Dispatches From The Ryder Cup
Photo by Bryan Berlin
“Hey, I ‘won’ a chance to buy Ryder Cup tickets,” my friend Dirk said on the other end of the phone one spring afternoon earlier this year.
“Great,” I responded. “You should get them. Even if you don’t’ go, they’re worth something.”
Ten minutes after our chat, my phone rang again with Dirk explaining, “The code worked. Send me some money. We’re going to the Ryder Cup.”
And with that, I circled the weekend on the calendar.
Everybody used to dread flying into LaGuardia, me included. But after the renovation, I’ll admit, it’s fabulous. Clean, bright, easy to navigate, it’s gone from a third-world airport to one that rivals most in the US. That still didn’t prep me for the cacophony of sights and sounds when I walked out front. At one time or another, all three of my children have lived in New York, with my youngest daughter starting her college career at NYU. So, I’m not unfamiliar with The City, but I guess I’ve lived in “the bubble” for a while and I literally did a double-take when stepping outside to encounter a swarm of people and cars in what I was hoping was controlled chaos.
An Uber ride to Dirk’s place on the Upper East Side was uneventful and the weekend was in motion.
You could tell the PGA of America spent a lot of time planning how to get crowds to and from Bethpage Black out on Long Island. From the city, two Subway trains connected us to the Long Island Railroad where a change of trains in Jamaica dropped us in Farmingdale. Luckily, we knew where we were going, because the stop prior to Farmingdale was Bethpage. A lot of folks got up to get off there but were deterred by the other passengers. It seemed every bus in the state of New York was lined up in the parking lot, with Disney-like winding queues delivering fans to one bus after another for the 10-minute ride to the golf course. From there, about a half mile walk put you at the golf course.
With everybody else.
Having attended thousands of sporting events all over the world, I’ve never seen anything like the Ryder Cup. The organizers, mostly the PGA of America, built a whole city at Bethpage Black. Spectator stands were everywhere creating an amphitheater around nearly every hole. And with only four matches on the course on Friday and Saturday morning and afternoon, 50,000+ fans all seemed to want the same viewing spots. Consequently, it was at least twenty deep around every green, the stands were full, and the tees and fairways lined with fans. We saw some golf, but not much. Even with twelve singles matches on the course on Sunday, there were people everywhere. We walked back to the twelfth green and it was still packed. We settled for a spot near the 5th green and the 13th fairway with a view of the 13th green.
It’s a real mix of people at the Ryder Cup, feeling more like a mix of a WWE event and a Premier League soccer match. Chants of “USA, USA” were drowning out some of the songs and the “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole” of the European fans.
And it was fun.
Except when it wasn’t.
I like talking to all kinds of people and my career afforded me that opportunity on a regular basis. So, to be standing next to a family dressed in blue wigs and yellow tutu’s, chatting them up was fun. They were in from the UK and had really enjoyed their stay. That’s when some doofus on the rope started yelling insults at Robert McIntyre. No regard for the families, women and children there. No regard for the other fans who were on the positive side of chanting. No regard for his own reputation. Which was shot.
Any kind of good-nature banter, even clever heckling is acceptable at the Ryder Cup where it wouldn’t be in any other golf setting. But outright rude, boorish behavior isn’t welcome anywhere.
My friend Rob says I’m the best baseball heckler he’s ever heard. Because of my career, I knew a lot of unreported details about players and would call some of those out during the game. Perhaps my greatest fan moment was getting Dave Winfield to step out of the box and laugh at Memorial Stadium when I made an “insider” comment from behind the screen. (He went on to hit two homers that night against the Orioles.)
But there’s a line, and regrettably, too many fans at Bethpage crossed over it often. Personal insults, family comments and obscenities are off-limits. It’s sports. It’s supposed to be fun. Get creative and say something clever and smart. As the saying goes, “Better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
USA Captain Keegan Bradley didn’t do himself any favors with his comments to open the competition, sprinkling in an obscenity to fire up the crowd. The PGA of America realized their mistake in hiring a comedienne as the “hype woman” at the first tee when she participated in a low brow insult chant aimed at Rory McElroy. She resigned that night, and has subsequently apologized but really? It’s not that hard to keep things funny, no matter the reputation the fans of New York bring to a competition.
If I wore an Oriole hat to a Yankees game in the Bronx, I might be asking for it. A Jaguars jersey at a Jets game is goading on the home fans. But as McElroy said, “Golf should expect a higher standard.”
It was strange that Rory was the player who drew the ire of some fans compelled to debase themselves. Yes, he’s the dominant player and has had plenty to say about winning a Ryder Cup on the road, but earlier in the week he called the United States “The greatest country on Earth.” He went on to laud the land of opportunity. He has made his home here for years. (Although he’s now building a big house at Wentworth, just outside of London.)
I’m hoping to go to the Ryder Cup in Ireland at Adare Manor in 2027. I’ll wear my Stars and Stripes shirts and my USA hat, and I’ll expect some pretty good ribbing from the Euros. But hopefully they get it. We’re there to have fun, to support our teams and hopefully, not cause any trouble.
And maybe our guys will make a few putts.
