SUNDAY AT THE RYDER CUP-WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

  WELCOME TO BLACKWOLF RUN & The Baths-Opening in June of 2021-Stay tuned.    ______________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Director of Content and Creation for Golfers on Golf. Follow Rory on Twitter @GogBlogGuy or Facebook and LinkedIn. With the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.

WHAT A WILD FINISH-CAPTAIN Steve Stricker’s Team USA has marched through Whistling Straits and…like the rest of us, will have to wait until next year to pop corks on the bottles of champagne.

Yesterday was supposed to be the final round of the 2020 Ryder Cup, maybe the most exciting, and wildest event in golf.

Whistling Straits, part of Destination Kohler, was all ready to host the 2020 Ryder Cup. Then came Covid-19.

After months of debate if the Ryder Cup could be played this year, it was finally decided to postpone the matches to late in September of 2021.

Team USA Captain Steve Stricker (L) and Team Europe Captain Padraig Harrington (R) hold the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in early October of 2019.

Kohler officials were prepared for a long time in case the Ryder Cup was cancelled, or postponed because of the pandemic.

By the time the official announcement was made that the Ryder Cup would be pushed into 2021, because fans would not be allowed in to the Ryder Cup if it was played this year.

Golf participation around the U.S. and the world was way up, and courses were filling up quickly every day and everywhere.

So with four resort golf courses now empty and free of both Ryder Cup play, and corporate events scheduled for championship week, there was plenty of tee-times to be sold to those golfers who wanted to come golf at Kohler’s courses, at both Whistling Straits, and Blackwolf Run. The good news is that a vast majority of those tee-times sold quickly and September remained a busy month for Kohler Golf.

This past week, the Ryder Cup stopped in to visit Whistling Straits, on what was supposed to be Ryder Cup week.

Better news is that there are a few, but very few tee times still remaining if you wish to play Whistling Straits in 2020.

Michael O’Reilly the head golf professional at Whistling Straits says that, “everyone was disappointed about the postponement at first, but we’ve hit the reset button and are now back on clock, and less than one year away from Ryder Cup week.”

For O’Reilly and his golf staff, that clock has started moving forward again, and people are getting more upbeat about the 2021 Ryder Cup. Which for the record will still be called the 2020 Ryder Cup, presented in 2021. Golf fans should not look for 2021 Ryder Cup merchandise because it’s not going to be made. But some newly created merchandise might have the current logo, but without any year attached on the design.

CLICK HERE to hear the full interview with Whistling Straits head golf professional Michael O’Reilly.

A stiff breeze blows the flagstick on the par 3, 7th hole at Whistling Straits, this past week.

This past week’s “Ryder Cup week” turned into a great experience for golfers who got to play Whistling Straits during what was Ryder Cup week, but better yet is that golfers will still be playing Whistling Straits next year up until the course gets closed for Ryder Cup week (part 2) in early September.

Course maintenance will continue for another year to have “the straits course” ready for the best players in the world and the Ryder Cup matches. Work is continuing now on some area’s of the course to improve spectator viewing, and to clean up and secure some erosion area’s on the beach front that sit below some of late architect Pete Dye’s designed holes on the golf course.

For golfers that wish to test their game, and or maybe a have Ryder Cup style match against the other members of their group on Whistling Straits, Please visit DestinationKohler.com.

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About Rory Spears

Rory spent over 8 years growing up working at Rob Roy Golf Club in Prospect Hts.IL, then two years at Chevy Chase in Wheeling. He has covered golf in Chicago since 1986. Rory was one of the initial members of WSCR all-sports radio Chicago and covered golf there for 5 seasons, before moving on to work for ESPN/Sportsticker and ESPN Radio. In addition to hosting Golfers on Golf Radio on WCPT AM820 Chicago, he writes for both the Chicago District (CDGA) Magazine, and formerly Chicagoland Golf. Rory has played over 525 courses in 39 states, and rates golf courses. He does golf course management and communications consulting, within the golf industry.