Murray Morrison is used to serving up battered haddock and chips at his award-winning Garioch Fish Bar in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. But last month, he swapped the fryer for the fairway when he caddied for US president Donald Trump at the newly opened second course at Trump International in Balmedie.
Murray, who has been caddying part-time at Trump International since the original course opened in 2012, said he was taken by surprise when he was asked to carry the president’s bag.
“Because I’d been caddying at the course for the longest, someone just said, ‘Murray, do you want to do it?’” he said. “I thought I’d be nervous, but on the day I had no nerves at all. The Secret Service were everywhere – snipers, guns, the works – but it didn’t faze me.”
Morrison’s son, Glen, was also on hand, caddying for Trump’s son Eric.
“One of the Secret Service guys said I could sit next to the president on the buggy,” Murray said. “I looked over and there was Glen with Eric, and me with Donald Trump, loads of secret service on buggies and I thought, is this really happening?”
The round took around three hours, during which Murray chatted with Trump about golf, Scotland, and even fish and chips.
Murray added: “At the end, he asked if this was my job, and I said, ‘No, I’ve got a fish and chip shop business. We’re top 20 in the UK, and my son over there is the best young fish fryer in Britain. He was genuinely interested.”
Although Trump didn’t make it to the Garioch Fish Bar during his visit, Murray hopes he might stop by another time.
Commenting on the president’s golfing ability, Murray added: “I’ve played a lot of golf over the years, and for a 79-year-old, I was surprised how good he is. On a brand new course, he never missed a fairway the whole way round. He played good, solid drives over 250 yards every time.”
The Morrisons’ brush with celebrity didn’t end there. The very next day, Glen caddied for Scottish golfing legend Colin Montgomerie, who had looked up the Garioch Fish Bar and Glen’s achievements.
“Colin said he’d pop in sometime for some fish and chips,” Murray said. “He was a lovely guy too. It was quite a week for us both.”
