My fellow golfers:
I have seen the future - and it will work. Yer Man and I have just been to the Celtic Manor resort in south Wales (that's the bit of England that sticks out on the left of the map), venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup, where Europe will attempt to once more claim the trophy which it had fondly come to regard as its rightful proeprty after years of humiliation at your golfers' hands.
Now I don't know what your idea of Wales is, though. come to think of it, I doubt if many US golfers are even aware of its existence. Scotland: home of "goff"; Ireland: more links than a web page; England - near Scotland and Ireland; but Wales? Don't they have a charlie for a prince?
Grossly unfair, both to a fine country and to the intellect and knowledge of many of my fellow golf addicts across the Atlantic. As for Wales, whilst its main sport is rugby - and do try and find a You Tube clip of the Welsh team singing their national anthem before a game; then count the hairs on the back of your neck - the golf is an undiscovered secret.
Following an itinerary suggested by the late and much lamented Dai Davies, a wonderful golf journalist whose memory is to be honoured at the Memorial in Columbus soon and whose lovely wife Patricia has been a great help to this scribbler, we visited Royal St Davids at Harlech, Pennard, Pyle and Kenfig (known as P&K), Royal Porthcawl and Celtic Manor, where we played the 2010.
I'm no expert - as all of you who have seen my "putting" (Jackson Pollock in his "green" period) will readily testify - but I can honestly say that those courses are top notch. With the exception of the 2010, all of them are fine, "play it as it lies" links courses, mostly laid out by the Almighty on a sunny afternoon, though He threw in a gusty breeze aka gale to keep us all honest. And in every case, the welcome was warm and sincere, as was Royal Liverpool's (Hoylake) but more of that anon.
The 2010 is a totally different proposition. The hotel is a massive twelve storey palace, just off the motorway from London to Cardiff and is a monument to the drive of Sir Terry Matthews, born in the old stately, then nursing home which now comprises the first stage of the complex. TM has done for Wales what Michael Smurfit did for Ireland but the hotel comes as a terrible shock to those expecting the usual British low-rise hotel. It's like Vegas came to Abergavenny.
There are three courses on site. As a couple of gentlemen of the road, we did not expect the honour of attacking the 2010 but the management very kindly let us loose to do our worst. Verdict: the first 12 holes are set in the valley of the river Usk and play accordingly. Plenty of sand, water and scenery. Daunting enough for the average hacker but will it really challenge the pros? I don't know. But what I do know is that from the 13th onwards, life becomes decidedly adventurous. The carry over water to the 14th will be challenging; the uphill 15th to a green guarded by a precipice in front and wilderness (and possibly wildebeeste) behind appears to have been designed by a regular user of hallucinogens and the final three holes along the hillside will make for some splendid life and death gambles in the inevitable tight matches.
All in all, there is no doubt in my mind that the closing holes will make wonderful TV and the hillside will provide splendid spectating for all. Whilst the K Club might take issue with their claim that the 2010 was the first course specifically built to host the Ryder, there is no doubt that Celtic Manor have made every effort to ensure a magnificent event. The fact that Terry Matthews made his fortune in North America has meant that there is a touch of both Old and New Worlds. And all the staff, despite being under pressure from various events and conferences, could not have been more helpful in every way. The folk and the food at the restaurant in the 2010 Clubhouse most certainly revived us and it is a tribute to the ethos which the management have inspired that no-one so much as grinned when the pair of us, armed with seven clubs each in pencil bags, set out to tackle the course.
We genuinely wish them every success in 2010. We just hope that they are not hampered by the weather - remember the paddy fields of Kikdare in 2006? - nor by the late date of October 1,2 and 3. If it's tight on Sunday, they could be needing floodlights by the finish. Now that would be a first.
This is for sure another exciting event in the history of golf. I love watching golf especially if the players came from different places to represent their country
Posted by: fujikura shafts | May 08, 2009 at 06:08 PM