Opinion & Analysis
Ryder Cup Heroes and Villains: The Gleneagles Story
It was September 26, 2014, and the time was 6:20 a.m. on the first tee of the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles. Three thousand expectant faces peered through the concoction of dark and camera lights, with at least another 20,000 lining the first fairway. Literally caught in those camera lights, the man of the moment stood trembling, anxiously waiting for the starter to call out his name. In this instance, however, it was not Ivor Robson calling the shots. The producer of BBC Radio’s 5 live Breakfast put the thumbs up and after years on various American mini tours, the hard hours in the pro shop, many a media training and a very early alarm call, Andrew Jowett, head golf professional at Gleneagles, was good to go.
Andrew Jowett, head professional at Gleneagles.
Frivolous this may be, but talking to Andrew almost exactly two years since that day, he says he “genuinely felt a sense of what the 24 Ryder Cup players were about to experience.” As it happened, Andrew dealt beautifully with the pressure and successfully completed one of more than 20 interviews that he undertook during Ryder Cup week.
Understandably, Andrew considers that week the highlight of his working career. At the time, he was in his ninth year at the world-famous golf resort and had progressed from picking up balls on the range to become only the ninth ever head golf professional at Gleneagles.
“Standing on that first tee, with all the fans, all the expectation and after years of hard work, it was an emotional and nerve-wracking moment,” he said. He went on to pinpoint Webb Simpson’s 150-yard lob with a 3-wood as a case in point as to how the Ryder Cup can be a “leveller.”
Tom Watson was captain of the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
“There is nothing quite like the first tee of a Ryder Cup,” he said, and he betrays a slight glee and relish about Simpson barely making the fairway. It is important to add that the USA halved that hole, with Bubba Watson sniggering to Simpson about his shot, but they would lose resoundingly to Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.
Europe convincingly, and some might say predictably, went on to defeat the USA 16.5 to 11.5. Far from the drama of the “Miracle of Medinah,” it was a Ryder Cup to remember for the perfect staging, the immaculate golf course, the warmth of the Scottish crowd and a setting to beat all others. Plaudits included visiting Vice Captain Andy North suggesting Gleneagles should always be the host venue in Europe.
As a Scotland resident, Andrew is quick to thank the weather for playing ball. “About five minutes after that interview finished, the sun rose over the Ochils and the stage was well and truly set,” he said.
Some 250,000 spectators from 96 countries attended the event, 30,600 cars were parked, over 50,000 rail journeys were taken, more than 2,000 media were present and the Ryder Cup was mentioned in 500,000 tweets.
What pressure?
Andrew is a born-and-bred Mancunian who learned his trade from the ex-tour professional Denis Durnian. On joining Gleneagles, he never imagined having such an involvement in the sport’s biggest spectacle.
“The close proximity to the world’s best players was an absolute treat,” he said. “We were like kids in a candy shop. My team of professionals was positioned on the driving range, so the contact we had with the players and the exposure to their level of professionalism was second to none. I have always understood the different levels of player, but seeing it at such an event, at a place you know so well, having had so much involvement in the staging, it was brilliant.”
Andrew mentions that this was the same for all of the golf staff, including the 80 greenkeepers who formed a particularly strong and unique bond with the players.
“So much rides on the matches, there is so much focus on the players, yet somehow the atmosphere is fun and friendly,” he said. “Over 500 million homes watched on TV, 250,000 on the course, yet there was still time for a group photo with a stray dog.”
I asked Andrew if he thought the absence of Tiger Woods had any impact, whether negative or positive, on the week. “Yes, of course it would have been great for him to be there, but the event is bigger than one person,” he said. “His form wasn’t good enough, so it was right that he wasn’t picked.” An interesting comment considering the seventh-ranked player in the world, Bubba Watson, was not picked this year. Along with Woods, Bubba will watch the action with an earpiece and a golf cart. As cheerleaders go, they are probably the best paid in sporting history.
“I think this year the USA is as focused on success as they have been for some time,” Andrew said. “Of course they should have won at Medinah, but that was something that will never happen in the event again. I think the event needs a close contest, in fact from a USA perspective it needs a win!”
Sky Sports had interviewed Andrew the morning after the Miracle of Medinah, when all eyes turned to Gleneagles and Scotland. “It was a little surreal,” he said. “The interview was on the very spot I was interviewed in 2014 by the BBC and there were only three of us. Having had such drama the previous night, I didn’t quite know what the future would hold for the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. It seemed a long way off.”
Gleneagles was awarded the 2013 Ryder Cup in 2001, having originally bid for the 2009 event that Celtic Manor won. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the event was postponed by a year, so 2014 became Gleneagles’ year.
“I joined in 2006, so the planning was already five years down the line,” he said. “Fortunately for me, I was part of the PGA Centenary redesign process with Jack Nicklaus. Watching the course mature, develop and blossom was confidence-building. Gleneagles held a European Tour event each year, so with the pros’ feedback, the refinement of Jack Nicklaus and the passion of Scott Fenwick, our estate manager, the result was a massive success. We won over the doubters.”
Prior to the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, skeptics questioned why the Ryder Cup should be played on what was called an “American layout,” allegedly turning its back on the true courses of the home of golf. One of the chief protagonists was this year’s European captain Darren Clarke, who said: “It’s beyond my comprehension they’ve chosen to have the Ryder Cup on this course.” Interestingly, Andrew is not critical of these comments, but praises the various stakeholders who agreed to soften the PGA Centenary, bringing it in line with its sister courses the King’s and Queen’s, while still appreciating that the course had to host the third most-watched sporting event in the world.
“I don’t think the scale of the organization and operation is understood,” Andrew said. “The logistics involved to get that many people in place to watch four fourball matches is mind-boggling. And, you know what, we did!”
So what was done to specifically tailor the course in favor of the Europeans, as there is a lot of talk about how Davis Love III will set up Hazeltine?
“Scott Fenwick and head greenkeeper Steve Chappell worked closely with Paul McGinley – Europe’s 2014 captain – to present a European Tour-like course. It might have slightly favored the Europeans, as they had played events on it on more than one occasion, but professionals can adapt.”
Head greenkeeper, Chappell, said in a recent interview that Hazeltine will not benefit one team or the other, mainly due to the amount of golf the European team has played on the PGA Tour.
All Ryder Cups have a hero and a villain, so amid the perfect conditions, what was the 2014 Ryder Cup famous for? There were, of course, the Phil Mickelson vs. Tom Watson rumors, the emergence of the Task Force, no Spieth/Reed for the Friday foursomes, Spieth’s capitulation against McDowell, Patrick Reed’s shushing, the deer careering across the fairways and the post-Indy Ref fallout, but by and large Gleneagles staged one of the most successful Ryder Cups ever.
And who will be the hero and villain in 2016?
“It’s going to be close, but I think Europe will sneak it by a point or two,” Andrew said, smiling. “I was there when Sergio hit his rescue on (hole) 18 to 15 feet to halve his foursomes match on Friday afternoon. I know that shot and I know it’s impossible. I don’t think he would have hit that shot that well on any stage other than the Ryder Cup. His partner that day was Rory and I am confident that he will be the talisman. His form is back, $13 million back and despite his youthful comments he now knows what the Ryder Cup is all about. It’s under his skin.”
But it’s not all about Europe. Who will shine for the USA?
“In 2010, Jordan Spieth played the Junior Ryder Cup on the PGA Centenary at Gleneagles and won,” Andrew said. “It was great to see him back. I think he is fully focused on the win. He is saying all the right things in the media and I genuinely think he wants to be part of a USA win. Spieth vs. McIlroy down the stretch on Sunday will take some beating!”
Having been to three Ryder Cups, Andrew’s fondest memory of the tournament was watching Nick Faldo’s hole-in-one on the 14th of the Belfry in 1993. The USA would prevail at the Belfry 15 to 13, the last time they won on European soil. With a nice synergy, the winning putt and the hero that year was this year’s captain, Davis Love III.
With clear emotion and plenty of fond memories, Andrew heads off to teach one of his regulars.
“I have immense pride in what we achieved, what we all achieved,” Andrew said. “I am sure Hazeltine are up to the challenge and I wish them well. Come on Europe.”
Andrew Jowett was talking to Graham Hesketh. A big thank you to Billy Murray, Golf Marketing Manager at Gleneagles (gleneagles.com), Martin Smith and James Bledge, greenkeepers at Gleneagles and of course, Andrew himself.
As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!
Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.
Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.
One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?
Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.
Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.
Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”
For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…
Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.
Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…
That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.
Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.
@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic
Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!
Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.
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“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”
Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.
That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.
As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.
I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.
One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.
The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.
If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.
Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.
As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.
It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.
David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.
In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:
“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”
Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Eventually, though, something shifts.
We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.
Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.
Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.
Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.
So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.
I see someone evolving.
He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.
It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.
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