Ryder cup on Fri - worth going?

[fudgeukraine]

Been offered a free ticket to the Friday last minute, plus coach transfers from an area of Paris.

Just checking travel and hotels and it seems a bit awkward/pricey to go (from Edinburgh), esp having to be there Thurs night and stay till Sat; looking at around £250 minimum I reckon to price it all up.

If you were in my position would you go for it or just decline it? I did go to the last practice/opening ceremony of gleneagles so have seen the Ryder Cup before, but not competitively, just trying to do a cost/gain analysis in my head!

Any thoughts?

 

[RW1986]

100% go, would be a no brained for me. Happy to go in your place 😉

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

100% DON'T go for me. You'll probably only be able to get up close enough to see half a dozen shots all day. There will be 10,000 people following each match. TV is a much better option IMHO.

 

[Garush34]

I agree with D4S, as much as it would be good to go to the Ryder cup, the amount of golf you will actually see to me seems pointless going. It would be a case of running from hole to hole and trying to get a good spot to see.

 

[Grant85]

I would go, if you are up for it.

I went to Gleneagles on the Friday. Obviously a good atmosphere and everything was still very nicely poised throughout the day. Especially good as Europe looked like being down for the day and came back very well late on Friday to even things up.

Personally would go ahead of the play and get a seat directly behind a green (so you can see the approaches being played) Then watch the 4 groups coming through. Then move ahead and do the same again at the next hole you can get a space at. If you do it properly and don't mess about too much getting drinks and food I reckon you could see the traffic coming through maybe 6 times throughout the day, albeit not all matches will play the final few holes. Still plenty of golf and the day goes by pretty quickly. They will have big screens that will probably be showing a fair bit of the coverage on the other holes when there is no play. Also there will be wifi on course, so potentially could take an ipad and watch or listen to the coverage when you are waiting.

Found getting seats at greens easy to do as a lot of the spectators obviously went for the follow guys round option, or watched the whole thing from the beer tent. Most greens a few holes ahead of the lead group were pretty easy to get a seat at in one of the stands.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I would go, if you are up for it.

I went to Gleneagles on the Friday. Obviously a good atmosphere and everything was still very nicely poised throughout the day. Especially good as Europe looked like being down for the day and came back very well late on Friday to even things up.

Personally would go ahead of the play and get a seat directly behind a green (so you can see the approaches being played) Then watch the 4 groups coming through. Then move ahead and do the same again at the next hole you can get a space at. If you do it properly and don't mess about too much getting drinks and food I reckon you could see the traffic coming through maybe 6 times throughout the day, albeit not all matches will play the final few holes. Still plenty of golf and the day goes by pretty quickly. They will have big screens that will probably be showing a fair bit of the coverage on the other holes when there is no play. Also there will be wifi on course, so potentially could take an ipad and watch or listen to the coverage when you are waiting.

Found getting seats at greens easy to do as a lot of the spectators obviously went for the follow guys round option, or watched the whole thing from the beer tent. Most greens a few holes ahead of the lead group were pretty easy to get a seat at in one of the stands.

So jumping ahead a few holes you are sat doing nothing for maybe 30 to 45 mins each time? I'm sure the atmosphere will be fantastic but for the money involved the OP could play a top 10 course and watch the RC on telly.

 

[Liverbirdie]

Go.

Do you ever sit talking to mates saying "remember watching the .....on the telly".

You can always watch the other days on the telly.

Seeing that 4 iron put to 2 foot to win a match, stemming a USA momentum, getting a full point on 18 instead of a half etc.....witnessing sporting history can't be beaten.

If only I had a mate who would give me a spare ticket to go........

 

[Deleted member 17920]

Go.

Do you ever sit talking to mates saying "remember watching the .....on the telly".

You can always watch the other days on the telly.

Seeing that 4 iron put to 2 foot to win a match, stemming a USA momentum, getting a full point on 18 instead of a half etc.....witnessing sporting history can't be beaten.

If only I had a mate who would give me a spare ticket to go........

I shall send you pics

 

[Grant85]

So jumping ahead a few holes you are sat doing nothing for maybe 30 to 45 mins each time? I'm sure the atmosphere will be fantastic but for the money involved the OP could play a top 10 course and watch the RC on telly.

No, you'd see 4 players come through every 10 minutes for 45 minutes or so. Then move ahead. The day will pass remarkably quickly and you will see a lot of golf and be able to watch a lot of the coverage on the big screens when waiting for groups.

Atmosphere is atmosphere, you can't buy it and you can't create it. I will always remember watching Garcia hole a bunker shot on the 4th hole on the Friday morning to win the hole.

Also the way the Ryder Cup is going, it looks like there are fewer and fewer events that will be held in GB&I. You imagine it will be in the UK for 2026... but I don't think a lot of people would have picked France and Italy as host venues, or even Wales back in 2010. Scandanavia probably will be going for it, and another in Ireland.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

No, you'd see 4 players come through every 10 minutes for 45 minutes or so. Then move ahead. The day will pass remarkably quickly and you will see a lot of golf and be able to watch a lot of the coverage on the big screens when waiting for groups.

Atmosphere is atmosphere, you can't buy it and you can't create it. I will always remember watching Garcia hole a bunker shot on the 4th hole on the Friday morning to win the hole.

Also the way the Ryder Cup is going, it looks like there are fewer and fewer events that will be held in GB&I. You imagine it will be in the UK for 2026... but I don't think a lot of people would have picked France and Italy as host venues, or even Wales back in 2010. Scandanavia probably will be going for it, and another in Ireland.

I'm not convinced, I reckon by the time you jump ahead you will have to skip at least 1 or 2 holes to get to a green where you will have a decent view (or a seat in a stand) then wait till the first group comes through. Could be a boring wait at the speed these guys play but each to their own. Like I said earlier, I would use the money to play a top course and watch the RC on telly but that is just my preference.

 

[Grant85]

I'm not convinced, I reckon by the time you jump ahead you will have to skip at least 1 or 2 holes to get to a green where you will have a decent view (or a seat in a stand) then wait till the first group comes through. Could be a boring wait at the speed these guys play but each to their own. Like I said earlier, I would use the money to play a top course and watch the RC on telly but that is just my preference.

Each to their own, obviously at a top resort course you can pretty much play them at any time, if you have the cash, but when the RC was at Gleneagles the matchday tickets were balloted so a lot of people who tried to get tickets didn't get them.

Probably the next time it is in the UK again, it will be a similar story - maybe even harder to get tickets as people will realise it is a once every 20 years shot.

 

[fudgeukraine]

Thanks all, have decided to go for it; as some have said, it likely won't be close to the UK for 10+ years, so may as well!

Managed to get return flights for £105, coming back on the Friday night; saves an extra hotel and aimless wandering! just need to find accommodation for the Thursday night which 'should' be straightforward (I hope!)

 

[chimpo1]

Go, go, go!
I have been to two. They are easily the best sporting event I have been to.
My advice is to get there early and sit in the first tee grandstand. The atmosphere will be awesome.
Do not go with the expectation of seeing a lot of golf, but soak up the experience instead.

 

[Wilson]

Go, go, go!
I have been to two. They are easily the best sporting event I have been to.
My advice is to get there early and sit in the first tee grandstand. The atmosphere will be awesome.
Do not go with the expectation of seeing a lot of golf, but soak up the experience instead.

This, I was at the Belfry in 2002 & Medinah in 2012 - fantastic experiences.

 

[fudgeukraine]

so, ended up going in the end and now I'm so glad I did. Managed to get to the first tee about 20-30 mins before it all kicked off (though had to stand; wasn't there that early!) so got to see the first groups tee off, generally played a game of go to one hole and see all groups pass through, then another and watch them through, then repeat so saw quite a lot.

Le golf National looked amazing and the whole ampitheatre of it was great; like sitting by the 2nd green and able to see the 2nd shot/green of the 1st hole so that was pretty good. Lots of good natured chat and interesting costumes.

Wasn't too impressed with some of the prices; €9 for a pint of heineken (only had the one; a bit rough from the night before!) and usual price-gouding for coffee, food et (definately not masters prices), but all in all a decent day out. Was fortunate to have a complimentary shuttle to just behind the 1st tee and straight to the airport, so avoided any park & ride/train issues so probably made the experience even better.

roll on 2022!