Ryder Cup: Cool Foster already plotting glory trail for Europe's No 1 Westwood

Judging trajectories, mapping distances and reading greens, the Yorkshireman walked the 18 holes as if he was the world's

No 3 golfer.

This was not some boyhood fantasy he was playing out, dreaming it was he who was lining up a shot to win the 2010 Ryder Cup.

No. This is his job, and if he gets it wrong, then Westwood – who might very well find himself this Sunday evening with a tricky shot to the 18th green to win back the Ryder Cup for Europe in front of a partisan crowd – gets it wrong.

"I'll have been round the course a couple of times, making my drawings and trying to plot a way round that fits Lee's eye," explains Foster, who this week caddies at his 11th Ryder Cup, having carried the bag at previous matches for Darren Clarke and the great Seve Ballesteros.

"Whoever you're caddying for you look at it from their perspective and you look at holes in different ways for different players.

"For instance, a Lee or a Darren are big hitters and more aggressive so you're looking further off the tee, whereas with Seve the driver was not the straightest club in his bag.

"It's all down to homework, doing a few hours sussing it out and knowing the course inside out. You only need two or three rounds and you play your way around it as if you were Lee.

"You have to be asking questions all the time, questions that Lee would be asking you. What's the shape of the hole? Is there plenty of space for the ball to run after a drive? How far to the bunker? All these questions you have to throw into the mix.

"When your man is putting out on a green you have to be straight away thinking about the next shot. You have to be one step ahead of your player so that when he steps onto the next tee with his questions about hole length, which club, wind left or right? you can straight away give your answer, because you've already sussed it out with your homework.

"Lee, or whoever it is, wants a positive answer, and that brings confidence to his game."

It is that steadfast belief in their homework that enables the caddie to concentrate on another important job, keeping their player calm.

Never is this more vital than in the intense cauldron of a Ryder Cup, when players who play for themselves 51 weeks a year are suddenly forced to deal with the pressures of sinking putts for an entire continent.

"It's a nerve-racking experience, not only for the players, but for the caddies, the wives – every one," says Foster. "It's pressure at its highest. You only have to look at the opening shot Tiger Woods played at the K Club; 20 yards left and into the lake. Everybody gets nervous, it's knowing how to handle it.

"I got carried away a bit in the early days but not any more. You just take it in your stride, because if you're getting carried away that's no help to your player.

"The caddie has to stay calmer than anyone. It's about knowing what to say and when to say it. Lee is always pretty calm, in fact he's quite easy to caddie for. I never have to crack the whip."

This is Foster's first Ryder Cup with Westwood although the pair have 17 Ryder Cups between them and will no doubt offer an experienced ear to the six rookies on Colin Montgomerie's team, and the equally-nervous caddies.

"I'd like to think the younger caddies can come up to me. Having done 20 years of Ryder Cups there's certain things I can pass on," adds Foster, whose most emotional experience came four years ago when partnering Clarke, who a month earlier lost his wife Heather to cancer.

"I remember Darren at the K Club, I could see his emotions running away with him. He'd just sunk a 100-foot putt to go four up on Zach Johnson and it drew a tremendous response.

"We walked onto the 13th tee and I could see his head was spinning. I just told him to take a minute, to calm down, to clear his head.

"The players tend to get a little bit carried away and reactions are magnified because it means that much more. When the pressure is the most intense, that's when you rely most on your homework."

Prior to Clarke, Foster caddied for Gordon Brand Junior and the man who perhaps embodies the spirit of the Ryder Cup more than any other, Seve.

"He was the ultimate warrior on the golf course," Foster recalls of the two Ryder Cups he shared with the Spanish genius.

"His desire to win in the Ryder Cup was greater than anybody else's. He just wanted to rip their heads off, he always gave it his all. One quote will stick with me that summed him up and that was from Johnny Miller when Seve was one down after nine holes against Tom Lehman in 1995.

"Playing as poorly as he was off the tee, he was still hanging in there for the sheer competitiveness of it and Miller said, 'He's had to pay to get back into the course three times and he's still in it'.

"Seve was a fantastic competitor."

Ballesteros played a significant role in engendering a team spirit that helped the Europeans win five of six matches prior to defeat at Valhalla in 2008.

A happy dressing room benefits not only the 12 players, but also the caddies, with the Bingley bagman notorious for being a practical joker. He attributes Europe's recent success to not only quality golf, but the team camaraderie.

"To be inside the locker room, being a part of that buzz is really special," says Foster, who has also experienced life in the US team room when in 2005 he got the call from Tiger Woods to step into Steve Williams's shoes for the President's Cup.

"That was a tremendous experience, but what you have with the Europeans is a great group of lads, they all pull together and have a lot of fun.

"The best team bonding, though, comes in the bar."

So will there be a beer or two sunk on Thursday night before the opening tee shots on Friday morning?

"Yeah... and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!" he laughs.

After he's done his homework, of course.