The Economist: What this year’s Ryder Cup says about America’s duffers

Key topics:Ryder Cup returns Sept 26 at Bethpage, a public Long Island courseMunicipal golf booms post-Covid, drawing diverse new players nationwideCity-run courses thrive, with free lessons and strong financial health.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..From The Economist, published under licence. The original article can be found on www.economist.com© 2025 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved..The Economist.Many of the world’s best golfers will tee off on September 26th in suburban New York to compete for the Ryder Cup, a team event pitting Europe against America where the prize is not money but continental bragging rights and a shot at individual glory (or embarrassing failure) under intense pressure. The biennial competition has become a huge attraction, drawing raucous crowds unburdened by the sport’s expectations of decorum.When America hosts the competition, it is usually played at exclusive private clubs, some with six-figure initial membership fees, such as Medinah, outside Chicago, and Oakland Hills, near Detroit. This year’s competition, however, will be at a public venue: Bethpage, in a state park on Long Island.Anyone can play there, and New York residents pay just $80 for a weekend round of 18 holes on the famous Black Course, where the pros compete. A sign seeks to deter duffers: “WARNING The Black Course is an Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only for Highly Skilled Golfers”..Read more:.Why the ‘superior’ US team only won 36% of Ryder Cup matches since 1995.American golfers play increasingly at government-owned courses. New York City, which is about half an hour’s drive from Bethpage, has 14 city-owned links. The oldest municipal golf course in America is Van Cortlandt in the Bronx, which became a model for other cities. Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, two baseball legends, often played there. Today many golfers, bags slung on shoulders, arrive at “Vanny”, as locals call it, on the subway.Municipal-course golfers come from all demographic and income brackets, says David Cerron of New York City’s parks department. Since the pandemic, says Chris Ryan, Vanny’s manager, the course is attracting more women, young golfers and ethnic minorities. The idea that all golfers are middle-aged white men is an outdated cliché.Covid-19 was “a fantastic catalyst for recreational golf”, says Greg Nathan of the National Golf Foundation (NGF), a consultancy. The pandemic brought new and former golfers to the links, particularly municipal facilities. This has lifted municipal courses’ finances. Before covid some cities had to subsidise their courses. Now many are in excellent financial health. “It could be, today, golf is in the best place that golf has ever been in America,” says Mr Nathan. Tee sheets are full.The past decade has brought a net gain of more than 100 municipal golf facilities, according to the NGF. New York City’s are privately managed and provide free lessons to local children. It helps, says Jason Zaretsky, an executive in the system, that “golf has definitely become a lot cooler”.

The Economist: What this year’s Ryder Cup says about America’s duffers

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