A DUNDEE caddie could have been forgiven for shouting “action” instead of “fore” after a Hollywood A-lister called on his services.
Alex Florence, 33, has already caddied for some household names, but said Mark Wahlberg was the “biggest name yet” to receive his pearls of wisdom on the famous Old Course.
The caddie was blissfully unaware on Tuesday morning that he would rubbing shoulders with the movie star until the caddie master gave him the call just before teeing off.
Alex, who has caddied at St Andrews since 2006, said: “It was literally just two minutes prior to going out and the caddie master had mentioned there was an actor called Wahlberg amongst the group.
“I knew right away who he was talking about but I didn’t really have a chance to be nervous about it.”
“When I walked up to the tee, Wahlberg said ‘Are you with me?’ You’re not going to say no to the guy, are you?”
The caddie was taken aback by how down to earth the star was and he wasn’t shy about giving him some advice.
He said: “He was obviously physically strong — and he had been up since 3.30am working out in the gym.
“He could strike the ball really well. “Other parts of his game were quite brash but he would listen to the pointers I gave him.”
The caddie turned interviewer throughout his 18 holes with the Hollywood star, who has appeared in films including Boogie Nights and Lone Survivor.
He said: “I think because he was so down to earth, he was very approachable so I asked him what his favourite film was to work on.
“Fortunately, he didn’t have any trouble understanding my accent and he told me one of his favourites was The Fighter.”
Alex was already on cloud nine after securing 18 holes with the star, but the caddie was set to land another best supporting role.
He said: “I got a call late on Tuesday evening from his PA saying that we were going out with them again.
“I couldn’t believe it — we went out again yesterday for an early tee-off. He was in good form and he was fist pumping when he hit a good shot.”
The caddie spent three-and-a-half hours out on the course with Wahlberg yesterday and he reckons the star will be coming back.
He said: “I think he’ll be back to test his skills against the course again. He absolutely loved the course and the surrounding area.
“He was happy to sign autographs before he left for London.”
Alex added: “My wife Yazzmine was fairly pleased that I got a chance to work with him.”