A caddie at a top north golf course spoke yesterday about his time on the bag for Wales and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale, who he said was “as genuine as they come”.
Cameron Hook, a caddie at Royal Dornoch Golf Club, said it was a “surreal experience” and one that he will never forget.
The world’s most expensive footballer was in the Highlands on Monday to play Castle Stuart in the morning before teeing off for another 18 holes at Royal Dornoch in the afternoon.
He was in the area with four schoolmates as part of an annual golf trip which they take every summer.
The group yesterday moved onto the north-east, where they teed off at Donald Trump’s course at Balmedie.
The winger was then spotted playing at Royal Aberdeen in the afternoon before heading south to play the Old Course at St Andrews today.
Yesterday Mr Hook, a keen Hibs fan who manages and plays for local team Dornoch City FC, said the group were playing a “Texas scramble” match, a team game where each player takes their shot from the spot where the preceding best ball finishes.
The 25-year-old said that on holes 16 and 17, the group of three laughed when they each missed 2ft putts – but were relieved on the 18th to beat the other team by two shots.
He added: “We were talking about football and he was telling me he goes back to training on August 8 and is just enjoying the time off. He was a really nice guy and a really good golfer. We see him in interviews and some people might think he is one of those who seems genuine but isn’t – but he is as genuine as they come.
“He hits the ball a mile, too. We were playing off the back tees and on the 8th hole, which is 434 yards, he left his tee shot 75 yards from the middle of the green”.
Last night Ronnie McAskill, director of golf at Royal Aberdeen, admitted he had not realised the star had been at the course as he had been booked with a party of other visitors.
But he said: “We get people like that in all the time, we had Franz Klammer not long ago, that is more my era. Our reputation goes before us and people do seek us out.
“The course is in great shape now and word gets out and this has been the best day of the week, he couldn’t have picked a better day for it.
“A lot of people were out there today which is good for us and good for Aberdeen.”
