US Loss in the Ryder Cup: The Tip of the IceBerg

Here’s the deal. The US sucks as a team in the Ryder Cup. I think this is more systemic to the player development level. It comes down the players, not ‘team’. They have lost 5 out of the last 6 Ryder Cups, and will continue to lose unless they recognize some key facts that are unfolding in the world of Professional Golf: Namely, Europe has Player Development Figured Out, while the USGA and the PGA are failing Miserably. 5 out of the top 6 players in the world are international. The only American in that 6, Jim Furyk, has an unorthodox, ‘un-american’ swing if you well.

Europe has whole-heartedly embraced Long-Term Athletic Development. That is to say, they bet the long on athletes. They don’t force tournaments down their throats at age 6; they don’t line up thousands of kids at the Brittish Open, as we do with the Masters, and let them ‘compete’ at ages 4-5-and 6. Spare Me. They play soccer, cricket, and other sports that generate the same fundamental movements inherent in the golf swing, while cultivating balance (athletically and Psychosocialy), and avoiding what is plaguing the upper ranks of the US Professional Scene right now: Burnout and Injury (See Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Anthony Kim etc.,)

The Euros are Gamers-they know how to compete, at more than just golf. Their swings are more functionally athletic, and geared for the long term. They will continue to win, in the long term unless the PGA, USGA, and every other Developer of Jr. Talent out there takes a hard look at Long Term Athletic Development.