Hope you made it & had a cracking time Munichred.
Well done to Europe!
I did indeed make it and have a cracking time
(For those not interested in a tedious travelogue, skip to the last paragraph)
A great performance by Europe and USA did well to come back on the Sunday. I watched the Friday morning matches at home, followed the other Friday/Saturday matches online. We had to get up 6am on the Sunday and got to the course around 9. Very well organised train and shuttle buses.
The fan village was enormous. Bought a Ryder Cup pitchmark repairer, although the way I'm playing atm it won't get much use... Had a go at a couple of putting competitions, my mate Chris had the top score of the day on a chipping contest. Made our way to the 5th green, the stands were mostly already full. Loads of viewing spots and big screens around. Lots of banter from various Europ/USA fans and some very inventive costumes/suits. Several groups dressed as gladiators but the prize went to three USA fans "riding" Stars and Stripes blow-up dinosaurs. (think of Bernie Clifton and his ostrich). Waiting for a couple of hours in 28 degrees or the first pairs was alleviated by a couple of beers. There were ample big Food and Drink hubs around the course, catering for most tastes. Must say the fish and chips was the best I've eaten outside of the UK, proper soggyish chips and a big piece of cod.
We watched the first 8 or 9 matches come through then changed to a spot right next to the 9th green. Saw Tommy Fleetwood hole a bunker shot
Then moved to watch the 16th green but impossible to get close. For the last hour we were by the 17th green. Amongst others, Curtis Strange and his wife were sat on the grass just in front of me, albeit inside the ropes. She was wearing the biggest ladies watch I've ever seen. So we were there when the Cup was secured and when a lot of fans jumped into the water. We eventually went on the green to take the obligatory close-up photos of the hole. It was difficult to tell if the grass was real, more like very fine Astroturf. The fairway was also like a carpet.
Those watching on TV would have seen a lot more action than those on the course but the atmosphere and "being there" was great!
We were in Rome Friday evening-Monday evening and saw a bit of the city. A three hour Colosseum tour on Saturday and 3 hour Bike Tour on Monday. Beautiful city with an amazing histoty. Lots of bars, restaurants, Irish pubs, narrow cobbled streets. Too many tourists... Well worth visiting.
On the flight back I was sat next to a guy from Wolverhampton who had been with a group of mates on an organised package tour and was flying from Munich on to Birmingham. It turned out we had both been in the crowd when Wolves beat us in the 1980 League Cup semi final. As all Town fans who were there, he remembered the incident when the Wolves goalie, Paul Bradshaw, took out Alan Mayes mid-air to give us a penalty. A definate VAR red card nowadays. According to the Wolves fan, the last he heard of Paul Bradshaw was that he was "on the streets".
