Carnoustie Championship · A Lifetime on the Bag
★★★★★ 5.0 · 16 reviews on Amazon
Play Carnoustie
Like You Own the Course
Since 1998, learning every bounce, wind, and hidden line on the world’s hardest links. I’ll put that knowledge to work for your round.
The Carnoustie Caddie
What Is In The Bag
Shoes, waterproofs, rangefinders, balls — everything I actually recommend for a round at Carnoustie. No filler. No sponsorships. Just what works.
See the GearPhotography: Ralph Wardlaw
The Caddie
Nobody feeds you the course the way a caddie does.
I’ve carried the bag at Carnoustie Championship since 1998. That’s countless rounds in the rain, the wind, the October frost, and the rare Angus sunshine. I’ve read the Barry Burn for players from 40 countries. I know which lines hold in a north-east wind, which bunkers play twice as deep as they look, and exactly where the course will break your heart if you’re playing it blind.
I’ve seen Carnoustie eat good players alive. I’ve also seen it hand amateurs the round of their lives — usually the ones who listened.
A lifetime of that, written down. Every bit of it is in the book.
From the Bag to the Bookshelf
Golf Books Written From Inside the Ropes
Three books no tour player could write. No golf journalist could write. The view from decades on the bag — straight onto the page.
The Carnoustie Caddie: How the Course Really Plays
Every hole. Every named bunker. Every wind read you’ll never find in a yardage book. Written by the caddie who has walked these 18 holes more than anyone alive — not by a journalist who visited for a week. Part course guide, part history, part love letter to the hardest links in the world. If you’re playing Carnoustie, read this before you get on the plane.
The Dark Scottish Caddie: What Your Caddie Is Really Thinking
The inner monologue your caddie has been suppressing for four and a half hours — finally on paper. 71 entries of dry Scottish fury: the shots he’s named, the observations he can’t say out loud, the moments only the gods of golf will understand. Darker than the first book. Funnier than you’re expecting. Golf reading you’ll be quoting at the 19th for years.
Buy on AmazonGet it signed by me
What the Caddie Knows — Coming Soon
How to think on the course the way a caddie does. Reading the wind before you read the yardage. Managing risk on holes where the right play and the brave play are not the same thing. decades of course management thinking — for every course, not just Carnoustie.
Get Notified →Signed copies — direct from the caddie
Buy the book with your name written in the front of it
Amazon sells the book. I sell the one with your name written in the front of it. Every signed copy is written in, wrapped and posted by me from Carnoustie — tell me at checkout who it is for.
Posted from Scotland. UK 2–5 working days, Europe 5–10, USA and Canada 7–14, Australia and New Zealand up to three weeks.
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As Featured In
“Few people have witnessed as many rounds at Carnoustie as Dave.”
— Bunkered Magazine
Tales from the Yard
Stories, Reads & Hard Truths from the Links
Personal
Four Years
Four years ago my three children came to live with me. This is how Carnoustie helped us rebuild everything.
Hole by Hole
The 18th: Home Hole, Barry Burn, and the Weight of Everything That Came Before
Standing on the 18th tee, the Barry Burn waits between you and glory. I’ve watched players unravel here who had 17 holes in the bag. I’ve also watched amateurs hole out for the round of their lives. Nothing at Carnoustie is decided until the last putt drops on 18.
Hole by Hole
Hogan’s Alley: The Longest OB Fence in Europe and the Hole That Demands Respect
The 6th at Carnoustie is a par 5 with an OB fence running the entire length of the left side. Ben Hogan played it perfectly in 1953. Most amateurs don’t even understand why it’s so hard.
Open History
Van de Velde: The Greatest Collapse in the History of Sport
1999. A 3-shot lead. One hole to play. Jean Van de Velde stood in the Barry Burn with his trousers rolled up, the tide coming in, and the Open Championship slipping away in real time. I was in that crowd. I’ve never seen anything like it since.