The Best Team Event in Golf

Good morning and welcome back.

A few days removed from the decisive 17-9 US Walker Cup victory, I’ve had the chance to reflect upon what the Walker Cup means to the game of golf. Even though the best amateurs can now make real money with NIL endorsements, the nature and spirit of the event remains strong. Maybe its the smaller team, elite host clubs, or lack of ropes, but the golf feels more pure.

The uniforms set the tone. Simple, clean and classic, they will never go out of style. The only thing I would change is the ugly W hats, but even those give the outfits a memorable edge. Can you remember what the US Ryder Cup team wore two years ago? How about four years ago? I think most of us reading this have likely flushed it from our minds. Walker Cup style is not miles better, but eternally repeatable.

Next comes the venues. How about this lineup over the past 30ish years? In case you wanted to know how the elites in the golf world view this event, the list of venues will tell you more than I ever could.

Thoughts, comments, concerns? The venues reflect the importance and gravitas of the event, and boy do we have some heavy hitters, both past and present. The old clubs revere the amateur side of the game, and when compared with the Ryder Cup venues? It’s night and day.

In a stark juxtaposition to the Ryder Cup, it feels like the players on Walker Cup teams are doing it for the love of the game and for love of country, nothing more. (It’s why the US Ryder Cup team has underperformed, they care more about hats not fitting and getting paid than winning for their country).

The Ryder Cup has followed the path paved by the explosion in popularity of the game. The team attire has slowly devolved into the big letter, vibrant polyester slop we are accustomed to seeing in today’s game. Sad! While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, the attire caters to a more casual fan. I won’t be shocked when I walk into the merch tent in a few weeks to see more big letter hats than traditional normal ones.

The Ryder Cup is a great event, don’t get me wrong, but it’s become hyper-commercialized in all the wrong ways. The days of rope-less walks along the fairway are long gone, and the days of golf bros waking up at 5am to pregame the first tee are here. Bethpage will unquestionably be a circus, from the raucous New York crowd to the RAO’s popup.

There’s something about the purity of the Walker Cup that I love. It feels like the last bastion of elite amateur golf that has remained protected from the public. It’s an event for true fans of the game, and I hope it remains that way for a long time.

P.S.

I was intrigued to see pictures of Cypress selling non-Walker Cup branded merch, the same stuff you could buy in the pro shop as a guest. Interesting stuff, and I’m still not entirely sure why they opted to open up the logo to the public.

Bringing this segment back in light of the fact that Summer is over and many of us are back to practicing indoors, or will be soon. Here’s a good video to work on your putting this coming Winter.

A friend of mine is heading down to Burning Tree for a few days of golf, which prompted me to dig deep into the traditions of a club nicknamed “The Presidents Club” (honorary memberships traditionally offered to sitting presidents; Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon and others frequented the course).

Some interesting tidbits about one of the last mens-only clubs out there:

Side note— I went deep into the lore of Burning Tree. How deep? Well I stumbled onto a blog from 2006! The new website they refer to? Zillow. Early internet was so pure and well-intentioned.

I love finding old history on the internet. What a time to be alive. (I was in 5th Grade).

Talk soon,

BTG

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