Joining the likes of Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Paul Collingwood in yesterday's pro-am was The Northern Echo's golf writer Paul Fraser. The irregular golfer had Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson carrying his clubs. So how did they shape up at Wynyard?

The Player

AFTER turning down the opportunity to play in previous pro-ams, for some reason this occasion, the biggest of them all, was different.

Two years after last playing a full 18 holes around Hartlepool's High Throston Golf Club - not that I'm making excuses for what you are about to read - the Seve Trophy pro-am was the one for me to make my debut.

All week I had heard the likes of Michael Owen, Alan Shearer, Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomerie were going to be strutting their stuff at The Wynyard so, when my mobile rang late on Tuesday afternoon, I felt this was too good an opportunity to miss.

Playing in a fourball led by Swede Henrik Stenson, I was surprisingly calm approaching the tee of our first hole, the 13th. Those feelings disappeared as I scuffed my opening three-iron shot about 20 yards - if that!

Things, surely, could only get better. And, after nine more holes of thrashing around and ironing out problems resurfacing after 24 months of inactivity on the fairways, they did.

I learned not to listen so much to my caddie, chief sports writer and colleague at The Northern Echo Scott Wilson, and more to Henrik, a Scandinavian who has won over £1m on the European Tour this year.

Quite why the Swede took time out to give me advice only he knows. After all, I did catch him on the calf with a wayward bunker shot at the par-four 15th!

While this reporter - I'll refrain from calling myself a golfer at this point - was trying not to take the whole occasion too seriously, it was interesting to see how Henrik treated the day.

Sharing a joke with me one minute - highlighted by the way he claimed I tried to knock him out with my Pro-Staff to help team GB's cause when the real action starts today - and in deep conversation with his caddie the next.

The pair spent most of the day planning possible routes into the greens and possibilities of taking an iron off the tee instead of a driver, which he can hit around 340 yards, something I can only dream of.

But between Henrik telling me to loosen up a little on my swing and his caddie, Grant Perry, firming up my grip, things suddenly started to come together.

Some perfect - or at least decent - drives were more frequent and I ended up contributing to the fourball scorecard on three occasions, the best of which I saved until last.

My approach shot from the light rough rebounded off the pin and I holed a two-foot putt for par.

Not the best amateur on the course but great fun all the same.

And that, for me, is the name of the game.

The Caddy

WHEN I agreed to caddy for The Northern Echo's esteemed sports writer, Paul Fraser, in yesterday's pro-am, he gave me a chart mapping the contours of The Wynyard course. Three hours later and I had been in a lot of places that weren't on it!

Under bushes, behind trees, next to fences and even backing onto somebody's back garden - anywhere, in fact, other than the narrow strip of land marked 'fairway'.

In truth, I should have known things were not going to go to plan when I was told we were going to start on the 13th. Unlucky for some? Certainly unlucky for Paul, who proceeded to top his opening drive on to the nearby ladies' tee.

Unlucky, too, for amiable Swede Henrik Stenson, the professional in charge of our fourball. Today he will be lining up alongside Thomas Bjorn in the opening fourball of the Seve Trophy - yesterday he was forced to act as a makeshift tannoy, alerting his fellow golfers to Paul's latest erratic drive. By the end of the round, there had been more "fores" than in your average over from Jason Gillespie.

The 18th was a particular favourite of mine. A solid tee shot had left Paul nicely positioned in the middle of the fairway. This was my chance to shine.

Throwing a clump of grass into the air - I'd seen the professionals do that, although hadn't quite bargained for the wind blowing it back into my face - I casually handed him a seven-iron.

"Nice and easy, your line is the very edge of the hospitality marquee." Two seconds later and the sponsors' smoked salmon platter was perilously close to becoming golf ball soup.

Gradually, I worked out how to calm him down. Any hole backing on to the vast galleries following Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Steve Harmison was basically a no-no.

Similarly, any shot that came with even the slightest chance of finding the sand was effectively a yes-yes. Yes, he's going to aim as far away as possible and, yes, it's still going to end up in the sand. Even Lawrence of Arabia can't have seen quite so much desert as I did.

Yet, somehow, he gradually managed to turn things round. A par three on the short 17th even had Henrik applauding while, in the style of a true entertainer, the Seaton Carew shotsmith duly saved the best until last.

His 20-yard chip at the 12th struck the bottom of the flagpole, leaving him with the simplest of tap-ins for another par three.

My only regret is that I didn't get to see it - I was still picking the thorns out of my hair from looking for his ball on the 11th.

Scorecard

PF Par

Hole 1 - 7 5

Hole 2 - 5 4

Hole 3 - 4 3

Hole 4 - 5 4

Hole 5 - 6 4

Hole 6 - 5 4

Hole 7 - 5 3

Hole 8 - 5 4

Hole 9 - 7 4

Hole 10 - 7 4

Hole 11 - 6 4

Hole 12 - 3 3

Hole 13 - 7 4

Hole 14 - 7 5

Hole 15 - 6 4

Hole 16 - 7 5

Hole 17 - 3 3

Hole 18 - 7 4

TOTAL

Fraser 102

Par 71

Published: 22/09/2005