A last-minute WhatsApp from Chris Tyson led to my first round caddying for a PGA Professional. At High Post, I quickly discovered there was rather more to the job than carrying a golf bag.
Event: PGA West Region Championship
Course: High Post Golf Club
Date: 26–27 August 2025
Player: Chris “Tyce” Tyson PGA
Caddie: Steve King – Round 2
Format: 36-hole stroke play
Score: 73 (+3), 80 (+10) – 153 (+13)
Result: T50
Events Together: 1
Tournament Rounds Together: 1
Official Results: PGA/BlueGolf Leaderboard
Before the First Tee
My career as a PGA caddie began at 3:20pm on 26 August 2025.
I use the word career fairly loosely.
Tyce sent me a WhatsApp message:
“Just seeing on the off chance whether you are available to caddy/moral support tomorrow at High Post?”
One minute later I’d replied:
“Yes mate, no problem. Be happy to.”
And that was pretty much it.
Tyce had already played the opening round of the PGA West Region Championship at High Post Golf Club, shooting 73 (+3).
The tournament was played over two days and the second round used a reverse draw, so Tyce didn’t even know his tee time when he first asked me.
Later the draw came through.
We were off at 10:50am from the first tee, with Tyce playing alongside Richard Woods and Lee Thompson.
I’d never been to High Post before.
I’d also never caddied for a player of Tyce’s standard.
I’d helped Emma on the golf course plenty of times, but I’m a single-figure golfer and Emma was playing off 34. Helping Emma around a golf course and turning up to caddie for a PGA Professional in a tournament are not quite the same thing.
I was going to have to work this one out as I went along.
On the Bag
There wasn’t a big conversation beforehand about what Tyce expected from me.
Most of it was unspoken.
I helped with yardages, kept his clubs clean and carried the bag. High Post is fairly hilly, so simply taking the physical load away from Tyce meant he could conserve some energy for actually playing golf.
As it turned out, carrying the bag was the easy part.
The weather was awful.
We had heavy rain on and off for most of the round, accompanied by strong winds. Every now and again the sun would appear and we’d think perhaps we’d seen the worst of it.
Then it would start raining again.
Despite all the rain, the fairways and greens were still firm. Tyce therefore had to deal not only with what the wind was doing to the ball in the air, but also with trying to control it when it landed.
One of my main jobs became keeping his clubs and equipment as dry as possible.
Professional caddying. Glamorous stuff.
But I could also keep his spirits up.
When you’re playing in horrible weather on a hilly golf course and the score isn’t going quite how you’d like, carrying your own bag and worrying about wet equipment isn’t going to make the day any easier.
Perhaps the “moral support” part of Tyce ‘s original message was more important than either of us realised.
Reading Putts for a PGA Professional
There was one part of my own golf that Tyce already trusted.
My putting.
Tyce knew it was one of the strongest parts of my game, so occasionally during the round he’d ask me to have a look at a putt.
I wasn’t suddenly reading every green or telling a PGA Professional how to putt.
If Tyce wanted another pair of eyes, he’d ask and I’d tell him what I saw.
At High Post that was only a small part of the job, but it would eventually become an important part of how we learned to work together.
This was tournament round number one for us.
We had plenty still to learn about each other.
The Golf
Tyce had started the day tied 26th after his opening 73 (+3).
With me on the bag for the first time, he shot 80 (+10).
I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere about choosing your caddie.
The weather certainly made golf difficult, although it would be wrong to blame everything on the conditions.
Good scoring was possible.
Richard Woods shot 74, while Lee Thompson produced a level-par 70.
Watching Lee was one of the things that really stood out to me from the day.
His golf looked a different level to what I was accustomed to seeing. Even the 70 didn’t really reflect how well I thought he played. He three-putted several times and, from what I saw walking alongside him for 18 holes, could quite easily have been four or five shots lower.
This was my first opportunity to watch professional tournament golf from a few yards away for an entire round.
It was an eye-opener.
No Complaints About the Weather
Something else struck me.
Nobody spent the round complaining about the weather.
It was obvious we’d all rather have been dry. The rain was heavy at times, the wind made the golf difficult and conditions weren’t particularly pleasant for anybody.
But the professionals just got on with it.
Waterproofs went on. Umbrellas went up. Shots were played.
It sounds incredibly simple, but it’s something we weekend golfers aren’t always quite as good at.
Complaining that it’s windy has yet to make the wind stop.
Meeting James Wiltshire
I also met PGA Professional James Wiltshire at High Post.
I already enjoyed watching his YouTube channel, so I introduced myself and had a brief chat with him about it.
It was only a small part of the day, but another reminder that I’d suddenly found myself inside a part of golf I’d previously been more accustomed to watching from the outside.
What I Took From High Post
My first tournament round on Tyce ‘s bag taught me quite a lot.
The biggest lesson was probably that being useful to a professional golfer doesn’t necessarily mean giving him golfing advice.
I’d never seen High Post before, so I had no course knowledge to offer. Tyce obviously didn’t need me to teach him how to hit golf shots.
But I could carry the bag around a hilly course.
I could help with yardages.
I could keep the clubs clean and, with varying degrees of success, dry.
I could keep his spirits up.
And when Tyce wanted another opinion on a putt, I could give him what I saw.
I also got my first proper look at how professionals behave when conditions are unpleasant. There wasn’t much wasted energy complaining about things they couldn’t control.
And I spent 18 holes watching some very good golfers at close quarters.
After all that, I reached one reassuring conclusion.
I’m still the best putter.
The Result
Tyce finished the PGA West Region Championship with rounds of 73 and 80 for 153 (+13) and a share of 50th place.
His second-round playing partners finished considerably higher. Richard Woods shot 74 to finish T28, while Lee Thompson’s 70 moved him to T10.
The complete tournament leaderboard is available through the official PGA/BlueGolf link at the top of this post.
Final Thoughts
On paper, there wasn’t an especially strong argument for employing me again.
Tyce without Steve: 73.
Tyce with Steve: 80.
Fortunately, Tyce apparently saw something in the arrangement that wasn’t showing up on the leaderboard.
So did I.
I’d enjoyed being on the bag, despite spending much of the afternoon trying to keep golf clubs dry while getting increasingly wet myself.
More importantly, I’d started to understand what I could potentially bring to the partnership.
I didn’t know then how many PGA events we’d eventually do together, how my role would develop or how much I’d learn from walking alongside Tyce and the other professionals.
At High Post, none of that existed yet.
I’d simply received a WhatsApp asking whether I fancied being “caddy/moral support” the following day.
I said yes.
And that’s how it started.
Caddying for Chris Series
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