The Ryder Cup is back on European soil next year, as Team Europe look to win their third straight against Team USA.
Ireland’s Adare Manor will be the host of the 2027 event for the very first time, and preparations have already begun on both sides.
Luke Donald, Europe’s captain looking to become the first to win three Ryder Cups in a row, was seen scouting the golf course before Team USA had even announced their captain. And now Jim Furyk, the American captain, has responded with a trip to Ireland of his own.
And on their visit to Ireland, Team USA have noticed something significant about Adare Manor which could give them an edge next September.
Team USA think Adare Manor feels like an American golf course
On their trip to Adare Manor, Team USA noticed two distinct things about the golf course. Firstly, the greens are vast, giving Europe plenty of options for their setup of the golf course when the Ryder Cup is underway.
Secondly, it feels very close to what the Americans are used to back at home, which gives them an edge in preparing for the event.
Justin Ray is the head of analytics for Team USA, and he said on Golf Live with Trey Wingo, “I think one thing, look, I’ve done a ton of looking at the golf course from afar as much as I possibly could before I got here. The sheer size of the putting greens, there are several that are 50, 60 yards deep.
“It gives you so many different places you can put pins that hole distances change wildly. So, they can change by 40, 50, 60 yards based on the tee and the green depth. And I knew that about the tee boxes. You can move tees up or back. But the sheer depth of the greens is something that’s really interesting to me.
“And from a strategic standpoint, I think that’s something we’ll be thinking about when it comes to ratcheting back down on if you’re thinking of other factors with player abilities. It’s something we’ll have to take into consideration when we make some of these decisions about who goes where and putting these guys in the best position to be successful.
Ray continued, “It feels very American. That’s kind of the feel when I got out there. I think it’s incredibly nice, by the way, and you expect nothing less from something made by JP McManus, and there’s an incredible, ornate old castle and things they’ve built on.
“But you walk around the golf course and the practice facilities, and it doesn’t feel like an Open Championship venue or anything like that. It feels like this feels like it could be in Texas or California or Florida.
“Now today it was a little bit cooler, and we got a little bit more of some Irish air here than we had yesterday. So, it was not quite Texas air, but you could see this golf course at a lot of places in the United States. So, I think folks can be really interested to see it.
“There’s a lot of unique shotmaking opportunities, and it’s going to be a great venue, and I can’t wait to get out here and get that W.”
Adare Manor isn’t far from what the Americans have been playing their entire lives, so that gives them an edge going into a road Ryder Cup, where everything is stacked against them. And they’ll need all the help they can get to avoid losing for a third straight time.
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