Ryder Cup To Get Full Monty on NBC and Golf Channel

Ryder Cup action at Celtic Manor, 2010  photo courtesy of PGA of America

Come the last weekend in September, you'll want to set your alarm for extra early or put on an extra pot of coffee to stay up all night because NBC and Golf Channel will provide live full-round coverage of the 2014 Ryder Cup from Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland.  This will be the first time the European-based event will be televised live in its entirety in the United States. Additionally, Golf Channel has acquired the exclusive Ryder Cup telecast rights for Friday's matches, so the NBC Sports Group's live coverage will run from the opening tee shot through the final putt of this biennial event between Friday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept 28.

"For the first time when played on European soil, fans in the United States will be treated to watching the Ryder Cup live in its entirety, and we're thrilled that NBC Sports Group will deliver the drama and passion of this unparalleled event, as it unfolds," said PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua in a statement released today. "Beginning with Golf Channel, the daily television voice of the golf community, and continuing through the weekend on NBC, audiences will be able to experience all of the breathtaking moments that define the Ryder Cup. By showcasing one of sport's most exciting events live, on a global stage, the PGA of America is furthering our commitment to growing the game through our partnership with NBC Sports."

If you can't get to a TV set (or want to watch on your tablet or laptop in bed without disturbing your partner) all of NBC and Golf Channel's live coverage will be available for authenticated streaming via NBC Sports Live Extra and Golf Live Extra. Just don't forget to use your earphones to drown out those screams from US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson.

Here's the schedule:

• Sept. 26 Day One 2:30 AM-1 PM     Golf Channel
• Sept. 27 Day Two 3 AM-1 PM NBC
• Sept. 28 Final Day 7 AM-1 PM NBC

Golf Channel's Friday coverage is part of a trade that includes an exchange of highlight rights and other considerations with ESPN. And after NBC Sports Group and the PGA of America's new partnership agreement takes effect, Golf Channel will continue as the exclusive cable home of the Ryder Cup through 2030 as part of this deal, which is the longest national TV rights agreement in professional sports.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Re-Live The War By The Shore

The Ryder Cup packs more excitement into the game than any event in golf. Curt Sampson captured all that excitement and then some in The War By The Shore: the Incomparable Drama of the 1991 Ryder Cup. His immensely readable account explores all the intrigue leading up to the event, all the out-sized personalities who played in it, and especially the sheer brutality of the ultimate Ryder Cup venue, Pete Dye's Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

The intensity of Raymond Floyd, the almost physical clashes between Paul Azinger and Seve Balesteros, the crushing collapse by Mark Calcaveccia, the often-overlooked performance of David Feherty, the ever-so-tightly-wound play of Bernhard Langer that lead to the climactic last putt--Sampson brings it all home to the reader in a delightfully entertaining, informed account. He talked to nearly everyone involved in the event and, although the passage of time may have obscured a few details and more than a few axes are still being ground, he did an exemplary job of telling us what was happening in their heads as well as on the course.

The stories are well known, but Sampson makes them come alive with refreshingly cliche-free prose. As a golf writer myself, I particularly appreciate his ability to set the scene, describe the characters, and carry the reader through the action with original verbiage you'll never (unfortunately) see on the sports pages.

The 1991 Ryder Cup is often cited as a turning point in the long history of the event. Sampson takes some issue with that conclusion and I agree with him. There is no question, though, that the War By The Shore woke up America to the powerful spectacle that team golf can be.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

The Mental Game At The Ryder Cup

A guest post about the Ryder Cup from Mike Diffley, Head Pro at Pelham Country Club, and frequent speaker on the power of the mental game:

Mike Diffley, PGA

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog" --Mark Twain

Keegan Bradley, from his 330 yard tee shot down the middle on Hole #1 to rolling in everything he looked at on the first day, showed he might be the mentally strongest player in the world.

Phil Mickelson--now known as Keegan's partner--said the more the pressure the better Keegan plays.

The intensity, focus, determination are incredible. He embraces the pressure and doesn't hide from it. He wants the chance to go. We cannot deny the adrenaline flowing through our system but we can learn to channel it to focus and strength.

Not everyone is the same. Keegan can't hide his emotions through those eyes and facial expressions, that's him. It's important that he knows that and obviously he does. Some players just smile or give a small fist pump and that's their way of expressing their emotions.

The most important time is the 10 to 20 seconds before you hit the ball to find your own zone or comfort level. Keegan found his yesterday and hopefully keeps it through the weekend. Do you know yours?

Positive self talk and visualization are the key. Keegan told us last year that's what he does!!! Go USA!

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Scenic Tour Of Ryder Cup's Celtic Manor 2010 Course

Water is in play on 14 holes on the 2010 Course.

2010 Course 3rd Hole - 189 yards - par 3 - All carry with a deep depression in back to punish long shots.

2010 Course 5th Hole - 457 yards - par 4 - A left-to-right dogleg that requires 300 yards to carry to bunkers on the right.

2010 Course Hole 6 - 452 yards - par 4 - Water and sand threaten wayward shots the entire length of the hole

2010 Course Hole 12 - 458 yards - par 4 - A small green reachable only after crossing water twice

2010 Course Hole 14 - 413 yards - par 4 - A short hole that dares long hitters to challenge the water.

2010 Course Hole 15 - 377 yards - par 4 - The green is driveable with a 270 yard shot threaded through the trees.

Wind in the Usk River Valley will be a factor in the Ryder Cup matches, too.

Dave Donelson, author of The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising

A Visit To Ryder Cup Land - Part 3 of 3

No golf trip to Wales or anywhere else in the UK would be complete without at least a sampling of links courses, which to me represent the heart and soul of the game. Royal Porthcawl is as good as links golf gets. How good? Tiger Woods and the rest of the American team went down in defeat there in the 1995 Walker Cup matches. Maybe they were distracted by the views of the sea which you get on every single hole, or the knee-deep rough, or the persistent wind that is as important to the success of every shot as your stance, grip, and swing. Royal Porthcawl has hole after excellent hole, with the 466-yard 15th and 430-yard 16th (both par fours) standing out as prime examples of where sand, grass, elevation, and wind come into play. Both require long tee shots downhill to landing areas constricted by impossible cross bunkers. The second shots are blind and uphill to small greens wearing pot bunker necklaces. One hole plays downwind, the other back into it. These are just a few of the reasons Golf Magazine added Royal Porthcawl to its list of Top 100 Course in the World.

The place to stay when tackling Royal Porthcawl is the Great House at Laleston, which was originally given to the Earl of Leicester by Elizabeth I to use as a hunting lodge (although he’s rumored to have frequently cavorted there with the neighborhood milk maids as well). The restored inn is about fifteen minutes away from the golf course, but the food alone is worth the drive. My fillet (sic) of Welsh beef was fork-tender and perfectly charred with a red center, and the grilled mushrooms and tomatoes were a fabulous touch.

As much as I admired the Twenty Ten Course and enjoyed the struggle to break par at Royal Porthcawl (I wasn’t even close), my favorite round came at Tenby Golf Club, the oldest organized golf club in Wales. Today’s Tenby is a fascinating seaside course full of quirky challenges like the fourth hole, a 436-yard tester where both your drive and second shot must be aimed over striped marker poles because the landing areas are completely hidden. If either ball is stuck off-line, hit a provisional—Tenby’s fairways are the narrowest I’ve ever seen, measuring twenty yards or less in most places (less than the usual U.S. Open width!) and the rough hasn’t been cut since about 1875, when official records show the Tenby town court proceedings were adjourned so the mayor and magistrates could get in a round before returning to the affairs of state.

Not far from Tenby is St. Brides Hotel and Spa, sited on a hillside high above the beach at Carmarthen Bay in Saundersfoot. Even if you are foolish enough to forego a massage after your round, don’t miss the bubbling spa pool overlooking the bay, the sensation chamber where you choose tropical rain, cold mist, or gush showers, the sauna, or the two steam rooms—one aromatic, one with salt water. The Cliff Restaurant was exceptional, too. I went for Whole Black Bream with Garlic Butter and Spinach, one of many dishes prepared almost exclusively with fresh local ingredients. For some fun after dark, take a short walk to the many raucous pubs lining the beach below the hotel.

One of the best parts about a golf trip to Wales is that getting there is easy. We flew into Bristol on a direct flight from Newark and were registering at Celtic Manor less than an hour after our plane landed. Alternatively, Cardiff has an international airport, but is also only a couple of hours by train from London’s Heathrow. If you need a jet-lag break before golf or a place to decompress even further before heading home, try St. David’s Hotel and Spa in Cardiff. Sweeping views of the docks and the Bristol Channel as well as easy access to the revived waterfront shopping and dining district are just a couple of the luxuries in the ten-year-old high-rise masterpiece.

Dave Donelson, author of The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising

A Visit To Ryder Cup Land - Part 2 of 3

There is more to golf at Celtic Manor than just the Twenty Ten Course. The Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed Roman Road Course has enough elevation change and highly contoured greens to challenge the best players. At 6,515 yards, it’s long enough, too. The Montgomery Course is a 6,371-yard par 69 layout that features punitive pot bunkers and a few other delights added by designer Colin Montgomery, who happens to be the captain of the European Ryder Cup team this year.

Dining at Celtic Manor is as adventuresome as the golf. The top spot is The Crown, where the prix fixe menu features seared scallops, curried sweetbreads, and cauliflower panna cotta among the many options and amuse bouches are served before every course. For less formal dinners, the Olive Tree has a sumptuous buffet of contemporary European cuisine each evening and the Rafters in the Twenty Ten Clubhouse presents dishes based on local Welsh ingredients. The Lodge Brasserie overlooks the 18th green on the Roman Road Course and the Patio at the Manor House has a relaxed setting and traditional Italian fare.

You have a wide range of places for drinks, too, led by Merlins Bar in the Resort Hotel with its comfortable sofas, snooker table, and terrace overlooking the rooftop gardens. That’s the place for afternoon tea, too, if you prefer something a little more civilized for your after-round libation. The Manor House has the Cellar Bar, a plasma-screen-filled sports bar, as well as the Lounge Bar with its historic theme décor.

Need to un-kink after your round? Head for the Forum Health Club in the Resort Hotel with its 34-station gym, 20-meter pool, whirlpool, saunas, steam rooms, and luxurious marble changing rooms. For the ultimate in un-kinking (or a place of refuge for the non-golfers in the group), the Forum Spa offers the latest in therapies including massages and facials, hydrotherapy, and manicures and pedicures. For total indulgence, try the Rasul Mud Ritual, a 45-minute exfoliating experience. There’s another full gym and spa in the Lodge, too.

If your game needs a little tune up (or a complete makeover), take advantage of the Celtic Manor Golf Academy. Its staff of teaching professionals gives lessons in state-of-the art swing studios, practice greens, and short play areas, then let you practice what you learned in the 28-bay two-tier driving range.

When you want a break from golf, take advantage of the 1400 acres of parkland surrounding the resort for a hiking or mountain biking adventure. The concierge will also help you schedule a half- or full-day of clay pigeon shooting, salmon fishing in the River Wye or fly fishing on the River Usk. Horseback riding is available, too.

Dave Donelson, author of The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising

A Visit To Ryder Cup Land - Part 1 of 3

Rampant red dragons will join birdies and eagles in golfers’ dreams this year as the Ryder Cup Matches make their debut in Wales, an enchanted land where it is easy to imagine fire-breathing lizards (the country’s symbol) flying down the fairways of some of the finest golf courses in the world. I swear I saw a dragon or two when I played the Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor, the site of this fall’s biennial competition between America’s and Europe’s top golfers.

When I hopped across the pond for a look at the course where Tiger Woods and the rest of the American team will defend their title, I discovered an easily-accessible golf paradise any golf traveler should add to their must-play list. Wales has pretty much played fourth fiddle to Scotland, Ireland, and England as a premiere golf destination, but that time is over. Golf in Wales is affordable, the clubs are friendly and accommodating, the courses are challenging, varied, and seldom crowded. There are some fascinating places to stay and the food was fabulous. What more could you want from a golf destination?

But if you’re going, hurry before the word gets out. The Ryder Cup will bring Wales into the golf world spotlight, which was the reason Sir Terry Matthews built the Twenty Ten Course at his Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, just a few minutes from the capital of Cardiff. The course was designed expressly to host the event and promises to provide a stern test for the teams and great vistas for the spectators. The Usk River valley shapes the experience. It serves as a wind tunnel for the sea breezes sweeping up the Bristol Channel and brings water into play on nine of the eighteen holes. Add fairways without a single level lie, rough so thick and high you can’t see your shoes (much less your ball), and you have a world-class golf challenge.

The 2010 Course at Celtic Manor, site of the Ryder Cup

The course has plenty of length, too, measuring 7,493 yards for par 71. The bunkering was designed with today’s big hitters in mind, so no one is going to bomb and gouge their way around the course. Fortunately, multiple tees not only give us hackers a chance to enjoy the track, but also gives the set-up committee options to make several of the par four holes drive-able, although pin-point accuracy and some luck with the wind will be required to take advantage. The sharp right dogleg 377-yard fifteenth hole will be particularly interesting because there is a small gap high in the trees allowing a 270-yard tee-shot straight at the green for the most intrepid players.

The three finishing holes rank with the best championship venues in the world. They all play directly into the prevailing wind and are further complicated by tough bunkers and heart-stopping elevation changes. The16th is a 508-yard par four with a narrow fairway guarded by bunkers on either side. A tee shot even slightly right will end up rolling over a steep embankment. The 17th is an uphill par three measuring 211 yards to a long, narrow green protected by bunkers deep enough to hide a herd of Welsh cattle along the entire front right side.

The finishing hole is a classic risk-and-reward par five. At 613 yards and playing only slightly downhill, it will given even the longest bomber a second shot to think about if he hasn’t closed his match out before he gets there. Even if he carries the bunkers on the left by flying his drive 331 yards, he’ll be left with a downhill lie to a green fronted by a pond that stretches across the entire fairway. The green is elevated, too, with a steep shaved bank that will send any short shot back into the water. My favorite feature of the hole is a big old gnarly oak behind the green that’s probably been there since before the colonies stuck their finger in King George’s eye.

Dave Donelson, author of The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising

Newsworthy In Wales

Writers love feedback (with the exception of nasty book reviews), so I got a big kick out of this newspaper article from the Tenby Observer:

Tenby Golf Club has proved a big hit in America.
An American journalist, Dave Donelson, recently wrote an article for the Westchester Magazine titled ‘Where Dragons Play, the 2010 Ryder Cup shines a spotlight on Wales - the next great golf destination’.
After playing the Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor Resort and Royal Porthcawl, the journalist says his favourite round was at Tenby.
“Today’s Tenby is a fascinating seaside course full of quirky challenges,” wrote Mr. Donelson, who also praised St. Brides Hotel, Saundersfoot, where he stayed.
The article was brought to the attention of Tenby Town Council by Clr. David Morgan, who said there had been American visitors at the golf club this week who had read about the course in the article!

I'll be blogging here about my trip to Wales in September as the Ryder Cup approaches.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.