Augusta Makes Me Feel Like 'Someone Who Smokes 60 Cigarettes' - Helen Westwood
Lee Westwood's wife and caddie Helen has described the extremities of the undulations at Augusta National, saying she feels like someone who smokes 60 cigarettes a day after walking the hilly course.
In particular, Helen hates walking the 8th hole as the long par-5, the course's longest hole at 570 yards, is uphill the entire way. "Augusta is definitely the toughest course I’ve caddied on, and the thought of going up 8 always fills me with absolute dread,” she told the Sun. "Honestly, it slopes up at about a 45-degree angle the whole length of the hole. I’m a fitness instructor but by the time I get to that green I’m totally out of breath. I feel like someone who smokes 60 cigarettes a day!”
She also joked how husband Lee's bag was so heavy compared to Shane Lowry's that she thought he put a couple of bricks in it.
“People don’t realize how hilly Augusta is, because you don’t get a proper perception of all the ups and downs from TV. Before we start, I always go through the bag asking stuff like, ‘Do you really need this water bottle? There’s water on every tee’. We played a practice round recently with Shane Lowry and I lifted his bag and mine was much heavier. I’d swear Lee was hiding a couple of house bricks or a few iron weights in there if I didn’t check it so thoroughly.”
Helen and Lee tied the knot in June 2021 in Las Vegas prior to the US Open at Torrey Pines. The Englishman currently ranks 65th in the world.
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Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews.