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TROON, Scotland -- What was it like caddying on a day when Scottish links showed their true colors during a major? As much as I love to caddie, days like Friday at The Open make me question what I was thinking when I first agreed to pick up the bag. That feeling doesnt last long, until I talk to a caddie after the round. Enjoy.Collins: How much different was the course compared to the first round? Caddie: It was a complete 180. Literally. Youre going down off the right heading out [the wind on Thursday]. And then today it was in out of the right, so only like 140 [degree difference] but. ... I asked my pro if hes ever played [Royal Troon] in that condition, and he said no. Hes played this course [before this week]. It was weird; he asked me on the driving range, Have you thought about what were going to hit on any of the holes on the front nine? Collins: He asked you? Caddie: Yeah. Its like, Dude, kind of yeah, but you should probably be telling me what youre thinking. It ended up pretty much being all drivers because they [the holes] were all blowing pretty well [into the wind]. ?? Its just different. You have to completely change your mindset. Going out the first three youre looking at flip wedges after hitting 4- or 5-iron off the tee versus, Im going to have to hit this fairway or else Im going to have a tough shot in.Collins: Which hole was the hardest to caddie in the opposite wind and why? Caddie: Hmmm. I would say, I mean 8? ? Today it [the wind] was helping off the left, and that pin was a little bit back, so you had literally like a postage stamp. You had a very small area that you could hit it --? especially because he chose a club that I wasnt 100 percent sure of, but he loves to hit these little soft chip shots. So when youre going down off the left and you only want to land it 113 and he pulls a little pitching wedge out in your helping wind. Youre like, One-thirteen, playing 105. Pitching wedge? And he goes, Do you like this? ... Ive seen it before, but if he catches it a little strong that thing is, well you know, thats dead. That was a difficult hole to trust that, but he hit it perfect.Collins: Whats that like when you know your player has too much club in that situation? Caddie: Its hard because my mentality is that I [have to] know what shot hes thinking, not the shot that Im thinking. So you have to be very aware of when he says Do you like this? that means Do you like the way Im going to play this? versus not the way you [the caddie] see it. ? Its very unique in the aspect of, you have to have that mentality that you always have to be thinking what theyre thinking. Which is difficult because I didnt get a Ph.D. in psychology.Collins: What are the bunkers like over here compared to the PGA Tour? Caddie: Very difficult. Out there [on the PGA Tour] ? when they say deep bunker its like you have plenty of room to get it up [in the air]. These are so small theyre like little golf holes. Theyre straight vertical. ? Its literally a wall, and when you say deep bunkers at Jacks place at Muirfield, overall its deep but you still have so much room to carry it over any lip. Youre not going to get as much spin, but these, you physically cant get it over the lip if youre within a foot and a half to 2 feet of the lip. Collins: At least over here you dont have to rake the bunkers. Caddie: Love it. Could you imagine today if I had to rake the bunker, clean his club, clean his ball -- Id need eight hands if that was the case. I only needed six today. Its great because it saves time -- and they change consistency through the day.Collins: In conditions like today, hard rain, wind, no rain, misty, big wind, etc., whats the hardest part for you as the caddie? Caddie: Its just staying consistent. Picking a routine and sticking with it. Really just knowing what your player wants out of you, not trying to over-caddie. Like if you notice he doesnt really need help with an umbrella over a 6-foot putt, then dont go walk over there and have him tell you no. Just realize what he likes and doesnt like. Collins: You used the term over-caddie. Caddie: Yeah, you dont need to be a hero out here. Especially if you have a veteran who kind of knows what he likes. Its probably pretty difficult for a guy whos a first timer [in The Open]. If its doing the on-and-off-again [rain], hes like, S---, its raining I need my umbrella. Its not raining, I dont need my umbrella. Its raining, but you need to clean this club. The pros got to have a little ego check and make sure my caddies good. I joked with my player. He hit the shot and I was standing there, I hand him the umbrella and he holds it over me to make sure I can clean it [the club] and put it in the bag. And he starts walking and he goes, Oh wait, are you good? I go, Thats the nicest thing youve ever said to me. Were just laughing.Collins: What should people know about this course they might not see or hear? Caddie: How slow these greens are. I understand that its a British Open and theyre trying to keep them like that, but with this rain I imagine youre going to see a lot of putts left short. Or a lot of players overreading some of these greens, because if youre playing them [putts] firm then its going to break less cause theyre slower. ? The speed of these greens is really important because you need to stay aggressive. Your balls not going to go 4 to 5 feet by like most do in majors. ? Its a weird concept to have firm and slow.Wholesale Shoes From China . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Wholesale Shoes . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. https://www.wholesaleshoesforcheap.com/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Yeezy Sale . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. NMD SaleLike Public Enemys It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Brendon McCullums new book Declared is a ferocious follow-up, with many and varied foes in the firing line. (It is only a sequel of sorts, of course, following on from Dylan Cleavers short-format focused Brendon McCullum: Inside Twenty20, published in 2011.)Unfortunately, unlike Public Enemys effort, Declared is no masterpiece. Theres a dearth of dressing-room details, an unexpectedly high quotient of bile, and too many de facto match reports (Trent comes back to do his stuff - he takes another four wickets to make 10 for the match - and the game is ours).But I guess it was all part of the plan. The inside cover threatens: …as the light fades on his astonishing career, Brendon McCullum has unleashed one final time. The picture on the jacket is one of a half-silhouetted, unsmiling McCullum.The timing of the books release, in the midst of a torrid India v New Zealand series, was also eyebrow-raising. It felt opportunistic - with Mike Hesson, Ross Taylor and new captain Kane Williamson in a colossal battle for the one-day series, and needing a McCullum tome sideshow like they might a frontal lobotomy.I expected to be taken behind the scenes for a warts-cigarettes-and-all look at one of our most successful teams. I wanted back stories and observations and anecdotes and idiosyncrasies of a New Zealand team that we fell back in love with. There are glimpses of great yarns but they are scarce - one of the best comes early on when McCullum talks about borrowing his Dads company car, aged 14: So the light turns green and I plant hoof...There seemed to be so much to celebrate about his phenomenal career, so many memorable moments. McCullum won most people over with his efforts in playing a bazillion consecutive matches for New Zealand, leading the team into the World Cup final in a glory run of epic proportions, transcending even Martin Crowe en route to scoring the countrys inaugural Test triple-century, and outblasting the Master Blaster with the fastest Test hundred in history.But best of all, he played the lead role in transforming a team of underperforming prima donnas into a team with character, guts and humility. All these glorious episodes are in Declared, but the passages that are most prominent are about legal battles or backroom antagonism. McCullum is a man of the people - he is revered by most. He didnt need to write a book to get the public onside by explaining the details of the respective Taylor and Cairns ffiascos.dddddddddddd Both are given extensive coverage, blow by bitter blow, in the book and are mentioned before page 30.Dont misunderstand me, I love that McCullum was prepared to put his thoughts down on the page - hallelujah to the end of platitudes and boringness in New Zealand cricket books. But I was taken aback at the proportion of anger and splenetic frustration in the 272 pages.The motivation for the book appears to be putting the story straight on a few fronts, and although some of the targets are predictable (such as John Parker, Chris Cairns and Glenn Turner) there are subtle and spiky barbs reserved for others too, including Stephen Fleming, Dave Currie, Ross Taylor, John Wright, Daniel Vettori, Kerry Schwalger, Martin Guptill, Mark Greatbatch, and Nigel Llong.McCullum reserves a special focus for the many scathing words penned about him by Fairfax newspaper columnist Mark Reason. I think McCullums riposte about Reason writing from an elevated position, looking down on the rest of us, or maybe just me is a mistake - his target is an agent provocateur and being enticed into a back and forth is a hopeless cause.Predictably, Reason has already returned fire: Dont you think your readers might have been more interested in the beauty of Virat Kohlis game, why Steve Smith constantly fidgets with his box and if Mitchell Johnson ever terrified you?Declared is an easy read, and there is plenty of protein to digest here. But part of me felt sad at the end of it.Maybe it was the kind of manuscript that needed to be left on the shelf for a while, so the trials and tribulations were less raw. I suspect a longer period of reflection could have enabled a more measured assessment of his career. The result may have been less headline-grabbing but allowed more of McCullums love of the game, his cricket philosophies, his wry or kneejerk observations, and pride in his teams collective achievements to shine through.Or perhaps he could have just left the superb words of his Cowdrey Lecture untouched as the final, kinder words on his stellar career: I have retired from first-class and international cricket without memories of aggregates, runs, wickets, catches or matches won. Rather, I treasure the memories of playing with and against so many wonderful people - as my father did before me.Declared by Brendon McCullum with Greg McGee Upstart Press, 2016 NZ$49.99 ' ' '