Thursday 26 May 2016 14:32, UK
Rich Beem swapped his microphone for a bag of clubs at Wentworth on Wednesday as he took on the role of caddie for the pro-am at the BMW PGA Championship.
When I first offered to caddie for Sky Sports Golf producer Dave Randall for the pro-am at Wentworth, he might have thought I was joking. But I insisted and we had a really enjoyable day together.
I told Dave before we went out that if he was carrying anything in his bag that I deemed unnecessary, we would be throwing it out but, luckily for me, he only had a lightweight pencil bag. We were initially looking at him using a big pro bag to test some new technology, but that just wasn't going to happen!
I was careful to make sure there was nothing placed into his bag unexpectedly during the round, and I even threw out a few old golf balls he had lingering in there. He showed up with several different makes of ball in the pocket, so I went to the Titleist van and they very kindly gave us a fresh dozen.
Did we lose any? Well I didn't - but he lost two! To be fair, he played nicely early on and hit some good drives, although the second half of the round was a little up and down. He plays off about 10, but Wentworth is so punishing for amateur golfers no matter what your handicap.
There are so many fairway bunkers in particular that come into play off the tee. I thought he had hit a perfect tee shot three or four times, but when we got to his ball it had caught one of the traps. When that happens, you're toast.
We did pretty well with the yardages and club selections. Usually I play with amateurs that don't hit enough club on occasion, but Dave was the other way round. But we got it right quite a lot and it wasn't really a big deal.
The putting was tricky though, mainly because the greens were so fast and really treacherous. I suspect they will have just rolled them overnight, because I don't think they needed cutting again. When you have slick greens for amateurs, it's really tough.
But we had a great day and it was fantastic to be in a group with Damon Hill and Shaun Pollock. Shaun plays off low single figures and is very laid back with an easy demeanour, and it was easy to tell that Damon is just absolutely fanatical about golf.
It was easy to tell that Damon Hill is just absolutely fanatical about golf
He's clearly desperate to improve his game all the time, and I tried to help him a couple of times. Damon knows he has a problem keeping his left knee straight through the stroke, and when he got it right, he hit it really well. But if his knee got behind the ball, his swing got longer and the ball went either dead right, or dead left!
But it was great to walk around Wentworth with someone like Damon who is so crazy about the game, and I was also interested to hear his thoughts on the many changes in F1 since he was one of the best in the world.
I couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like to race alongside another car doing a couple of hundred miles an hour when there's only a matter of inches between you.
I also enjoyed talking to Shaun about cricket, not something I'm much of an expert on! I was trying to find out the differences between the pros and the club players, much like we were experiencing on the golf course.
He said he could bowl to the best player on a good club team and get him out in no more than three deliveries. It's a massive step up to professional level, and the same can certainly be said of golf.
All in all, it was a fascinating day for me. Carrying the bag, walking a great golf course with good crowds in and learning from Damon and Shaun about their sports, I really got a kick out of it. The next time Damon is over for the F1 week in Austin, I'm sure we can get a round in somewhere nearby.
I was also really impressed with our pro in the group. I don't think I've ever played with David Lingmerth before, but what a nice guy he was. He's a great looking player, and he has a putting stroke that many would be very envious of.
His all-round game is really solid, and he's one of those players that took his time to find his way as a professional, but he's had a really good couple of years now and his win at The Memorial last season was seriously good.
