Final Thoughts From Hazeltine Golf Club And The Ryder Cup

I don't really like to end any of my Blogs on a negative or a critical note but with this final dispatch, written during a coffee break on my 400 mile drive back to Chicago and my overnight flight home, I must raise a couple of contentious issues.

Before getting back to golf, the drive this morning through Minnesota and Wisconsin has been stunning with ever increasing Autumnal colours reflecting against a backdrop of the most beautiful crystal blue sky.  It's magical and during the next two weeks, I simply can't imagine how stunning these States will become.

But alas, back to the golf although my first comment relates to a term used in many sports for able bodied people.  That term is hero and Davis Love used it in the closing ceremony to describe his twelve team members!  It infuriates me and I can't believe that I am the only person in the world who gets so incensed at the frequent use of this term!

Putting the record straight, they aren't heroes in any way, shape or form.  They are highly paid golfers who through their own incredible hard work, dedication and determination have become the best in the world and the rewards that come with that effort are well merited.  But please, please, please, they aren't heroes!  Heroes are people who have lost limbs in the service of their Country's military.  Heroes are people who have overcome dreadful lifelong disability to represent their country with such pride and success at the Paralympics.  Heroes are the people who have lost their lives volunteering to deliver aid to those suffering in Aleppo.  They aren't golfers!

The second criticism is aimed at Danny Willett and at Lee Westwood and their performance at the after event news conference but again, I need to pre-empt my comments by saying Lee Westwood has been a golfing idol of mine for many years and I remain optimistic that he will win the Major he truly deserves.  Danny on the other hand is a very gritty, and very straight talking Yorkshireman whose victory in this year's Masters was brilliant in every respect.  On the last few holes, you would almost have believed he had ice rather than blood running through his veins.  It was a proud moment for British golf when he received that Green Jacket.

He had a bad Ryder Cup as did Lee but these guys are PGA Professionals.  The term Professionals should be underlined and in bold but my IPad doesn't allow me to do that!  For me they demonstrated a lack of professionalism at that press conference by drinking beer, laughing and when asked how he had played, Danny replied, "shit", no, "really shit"!  

Some people clearly found it funny but I didn't because I see these two as genuine role models in their sport, influencing a new breed of enthusiastic and passionate young golfers who copy the every move of their sporting idols.  This sent a poor message.  I am certain they were hurting badly inside from the defeat and I would have liked them to demonstrate a touch more disappointment.  Boorishness is no substitute in my mind.  

The game lost one of its most most popular and consummate Professionals last week.  Arnold Palmer or Mr Palmer as he was known by most, was the epitome of everything good about a Golf Professional.  Charming, charismatic and loved and respected by everyone in the game.  I hope I'm not wrong but I can't believe he or indeed Jack Nicklaus of Gary Player would have taken beer into a press conference or used the term "shit" to describe his playing performance.  I excuse the Americans and the drink in their press conference.  They won.  They were entitled.  Rant over but I would be interested if anybody reading this agrees?  I can take criticism as well as praise so use the comment button below to let me know your own thoughts.

It has been a brilliant experience and I would recommend it to any golfer if they ever get the chance.  Well done to the Americans for recapturing our beloved Samuel Ryder Trophy and enjoy it for the next two years.  It will be returning to the European Team in Paris.

Thank you for reading.

If Only I'd Taken Notice!

Well there you have it, a convincing 17-11 victory and so the Ryder Cup returns to this side of the pond for two years.  I'm disappointed but we were impressively outplayed by the Americans so well done them.

I should have known really because when I announced early last week that I was attending this event, cries of anguish could be heard all over the golfing community!  My attendance would effectively be the "kiss of death" to any chance of a European victory and so it proved.  People pleaded with me, "don't go" but I didn't listen!  They were right.  Actually, I have never been a superstitious person, I walk under ladders not round them and I've never had a problem with opening an umbrella in the house!  What happened at Hazeltine was that we were beaten by a better team, period and so congratulations to the Americans.  Ouch!  That's so painful to say and to write as the tears run down my cheeks!

This has been a terrific experience, aided by some fantastic Minnesota weather and by the friendliness of everyone with whom I have come into contact, not least of which were my Airbnb hosts Jim and Pam.  Yes, I know I paid for the privilege but they welcomed me into their beautiful home like a member of their family.  Clear evidence of this was on day one of the Ryder Cup when I returned from the course to find that Pam had prepared a beautiful beef bourguignon for dinner.  It was delicious but it was also lovely to sit down with an American family and "machine gun" them with questions about everything American including the current debacle of Clinton or Trump!  That's a Blog never mind a Blog post, all of its own.

Much has been written about the behaviour of some fans, at Hazeltine and that's a shame because it puts a black mark on parts of the event.  They are so in the minority but their lousy behaviour taints all their fellow countrymen, 99% of whom are no different to us and respect the qualities and the values in the game of golf.  Quite frankly, anyone who goes outside limits and that includes shouting, "get in the hole" when a golfer has just driven off on a 633 yard Par 5, should be ejected from the course instantly!  Or perhaps they should simply be shot!  The other cardinal sin is shouting "mashed potato"!  What's all that about?

Passions run high at the Ryder Cup but there is no excuse or defence for the abuse of players, particularly on their backswing but as long as alcohol is served from gates opening at 0630 to gates closing, it's never going to stop.  However, without exception, every single person that I came into contact with over the three days has been a delight and the memories will live long.

One story to round off today is about fellow members of my golf club, Chris and Pam, who were also attending the Ryder Cup and not for the first time I might add. Seasoned veterans is a good description.  There is a photo today which shows the crowds waiting for the gates to open on Sunday.  70,000 people were expected.  All is good natured but as soon as the flag goes down, there is a cavalry charge to various parts of the course to grab a seat in your favoured Grandstand.  Disappointment abounds because 70,000 bodies don't fit into 10,000 seats!  Mind you, this daily rampage produces evidence of the miracle and power of sport because recipients of new hips and new knees suddenly transform into Usain Bolt, covering the ground at phenomenal pace in their efforts to get a seat!

Thanks to my luck on day one meeting Bob and Jason, the third hole had been my daily destination and sure enough, I got a seat for the final day's activity despite the Grandstand filling up in record time.  I didn't know Pam and Chris were hoping for the same viewing point and I was surprised to find them queuing patiently when I went for my first toilet break.  Once you have a place, nobody gives it up but on returning, I said "leave it with me, I'll have a word".  I did, with one of the marshals in the stand and before I knew it, she was asking for silence and the possibility of creating a little more space.  Like the parting of the seas, a few spaces became available and happily, two of these were filled by a smiling and very happy Pam and Chris.  Thank you to that marshal and thanks to my friends for offering me free drinks back at Skipton Golf Club for life!

I might write one last post but if I don't then this experience has been one to savour and one to long stay in the memory.  Would I do it again?  Definitely not and it only served to confirm my pathological hatred of crowds.  Mind you, if Europe had won 17-11, I would already be booking my tickets for Paris in two years time!  As they say in France, "mangetout Rodney, mangetout"!

    An Hour Before Gates Open!

    Grandstand 3 With Pensive Bob At The Front

    A Happy Pam and Chris And Free Beer For Me

    A Happy Me

    Incredible Crowds

    Beautiful Colours

Give Us Your Money!

It wasn't a great day for the European team on Saturday which came as something of a disappointment after the fight back they put in on Friday afternoon.  At three points down going into the singles on Sunday, they have a mountain to climb but they did this four years ago when they were even further behind so I remain optimistic that we can still win the coveted trophy.

I had mentioned about the commercialisation of this event in yesterday's dispatch and it is a surprising thing to talk about bearing in mind that this is the only golfing contest where the players don't play for vast sums of money.  They actually play for pride and yet behind the passion and the pride, the Ryder Cup has become a massive money making operation, ably shown with everything happening at Hazeltine Golf Club!

Do you know that on Saturday morning before 9am, over 40,000 people had entered the course and the majority of these had been bussed in from Canterbury Park, some 10 miles away from the course?  It needs a rather large fleet of buses to cater for those sorts of numbers!  

Anybody who knows me will be aware of my passionate hatred of crowds and of queuing but if you want to attend an event of this nature,  I'm afraid that the two go hand in hand.  Actually, the trip in the morning has been good fun with the banter between the two bands of supporters and helps time pass a bit more quickly while you are waiting.  Waiting?  Yep, that's a word you use a lot at Hazeltine with some of the worst queues being for the toilets where basically, you have to build in waiting time to ensure you don't experience an unpleasant accident!  It's tricky but they have fallen well short of toilet provision for the numbers visiting and I do feel sorry for the ladies who share the same facilities as the men!  Suffice to say, they are gross.  Enough on that subject and back to commercialisation.

So the take from daily tickets sales alone runs to millions of dollars but as soon as you enter the gates, you are greeted by the sight of a 50,000 square feet "merchandise tent" or perhaps better called, "give us your money tent!"  It's all about the money and the prices for Ryder Cup merchandise are crazy.  Despite this, the tent is rammed with people offloading their dollars at a vast rate and leaving whilst proudly wearing their $100 golf shirt emblazoned with the Ryder Cup symbol!  For me, I got a real bargain with a $5 dollar fridge magnet!

But if they make money there, it's but nothing but compared to the food and beverage operation?  Did I use the term, food??  I'm not sure what I have been eating on course for the past two days but it definitely wasn't food!  

You aren't allowed to bring a rucksack/backpack into the course and they tend to impose this rigidly because they don't want you to bring proper food, like fruit or meat or even those things not yet discovered in America called vegetables!  More importantly, they want you to pay the grossly inflated prices for the crap that they serve!  Unfortunately, when you are hungry, you generally will eat anything so they have you "over a barrel".  It's very calculated and very clever but shows no true respect for the fans who have paid a fortune merely to get through the gates!  I would have liked to bring my daily chicken sandwich home for laboratory analysis to establish exactly how much of the contents were actually chicken!  Happily, at this stage I am surviving and with a day to go, I think my robust constitution will get me through.

Much more to write about, not least the American golf fan, which merits pages and pages in its own right.  If you are an observer of people like me, then this event is jackpot time for material.  I could write a post a day for the next three months but it will be the first topic in my Ryder Cup round up tomorrow.

Good luck Team Europe today.  You're going to need it!

    The Morning Queue!

    The Merchandise Tent

    The View From My Grandstand

    Sam Looking For His Grandad

    Entering Into The Spirit - The Minnesota Vikings!

    Europe Supporters?

    Looking At Crowds on 16

    My Ryder Cup Radio.  Invaluable.

The Difference Is The Atmosphere

    Wow!  50,000 people watching 16 men hitting a dimpled white ball!  Incredible when you sit down and think about it or in my case, write.

It's difficult to know where to start my dispatch because when I reflect on Day 1, there is much to contemplate and discuss.  The organisation of the event is in itself, mind-blowing.  The commercialisation.  The behaviour of patriotic fans.  The food and beverage offering which offers enough material for a whole Blog!  And the atmosphere  which for me made the trip so worthwhile.

Whilst the 6 hour drive from Chicago had been pretty tiring, the effects of the time difference at home meant that at 2am, I was sitting in my bed, wide awake, ready for my 5am departure to Canterbury Park, the spectator transport hub for the Ryder Cup.  If you are a member of the public without special parking permission nearer the course, then your route into the event is through here.  It's effectively a massive car park, 30 minutes bus ride from Hazeltine, which enables security checks to be done before you arrive at the course.  I could be critical of certain aspects but my incredibly early start presented an advantage in parking the car close to the hundreds of shuttle buses and queuing for only a short while for the ride to the course.  Heaven knows how long these queues become.

However, the atmosphere is tangible the moment you get on that bus, mine being filled with a mix of Americans and Europeans entering into friendly banter despite the hour!  No animosity between fans, just fun and friendship.  Probably not what you would experience  If the bus had been full of Leeds and Manchester United fans!!

That atmosphere is carried onto the course and is the one thing you can't experience sitting on the couch at home, watching it through the wonders of modern tv sports coverage.  It simply isn't the same and for me this validated just why I came.  The sight of fans bedecked in patriotic outfits, some of which I would be embarrassed to wear behind closed doors, makes you smile and in some cases even laugh!  It was great to see that Elvis had indeed left the building and in many guises was strolling the fairways of a Minnesota golf course!  Priceless.

But where do you go when you first enter the gates?  I was lucky when queuing for the bus yesterday to be alongside Brits, Bob and Jay, veterans of attending sporting events like this.  In fact, Bob had been at Newlands stadium in Cape Town earlier this year, watching the same cricket match as me and experiencing the disappointment of losing on the last ball to the South Africans.  

Poor Bob and Jay, finding themselves stuck with a limpet called Alistair who followed their every move until refuge was found in the grandstand on Hole 3.  They had wanted to be on the first tee but quickly realised this to be a non-starter.  Hole 3 was fantastic however and as a gesture of friendship and thanks, I bought the coffees and we chatted away to other fans in the grandstand until the first match arrived on the green.  Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere.  You really could cut it with a knife at Hazeltine, particularly after the morning foursomes when the Americans were so dominant, they whitewashed us 4-0!

Far too early for the Europeans to get down and that indomitable spirit was ably demonstrated in the afternoon session which ended with us winning 3-1.  This match, as they most often do could go to the wire.

The problem for me and Blogging is that I could write pages and pages which would only bore people to death.  Fortunately, three days on course gives me the opportunity to come back to food, commercialisation and the American fan and as I sign off at 0321, I wonder what awaits today?

A few photos below of Day 1 at the Ryder Cup.

    Why I Am Here

    That First Coffee

    A Grown Man!

    A Fist Pump From Rory

    A View Across The Course

    Could They Be European Supporters?

    The First Tee

Mission Accomplished...So Far!

Yet another delightful BA flight, made by a wonderful cabin crew whose smiles captivated me the moment I stepped onto the aircraft.  They all looked so happy with the knowledge that they had an eight hour flight ahead of them, interspersed with looking after 285 passengers!  The most striking feature, other than their smiles, is their youth, such that instead of feeling like a 63 year old, they actually made me feel like Methuselah!!  This was only compounded by my first visit to the bathroom and a glance in the mirror.  I am Methuselah!  Can someone pass the Botox?

Get over it Al and console yourself with the fact that not many 21 year olds could ever consider the adventure that I find myself now having.

My last experience of US border controls was only a few weeks previous when it took Sarah twice as long as me to be allowed into the country which was total madness bearing in mind her almost weekly visits here!  Maybe age does gain you more privilege and makes you look less like a terrorist.

Surprisingly, the experience in O'Hare airport was almost pleasant and certainly ten times quicker than LA.  Perhaps some coaching had been provided to make all the European fans welcome and I did register a smile on the face of a border control official...or did I dream that one?  I swear that before my days are past visiting this wonderful country, I am going to get a selfie with the man who stamps my passport and lets me in.

The skies were leaden in Chicago and I collected my hire car from Dollar Rentals - that's a first and last - and perhaps the name provides the warning.  No great product placement there then!  

It was lashing down as I left the rental lot and set the Sat Nav for my destination, Minneapolis, exactly 400 miles to the North West.  This was going to be a long journey in these conditions but no,  within 40 miles, the skies had started to clear, producing the most beautiful afternoon and evening topped off by a great sunset.  The journey took 6 hours and I find myself staying in a lovely house with wonderful owners, Jim and Pam who you like instantly.  Jim and I sound like kindred spirits with our views about the noble game.

And so I sit at 0330 American time pondering the three days ahead and looking forward to the action beginning.  The first hurdle is to get to Hazeltine and I am leaving the house five to ensure I am on the course for the opening drive at 0735.  At least that is the plan but I do wonder with 40,000 spectators expected just how traffic and crowd control is going to pan out.  The next dispatch will tell you.

    Rory Looks Terrified!

    Lee Westwood and Billy Foster.  Ryder Cup Stalwarts.

    The Ryder Cup

It's a Good News Day

I did promise a brief dispatch from Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport so here it is, composed whist drinking a Pret latte complimented by one of their delicious, fresh baked shortbread biscuits.  What with Ibis Styles, UPS and Pret, anyone would think that I am monetising my Blog and getting paid for product placement!  Oh and Terminal 5 remains amazing and British Airways my favourite airline.  Move on Alistair.

The good news is that I am drinking my coffee airside which means I am almost certain to get on the flight.  Another hurdle jumped in fine style.

One thing I need to do before writing further is to acknowledge my new American family and to say please don't take it personally regarding my wanting to bring your nation to its knees.  I meant it only in a golfing context but I am sure you are aware of the longstanding and highly competitive sentiment that exists between our two nations.  We both hate to lose and I think that's very healthy.  Anyway, I'll still love you even if we get tousled!

So assuming I get to Chicago O'Hare airport, I have to pick up my rental car for the five hour drive up to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.  This is really where the adventure starts because I will be missing my wingman or should that be woman, in the form of Linda.  She has been a consistently brilliant navigator over the years although when she says turn left or turn right, I always do the opposite!  It works.

The advent of Sat Nav has been great in some ways but that extra pair of eyes sitting alongside you can't be replicated by a little computer attached to your windscreen.  I just hope I don't end up in Mississippi!

Having used Airbnb (more product placement!) in Seattle for the first time recently, I turned to it again when I saw the hotel prices in Minneapolis for the weekend!  I think you might call them obscene particularly when you check what they revert to, come next Monday night.  It's a little like the airlines here and the inflation of prices during school holidays.  Some would call it business but for me the prices meant sleeping in the car or not going, the latter being favourite.

That's where my luck continued and I came across Jim and his wife who live close to all the action.  Jim is a keen golfer but what's more, he is marshalling on Saturday and Sunday at the event!  A kindred spirit and he has been fantastic on the communication side to the extent that I already feel like he is a friend.

So an eight hour plane journey beckons which for me requires flight socks, lots of walking around and H2O aplenty, all because of my recent shoulder surgery.  There had been a doubt about permission to fly but Consultants and Doctors agreed that I was good to go in light of my incredible physical condition!  Oh and the fact that it was a keyhole job only with light anaesthetic.

Enough said.  No photos of T5, BA planes or my latte and biscuit but a couple with my other golfing heros.

The next post should be from the dark side!

    Martin Kaymer Says Hello

    Chris Wood.  And I Think I'm Tall!

What Is This Madness That Overcomes Me?

I don't know whether this is madness, stupidity or the reality of every year appearing to pass more quickly than the last and wanting to cross things off the "Bucket List" but I'm going to the Ryder Cup in Minneapolis!  Yes, that's Minneapolis in Minnesota which this week hosts the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine Golf Club.

When I woke up on Monday morning, the only plans I had for the week were to clear Friday, Saturday and Sunday of any commitments in preparation for becoming a couch potato and watching every minute of this phenomenal sporting event.  Why it has become so popular I don't quite understand although my own instinct tells me it is because for the last 20 years, we have dominated the event and been able to watch American golfers cry at suffering one defeat after another!  It makes wonderful viewing to see this nation brought to its knees by 12 European golfers.

So the plans were laid but at 11am that morning while sipping my latte, a firework went off in my head which sowed the seeds for what has now happened.  Could I go to the Ryder Cup?  I didn't tell Linda to start with, deciding first on booting up the computer and beginning the research.

Good old E-Bay which came up with two potential sellers of tickets, both quickly e-mailed with a first offer and both quickly rejected.  Second offers were rebutted and at that point I decided the couch potato idea was much more sensible.  

However, an hour later, I returned to the computer to learn that one set of tickets had been sold and the other seller was sticking out for £500!  This was £200 more than the official price and for a Yorkshireman like me, not the bargain I was seeking.  Game over.  Forget it I thought to myself.

Forget it?  Me?  At 2pm and with nothing else to do, still being post recovery from shoulder surgery, I decided to have one more look and there in Luxembourg were the tickets I was seeking and what's more, advertised at a sensible price.  My instant communication was met with an almost instant reply and before you knew it, the deal was struck and I was on the phone to my new Dutch friend, Lieselotte, trying to organise shipping overnight.  Incredibly and within an hour of our first contact, the tickets had been collected by UPS and were on there way to the UK.  Hard to believe but they arrived at our house at 9am on Tuesday morning.  Rock on UPS and feel free to contact me for a testimonial any time you like.

Of course, getting the tickets was just the start of it with so many other pieces to slot into the jigsaw puzzle but happily, they all came together and I flew down to Heathrow last night, Wednesday and am writing my first dispatch in the Ibis Styles Hotel prior to heading to T5 for my 1120 flight to Chicago, which incidentally, is extremely busy.  At this moment, it means that I am only holding a standby ticket!  Eeeeeek!  The best laid plans may yet fail but fingers crossed.

I will do a short update from Heathrow, possibly reporting on my 1240 flight back upto Leeds Bradford airport!  On the other hand, the golfing Gods were smiling down on me on Monday so why shouldn't the same happen today?  Wish me luck.

    Pure Gold

    Me and My Mate Justin

    It Will Be Good to Catch Up With Henrik!