I’m beginning to think that the Ryder Cup may be a contender for the most ridiculously over-hyped sporting event.

I like the Ryder Cup, but hearing that the Americans are going to ‘target’ McIlroy is just ridiculous – it’s not rugby, you can’t put a big hit on him halfway down the 1st fairway FFS!

Especially not when we all know it only takes one whisper of “there’s a cracking bit of crumpet over there, Tiger” to induce an air-shot.

And how can you take anyone seriously whose surname is Snedeker? As someone said, “I just don’t want someone with a surname from a Woody Allen film to win this tournament”.

Why can’t they just say “it’s really great to play golf as a team event every once in a while, I am proud to represent US/Europe, and I’d quite like to win”?

To a certain extent I can see the benefit of working yourself up if you’re a rugby player, but I can’t see how punching yourself in the face in the showers will help you hole a six foot putt.

There’ll be some really great golf played in the next few days, but unfortunately it will be to a soundtrack of “you the man” and “get in the hole” bellowed hoarsely through a mouthful of burger by some 25 stone schmuck in a baseball cap.

Or “mashed potato!” 🙄

What we need is understated sarcasm from English supporters… Yank yells “YOU THE MAN” response should be “apparently not old boy” when he gets out driven!

Or some plain old golf hooliganism…..

Whoop whoop get in the hole

Golf is a good walk spoiled. To be fair it may be my inability to play the game that makes me think it vastly over rated. Can understand how hard it is etc but just don’t get it.

Think I am also put off by the type of people who do get golf as well.

Best round was when I found more balls in the rough than I lost.

Journalists love hype.

It’s a great event, just ignore all the pre-amble and watch the golf or even better just listen on 5live.

Or go and watch live when it is next over here. I wouldn’t watch any other golf live, but went to Celtic Manor last time, and it was the best event I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to plenty of big ones!

I’ve been oblivious to any hype etc as been avoiding media full stop. I don’t know what the teams are even , but I’m looking forward to it

As Dan said above, I’ve been to a few Ryder cups and they have been immense!

golf is all about the mental game so why wouldn’t you try and ruffle a few feathers in the press?
All it takes is for one comments to stick and it could be the downfall of your round.

Liew in today’s DT on the opening ceremony (sic):

To a public that had come from far and wide to watch golf, it instead offered irrefutable proof that America thinks it invented crying. So we were treated to a cloying mix of the mundane and the misguided. Army guys playing ridiculous-looking brass instruments. Fat men making speeches.

Nauseous musical Polyfilla. The pop star Justin Timberlake reading a poem called “Golf” set to strings. And, of course, the now ubiquitous sight of the players’ wives and girlfriends being wheeled out like perfumed chattel.

In fact, about the only thing missing was the sight of Paul McCartney croaking out a tuneless Hey Jude in front of a swiftly emptying crowd…

…Just imagine. A bright Friday morning at Gleneagles. The two captains come out and announce their pairings. A golfer sticks his tee in the ground and belts a ball down the fairway, and the 2014 Ryder Cup is under way. Simple as that. For players and fans alike, it will be the only opening ceremony any of us need.

I share his sympathies re the opening nonsense, but the rest of the ridiculous hyperbole is a love/hate thing. Truly ridiculous (Brookline shirts, targetting golfer, war on the shore, Faldo as captain) combined with epic sporting moments (Nicklaus’ conceded put, Sam Torrence salute, Seve, Craig Stadler’s missed put, Christy O’Conner).

The only time I really regret not having Sky!

Well I like it because it is different…

Golf to start with is love or hate. Even if you do have time for a bit of golf as a spectator sport it has some serious difficulties, the scoring can be complex to follow and you need to watch it for hours to get a feel for what is going on. On top of this the players have little charisma in general as they walk around trying to stay in the zone and blanking everything out.

The rider cup is just radically different to standard Golf tournaments. Yes the hype gets a bit over the top but that is why it stands out. I have a mild interest in most golf but I love the Ryder cup and could watch the whole thing.

“The only time I really regret not having Sky!”

Yeap agreed … so does anyone know how do we get to watch it on the Interweb for free ??

Last time I caught golf on the telly….it was:

Green. Blue blue blue blue blue blue blue blue blue blue blue green.

Then I turned it off.

I was playing a round of golf with a friend a few years ago. He said to me “Why don’t we make this a bit more interesting?”……so we stopped playing golf.

Sorry but you’re wrong.

Don’t play golf myself and not a great fan of the whole golf “scene/thing-stupid flash cars in the carpark etc”

But… the Ryder Cup is great sport and for that reason I’m in.

Free sport on tinterweb is accessed by searching for a myppp website (or similar) that will have lots of links to streams. Some are web based and will just stream using flash player. Others require sopcast which is a small program that works pretty well (no harm when I downloaded / run it).

Can someone explain how golf can be a team sport? As in, how can I, as a member of a golf ‘team’, affect how well a fellow member plays their game?

Do they not all just play their own games for their own points and all the points get totted up?

No. There are different formats. In the Ryder Cup there are foursomes (alternate shots, same ball ie four players, but two balls), fourball (each player plays his won ball, best score on either side wins the hole) and singles (one vs one, head to head). In all forms, especially and most obviously the first two, you can affect fellow members directly as you are playing in a team.

Even in singles, if you put a talisman out early (remember Monty leading the charge at The Belfrey as few years ago and birdie-ing the first hole) you can set the mood around the course in this type of event.

Do they not all just play their own games for their own points and all the points get totted up?

no, there are fourballs and foursomes, where you can affect your partners play quite severely.

Hence in today’s opening foursomes, Olazabal had choses straight hitters and strong iron players (eg Molinari to play with Westwood) for the foursomes while pairing more dynamic pairings (I guess) in the fourballs.

I am a (relatively 😉 )steady player (middle of the fairway, middle of the green, two puts etc) so I would tend to play first and allow my more talented team mates the freedom to adopt their more daring/exciting styles of play knowing that I could be depended on for the half (usually!!). If I can put a steady shot in the middle of the green, my partner can afford to take on the higher risk/return shots and go for the birdies. So teamwork really comes into it.

IHN – I assume that you are aware of the difference between stroke play (ie adding your scores up for the whole round) and match play (ie competiting on a hole-by-hole basis)? The RC is exclusively the latter using three different formats as mentioned above.

What time is the first match off?

A tedious middle class sport with dubious attire where the ranking system is based on how much money you earn.
A pastime for navel gazing social climbers. I struggle to even consider it ‘sport’ it’s just outdoor tiddlywinks and a gross misuse of prime agricultural land.

13:00 I think

I guess you don’t like tennis either then Mr Smith?

Woods and company are not athletic then ??!?? Hmmmm……

(more imaginative trolling please!)

edit: but will give you a point for the dubious attire and the RC normally excels in this regard. Especially the US team. Perhaps the European team’s bright orange was a sympathy gesture for the good folk of Seville?

You describing golf or stw mountain bikers MrSmith?

A tedious middle class sport with dubious attire

*cough*

Uwe-R: the scoring can be complex to follow

Erm. I can’t think of much simpler than counting in 1’s.

I can’t think of much simpler than counting in 1’s

I would agree but I have given up trying to explain to people why there is a constant reference to par, even though ‘par’ is a golfing word that is widely adopted. For instance: your response to my post was on par for this forum.

Woods and company are not athletic then

who was the overweight guy who won despite being a beer swiller? An american john Daley??

How old was the great white shark when he retired 153?
No real interest in golf personall but it is a sport but not that athletic- supose it depends what you comapre it to really.
Nice link THM re the opening ceremony they are all gash IMHO

Daley is a legend. I have read his autobiography, basically an alcoholic degenerate with an amazing ability to play golf. He played most of his career drunk and with a life off the course in chaos.

Well, up close I am happy to stay with my opinion that they are athletes. The game has changed substantially, so leaving aside the ability to walk 7k plus in often adverse weather, their physical power and conditioning is impressive. I play golf with a guy who is physio to many of the European tour and he knows their physical attributes well. Look at their forwards, legs and core!

Saying that golfers (at the tip level) are neither sportsman or athletes is slightly silly and I’ll-informed IMO, but that will not stop these comments being made.

@teamhurtmore – I wish my golf was as “relatively steady” as yours, or my tennis. At least my mtb descending is better, for the time being at least anyway !

I can’t think of much simpler than counting in 1’s

Yeah, but working out how the got each 1 is relativly complicated and invisible compared to other sports.

Golf has a physical requirement, obviously – more physical skill than strength, but it is mostly mental strength.

Witness how close Tom Watson got to a major a few years back, not long after a new hip. Obviously somewhat tired, it was the mental drop at the end that lost it for him (more’s the pity).

Witness how athletic Greg Norman was, but couldn’t win a major.

Look at what a fat slob Montgomerie was, yet his golf was good.

A lot of pro golfers are very well conditioned though, mainly to maintain consistency in their game.

[Just subscribed to Sky Sports for a month to watch the match…]

All I can think about is the ‘autobiographical’ melody by Steel Panther called ‘Tiger Woods’

Now, what’s all this golf nonsense about?

piedi di formaggio

Now, what’s all this golf nonsense about?

Heathen!!

Working from home today and enjoying every minute.

i love golf but ffs could you be anymore cringe-worthy…

at least they are not booing the opposition like the boorish americans…

just spotted the guys with the greens on their heads on the live footage, shaking their heads as the US player holed another long put, but still applauding.