The Ryder Cup is good. We love it. But, it could be better.
Match play is a huge green tick in the box. We like match play.
We also like the Europe-USA rivalry that has bubbled since 1979. That can stay. It has produced drama and, most importantly, great golf.
12 on 12 is good, too. We’ve found a happy place in the format, as far as NCG is concerned. Six automatic qualifiers, and six picks from each captain. We’ll meet you at that.
But now it’s time for the fun, and the areas that are(n’t) broken that we’d like to fix.
How many of the Ryder Cup changes below do you agree with, if any at all? What changes would you like to make to the Ryder Cup?
ALSO: Will the rowdy New York galleries ruin the Ryder Cup?
11 Ryder Cup changes
It needs to be longer
You can’t have too much of a good thing. Here we all are, salivating at the prospect of golf’s greatest show, hungry for it to begin as soon as it finishes.
Start on Thursday with some greensomes, hell start on Wednesday with a 12-man Scramble. More is always more. Let’s squeeze out another day or two.
Or, wait for it, keep it at three days and just no fourballs. We can discuss this one on Teams next Tuesday.
It should be every year
Two years is too long to wait for the best players to compete in the best format. You’ve taken away our calendar match play event, so give us the Ryder Cup every year. Now.
Play until the 18th hole in each match
Stop matches finishing in funny places and give the massed hordes on 18 what they want with matches all played to the 18th green.
Rather than points, the result can be on total holes up or down at the end. At $750 a ticket, the least you can expect is every hole being played. Football matches don’t end at 60 minutes just because someone is 4-0 up.
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Make it free to watch
Wimbledon is free to watch, and that lasts several weeks, as does the Olympics. The Grand National doesn’t charge you a penny – that is another crown jewel deemed unmissable by the UK’s broadcasting behemoths.
So why not the Ryder Cup? The Open and the Masters have been covered by the paywall. We want our golf back.
Use a neutral venue
Something doesn’t sit right about the home team’s right to manipulate the golf course in their favour at a Ryder Cup.
A neutral venue out of everyone’s control would be the perfect antidote. Pick one from the LIV Golf schedule, if you want. Maybe Phil Mickelson could be captain after all.
ALSO: Ryder Cup Power Rankings 2025
Reveal pairs to each other
This would be great. The US could reveal their first pairing, then Europe fires back based on that announcement.
It would be great entertainment and invite the ultimate test of strategy and needle. Bryson is out first, is he? Rory, you’re up.
Remove the ‘quiet please’ signs
Many might think the Ryder Cup maintains a degree of decorum and order, but it doesn’t. The fans are rowdy and behave completely differently from a run-of-the-mill event.
Fans at Bethpage aren’t going to pay attention to a thankless marshall timidly lifting a sign, begging for silence. Sure, kick out the idiots, but let the noise reign Poulter and Bubba-style in 2012.
Cut the ticket capacity in half
Too many people attend Ryder Cups. Too many people attend Open Championships, but at least there is golf to be watched on every hole. Cut the numbers.
Better still, double the numbers if we’re extending the matches down 18. Maybe another one for Teams next Tuesday.
Everyone should get paid
‘Professional golfers are gazillionaires. They have enough’
But they get paid every other week. Given that the Ryder Cup has become a financial monster for pretty much everyone else to benefit from, why can’t the players?
ALSO: What are your best match play tactics?
Make it a mixed event
We always call for the Presidents Cup to become mixed, but why not the Ryder Cup?
How great would it be to see Rory and Charley play together against Bryson and Nelly? What more could you want? Why am I asking so many questions?
Ban LIV Golfers
They made their bed, so lie in it. Take the money and play elsewhere, or stay on the established tours and play in established tournaments.
The Matt Wallaces of this world might yet get their Ryder Cup dream.
NOW READ: Of course Ryder Cup players should be paid. As professional sportsmen, it’s their job
What do you make of these 10 Ryder Cup changes? Do you think the Ryder Cup format needs to be refreshed? Tell us on X!
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