Caddie's Role: Working both the European and US Tours means you can enjoy the good things each has to offer. If there is something that disagrees with you about either one, the chances are that it won't be long before you head back to where you want to be.

There is a 'countdown' that often occurs in the caddie shack in the States when some of the European caddies are anxious to get home after a lengthy spell in America, usually around Masters time. I have often heard them notch down the amount of 'sleeps' they had left before they get to go home. Indeed, if ever there was a group of people who were in an ideal position to moan that the grass is always greener on the other side it would have to be us travelling porters.

I consider myself to be in a wonderful position as a caddie to be able to enjoy the rich rewards of the US Tour. The fruits of success in the States could be considered by some to be nearing obscene. But come back to Europe and although the prize funds are relatively small in comparison to the States, the lifestyle for me outweighs the financial compromise. Each has its merits, and deciding between the two can be tricky.

The whole aspect of how we move around and where we stay is totally different on either side of the Atlantic.

In the early part of the American schedule we get to stay in some exotic locations, such as the Hawaiian Islands, southern California and south Florida. If you're clever you can end up in accommodation with a sea view for the early weeks. However, this changes as you get to the heart of the US Tour, indeed to the heart of America.

You could be forgiven for confusing one week with another from May till October. Identical hotels with carbon copy rooms, located just off a freeway going east or north, which in turn leads to a mall which leads to yet another boulevard. That normally conjures an image of an elegant tree-lined route but usually turns out to be a mangled mess of concrete and forbidding slip roads.

Dinner is at a restaurant which more than likely is part of a chain, which means that it will be identical to the one you ate in last week some 1000 miles away.

Contrast this to staying in a 300-year-old farm house in the English midlands with creaking oak steep stairways and ancient wooden beams you could knock yourself out on as you tip toe home after a few too many at the Dick Turpin Tavern, a hostelry which has managed to retain its identity and rejected the pursuits of the Wetherspoon mass marketing ploys. The trip back to the digs is likely to be through winding narrow roads with blooming hedgerows.

The following week we go to Heidelberg, which despite attempts to homogenise it has undoubtedly had a local government with respect for its roots. Beer served by buxom bar maids in traditional costume, who don't expect 20 per cent gratuity for serving you with a modicum of civility and would be grateful for any spare coins as an appreciation of their service.

The chances are that instead of the Stateside obligatory rental car trip in isolation to a parking lot which require a further half-hour trip to get you to your player meeting point from, in Europe you will use organised transport from the players hotel to the course. The bus journey tends to be a very sociable way of getting to the course without the stress and avoids the congestion that occurs when everybody drives a personal vehicle to a point where you finally use shared transport.

Why not use the shared transport from the beginning?

When we get to the course, as caddies in Europe we enjoy far better treatment than our counterparts in America. We almost always have access to the locker rooms, as, naturally, to carry out our basic functions as caddies we need to organise the bag. Most weeks we have full access to the clubhouse.

In the States, we never have access to either the clubhouse or locker room. Our toilet facilities are without fail appalling, with no access to running water as a basic form of hygiene. I always thought that financial success brought with it civilization. Regarding the caddie on the US tour this is not the case.

The courses in the States tend to be far superior and in much better condition than their European counterparts. There is no doubt that, as a golfer, you could only improve in America given the general condition of the courses and in particular the quality of the greens. This is one of the most defining distinctions between America and Europe.

With the relentless development of golf in the States it looks like we will always enjoy such a stark distinction between the joys of the European tour against the riches and compromised cultural benefits of the American tour.

Meanwhile, I get to taste the best of both worlds with the downside being a bit more jet lag than most mid-season but well worth the journey back east to a very different civilization.