Full-time caddy would realise Paddison?s dream

New Zealand's Gareth Paddison is into his fourth year as a professional golfer and next week defends his Victorian Open title. He talks with Paul Gueorgieff of NZPA about the cut-throat life as a touring pro.
Wellington
Gareth Paddison is looking forward to the day he has a fulltime caddy.
It's not that Paddison can't be bothered lugging around his golf clubs.
Instead it will be evidence the former top amateur has achieved one of his golfing goals ? the right to play on the main European Tour.
The 24-year-old lefthander is currently playing the second-tier European Challenge Tour, which does not carry the prizemoney that easily affords a caddy. Other than when a friend offers to take up the duty, most players carry their own bags, Paddison said.
"It's just an expense. You can save 500 ($950) euros at least," Paddison told NZPA when taking a break from practising in Wellington this week.
"You are not playing for a lot of money, so there's no point in giving yourself that extra cost."
But cost will become less of an issue if Paddison can make the far more lucrative European Tour, where a caddy is mandatory. Making the European Tour is a goal Paddison has set himself for 2005.
The subject of a caddy has been on his mind in recent times. In the past he has had a friend caddy for him when playing in Australia and New Zealand but felt it was time to take a more professional approach.
"I would prefer a caddy with more experience," Paddison said.
"Someone to question my thinking and also bring different options for different shots."
Paddison turned pro in October, 2001, and said one thing he has gained after more than three years on the road is admiration for those who simply retain their cards for the right to play on the top golf tours.
"I have got a whole new respect for guys that are just keeping their cards on the main tours," he said.
"The guys that are just scraping through, they might be 115th on the money list, but they are exceptionally good golfers in their own right. They might not be the best but they are far better than top amateurs looking to turn pro.
"Year after year they are keeping their cards and they are just getting harder from that experience."
Paddison, whose amateur titles included the 1999 New Zealand Strokeplay Championship, said life as a professional golfer was no walk in the park.
"I wouldn't say it's an easy life. It's probably a little bit harder than I imagined.
"I've had some very good results and I've had some not so good results. I've had to deal with missing cuts when I thought I was playing well."
Paddison said golf could be a lonely sport, especially when he is based in England for half of the year. He does not have a coach in England and all the analysis is his own.
"It's a do-it-yourself profession and there has to be a lot of self-motivation."
He said generating motivation was not easy when English summers were living up to reputation.
"It can be difficult at times when the winds are blowing and the skies are grey.
"You have to look at your goals and try and remind yourself that if you do get out there and practice, then you might be a step closer to getting your European Tour card.
"It's an individual sport and you need a lot more motivation than you would for a team sport. You are by yourself when you are practising and you are by yourself when you are on the playing field.
"Any mistakes are you own mistakes. At the end of the day you can only answer to yourself. Even if you take the advice of a caddy and it proves wrong, it's still your mistake."
But Paddison is not complaining.
"In saying all that, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
One of Paddison's biggest critics is his father, Gary, who lives in Wellington. He is also his biggest fan.
"He would be the first to give me a tune-up and criticise me, but only because he cares about me. But he would also be the first one to praise me as well.
"A couple of times when I wasn't playing the best and I had been a bit slack with my practice, he was straight up with me ? probably a bit on the hard side to most people's liking.
"He just said you might as well get a part-time job because you can't get away with what you are at the moment."
It was with his father's blessing that Paddison made the decision to turn pro as a 21-year-old.
"My dad had a fairly good idea of what was required and how good you had to be.
"He played soccer for New Zealand and he's got a very good sports mind. He said 'if you are not going to put the work in, you might as well go and get a job'."
Paddison himself played soccer as a youngster and represented Wellington at a junior level before he started to concentrate on golf from the age of 13. Four years later he was taken under the wing of former national coach Mal Tongue.
Paddison said he can remember the very words Tongue imposed on him at the beginning of the partnership.
"He said to me, 'if you are prepared to work hard, I'll take you the rest of the way'. They were his exact words."
Paddison and Tongue have been involved in intensive coaching almost every day for the last few weeks, as Paddison prepares for his first tournament of the year, the A$100,000 ($109,878) Victoria Open in Melbourne on January 28-30.
It's not the biggest tournament around, but remains significant for Paddison as he won it last year to provide him with the second win of his professional career. The first had been in the 2002 Scenic Circle Hotels Gold Classic in Dunedin.
Paddison said a look at a list of past winners told him the Victoria Open had been a teeing ground for other great golfing careers.
"Looking at some of the names on the trophy was incredible ? Greg Norman and Peter Thomson."
Paddison gets his wish of an older caddy in the Victoria Open. Carrying his bag will be Tongue.
'Mal wanted to see me play a tournament. I said you might as well do something while you're there."
Following the Victoria Open for Paddison will be the A$2 million Heineken Classic in Melbourne on February 3-6. Paddison finished seventh in last year's Heineken and earned his biggest cheque of 2004, for 36,418 euros ($69,000).
Paddison will come back across the Tasman for the $1.5 million New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour, north of Auckland, on February 10-13.
Then it's back to Australia for the A$1 million Jacob's Creek Open at Adelaide on February 17-20, followed by the New Zealand PGA Championship at Clearwater in Christchurch on February 24-27.