Plus: A Screencaps report on Friday at the Ryder Cup.
Friday will go down as one of the best sporting event environments I’ve ever been to, but it’s time to get home
Better than the Super Bowl? It’s not even a debate. Yes.
Better than college football tailgating in the South? Yes.
Better than the World Series? Of course, and I haven’t been to the World Series since I was a kid.
Better than The Masters? In its own way.
The Ryder Cup not only lived up to the hype, it exceeded my expectations to the point where it pained me to experience it without the text group.
Maybe it was the course. Bethpage was the perfect backdrop for what I’m seeking out of an ultimate in-person fan experience. It’s like the Woodstock of Golf.
People passed out from the heat and the booze. People trudging through forests to bypass holes or escape the massive crowds. I joined multiple groups who created their own paths through the woods on the front nine all the way to the back corner of the property where Bethpage is poorly fenced off.
Anyone with a little bit of knowledge of the horse trails could’ve easily jumped fences and helped themselves to a day at the Ryder Cup.
In fact, at the No. 7 tee box, as I was talking to a family who lived down the street who walked up one of the horse trails to get a look at the golfers teeing off, a guy probably in his 30s came up to me and asked where the nearest exit was located.
I had no idea.
The lady I was talking to pointed down the horse trail and said it wasn’t too far to the nearest Uber lot.
The Millennial, who definitely wasn’t local, proceeded to take a look at the ancient eight-foot fence and jumped it — to go home. It was 2:20 in the afternoon. The matches were just heating up. The first afternoon group had just arrived at the hole.
The Ryder Cup, on Friday, was a certified circus. And I loved every minute of it.
10 minutes before the Millennial jumped the fence, I was along the rope on the No. 6 fairway when a golf cart pulls up. Michael Jordan got out with his security and watched the first afternoon groups – Scheffler & Spaun vs. Rahm and Straka — hit their short approach shots.
MJ, smoking a cigar, was an arm-length away from me.
Surreal. Out of body. Adult playground. Golf’s Woodstock.
OUTKICK: DONALD TRUMP PROTECTED BY HEAVY SECRET SERVICE ARTILLERY AT RYDER CUP
Quick hitters:
- I could’ve gone back to Bethpage today, but like I wrote in the headline above, there are moments you should just cherish and not try to duplicate. Plus, getting to/from the course from the media hotel at JFK was simply not easy.We’re talking one hour AND 45 minutes to go 24 miles. I heard horror stories of some people who spent three hours on buses from JFK hotels to Bethpage.I may have seen a few holes of action today before the stress of going 24 miles.
- I overheard one guy say he spent $300 on an Uber to get to the course due to surge pricing.
- Beer sales started at 9 a.m. I’m told it’s a course rule.
- I raw dogged the Ryder Cup. Not a single beer. Yes, I was on a media credential and there’s decorum that comes with that, but the media room had a cooler fully stocked with beers and there were Big Js in there partaking in cold ones throughout the day. I was actually surprised the media tent would have beer. I’d never seen that. Maybe it’s a golf thing.
- As you walk Bethpage, you get to see the other courses in the park. The other courses feel like munis in Ohio with bunkers that need work. It was a nice feeling to see that one of the world’s biggest sporting events can be held on the grounds of a place with a few warts.It’s also nice that Bethpage stays true to itself. There’s a crumbling short, old brick wall on top of the tunnel separating No. 1 and No. 2 that wasn’t replaced for the Ryder Cup.Augusta National would’ve ripped out those bricks a long time ago. Bethpage felt raw and it was appreciated. At one point along the walk somewhere around No. 12, there’s an area you walk through where the grounds crew has a garden where roses and other plants are being grown. It’s like walking through someone’s back yard.That’s Bethpage.
- This is a golf cart rental barn on the grounds just off the clubhouse.
- My buddy and past canoe partner on wild trips, One Leg Bell, had a helluva spot for the afternoon tee shots on No. 1. He did get to shake Trump’s hand.
There are so many more memories, sunrise photos, fun costumes and content to go, but I have a 7:22 a.m. flight to catch, and it’s 6:29.
I’m going to jump on this flight, get home and get back to life as a father of two. I might even be able to catch a cross country race if this plane gets back in time.
Have an incredible weekend. Enjoy the huge college football games and the golf. We might need a miracle on the golf side.
Email: joe.kinsey@outkick.com or use my personal Gmail
