Ryder Cup Tidbits
There’s a great article by Jackie Burke in the latest edition of Golf Digest about his experiences as an assistant on the 2004 Ryder Cup team. He comes across as a genuine, down-to-earth, kind-of-guy that would be great to hang with for a round of golf. The main theme I got from the article was that our boys are extremely pampered (dare I say soft?) and that lots of money (millions) are spent on the gala event we call the Ryder Cup.
For example, Burke says that each player/captain/co-captain received three suits, five pairs of slacks, a jacket, 4 pairs of shoes, cashmere sweaters and a short and long-sleeve alpaca (what?) sweaters. But it doesn’t stop there. They also received jewelry, lots of it. And I quote, “they gave me a Ryder Cup ring that was so big I felt like I’d graduated from Notre Dame. I got a money clip encrusted with jewels I couldn’t identify. We got two huge pro-style golf bags. It became almost overwhelming.”
Burke goes on to talk about the special chefs that were flown in for the meals. But wait it doesn’t stop. He says that the day before he flew out of Houston, he got a call from a woman at the PGA of America, she mentioned to Burke, “As for your transportation, we will allow you $2,000 per hour for a private jet plane to and from Detroit.” Wow. Life is tough for the upper echelon PGA players nowadays. Burke says the PGA grossed $80 million from the Ryder Cup, but spent $60 million.
There’s no doubt that the event formerly known as the Ryder Cup, is now a business venture that generates serious revenue and needs to make a profit when all is said and done. Oh, there’s a little golf tournament in between all the dinners and special events that is kind if important.
This kinda sounds like sour grapes, but it’s not. Really it’s not. If I had the chance to play on a Ryder Cup team and experience all that goes with it, I’d do it in a heartbeat. However, all this pampering can’t be good for the players when they have to go toe-to-toe with the (now-favored) Europeans, can it?