A postcard from St Andrews April 25, 2013

So following a year of ups and downs, emotional turmoil and a constant struggle to return to work I have ended up back at the place I left last April saying I wouldn't come back to. This time last year I was in a mess, I couldn't find suitable accommodation and the constant uncertainty and unsettling nature of moving from place to place within such a short space of time really upset me, leading to me making the decision that I could no longer continue to caddie because the situation was affecting my work. But really ever since that moment I have been trying to come back, not least because of the quite dire employment situation in my home town of Devizes, Wiltshire. After three trips up to the Home of Golf this winter I have eventually been able to secure a job in the bar at the New Golf Club and as I am writing this I am preparing for my third shift of the week and first evening shift, so far the job has been relatively straightforward and it helps having a little bar experience from my time working at the Scores Hotel, but there is still plenty to learn and get used to as the job also involves opening, closing, cashing up, changing barrels, cleaning the pipes, checking the bathrooms, stocking up the bathrooms, cleaning and drying the towels and moving furniture for meals etc in the restaurant. Only time will tell whether I settle into the job or not but it is a step back onto the ladder and they always say it is easier to get a job if in one already.

Of course the main reason I have been fighting to get back to St Andrews this year is because of St Andrews Golf Magazine and on Wednesday evening I had the opportunity to meet and to some extent interview a young man who would like to contribute to St Andrews Golf Magazine. Graylyn Loomis, 21, is from North Carolina, USA and writes his own blog at www.livingasalinksgolfer.blogspot.com. Graylyn is a 3^rd year University of St Andrews Student and is a keen golfer who has played many of the UK's great links courses and also is a caddie at Kingsbarns Golf Links. Originally I was supposed to be meeting him with Colin (co-founder of St Andrews Golf Magazine and owner of Rascals Bar) at Rascals Bar but due to business commitments he couldn't make it so it was just myself and Graylyn, which I think will actually give me more confidence going forward. The discussion really got me excited about the possibilities for the future development of the magazine because of Graylyn's experience to date and because of what he is going to be doing this summer. Having already done an internship with Golf Monthly he has been successful in applying for an internship with Golf.com/SI in New York this summer. This is a fantastic opportunity for Graylyn but it also bodes well for us having such a talented and experienced writer on board from the beginning and with over a year left in his studies in St Andrews I look forward to working with Graylyn and developing well-written and in-depth articles for what we believe will be one of the great golf publications.

For the first couple of months of my time back in St Andrews I will be staying in the St Andrews Tourist Hostel and it is amazing the people you meet, two of the guys staying here presently are from exactly the same college I went to, both of them are greenkeepers and are working in seasonal positions on the St Andrews Links courses. Incredibly one of the guys I went to Myerscough College with, Ed Johnson, is working for the R&A and has now moved into St Andrews. I lived with Ed in the first year at the college in halls of residence and played several rounds of golf with him on the “links” at “Royal” Myerscough. I look forward to catching up with him during the next few weeks. I have also been in contact with another blogger completely unrelated from the magazine and golf who is studying at UCLan in Sports Journalism, Ashleigh Molloy (http://ashleighmolloy.wordpress.com/) is 18 and she wants to work in radio and television and I had to borrow her picture because I feel like it sums up my journey from graduation to career. 

I haven't played any golf yet but I have practised my putting three times on the green at the Links Academy and last night in the sun on the putting green next to the Jubilee Course, I also went to the range to hit 75 balls on Monday afternoon. I can't wait for the time when I am earning enough money to enable me to find somewhere more long-term to live and to play golf. Membership at certain clubs in the town is very affordable indeed and once I have a links ticket I will be able to play as much golf as I would so wish, but neither is attainable until I am out of the hostel into a permanent address, so for now it will be the range, putting green and the occasional round on the Balgove.

So far this week I think we have had one shower of rain, other than that it has been dry and sunny if not a little windy. I will send my next postcard from St Andrews soon but today is the second out of eight straight days I am scheduled to work at the golf club so I am going to be busy over the next week.