Scotland's
bid to host the 2009 Ryder Cup will be boosted by concerns that
the Welsh submission is flawed by a venue which currently fails
to meet course requirements for the biennial contest between Europe
and the USA.
With the Ryder Cup committee due to meet on 13 and 14 February to
assess the bid documents - the North of England is the third candidate
- Scotland approach the final hurdle as favourites to win a tight
race. Though there is little to choose between bidders on investment
in the game or support for development of junior golf, Scotland
is believed to have a clear advantage in terms of courses.
Wales (Celtic Manor) and the North of England (Slaley Hall) are
single-centre bids, but Scotland offers a variety of parkland and
links venues which have established international reputations. Gleneagles
offers every facility a Ryder Cup would need, and Turnberry, Loch
Lomond, Muirfield, St Andrews and Car-noustie are also superior
to what can be delivered elsewhere.
Members of the Ryder Cup committee have still to study the three
bids in detail, but my understanding is that strong misgivings persist
about the Wentwood Hills layout. Indeed, the course which hosted
the Welsh Open last summer is regarded as so unsuitable for match
play that plans have been drawn up to replace a third of its holes
for 2009. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr on land which rises
and falls from the Usk valley, it is eccentric in character, and
at the Welsh Open, eventual winner Steen Tinning started the week
wondering if he should have brought skis rather than golf shoes.
New Zealander Greg Turner took one look, and complained: "It felt
like I was playing on a skyscraper, hitting shots from the ground
to the 15th floor and vice-versa. Tell you what, if there was global
warming and the sea rose 60 feet, the course might be a good option."
Not surprisingly, the Welsh are aware of the course’s shortcomings,
and have already planned a remedy.
"After they played the Welsh Open there last year, Mike Stewart
of the PGA and some of the pros came along to suggest some changes,
especially at the 15th and 16th holes," reported Tony Lewis, chairman
of the Welsh bid, yesterday. "Since then it’s been made pretty plain
that Wentwood Hills wouldn’t do for the Ryder Cup when the players
have to complete two rounds a day. So what we’ve done is to talk
to the European Tour’s course design department, and give them the
latitude to make any necessary changes.
"My understanding is that the bottom 12 holes near the river are
regarded as fantastic, and the other six won’t be involved. The
plan is to build a fourth course at Celtic Manor, and then come
up with a Ryder Cup layout. Brian Huggett has been taken on as a
consultant, not just for the Ryder Cup, but to establish Celtic
Manor as the prime European Tour destination in Wales.
"When you think about how long it took to get the Belfry right,
we feel we’ve got plenty of time."
While Terry Matthews, the billionaire who owns Celtic Manor, has
pockets deep enough to fund radical alterations, it beggars belief
that the committee would award the match to an unseen course.
Bearing in mind that Matthews insists he is in for the long haul,
it could be that Celtic Manor would be better placed to host the
2013 match.
As for Slaley Hall, the huge crowds attracted by the Ryder Cup mean
that worries have arisen that bottlenecks could crop up on certain
parts of the course.
But awarding the Ryder Cup to a controversial or undistinguished
venue would not be a first for the prestigious event. Valderrama,
site of the 1997 match; the Belfry, venue this year well as in 1985,
1989 and 1993; and the K Club, where the contest will be played
in 2005, all have their critics.
This didn’t stop Jaime Patinho, owner of Valderrama, from taking
the match to Spain or Michael Smurfit, owner of the K Club, from
repeating the trick in Dublin.
Although Matthews is ambitious to make it a Ryder Cup hat-trick
for the game’s entrepreneurs, selecting Celtic Manor, when more
suitable venues exist in other parts of the United Kingdom, could
prove to be too much of a gamble for officials.
The PGA is known to favour a swift announcement of the successful
candidate, if the committee can reach a decision in mid-February.
However, committees, just like juries, can be notoriously fickle,
and should no decision be finalised next month, it is possible that
the process could go on until early summer.
