Glenmore Heritage Valley GC hosted its own version of the Ryder Cup recently, played amongst Veteran members of the Club on consecutive Tuesdays.

Played along the lines of the genuine Ryder Cup, Day 1 featured both Foursomes and Four-Ball competitions, whilst Day 2 featured Singles competition.

The Glenmore version of the Ryder Cup was the brainchild of Lady member Sarah Dean, who was inspired after watching the brilliant Ryder Cup series in 2018.

Sarah was hoping to provide ‘something different’ to the Glenmore, with a view to running the event annually to create a bit of fun with their members, as well as being competitive.

Forty-four players signed up for the event, with the respective team Captains/Managers of both ‘Australia’ and ‘The Rest of the World’ putting their pairs together in match order from one to eleven.

Neither team knew the make-up of the opposition, with the match-ups subsequently proving a surprise to all and part of the fun, as did the singles pairings the following week.

All the Glenmore members got into the spirit of the tournament, dressing up in their respective team colours, with green and gold for the Australian team and red, white and blue for the Rest of the World.

All members and staff joined in the occasion, with flags, both large and small, prominent everywhere on the course, but especially around the Pro Shop and Clubhouse.

Malcolm Dean undertook the role of Official Starter, announcing each match in turn on the 1st tee between 7:00am and 8:30am.

Australia had a strong upper hand at the end of Day 1, winning the Foursomes 4-0 and the Four-Ball 6-1 for a 10-1 lead.

The Rest of the World had a stronger showing on Day 2 in the Singles event, but still succumbed 12-10 to give Australia overall success with a 22-11 victory.

The successful Australian team were awarded their version of the inaugural Ryder Cup, along with balls and a marker for each player, whilst members of the losing team each won a ball.

A total of forty-nine players took part during the two weeks and in many cases, partnered people they had never played with or in some situations had even seen before, so the event became a great opportunity for members to get to know more people within their Vets community.

With wives and husbands also playing in opposing teams in some instances, the event continued to create fun both on and off the course.

Following the huge popularity and positive feedback, the Glenmore version of the Ryder Cup has now been confirmed as a regular event on the Glenmore Heritage Valley GC calendar.