• We'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all at Golf Monthly. Thank you for sharing your 2025 with us!

Solheim Cup

If you watch a lot of men's golf you'll see all those things too.

No doubt there is poor shots on the men’s tours but it seemed very regular when watching , there seemed to be many more poor shots or course management than good at times , it sort of added to the drama if anything .

The ending of the tournament was very dramatic and in some ways it allowed a lot of the negatives of the event to be glossed over but you just need to go through social media over the three days - pros , coaches , fans and media and there are more reports about the slow play , the poor play and even Thompson having a pop at someone for shouting fore when she should have.

It’s a shame that it’s an event that can and should highlight a lot of good about the sport but I think it didnt put golf in a good light. The girls will rightly celebrate until the long hours and they deserve it - that last hour was excellent and was on par to the drama at Killeen
 
Let me phrase it better

When it comes to difference between the ladies and men it should mainly be down to the power and distance the men get , most of the men hit it further etc but when it comes to ball striking and short game the difference should be not too far away and over the course of the first two days some of that ball striking , putting , chipping was not what you would expect to see from experienced professional golfers - Duffs , thins , shanks , one lady topped it and the putting at times just seemed awful.

The Sunday was a lot better and it was a good watch for the last hour

The thing is when there are only 4-12 games out on the course you are more likely to see every shot being played in comparison to the mens comps where 120 or more are out on the course, so unless Tiger does it less likely to see the dross.

Just take it for what it is, yesterday's win should be in the pantheon of Medinah, Istanbul, Headingley. I was following the latter stages along with the cricket on my phone on the course, but wished I was watching it live. They also dont have the same strength as the men, so may also struggle out of longer rough, as well.
 
I watched the highlights of the Alex v Pettersen match and was a little surprised that Alex didn't go for the green on the 18th after hitting the fairway. Pettersen was behind a tree and in the rough so had to just lay up with a wedge. But after she'd hit it the commentator said "both balls together in the fairway". I know the last isn't a pushover at just under 500 yards but I'd have thought still within range for 2.
 
I watched the highlights of the Alex v Pettersen match and was a little surprised that Alex didn't go for the green on the 18th after hitting the fairway. Pettersen was behind a tree and in the rough so had to just lay up with a wedge. But after she'd hit it the commentator said "both balls together in the fairway". I know the last isn't a pushover at just under 500 yards but I'd have thought still within range for 2.
Alex didn’t need to win the hole though, she had 220yd to go and bunkers on her line, Pettersen had 205 but was in the rough, Alex layed up sensibly looking to put her 3rd close, which she very nearly did, Alex guaranteed herself a Par and hoped for a birdie, Pettersen had to birdie.
Great drama though.
 
No doubt there is poor shots on the men’s tours but it seemed very regular when watching , there seemed to be many more poor shots or course management than good at times , it sort of added to the drama if anything .

The ending of the tournament was very dramatic and in some ways it allowed a lot of the negatives of the event to be glossed over but you just need to go through social media over the three days - pros , coaches , fans and media and there are more reports about the slow play , the poor play and even Thompson having a pop at someone for shouting fore when she should have.

It’s a shame that it’s an event that can and should highlight a lot of good about the sport but I think it didnt put golf in a good light. The girls will rightly celebrate until the long hours and they deserve it - that last hour was excellent and was on par to the drama at Killeen

I saw that live. She didn’t have a go at him. It was almost humorous. He shouted as though it was hurtling towards someone’s head from a foot. The sheer panic in his voice just made her respond with “Jesus, it’s not that bad”. Hardly having a pop.

I agree there were quite a few negatives on the first two days. But by and large when I’ve chatted with people today. It’s not been about days one and two.
 
However it was done, it should be celebrated as a great sporting win by a side I think many, including some "experts" in the press and on TV thought unlikely. I think we should celebrate that and its a shame some want to focus on how many poor shots there were, how low the standard of play was etc. It is still a different version of the game to the one the men play, but one far more akin to how we as club golfers play and should perhaps look at in more detail in terms of distances hit and course management as a result. Of course there will be negatives on social media. Sadly that seems to be the way it operates for a large part, to poke fun and criticise and while there will be posts celebrating the success, sadly there will more ridiculing
 
I saw that live. She didn’t have a go at him. It was almost humorous. He shouted as though it was hurtling towards someone’s head from a foot. The sheer panic in his voice just made her respond with “Jesus, it’s not that bad”. Hardly having a pop.

I agree there were quite a few negatives on the first two days. But by and large when I’ve chatted with people today. It’s not been about days one and two.
Yes the whole fore thing was just good humoured.
 
Sensational last minutes or so, Americans felt they had it won and were basically waiting to celebrate.

!

Of that there was no doubt, they were about 20 feet from me where I was standing and they were very buoyant and rightly so as it looks odds on they would win, it only turned in the last half hour.
 
However it was done, it should be celebrated as a great sporting win by a side I think many, including some "experts" in the press and on TV thought unlikely. I think we should celebrate that and its a shame some want to focus on how many poor shots there were, how low the standard of play was etc. It is still a different version of the game to the one the men play, but one far more akin to how we as club golfers play and should perhaps look at in more detail in terms of distances hit and course management as a result. Of course there will be negatives on social media. Sadly that seems to be the way it operates for a large part, to poke fun and criticise and while there will be posts celebrating the success, sadly there will more ridiculing
Not really, imo, to be honest, people will always focus on the finale, look at the Cricket WC, if you’d of said to a non cricket fan, sit down from 10:30am until 6:30pm because the last 30 minutes will be superb I think we both know the response you’d get or the previous ashes match, sit down for 4 days because the last day will be good.
The Solheim Cup was a great victory, but it should be looked at (in a few days/weeks) as a whole event and unfortunately there were negatives which should be discussed and addressed.
 
Not really, imo, to be honest, people will always focus on the finale, look at the Cricket WC, if you’d of said to a non cricket fan, sit down from 10:30am until 6:30pm because the last 30 minutes will be superb I think we both know the response you’d get or the previous ashes match, sit down for 4 days because the last day will be good.
The Solheim Cup was a great victory, but it should be looked at (in a few days/weeks) as a whole event and unfortunately there were negatives which should be discussed and addressed.

I agree but you could say the same about the RC, Presidents Cup and other team events. My point was more at the negativity on social media (usually for the sake of poking fun). Of course things like pace of play, which was atrocious, should be discussed. However suggesting there were more duffed shots as it was the ladies playing is unfair and as others have pointing out, the men aren't immune.
 
Alex didn’t need to win the hole though, she had 220yd to go and bunkers on her line, Pettersen had 205 but was in the rough, Alex layed up sensibly looking to put her 3rd close, which she very nearly did, Alex guaranteed herself a Par and hoped for a birdie, Pettersen had to birdie.
Great drama though.
Thanks. I knew there would be a reason!!
 
I agree but you could say the same about the RC, Presidents Cup and other team events. My point was more at the negativity on social media (usually for the sake of poking fun). Of course things like pace of play, which was atrocious, should be discussed. However suggesting there were more duffed shots as it was the ladies playing is unfair and as others have pointing out, the men aren't immune.
Those comments were as the event went along and were justified at the time.
 
I saw that live. She didn’t have a go at him. It was almost humorous. He shouted as though it was hurtling towards someone’s head from a foot. The sheer panic in his voice just made her respond with “Jesus, it’s not that bad”. Hardly having a pop.
.
I saw it to, but apparently she followed it up with something like “it’s not like it’s a missile”
The ball did though land at the feet of a group of people, so I felt the call was correct and she should have been more proactive herself with the shout.
 
I saw that live. She didn’t have a go at him. It was almost humorous. He shouted as though it was hurtling towards someone’s head from a foot. The sheer panic in his voice just made her respond with “Jesus, it’s not that bad”. Hardly having a pop.

I agree there were quite a few negatives on the first two days. But by and large when I’ve chatted with people today. It’s not been about days one and two.

Just go onto social media and there was more said from her about the shout , she wasn’t amused by it seemingly believe there to be no one in danger as it landed a foot from someone. People may have laughed about it when it happened but she didn’t look amused by someone shouting so loudly

And yep the third day was a good day for them but it shouldn’t ignore the issues from the first two days
 
Just go onto social media and there was more said from her about the shout , she wasn’t amused by it seemingly believe there to be no one in danger as it landed a foot from someone. People may have laughed about it when it happened but she didn’t look amused by someone shouting so loudly

And yep the third day was a good day for them but it shouldn’t ignore the issues from the first two days
I agree it shouldn't cover over the cracks. I just think there's a time to resolve issues and right after a win isn't that time.

Re Lexi. She's not the most popular and I'm sure she had a little rant, but at the tone it wast siad in bad taste. I doubt very much the game is going to grow or not because of twitter rants.

I actually thought the constant remarks about Kang were harsh by commentary too. They milk everythink that Pouoter says and then moan about her for being outspoken.
 
Just go onto social media and there was more said from her about the shout , she wasn’t amused by it seemingly believe there to be no one in danger as it landed a foot from someone. People may have laughed about it when it happened but she didn’t look amused by someone shouting so loudly

And yep the third day was a good day for them but it shouldn’t ignore the issues from the first two days

Europe won. Let it go.

I can see this situation reversed with your hero Rory, it would be all smiles, roses and banter then wouldn't it.

Great result for European Ladies. I didn't see them winning the Solheim Cup, thought they would have required a margin going into the singles but they all played their part.

Huge boost for the woman's game.
 
Not excusing Lexi not shouting but due to the wind and direction of it, no one would've heard a shout had ten folk shouted.

On her, she has some major personal demons and imo needs help, was a bit of an emotional mess after her match yesterday.
 
I agree it shouldn't cover over the cracks. I just think there's a time to resolve issues and right after a win isn't that time.

Re Lexi. She's not the most popular and I'm sure she had a little rant, but at the tone it wast siad in bad taste. I doubt very much the game is going to grow or not because of twitter rants.

I actually thought the constant remarks about Kang were harsh by commentary too. They milk everythink that Pouoter says and then moan about her for being outspoken.

Didn’t hear what they were saying about Kang ? Is she the one who was “outspoken” in the media before the event and was getting all sorts on social media - nothing wrong with being outspoken and bravado etc - as you say Poulter is always very vocal when the Ryder Cup comes around.

Europe won. Let it go.

I can see this situation reversed with your hero Rory, it would be all smiles, roses and banter then wouldn't it.

Great result for European Ladies. I didn't see them winning the Solheim Cup, thought they would have required a margin going into the singles but they all played their part.

Huge boost for the woman's game.

What does Rory have to do with anything ? Which situation is that ?

We are debating the overall impact of the Solheim Cup - yes they won and it was great no one has said otherwise but the event was littered with a number of negatives with slow play ( something you are very vocal about ) being key.

There is nothing wrong with debate both positive and negative in regards any event - it has happened before with Ryder Cups etc - it’s all being done respectfully
 
Didn’t hear what they were saying about Kang ? Is she the one who was “outspoken” in the media before the event and was getting all sorts on social media - nothing wrong with being outspoken and bravado etc - as you say Poulter is always very vocal when the Ryder Cup comes around.



What does Rory have to do with anything ? Which situation is that ?

We are debating the overall impact of the Solheim Cup - yes they won and it was great no one has said otherwise but the event was littered with a number of negatives with slow play ( something you are very vocal about ) being key.

There is nothing wrong with debate both positive and negative in regards any event - it has happened before with Ryder Cups etc - it’s all being done respectfully

They referenced it quite a few times that there was no place for it, and that it was probably to the detriment of her game. Like you say, its good for the goose....
 
They referenced it quite a few times that there was no place for it, and that it was probably to the detriment of her game. Like you say, its good for the goose....

The commentary team were poor - far too “partisan” at times and sometimes were saying some poor stuff - it seemed like a “b team” of reporters etc and one of them doing the on course spent most of the time heavy breathing down the mic , sounded really bad.
 
Top