Competition for the Ryder Cup is held every two years.  The top golfers (based on money won) from the United States compete in matchplay against the top golfers from Europe.  There is no prize money in this event.

LESSONS FROM THE RYDER CUP 

K.G.    What is this idea you had while watching the Ryder Cup?

TONY    Do you think that there is a prevailing opinion as to whether it is easier to perform on a team or as a singles competitor?

K.G.    I don't think you know how an interview works.  I'm the one who is supposed to ask the questions.  I know that most YBC bowlers find the team event to be more fun than playing singles.  I would have to say that in the adult ranks there is more prestige attached to winning a singles competition than a team.  What does that have to do with the Ryder Cup?

TONY    In a sport like football the quarterback can only do his job if the linemen do theirs and if the receivers can complete the play.  There is a physical interaction.  Like bowling, golf is primarily a singles sport even if you count scores together to make a team event.

K.G.    I follow that but with the Ryder Cup you are talking about the best golfers in the world.  Not matter how you count up the scores they are still doing what they do best.  It's still the same game.

TONY    That's my point.  It's not the same game at all!  I first noticed it during an interview with a golfer who was in contention to qualify for the U.S. team.  I saw one of the top golfers in the world talk about the added pressure associated with attempting to make the team.

Golfers are very familiar with the process of qualifying.  The most pressure they should be feeling is to put bread on the table for their families, so to speak.  The people who are in contention for the Ryder Cup are the best at handling that pressure but in the int4erview the golfer's focus had changed.  He no longer was attempting to win the tournament for its own sake, the goal now was to make the team.

K.G.    What's the attraction to being on the team in what amounts to an amateur event for professionals?

TONY    The top money winners in golf are all used to making putts to pocket six or seven figure incomes, but with the Ryder Cup there is the prestige of playing with the best.  The golfer is picturing success.  Winning a money tournament makes you a champion for a week, until the next event.  Winning the Ryder Cup makes you a champion for two years.  The entire golfing world will be paying attention.  The golfer believes that his team will win and he wants to be part of that.

K.G.    I see where there would be added pressure to make the team during the last qualifying tournament.  What happens when the teams are chosen?

TONY    It's at this point that a Ryder Cup team and a bowling C5 Open or a Masters Nationals team become very comparable.  When the golfer is on the team is the first time that he confronts the idea of failure and his biggest fear, "What if we don't win and it's because of me?"

He is used to winning some tournaments and losing others.  He is used to failing but only for himself.  Whatever strategy the golfer has for handing a loss is not much use to him now.  With the whole world watching he has to win.

K.G.    Even if there is added pressure to playing on the team, it's not as if the golfer is in the situation by himself.  He has teammates to help him and I imagine that there is a lot of support from spectators at the event.

TONY    The teammates can lend an encouraging word but the very fact that they are in the same situation means that they are doing everything in their power to play well themselves.  How can they take care of their own games and another golfer's as well?  Remember it's not like football where you can help out in a physical manner, here you can only provide emotional support.  When it comes to the emotional side of the game the crowds are part of the problem. 

K.G.    Tony, golfers play in front of crowds all the time.  While I don't remember seeing fans boo other golfers, they have their favourites and golfers are aware of the support they have in the gallery.  How does this become a problem just because the golfers are playing as a team?

TONY    Sure golfers have their own fans, but now people are cheering for you that have never cheered for you before.  Because you are on the team with Tiger Woods, now all of his fans are hoping that you do well also.  The are all kinds of benefits to being on the team that the golfer did not originally contemplate but each perk or extra recognition just puts on more pressure to win.

K.G.    If they weren't good at winning they wouldn't be on the team in the first place.  Only someone who is a good singles competitor can make this team.

TONY    That's right, singles play is what they do all the time and their entire routine is built to ensure success in that format.  There is more company in losing a singles event than a team event.  If you have 200 people in a singles tournament then you have 1 winner and 199 losers.

K.G.    197 if you give out silver and bronze medals.

TONY    But in a team event, a loser has less company and in the Ryder Cup there is only one winning and one losing team.

K.G.    So how did the golfers you where watching do?

TONY    They were brutal.  They missed simple shots.  They made mistakes on shots that they usually could make in their sleep.  I would venture to say that they visibly choked.

K.G.    How does this apply to 5 Pin Bowling?

TONY    Because singles play is what we do most often it is with this format in mind that we build our routines.  From the pace of play to what we do between frames, singles competitors are largely free to do what they will.  When bowlers make a team, a lot of that freedom is compromised and more structure is in place.

Even the best players are affected by pressure.  They can deal with failure when it is for themselves but failing on a team can mean wearing goat horns for a long time.

K.G.    Well John Donne said that no man is an island.

I think that is generally true.  Most of us want the respect of our peers or some type of validation of what we do.  There are players in every sport that don't care what anyone else thinks but most of us care more than we will admit.  There is pressure in caring about things you cannot control.

Bowling is a singles game and even though you put together 5 scores to make a team, there is nothing one player can do physically to help another.  There is a difference between having 5 bowlers adding their scores together and being truly a team.  In bowling, as in golf, the concept of a team is made up of intangibles.

I would have to say that the pressure that exists while playing in the team event often exceeds the pressure that is involved in the singles event.  I know that this is contrary to the popular perception that singles competition requires the greatest mental toughness, but the singles player is only doing what bowlers do best.  Playing on a team requires the ability to play well while handling the expectations of teammates, a coach and someone else's fans.

copyright 1996   Ken Gryschuk

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Last modified: March 07, 2000