Skysports.com's Matt Cooper takes on the US in a reprise of the 2010 Ryder Cup.
Our men take on the USA in a reprise of the 2010 Ryder Cup
Exactly one year after the dramatic conclusion to the 2010 Ryder Cup (and precisely one week after witnessing the equally astonishing end to the 2011 Solheim Cup) Matt Cooper travelled to Newport, South Wales to discover how the Celtic Manor Resort was marking the anniversary.
Contrasts
Arriving in Wales there was something almost comical about the contrast between October 2010 and October 2011.
The scene that greeted me on arrival at the course on the Sunday morning 12 months ago was very wet and very dark. Water sluiced down the 18th fairway, outside the ropes the green, green grass of home had turned a dark shade of brown or grey, and, when I made my way to the TV compound for a cup of tea with a friend, the cafeteria there called to mind a mess tent in a war zone.
Yet despite all this gloom something magical happened that week. In the face of all of that horrific weather we witnessed a remarkable sporting contest, thanks largely to the astonishing efforts of Celtic Manor's Director of Courses Jim McKenzie and his team (for Jim's Ryder Cup diary click
here).
Something else sealed the deal - the pure sporting theatre of the final (Mon)day. If the 2010 Ryder Cup had not concluded in such a thrilling fashion the appalling weather would have been the story. Instead the weather was an integral part of the story.
Even so, on arrival in early October 2011 it was hard not to laugh. It was 77 degrees Fahrenheit, the sky was blue and there was no mud. How could it be any more different?
The Writer Cup
To celebrate the one year anniversary, Visit Wales and Celtic Manor had organised the Writer Cup, a project designed to appeal to the shameless vanity of eight members of the media (four from Europe, four from America).
It would grant us the opportunity to compete on a famous sporting battlefield, to experience gut-wrenching pressure and to represent our continent in golf's ultimate rivalry.
Well, kind of.
In our heads at least.
Day One - the Montgomerie course
"On the tee, representing Europe ... Matt Cooper!"
I was in the first match off and had just watched my opponent, Todd Wessell from Illinois, smash his drive down the middle of the first fairway. I was a little nervous. In fact, standing over the ball I was thinking to myself, "There were about 9,000 people on the first tee this time last year, plus millions on TV. That was pressure. I've got about 12 people watching me and I'm bricking it. How did they do it?"
It is thought processes such as these that sports psychologists rarely refer to as "a good pre-shot routine" and yet, by staring manically at the ball (from behind sunglasses) and hoping for the best, I managed to join my opponent in the middle of the fairway.
It was a sign of things to come. I hit more greens, Todd holed more putts, but we scored much the same in a tight contest.
In between those shots we took in the big undulations and dramatic views of the most recently built course at the resort, and laughed at the wisecracks of the second American in our group, Mike from Michigan, whose trash talk was professional standard.
Eventually, just before it got dark, I parred 16 and 17 to complete victory and we soon learned that Europe had completed a singles clean sweep. We were leading 4-0.
Rest and recuperation
Over dinner at the excellent Newbridge on Usk, Celtic Manor's country inn, we chatted to Jim McKenzie - clearly more relaxed than 12 months ago - and representatives from Visit Wales.
Ever wondered about the affect of a Ryder Cup on the local community? Well, in 2001 golf tourism contributed £7million to the Welsh economy. In 2011 that figure was £42million!
Later, in Merlin's Bar back at the hotel, we acknowledged that with only two fourball matches to come our 4-0 lead was invincible so offered to play for double points to keep the match alive.
Gracious? Patronising? Or was it the sight of Mike from Michigan ordering snakebite that gave us confidence?
Whatever, I was proud of my team's commitment to the cause - plotting strategy at 2am whilst waving goodbye to a Hen Party. "I bet this is exactly what Monty and his team were doing 12 months ago," I thought to myself. "I'm so living the dream."
Day Two - the 2010 course
Geography helps make the arrival at the 2010 course feel special - you drive through big wide gates at the top of the hill before the course opens up ahead of you. In the flat bottom of the Usk Valley, the glistening, conditioned fairways and greens are a vivid contrast to the wild grass and pasture land beyond.
The course itself is a much tougher task for handicappers than the Montgomerie layout - it is longer, with water hazards that regularly threaten and greens that have subtle slopes.
Playing with Sky Sports News' Jamie Weir we defeated our American opponents in resounding fashion (7&5) but the moment of victory largely passed us by. Instead we concentrated on the thrill of playing the holes that had witnessed real and genuine drama 12 months before.
The pins had been specifically cut in the same positions as the Monday finish in 2010 so on the 16th green we took the time to reconstruct Graeme McDowell's epic birdie putt; I had three goes at it and failed every time.
On the 17th I managed to leave my tee shot in precisely the same spot Hunter Mahan left his last year. My ball was actually sat on a repaired divot so I joked to myself that it was the divot created by the American's famous duff.
"Come on," shouted Jamie, "show us how it should have been done."
I cast back my mind 12 months, remembered the thousands who packed the stands, the thousands who stood precariously on the muddy slopes, the hundreds inside the ropes and the millions watching on television.
I trusted my swing, lobbed the ball up and watched as it tracked for the hole. "I don't believe it," shouted Jamie, "it's going in ... no!" It had slipped by at the last second.
I looked around the green. There was no-one on the slopes, there were no stands and no jumbo TV screens either.
The shot had been good but the drama was all a daydream.
A very good one though.
* For more information on the Celtic Manor Resort visit the
website.
