videos on YouTube and that was very much the inspiration for starting the band Ukelear Fusion. Another interest of mine is Karate … I got a black belt in Karate when I was growing up. I also like playing poker … so plenty of interests outside of golf. I think it is important to be well-rounded and have different interests as a number of people I have met on the amateur golf circuit are just immersed in golf all of the time.

(Golfing Herald): Whatever you do in life you must have an off switch.

(Freddie): I have got plenty of off switches!

Favourite Sporting Event

(Golfing Herald): A few fun questions starting with what is your favourite sporting event?

(Freddie): It has got to be The Open. I went to it the whole week when it was played at St Andrews in 2015 and I have tickets for myself and my dad for the whole week this year. I also went to The Open at Carnoustie in 2018. I just think it is a great event and the atmosphere is electric … and the R&A really know how to organise an event. I have been to an F. A Cup Final and I would love to go to a Champions League final sometime.

Golfing Bucket List

(Golfing Herald): What is #1 on your golfing bucket list, assuming you have a list!?

(Freddie): I know it is very exclusive and you need friends in the right places but if I ever had the opportunity, I would love to play at Augusta … I just need to find a way to make those types of friends! That would be my #1 because Augusta is so special.

Fantasy Fourball

(Golfing Herald): Fantasy Fourball is a staple question in all of my interviews. So, in addition to yourself, who would you select for a Fantasy Fourball? And your picks can come from any walk of life.

(Freddie): I would definitely have my dad in the Fourball as it would be great to have him share the experience … my mum can caddie! My dad’s idol and I guess mine as well was Seve so he would be my second pick. He was just a golfing artist, a legend.

(Golfing Herald): And your final pick?

(Freddie): One of my favourite books is the Andre Agassi autobiography Open. It is an incredible book. The intensity, how he tells a story and how he actually hated tennis! He comes across as a very interesting man … I don’t know if he plays golf but he would complete the Fourball. To have him and Seve in a Fourball, both of them artists in their own right would be fantastic.

(Golfing Herald): Would it be you and your dad up against the two sporting artists?

(Freddie): I think we would just throw the balls up in the air and see! Or maybe my dad could be paired with Seve and I would partner with Andre Agassi.

(Golfing Herald): Staying in this fantasy world for a little bit longer. If you could choose one golfer you would love to caddie for, who would it be?

(Freddie): That is a tough one as I don’t have default favourite golfers. Actually, if I had the opportunity I would have loved to caddie for Lee Trevino in his prime. His short game was incredible and you would have a great chat during the round. He had the intensity when he was in his bubble to compete but also you would get good value out of him between shots. And he was a caddie himself when he was growing up so he would fully appreciate your situation.

Alternative Profession

(Golfing Herald): If you weren’t a professional caddie, host of a podcast and full-time amateur golfer, what other profession or career would be of interest to you?

(Freddie): I guess I have still got my degree in Psychology in my back pocket so I would never rule out using it. I am just fascinated by people and I enjoy leading and managing people so maybe go down that route somehow … or maybe just managing Ukelear Fusion on a world tour!

The Nineteenth

(Golfing Herald): Sadly, we have reached the Nineteenth … to finish, how do see the next few years unfolding when it comes to your caddying, podcasting and playing?

(Freddie): Covid has resulted in about two years of disruption so at times I feel like an old 27! But I have to keep telling myself I am still young. My long-term goal over the next few years is to turn professional. I still have a long way to go with my game but I just want to give it my best shot and see how that particular story plays out and see whether I can make it on the mini-tours or come through qualifying school. Also, to see whether I like the lifestyle of a professional golfer. If that doesn’t work out, I could possibly try to caddie for friends on the Challenge Tour or the DP World Tour. But living in St Andrews and loving golf there is no shortage of opportunities in the golfing industry.

(Golfing Herald): Freddie, a great way to finish. Thanks so much for sharing a fascinating insight into the world of caddying. Good luck with the Free Relief Golf Podcast and all the best in attempting to achieve your goal of becoming a professional golfer.

To be Continued…

In March 2024, Freddie kindly agreed to another interview … the resulting article, Freddie Lawrence, continues his golfing story from early 2023 to the current day, focusing on his goal of becoming a professional golfer.

Acknowledgements

And finally, a massive thanks to …

• David Scott, General Manager at Dumbarnie Links
• Noel Cooper, General Manager at Thorpe Hall Golf Club
• St Andrews Link Trust
• Matt Hooper Photography

… for kindly sharing some fantastic photographs to augment this article.