Brian

By now you may know that my name is Brian.  Brian is also the name of my caddy at Troon on _____day.  

As I sit here on _____day, I can't remember what day we played there.  Nor do I know what day it is now.  And, no, thank you, I am not going to look at my electronic calendar on my phone even though I'm typing this on my phone.  

I am successfully lost in vacation.  For me that means I am here.  In St. Andrews, Scotland.  Having a great time.  With some great guys.  And I don't know what day it is, nor do I want to know anything else outside of what time our van leaves to take us to Dunbarnie for today's round.  

Feeling that way is such a stark contrast to the world of deadlines.  Management.  Calendars.  Start times.  And more that I live in normally.  So yes, I'm good with not knowing what day it is.  

The trip has been amazing.  

I chose the picture of Brian, my caddy above, because being with him for 4+ hours at Troon (which was simply a magical experience) felt like the first time I really spent time with a true local.  A local I had a hard time understanding.  Yes, English is spoken here.  You'll understand once you get here.  

Brian was the best.  He's been caddying for 40 years.  He watched me swing one time and said, "I have your game figured out."   And he did.  

He was a perfect combination of honest and encouraging.  Never got too high.  Never got too low.  

He believed in me.  And he had just met me.  

He was unbothered.  Quick.  Straight to the point.  Told me to just enjoy.  

And I did.  

The day at Troon was a perfect mixture of this trip and the things I love about travel:  Being in a new place.  Talking with locals.  Enjoying local food and drink.  

We had the opportunity to play match play (ChatGPT it.  (That's fair right?  ChatGPT is slowly replacing the verb phrase "Google it" it seems)) against a Troon member.  My guy was very fun.  And a very good player.  And I won my match which was great. 

And Brian is a lot of the reason I won.  He kept me in the road.  He was the voice of strength and encouragement that I needed when things weren't going my way.  And in a round of golf, similar to real life, things don't always go your/my way.  

He always had the right thing to say.  Sometimes it stung.  But that was what I needed.  Sometimes he helped me see the bright side of things.  And that was what I needed too.  

He spoke of his kids.  Grandkids.  And great grandkids.  He spoke of living close to family.  Of caddying. 

And he rolled his own cigarettes.  

Many times.   

And that was fun to watch too. 

Brian, you're a good man.  I appreciate your honesty, care, kindness and your energy the other day.