The Ryder Cup has become much more orderly and formalized over the decades, and that approach extends all the way to how hole locations are chosen for each of the five sessions of match play this week at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
Most fans might think the home captain and his assistants choose hole locations. It’s a frequent topic of conversation in the lead-up to each Ryder Cup that the home team can set up the course however it likes, and that is true to an extent. But the home team’s setup options don’t exclusively cover hole locations on the greens, said PGA of America chief championship officer Kerry Haigh.
The longtime course setup expert said that for this year’s Ryder Cup, as was done at the past four Ryder Cups, each team nominates an official with professional setup experience to select hole locations a week in advance. The officials for both teams have gone around the course together to choose five hole locations on each green. Those general locations were shared with the teams in advance so that players could practice hitting shots to each spot.
But the officials won’t share the order of hole locations until the night before each location will be used at Bethpage Black. So the hole locations for Friday’s matches will be announced Thursday night, and so forth.
“Honestly, when you look at most greens, it’s fairly clear which areas you’re going set the hole location to best challenge the best players in the world,” Haigh told Golfweek. “It’s a process. It takes two or three days for them to do it, because for the Ryder Cup there are obviously 90 hole locations (18 holes each for five sessions) to identify and put in an order that sort of makes sense and gives a balance but gives a test.
“And obviously the format matters how collectively you make it maybe more difficult for the fourball, when there are four balls in play, or do you make it more difficult in foursomes? There’s no right or wrong answer. They’ll figure out a nice mix that hopefully adds to the enjoyment of the Ryder Cup.”
The officials generally consider the length and toughness of the entire hole when choosing where the cup will go, Haigh said. And it’s not a goal of the officials to choose 18 hard hole locations for any session of matches.
“No matter what the event, it’s nice to have a balance,” he said. “I think it’s better for any setup if you have a sort of a balance with some fronts, some backs, some left, some rights, some maybe a little more open or obtainable. That’s my personal opinion, and as I say, there’s no right or wrong. But balance is something that I think players prefer.”
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