[Jordan Wall]

...and thus would be a good pick for a Ryder Cup course?

[JESII]

In my opinion ones that make you choose between several different clubs on a number of tee shots.

Not that I think it should host a Ryder Cup, but Moselem Springs in Reading, PA did just that to me a few weeks ago and I thight it was pretty cool.

[Tim Pitner]

I'd love to see a Ryder Cup played on a true links course.  As we saw at Hoylake, links courses can provide a lot of options off the tee.  Weather could be an issue in September though?

[Geoffrey Childs]

Jordan

1-Options
2- to extend #1 - great risk -reward

You are not old enough to remember the original skins games palyed on Thanksgiving weekend, however, they showcased Pete Dye's PGA West golf course.  To me that is the ultimate match play golf course.

[Ted Kramer]

Jordan

1-Options
2- to extend #1 - great risk -reward

You are not old enough to remember the original skins games palyed on Thanksgiving weekend, however, they showcased Pete Dye's PGA West golf course.  To me that is the ultimate match play golf course.

Geoffrey,

How do you think Yale would stand up in a Ryder Cup?

-Ted

[Jordan Wall]

Would Kapalua make a good match play course?

It isnt links but it always plays really firm and fast and there is always wind.
The greens are great,
Plus, as Geoffrey mentioned, rsik reward is a key aspect of match play and there is plenty at Kapalua...

[Geoffrey Childs]

Jordan

1-Options
2- to extend #1 - great risk -reward

You are not old enough to remember the original skins games palyed on Thanksgiving weekend, however, they showcased Pete Dye's PGA West golf course.  To me that is the ultimate match play golf course.

Geoffrey,

How do you think Yale would stand up in a Ryder Cup?

-Ted

Ted

I don't really know.  There are some pins that would be interesting though.  Put a pin 2/3 back on #2 and two paces from the left edge and shave the slope so you can putt 30 down into the bunker and it would make for some fun. I think it would be much better with the original "teeth" of the bunkers as opposed to Rulewich's crap.

[Brian Phillips]

Jordon,

North Berwick would be a great venue for matchplay but it is not long enough.  The GCA Ryder Cup should definitely go here one year.

Just a thought here are my courses that should be visited on a trip to Scotland and what sort of thought games the team could be playing:

Carnoustie -  Strokeplay against the lads and course
TOC - History, just enjoy
Muirfield - Classic....strokeplay
Kingsbarns - modern..get construction lesson..matchplay
Gleneagles - parkland/moorland...matchplay
North Berwick - matchplay

[Tom_Doak]

Jordan:

All courses are suited for match play.  That's why there is no "Ryder Cup Doctor".

Brian:

I think it would be a gas to watch pros play a match at North Berwick.  Several of the par-4's might be driveable in the right conditions, and certainly the par-5's would play like 4's, but I still think it would be very exciting.

Why do you want to play stroke play at all the hardest courses?  Muirfield is more fun at foursomes.

[Mark Pearce]

I'd love to see a Ryder Cup played on a true links course.  As we saw at Hoylake, links courses can provide a lot of options off the tee.  Weather could be an issue in September though?

Actually September is normally one of the more settled months, weateherwise in the UK.  Anyway, surely a bit of wind and a bit of rain might add to the challenge?

I'm disappointed that the European Tour hasn't chosen to put the RC on a links but I guess that that's a financial decision, with places like the K Club willing to pay through the nose for the privilege to host the event (and make vast sums on the back of the golf tourists it attracts for years after).  September can be a great time for golf on links because August is, statistically, normally a relatively wet and warm month so rough tends to be thicker than in July (unless there was a wet spring) and fairways and greens can be at their best at the back end of the summer.

Wouldn't the Old Course, with its opportunities for birdies but the danger of bogeys and the variety of strategies available at most holes make for a great matchplay venue?

[Phil McDade]

Jordan:

I do think, contrary to Mr. Doak, that there are some courses better suited for match play than others. Remember that the majority of match-play matches in the Ryder Cup are games with two decidely different sets of strategies -- the go-for-it nature of fourballs, and the conservative, pars-may-win-a-hole nature of foursomes. Those two games involved two different ways of attacking a course, and I would argue bring in much more of the element of a course's architecture into strategy. (I don't think the Belfry is that great of a course, from what I've seen on TV, but it does have one -- the 10th -- terrific match-play hole). One of the reasons I thought TCC at Brookline made for exciting match play is that it had those two nifty, short par 4s on the front nine that encouraged strategic thinking on the tee, plus a very reachable par 5 or two.

As for courses out there, I've always thought Augusta National -- after baking for a summer in the Georgia sun to get it really fast and firm -- would make for an ideal match-play course for the Ryder Cup.

[Tim Gavrich]

I've been pretty disappointed in some of the past and future American Ryder Cup sites.  Oakland Hills, Valhalla (future), Medinah (future) are sites fit more for major championships, so why not throw some variety out there vis a vis the Ryder Cup.  I wish I had been old enough to remember seeing the RC live at Kiawah in 1991.  I'm glad it's going to Whistling Straits later on, but the ultimate near-term Ryder site would be Merion, IMHO.  Or, hold it on a great course that might not have the space or desire for the grand-scale of a major.  I know that the Stanwich Club falls into this category.  Yale would be an awesome Ryder Cup site.  Would a RC be possible on courses like Pine Valley, Cypress Point, or NGLA?  I also think that a RC at Newport would be awesome.

I think Pete Dye courses are suitable match play/Ryder Cup courses.  They could be set up to cater to the true essence of match play: that par really doesn't matter.  I'd love to see a RC on a course setup really easy on the team competition days, but as a killer for the singles.  Dye courses seem like they can be setup to a wider range of difficulty than some others.

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

Jordan

1-Options
2- to extend #1 - great risk -reward

You are not old enough to remember the original skins games palyed on Thanksgiving weekend, however, they showcased Pete Dye's PGA West golf course.  To me that is the ultimate match play golf course.

The 1991 Ryder Cup was going to be played at PGA West until someone figured out that an east coast course would mean prime time in Europe -- hence The Ocean Course was born...

[Mark Arata]

I would love to see a Ryder Cup at Cypress Point....would be awesome to watch......it will never, ever happen, but it would be great....

Without trying to sound like a suck up, I think Pac Dunes would be a pretty awesome site too..........

How about Fishers Island? That would be some wild, wacky stuff.........

[Tim Gavrich]

Yale would be a poor choice. For players of that caliber there's not enough disaster to separate competitors; a shot missed would not face dire consequences in most cases.

11 for example would be driven -- plucked more times than the Rose of Tralee, it would -- and those who missed would face little penalty.

14 as well is driveable; the only penalty for the likes of Tiger is long (unless YRFU and put it in the forest right).

In fact, both of these holes were driveable before I&B went nuts. Daly drove 11 back when he played on the Nike Tour and a friend of mine used to drive 14, teeing his ball up on a scoring pencil and whaling away -- fore!

One aspect that WOULD be fun to watch: it would be a total celebration of Neanderthal golf. On practically every tee, everyone would be going after the ball like it owed them money. Also, you could really trick up the greens and use pins that offer ample opportunity for choking...not sure any of this qualifies as golf, though.

Mark

I believe that if set up to play very firm and fast, and if the faces around the bunkers were shaved, I believe there would be ample opportunity for mischief.  Numbers 2 and 8 come to mind, especially with the greenside bunkers.  Numer 16, though pretty tame, would make for a good must-eagle opportunity.  I also think that having 11 and 14 as driveable par fours would make for some excitement.

To me, the ideal Ryder Cup course setup would be such that if a PGA Tour event were held at the course, the winning score would either be very high (aroung even par) or very low (20+ under) so that the matches would be either birdie-fests or struggles to survive each hole.  In-between setups seem to be the cause of the relative snoozers the last couple competitions.

[Phil McDade]

Or a course with a bunch of half-par holes. Courses like Merion and Oakmont -- and my aforementioned Augusta -- seem to fit the bill pretty nicely. You want a course with holes in which two guys, playing alternate shot, have to hit three really good shots to get a par, OR, two guys playing fourball just whale away at the hole with the chance of birdie/eagle. One reason I'm not sure Medinah will be a great venue for it. Whistling Straits, on the other hand, can be set up that way -- it has some pretty cool half-par holes.

[Mike_Cirba]

In the category of wishes that will never happen for the great matchplay of the Ryder Cup, I'd nominate Boston Golf Club, Sand Hills, Blackwolf Run River, Garden City, Huntingdon Valley, Maidstone, Sutton Bay, Gallery North, True Blue, and Wild Horse.

Of courses where it's plausible but unlikely, let's put NGLA, Pac Dunes, and Merion.

[Tom_Doak]

Mike:

No way the Ryder Cup is going to Pacific Dunes.  After watching the Curtis Cup I am certain there is no way it could handle the larger galleries, and there are some real traffic-flow and wear-and-tear issues for a large event.

Perhaps the Walker Cup, someday.

[Tom_Doak]

Jordan:

This very afternoon I played a course that was perfect for a match ... Gullane #3 in Scotland.  It's about 5200 yards, with a lot of 320 yard par fours, a good variety of threes, a couple of strong fours and one very short par five, plus a good set of greens.  Most clubs would look upon it as a "relief" course and I'm sure it is where the seniors and ladies at Gullane play the bulk of their golf, but it was also a good venue for a best-ball match between good players (excluding myself).

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