Sustainability Spotlight - The 43rd Ryder Cup @ Whistling Straits
The par-3 7th hole is appropriately named ‘Shipwreck’. Photo courtesy of Kohler.
Nothing stokes the fire within a sports fan’s heart more than playing against a rival, where every aspect of the game is magnified by the added desire to not just win, but to beat the snot out of your opponent. For this edition of the Sustainability Spotlight, we turn our attention to focus on the sustainability issues involved in golf’s biggest rivalry, the Ryder Cup.
Held every two years, the Ryder Cup is a team match play competition that pits the best American and European golfers against each other. Each side alternates hosting the competition and this year that responsibility falls on the shoulders of Americans and the host organization, the PGA of America. Hosted at the famed Whistling Straits Golf Course in Kohler, Wisconsin, the competition runs from Friday, September 24 - Sunday, September 26.
The Ryder Cup’s Origins Rooted in Social Impact
The Ryder Cup is named after Samuel Ryder, an Englishman born in the late 1850’s. The son of a gardener, Ryder made his living as an entrepreneur in St. Albans, England, where he successfully started a mail-order seed business that helped low-income families gain access to a commodity that allowed for the widespread creation and cultivation of backyard gardens, which provided food to needy communities.
Samuel Ryder (left) presents the trophy to winning captain, Great Britain's George Duncan at Moortown in Leeds in 1929. Credit: Getty
Beyond his entrepreneurial enterprises, Ryder dedicated much of his life to public service, serving as the mayor and Justice of the Peace for St. Albans and supporting charities that benefited the poor, the elderly and veterans of World War I.
Ryder was introduced to golf around the turn of the century as a healthy, recreational escape from the many pursuits of his career. He immediately fell in love with golf and picked up the game rather quickly, becoming captain of Verulam Golf Club within two years. Through his interactions with the local golf professional that gave him lessons, Ryder came to understand the many financial hardships golf professionals faced at the time.
By 1923, Samuel and his brother James started a series of professional golf tournaments in which they paid golfers to play in their tournaments, becoming the first to compensate for appearances. They also named the first tournament after their business, Heath & Heather, because they foresaw the promotional potential assigned naming rights would have on their business.
Around the same time, golf was sweeping through the United States. Backed by wealthy financiers, American professional golfers traveled overseas to compete in tournaments and to the dismay of many Britains, including Ryder, routinely won. Ryder again called upon his entrepreneurial inspiration and dreamed up a competition that would “rouse the golfing community”, build interest in developing young British golfing talent and challenge the Americans for golfing dominance. By 1927, the Ryder Cup trophy was commissioned, just in time for the first Ryder Cup competition, which the United States won.
Today, Samuel Ryder’s name lives on in his foundation which aims to raise awareness of his achievements in business, horticulture, public service, philanthropy and sport. The Foundation is focusing their efforts on:
Promoting golf and other sports to improve their skills and motivation.
Supporting skill and learning of young people through greenkeeping courses and apprenticeships.
Supporting young people through courses in horticultural research and practice.
PGA of America vs. European Tour
The Ryder Cup is managed by two governing golf bodies, the PGA of America and the European Tour. Here is some recent news from each governing body and the social and environmental steps they are taking to strengthen golf’s sustainability portfolio.
PGA of America: Several years ago PGA REACH, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America, created PGA WORKS, a strategic initiative designed to diversify the golf industry’s workforce through fellowships, scholarships and career exploration events.
Leading into the Ryder Cup, PGA REACH and the Wisconsin Section PGA utilized the PGA WORKS Beyond the Green career event platform to showcase employment opportunities, program support and behind-the-scenes views of Ryder Cup tournament operations for MKE Fellows, a Milwaukee based initiative whose primary goal is to create a strong pipeline of young, male African American college graduates who will excel in their careers and become civic and social leaders in the greater Milwaukee area.
The Beyond the Green program is specifically designed for high school and college students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds that are interested in careers in the golf industry. The success of this program is based on opening doors to young people who would never consider a career in golf and showing them the industry’s many entry career points.
European Tour: Earlier this summer on World Environment Day (June 5, 2021), the European Tour launched their Green Drive sustainability initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to showcase the various European Tour events as beacons of social and environmental responsibility in the communities that host them.
The Green Drive was developed under the European Tour’s Corporate Social Responsibility program, Golf for Good, which was launched last summer amid the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Implementation of the Green Drive will encompass all aspects of the Tour’s business up to and including operations, partnerships, technology tournaments, TV production and venue construction.
With the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf offering their guidance and expertise, the Green Drive’s priority issues include fostering nature, conserving resources, social responsibility and value and climate action.
Driving the Green Take:
We fully applaud the PGA of America’s efforts to diversify their membership and grow the game of golf through strategic partnerships with urban and community organizations. However, we would like to see a fully integrated employment and education platform that provides their 28,000+ members across 15,000 facilities with the tools needed to face the many climate challenges that lie ahead. This vast inventory of decision makers and change agents provides the PGA of America with the capacity to make the American golf industry the leader in climate action. The PGA of America must recognize that social justice and environmental justice are inextricably linked together. If they desire a workforce that better represents the diversity of our country, then ambitious investment must be made to amplify the economic, environmental and social power golf has to rebuild our disadvantaged communities and regenerate vital ecosystems.
Kohler Co. Seeks to Expand Golf Course Portfolio to Sheboygan County
Kohler Co., maker of plumbing fixtures and manager of high-end Wisconsin-based resorts and golf destinations like Whistling Straits, is currently wrapped up in a legal battle over the development of 468 acres of land along the Lake Michigan shoreline that it hopes to turn into a public-access golf course. Over half the land was donated and is now the Kohler-Andrae State Park. Kohler purchased the land in the 1930’s and claims that once open for business, the golf course will create 227 new jobs and generate $20.6 million in economic impact for Sheboygan County.
As of June 1st, a Sheboygan County judge dismissed Kohler’s lawsuit that sought to preserve a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permit to fill 3.7 acres of wetlands located on the property. Here is a summary of findings leading up to the most recent decision:
Archeologists discovered human remains of Native Americans from over 2,000 years ago while recovering thousands of artifacts during a study required under federal historic preservation law. The archeologist in charge of the excavation doesn’t anticipate filing their report until 2023.
The eroding Lake Michigan shoreline threatens portions of the proposed course routing potentially leaving portions of the course under water. Any routing redesign would likely require portions of the permitting process to start over.
Kohler-Andrae State Park, which lies directly south of the proposed golf course, is Wisconsin’s fourth most popular state park. The state park and the proposed site for the golf course are both home to a fragile ecosystem that consists of dunal and ridge-and-swale wetlands considered to be among the rarest ecosystems in the state. Thousands of migratory birds along with established resident species, including 11 endangered and threatened species, are at risk of losing valuable habitat as development plans call for nearly 50% of the trees and shrubs on the property to be razed.
Driving the Green Take:
There are always two sides to the story and trying to weed out each party's inherent bias as to what should happen to the land is complicated. Given that Kohler already manages two high-end 36-hole golf resorts in the area, it’s hard to justify that the development of a third public-access golf facility will grow the game of golf especially when it costs roughly $400 to play a round of golf at their other facilities. To us, the optimal decision is to leave the land alone and give the remaining 250 acres to the Kohler-Andrae State Park for permanent preservation. However, because it is private land, the owner’s seemingly have the ability to do what they want with the land under the parameters of the law. If the only two options are build a golf course or sell the land to commercial developers then the obvious choice is the golf course because that will at least support some of the established ecosystem. Either way, this is a prime example of the struggle the golf industry faces with environmental organizations that see the sport as detrimental to the environment.
Ryder Cup Schedule of Events and What to Watch For
After decades of American dominance in which they won 25 of the first 30 Ryder Cups, the Europeans have captured 9 of the last 12 meetings to bring the tournament's record to 26 wins for the Americans, 14 wins for the Europeans and two ties.
Each team features 12 players, of which some qualified for their respective teams based on their performance over the past two years while the rest are chosen by each squad’s team captain.
Each match played is worth 1 point and there are 28 total points available. Since Europe won the 2018 Ryder Cup, they will only need 14 points to retain the Cup (ties favor the reigning champs). The Americans will need to secure 14 ½ points to win back the Ryder Cup.
Formats and Broadcast Times:
*NBC, Golf Channel and Peacock are the broadcast home for the Ryder Cup.
Friday, September 24 - 8 Points Available
Morning Matches: Four (4) Foursome (Alternate Shot) Matches
Afternoon Matches: Four (4) Fourball (Best Ball) Matches
Broadcast times - 8AM-7PM ET on Golf Channel
Saturday, September 25 - 8 Points Available
Morning Matches: Four (4) Foursome Matches
Afternoon Matches: Four (4) Fourball Matches
Broadcast times - 8AM-9AM on Golf Channel, 9AM-7PM on NBC
Sunday, September 26 - 12 Points Available
Singles Matches: 12 Individual, Head-to-Head Matches
Broadcast times - 12PM-6PM on NBC
Team USA:
All 12 members of the American squad are inside the top 21 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings and half of them have won at least one major. Additionally, eight of the 12 ranked inside the top 50 in driving distance on the PGA Tour last season adding to Captain Steve Stricker’s emphasis on building a team around the long ball.
Captain & Vice Captains: Steve Stricker (C), Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson.
Players: Daniel Berger*, Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English*, Tony Finau*, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele*, Scottie Scheffler*, Jordan Spieth* and Justin Thomas (* denotes Captain’s selection).
Team Europe:
Team Europe is full of cagey veterans of which Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter have played in 9 and 7 Ryder Cups, respectively. Both selected as Captain’s picks, Garcia is Europe’s all-time points scorer and Poulter has never lost a final day singles match in his previous 6 Ryder Cups. Only five of the 12 European players are inside the top 30 Official World Golf Rankings while four are in the top 50 in driving distance on the PGA Tour last season.
Captain & Vice Captains: Padraig Harrington (C), Luke Donald, Robert Karlsson, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell.
Players: Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia*, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry*, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter*, Jon Rahm, Bernd Wiesberger and Lee Westwood (*denotes Captain’s selection).
Driving the Green’s Ryder Cup Pick:
It breaks my heart to say it but Team Europe retains the Cup by the narrowest of margins with a 14-14 tie. Despite Team USA’s distance advantage off the tee, windy conditions, turmoil in the locker room and missed putts down the stretch in the single’s matches doom Team USA. The location of Whistling Straits and how much it resembles the classic coastal U.K. links courses help the Europeans feel right at home.
Leave us a comment with your predictions!
