[/media-credit]Suzann Pettersen of Europe celebrates on the 18th green with caddie Dave Brooker on the third day of the 2011 Solheim Cup Killeen Castle Golf Club in Ireland.
Tom Ferrell is editor-at-large for Colorado AvidGolfer magazine and is director of communications at Colorado Golf Club, host of The 2013 Solheim Cup. He reported for The Denver Post from Ireland over the weekend for the 2011 Solheim Cup. Follow his reports here.
The European chants of “Ole, Ole” have not even begun to fade as the sun sets over the Irish countryside. The Europeans have just won their first Solheim Cup matches since 2003, and with style. And though the party on the ground will last well into the night, the air is whipping the Colorado Golf Club flag above the closing ceremony, in a tangible reminder that the most exciting event in women’s golf — some might say all of golf – is coming to the Centennial state in less than two years.
I walked into the tent village at Killeen Castle outside of Dublin, Ireland, at 8 a.m. local time, a full two hours before the first final-day singles match. Already, the songs rose from grandstands surrounding the first tee, some 400 yards from away. A steady stream of fans stopped at The 2013 Solheim Cup booth, most with very specific questions. “Where should we stay? What are the best restaurants.”
It’s not “if” these fans are coming to Colorado. They are.
[/media-credit]Ryann O'Toole of the USA reacts to her third shot on the 18th hole.
Get ready to host the world, Rocky Mountain golf fans. Out-of-state and international visitors will snap up an estimated 60 percent of all tickets. And with the week’s attendance projected to top 100,000, that means you will be surrounded by thousands of Solheim-savvy pilgrims parading from Parker, touring the Tech Center and dining downtown. You are the host region, and take it from me, you don’t want to be left out of the fun.
But there are a few things you should know. The Solheim Cup is unlike any golf event ever to grace Colorado.
“The players feed off of the enthusiasm of the fans, and the fans love it,” says Kelly Hyne, vice-president of operations for the LPGA, who has worked on three Solheim Cups on American soil. “No matter how many golf tournaments you have attended, you have never attended anything like this.”
So here are a few of the things you can expect when you come out to Colorado Golf Club in August of 2013…
Early birds and their songs: The most coveted spot at any Solheim Cup is a seat at the first tee grandstand. The singing will start an hour or more before the first scheduled match. Don’t worry if you don’t know any golf cheering songs. You will hear hits such as “We All Love the European Team,” sung to the tune of “Yellow Submarine” or “The American Team Goes Birdie, Birdie, Birdie,” adapted from “The Wheels On the Bus Go ‘Round and ‘Round,” or — soon-to-be-popular in the U.S — “My Solheim Lies Over the Ocean.”
Long days — and nights: Friday and Saturday features four foursomes matches (alternate shot — again, you’ll figure it out) in the morning and four four-ball matches in the afternoon. The golf runs literally from sun-up to sundown. And the carousing afterward, with old friends and new, runs from sundown to sun-up. Sleep is for other people.
Rising stars: Golfers often try to tamp down their emotions during big events. Impossible at a Solheim Cup.
“Emotion is part of the script here,” said LPGA Hall of Fame member and two-time Solheim Cup captain Kathy Whitworth on Sunday. “The great thing is you can have these young players who haven’t ever experienced anything like this, and all of sudden the realize that this is the game and the feeling they have been looking for their entire lives, and they become great right in front of your eyes.”
[/media-credit]American fans of Christina Kim followed the Solheim Cup action in Ireland.
Accents: Lots of them. And flags of many countries. Fans and volunteers come from all of the U.S. and from most of the European countries. Tales are told of married couples who met at a Solheim Cup, and long-term friendships built around meetings at the event are commonplace. Bust out the costumes and the face paint. This is about having fun and meeting people.
BIG Cheers: The Solheim Cup features the loudest roars this side of an Augusta Sunday. If the joint gets jumping, as it did at Killeen Castle during today’s epic European surge, you’ll hear cheers that you simply have never associated with golf.
Smack-Tweeting: These are modern girls, and they aren’t afraid to let their fingers do the talking. Follow them on Twitter of Facebook for a unique and person view of the competition.
There are some who believe that golf has lost some of its old sportsmanship, gamesmanship and excitement. Those people have not experienced a Solheim Cup. What will unfold on the magnificent course at Colorado Golf Club could change your mind about a game that is often too slow and subtle for this modern world. There’s no such thing as subtle at a Solheim Cup.
The flag has already been run up the flagpole, and the Americans are already plotting revenge. Here comes The Solheim Cup.
