3 minute read
From the Editor
Kris Fay
Time to start team golf at an earlier age
This year’s Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup were special events for me. Watching both events on television was made more enjoyable by the fact that I’d had the opportunity to play both courses and recognized many of the shots the players faced during their matches.
When the U.S. women failed to beat Europe at Finca Cortesin, I was genuinely surprised. I’ve made it a point to watch more LPGA events and, having done so, felt that the U.S. squad was far superior. Shockingly, we just weren’t good enough in singles on the final day and Europe retained the cup they won two years ago.
On the flip side, after playing Marco Simone earlier this year, I believed the U.S. men were in trouble against their European rivals. It was hard to see on television, but Marco Simone was incredibly tight off the tee. Overall, however, the course was not terribly long by PGA TOUR standards.
In chatting with the head professional at Marco Simone, and even some golf pundits at other courses in Rome, the European team made a conscious effort to take away any advantages the Americans had when it came to length off the tee. Analytics told the Euros that they were a more accurate team and they wanted to play to that strength. A perfect strategy? Probably not, because these guys are all fantastic, but it worked well enough.
The bigger problem, however, is that the Americans just aren’t great at team golf, especially the alternate shot format. It was clear that some of our pairings just didn’t work and some of our more accurate players were left on the bench for most of the first two days. The fact that the U.S. is so good on an individual basis - which was on display in the singles matches - is the only thing that kept the Ryder Cup exciting on Sunday.
I’m convinced that, should we want to get better over the first two days of these events, we need to start with our youngest players. It’s not always about playing in those individual matches and events, it’s also about learning to play cooperatively in other formats like best ball and alternate shot.
Over the next year, in the Pacific Northwest, I’m looking to get more involved with students who want to learn more about team golf through things like the PGA Junior League. I hope more professionals will create teams and work together to teach the skills new golfers need to learn to make us more competitive. If they learn to play with someone early on, it won’t be such a foreign concept down the road for those representing our country in its biggest team events.
