The Best Irish Caddy Ever!

The best Irish Caddy Ever
The best Irish Caddy Ever

The Best Irish Caddy EVER! Mr Ollie Ryan!

I heard a really great story from one of the best caddies in Ireland, may I introduce to you, Mr Ollie Ryan and Ollie caddies at Adare Golf Club…

The story In Ollie’s words!

“I was caddying for Stacey Keach, you know the American actor who played mike hammer & many other roles in Hollywood. It was a beautiful summer’s day in 1999 I think it was. Anyway, I kept admiring and talking to him about his lovely foot joy classic shiny black leather shoes. They were the top pro model ones at the time with leather soles and beautiful stitching etc. We were on the 18th hole and after Stacy hit one in the river I said: “well at least you looked well in your swing with those beautiful shoes Stacey!” He immediately asked me what shoe size I was and I replied “about 10 and a half UK, my good friend” well he bent down unlaced and took both shoes off and handed them to me saying right!

They’re yours, Ollie! You’ve been going on about those f***** g shoes for the past 4 hours so there you go and I wish you luck with them!  Delighted I was and I decided to unscrew the metal spikes off.  Actually, I wore them as dress shoes or going out shoes. Well, a few months later I was at a house party sitting down talking to JP McManus. I crossed my legs and I could see him staring at the sole of my shoe probably wondering what are all the small holes there for!!!! Burned!!”

A little about Ollie’s past…

Ollie has been in Adare since June 1996 (this is his 19th season) he went to Adare for a weekend & finished staying there ever since! He was the caddiemaster under Brian Shaw, then he was involved with marketing the Adare Manor hotel & golf resort for a period of time and worked in the pro shop also. Before all the madness in Adare Ollie was a Mortgage Broker in Limerick!!

How to rank an Irish caddy!
  • Knowledge of the course (goes without saying).
  • Measurement of distance (I hope he/she has an electronic device to measure distance).
  • Measured jokes & funny stories suited for the group.
  • The judgement of interaction with the golfers.
  • Friendliness.
  • Club cleaning, ball cleaning & first to the ball with a damp towel.
  • The outline information for the shot to be played and provide golf shot recommendations.

Notably, should your Irish caddy ranks highly in each of these categories. Well, then you have met the right caddy for you! However, be on your guards, don’t believe everything you hear. Talking about Lahinch Golf Club, please read more… 

John Dooley PGA | Concierge Golf Ireland | The Best Irish Caddy Ever | Click to CONTACT US | Emai: [email protected]

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