We love to “collect” special events – music festivals, Carnival, Olympics, championships in any sport, etc. When we realized that the 2018 Ryder Cup was not far from where we were our trip was taking us, we organized an excursion with some friends from the ship. First we went to play a couple of rounds at Le Bordes, an impossibly difficult track built by Baron Bich of Bic Pen fame. We had no business being there, but as one of the most exclusive clubs on the Continent, we had to try.
Then on to the final 2 days of the Ryder Cup. It was cold and windy, but the excitement of the 100,000 fans made it exhilarating. We arrived at sunrise but the bleachers were all full. We waited near the green on the first hole. For 2 hours the crowd chanted and did the wave. Then, when the first golfer addressed the ball on the fairway in front of us – the place went completely silent. I can’t describe how nervous I felt for the golfer – I can’t imagine the pressure. Sadly the U.S. did not play well, but it was a special weekend, and I’m glad we went.
We took a young friend who is an Irish PGA teaching pro and made a funny video for him to remember the event. By way of set-up. . . though I rented a house very close to the course, you couldn’t walk in. The parking pass we had for Saturday was miles away, but our Sunday pass was not. So I did a little counterfeiting job and we were all nervous that it wouldn’t work. Here’s the video (6 mins):
D & D Adventures 