The Ryder Cup or, more specifically, the Ryder Cup held in Europe, is what makes golf course architects reach for their Pepto Bismol. While the American editions still visit some of the most beautiful course designs – The Country Club, Oakland Hills and Bethpage Black – the European editions serve as a reminder that the Ryder Cup is a commercial event.
The quality of courses hosting the event on the east coast of the Atlantic has declined as the event’s economic significance and global status have grown. Walton Heath in 1981 is the only one to receive near-unanimous praise from golfers for its design. The biennial battle had previously visited Royal Lytham & St. Annes and Muirfield, both Open Championship hosts with a high level of prestige. In the late 1980s, Europe started to dominate. Fans began to take notice, broadcasters paid significant rights fees and corporations demanded ever more extensive hospitality suites.
Since the Ryder Cups began in Europe, they have shown that there is a difference between a good golf course and an excellent venue. The Ryder Cups in Europe have shown the difference between a great golf course and a great venue. Marco Simone Golf and Country Club is continuing that tradition.
The 2018 Ryder Cup is being prepared at Le Golf National in Paris on September 27, 2018. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images).
The DP World Tour is the owner of a significant portion of the Ryder Cup. Proven loyalty to the circuit will be a major factor in awarding its prized asset. The Belfry’s first European Tour event was held in 1979. Valderrama, ’97), had been a tour stop almost every year for a decade. The K Club (2006), Celtic Manor (2010) and Gleneagles (2014) were all regular tour stops. Le Golf National (’18) paid its dues even longer.
A smart, ambitious developer can spot a long-term, but sure strategy to secure golf’s premier event: build an infrastructure-friendly course, give favorable terms to the suits in Wentworth HQ, and then wait 10 years. The Ryder Cup can only be won, it is not given.
If you talk to enough golfers, you will learn that the majority of them see a course as a stage on which actors perform. But for idealistic designers, the course is a central character, with so much nuance and complexity that even the best actors can forget their lines. Marco Simone’s erratic behavior this week may have confused the 24 actors, but it was not because of nuance and intricacy.
The Ryder Cup is a match-play event, and ideally, a match-play course would encourage short-term risks. The course has enough holes to make that possible, or the flexibility to create it. Marco Simone’s course is functional, even if the aesthetics are limited. There are a few ruins on the property scattered about and a distant view to St. Peter’s Basilica. The course is not great, but when the circus leaves town it could be a fantastic venue.
It being Italy, the logistics may be a problem, but not as bad as they were at the Solheim Cup in Spain last week. Rush hour and the lack of concern for timekeeping in Italy could cause travel times to be long enough to allow a few governments to collapse. Players will also be affected if there are any issues.
In the last 40 years, most European venues have been resorts, with on-site accommodation, so teams, administrators, and other hangers-on did not need to leave for the whole week. What happened beyond the wall wasn’t their concern. Both teams are staying in Rome at the Cavalieri Hotel, which is 10 miles away from Marco Simone. This journey could take 30 minutes or even more. They may have to mumble the name of their lord in vain if they are delayed, since the Vatican is just a few feet away. This began on Tuesday. One coach complained that it took him over an hour to get there. The driver didn’t know where the venue was.
It’s a reminder that Italy is not a country where golf is a popular sport. But it also highlights a fact that may be unsettling for design enthusiasts: If the Ryder Cup was to be used to promote golf in other countries, the chances of a must play course being built are almost nil.
Ryder Cup organizers are not required to check the boxes purists want. The Ryder Cup organizers do not consider a great course a prerequisite. The Walker Cup is the place to be if you’re looking for elite team competitions on elite designs.
