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SHE couldn't have been more than five feet in height and might have weighed in at 100 pounds carrying a suitcase full of small change. But in the shadow of her broad brimmed straw hat was a smile that would melt a miser's heart, she knew the course like the back of her tiny hand and could read the greens like a book.
At first sight, and as a devout misogynist, I was reticent about using a female caddie, not least because my clubs obviously out-weighed her and the temperature was close to 90F. "Even if she could lift my bag," I thought, when the pro picked her out of the crowd, "the poor mite will collapse after one hole."
Which proves yet again how little I know about women. She flipped my bag around like a Bulgarian weight-lifter over-dosed on steroids and was game for another 18 holes when my playing partner and I staggered into the clubhouse for a life saving snorter and lunch. Welcome to golf in Thailand.
All the caddies we saw there were female and using one is obligatory at the clubs we visited, and justifiably so. Their fee averages 180 baht, or about £3 sterling, an indication that some Thai people are not overly familiar with life's little luxuries.
Obviously a caddie fee is a vital source of income for those many rural families who live near one of the 200 or so courses that have emerged in the past decade. So, the smiles and expertise aside, you'd want to engage one if only for reasons of largesse.
They're grateful for the employment and it shows, in their demeanour and the ever-present smiles. In fact the Thai people are one of the major attractions of a golfing holiday in that hauntingly beautiful country. They simply can't do enough for the visitor, and that includes those who have no expectation of a gratuity for services rendered.
It's part of their culture, it seems, and is based upon their religious beliefs. Predominantly Buddhist, they observe the tenets of their faith in all they do and practice common courtesies as a matter of habit; they are gentle in the extreme, graceful, welcoming, efficient and polite -- hence the ubiquitous bow with hands in prayer mode below the chin. It serves as a greeting, a thank you and a farewell and it can be quite disconcerting to we heathen westerners who view most forms of physical human contact as life threatening.
Coupled with a miniscule crime rate -- transgressors receive short shrift here -- their attitudes enhance a most delightful destination where golf plays an increasingly important role in the national economy. Those readers seeking a holiday with a mix of history, culture, elegance and unfailing interest will find that Thailand fills the bill admirably. The golf is a glorious bonus.
IN terms of development the Royal & Ancient game is a relatively recent phenomenon in Thailand. Golf has been played in some quarters there for the better part of a century but of the 230 or so clubs now extant most are associated with resorts and have emerged only in the past decade as the golf-tourism industry gained a foothold.
The Johnnie Walker Classic has become an annual Tour event here and the publicity has helped promote golf tourism, hence the growing number of visitors attracted during the dry season, mid-November to March.
Most head for the holiday honeypot of Phuket Island and its cluster of resorts but there's a swathe of similarly high quality destinations scattered around the country, many unfamiliar to golfers. At once inexpensive and under-populated, with hotels from the top echelon and courses by architects of some pedigree, they are the equal of any in the world.
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