The 1997 Ryder Cup - Valderama, Sotogrande, Spain
The Ryder Cup has occupied an important position in golf since it was inaugurated in 1927. However, it has only been since 1995 at Oak Hill in Rochester, NY, that the attention of the general public was captured. Attending a Ryder Cup on foreign soil, as it would be in 1997, was something I had never considered until the PGA of America offered travel packages.
1997 would be the first time the Ryder Cup matches traveled to Europe. From 1927-1977, Great Britain had only won three times. Europeans were included on the British team in 1979 to make the event more competitive. It has been a big success, with Team Europe leading the series 12-9-1 since 1979 and near-crazed fans generated on both sides.
In the spring of 1997, I called my friend John Ryan and said, "Let's go to the Ryder Cup in Spain this fall." I knew nothing about the venue other than it was at Valderrama in Spain.
John is a man of the world. With an office in Madrid along with several other cities around the world, traveling nearly continuously, he was not dismissive of the idea just because of the remote location. "Let's think about it," he said. "But I like the idea."
A couple of weeks later I was in his office. "What do you think?" I said.
"I'm game. We'll get Mike Hayden, (another golf buddy of ours), to go also. Can you get tickets?"
With my friend Jim Lehman going over, as his brother Tom who was on the team, I knew tickets would not be a problem.
John took out a world atlas from his desk drawer. Only a world traveler would have a Rand McNally world map in their top desk drawer.
"So the event is in Sotogrande, Spain? Where is that?" asked John. After some searching he located it. "It's just west of Gibraltar on the very southwest tip of Spain." Gazing intently at the map he concluded, "Gibraltar looks like the closest place to stay." It would turn out to be the best decision we made.
"I have more than 1,000,000 air miles from all my travel that I will never use. I'll take care of the air travel," offered John. "I'll do some research and find a hotel for us on Gibraltar, also. You get the tickets for the event."
Shortly, the final itinerary was locked in place.
We flew to Malaga, Spain, rented a car, and drove 75 miles west to Gibraltar. Classified as a "Dependent Territory of England", Gibraltar is a peninsula jutting out from the southwest of Spain, with the Mediterranean Ocean on the east and the Bay of Gibraltar on the west. There is one road onto the peninsula from Spain. Measuring 2.6 square miles in size, there are ongoing disputes between Spain and Gibraltar. It has been a strategic naval base for England over the centuries.
After passing through an entry gate, the road crosses across a wide airport runway which services the British military. When a plane is landing or taking off, vehicle traffic is stopped until the runway has cleared. At that point, a crossing bar lifts and the vehicles proceed back and forth over the runway. It is a unique situation.
After crossing the runway, the majority of the territory of Gibraltar consists of a huge gray rock going straight up on the east side of the peninsula. Nearly the entire population of 30,000 live at the base on the west side. Gibraltar has some of the highest density of population in the world. As we drive down the crowded main street, retail stores attracting tourists choke the streets.
The military base, tourism, and financial sector development brought on by favorable tax treatment of foreign corporations, are the drivers of the economy. Banks and accounting firms are prevalent as a result of tax laws.
There are no rivers, streams or bodies of water on Gibralter. Thus aqueducts, cisterns, large concrete water catchments and desalinization plants provide water.
Although I recommend visiting Gibraltar, there is not a lot to do after viewing the rock. The 1,398 foot Rock of Gibraltar is interesting to look at but holds little more than viewing for entertainment.
As a point from which to access Valderrama, Gibraltar was perfect. Driving back out across the runway we made our way to the opening ceremony. Climbing up and away from the Mediterranean, rolling grass covered hills fed grazing cattle. It set a peaceful scene in contrast to the high-stress Ryder Cup, staged a short distance away.
Unfortunately, the story for much of the week was the weather. It rained early in the week, in the middle of the week, and late in the week.
Under a gloomy sky, the opening ceremony was difficult to appreciate. With recent Ryder Cup matches, big screen monitors and good viewing angles are the norm. However, not in 1997. We stood hundreds of yards away, straining to see and hear the introduction of the teams and the playing of the national anthems, in a ceremony which started with rain.
It was driving to attend the opening ceremony when the wisdom of our hotel location became apparent. Our trip was an easy twenty minute drive from the west, while nearly all attendees arrived from the east, staying in the Andalusian "gold coast" towns of Malaga or Marbella. From the east, choking traffic filled the two and four lane roads. Stories of two hour bus rides were common. Parking lots were a sea of mud.
We drove unimpeded into parking lots serving the light traffic from the west of Valderrama, parked, and after a brief walk were on the course.
I have been to four Ryder Cup matches, none afforded viewing like Valderrama. Normally the Ryder Cup is more a happening than an event for watching golf. 50,000 people straining to see four groups, as is the format the first two days, does not make for good viewing. However, because of the terrible weather limiting attendance and the topography of the course, viewing was excellent.
Valderrama is built on a plateau with 15 holes meandering on top and three holes at the bottom of a steep slope. Few spectators were willing to negotiate the lower part of the course. Thus, during the days with four groups on the course, front row viewing was easily obtained.
On top, viewing was far superior to what I experienced at later Ryder Cup matches. Mud reduces movement and gallery size. Rain keeps people away and inside. And there was plenty of mud and rain at Valderrama.
Valderrama is a Robert Trent Jones Course built in 1975 and owned at the time by a wealthy Spaniard, Jaime Ortiz-Patino. The fairways are nearly all lined with cork trees. Never more than 15 or 20 feet in height, a ball will not go through a cork tree, for all the branches. The bark is a soft cork, thus a ball striking a tree does not bounce away. In Robert Trent Jones style, there are 100 sand bunkers with many strung down the sides of the fairways at standard distances from the tee. It's a design that has gone out of favor today.
The story of the 1997 Ryder Cup was Seve Ballesteros, captain of the European team. Standing next to the seventh green, Mike, John and I were engrossed in play. Suddenly up from behind raced Seve in his race track fast golf cart. The crowd parted and Seve walked out on the green to coach his players. It happened time and time again. Seve was very visible and willed his team to win. He set the course up to favor his players, choking down the width of the fairways and installing cross fairway rough, forcing the long hitting US players to abandon the driver. The contrast to the invisible US Captain, Tom Kite was stark. Seve was everywhere, while we never saw Kite.
Our hotel was three stories of Spanish design with Moroccan influence, with small ceramic tiles on the floors and walls. As we admired the architecture Friday morning, waiting for Mike to arrive, we noticed a playbill advertising Jose Carreras in concert, Saturday night, just a block from our hotel. At the time Carreras was considered one of the four great tenors in the world.
"Let's go!" said John, who then bought three front row seats.
Rain fell intermittently for the next two days. Not enough to stop play, but more than enough to get wet and create a sea of mud for the spectators.
Europe enjoyed a comfortable 10 1/2 - 5 1/2 lead by Saturday night, as we raced back from the soaking day, looking like losers in a mud fight. We took our seats front and center, row one, just as the performance started. All the muckety mucks from Gibraltar, dressed to the hilt in tuxedos and gowns, were there. It was the social event of the year, the Ryder Cup being held just down the road.
The five foot high elevated stage, built outside for the show, covered two singers and five backup musicians. Shortly, lightning streaked and crashed across the sky. Thunder boomed, rain fell and Jose Carreras sang "Ave Maria" through it all. While the entertainers were covered, the audience was not. Intermission could not come soon enough. We filed down a covered walkway behind the stage to a VIP area. Completely out of place in mud covered pants and shoes and not having eaten for eight hours, we plundered the tapas served. Soaking wet patrons sipped champagne. Pretending all was well, we chatted with the finest of Gibraltar.
It was an outstanding performance by Carreras accompanied by a female soprano Mariella Davia. It was a concert I will never forget. After two hours of concert, we trudged back to the hotel to clean up and prepare for the final day of the Ryder Cup.
The miracle the US Team needed in order to overcome the significant two day deficit was not to be. With better weather and the European lead, crowds were large. Traffic continued to be snarled and we heard stories of arriving back at hotels late in the evening, following play on previous days. Despite a brave effort, the final ended 14 1/2-13 1/2 in favor of Europe. It was a win for Seve who would not let his team lose on his home soil. Colin Montgomery, Jose Maria Olazabal and Bernhard Langer were the stars for Europe, while Davis Love and Tiger Woods were the big losers for the US Team, going a combined 1-7-1.
We flew to Lisbon, Portugal for two days of golf at Ponta Longa Resort and came home. It was a great experience that would not have been possible without my dear friend, John Ryan. Gibraltar and Valderamma, in the Andalusian territory of Spain, provided wonderful memories in A Life In Golf.
