The 15th edition of the Solheim Cup begins today at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa and record crowds are expected – proper Ryder Cup-sized crowds of over 25,000 fans per day.  It’s a far cry today from the first playing of the event at Lake Nona in internet-less 1990 when the match wasn’t televised, yet founder Karsten Solheim was astute enough to have an hour-long highlights film made. Since then the match has followed a straight line upwards into the stratosphere and between us Patricia and I have been present at 13 of the 14 matches played so far and we’ve witnessed some amazing moments.

If Lake Nona was the launchpad for the Solheim Cup, the unexpected European victory in 1992 at Dalmahoy was the point the afterburners were switched on.  Europe trounced the Americans by a clear five points, the defining moment coming when Sweden’s Catrin Nilsmark, at that time a total unknown to the US team – not even being a tournament winner – holed a 4-footer on the 16th green to beat Meg Mallon, winner of two majors the previous year.  The might of the 10-woman American team with a haul of 23 majors between them had been scuppered by the Europeans who could collectively muster only two.  I was at the back of that 16th green when the golf world was turned upside down and the home team and supporters jumped skywards. This was one of the finest sporting achievements I was privileged enough to see and they were my friends and my colleagues who’d delivered – I couldn’t have been prouder or happier and I suppose that’s really when my Solheim love affair began.

Catrin Nilsmark (right) and her team mates leap into the history books.

The pull of the Solheim was even strong enough to make my mother board a transatlantic flight for the first time at the age of 78 despite a pathological fear of flying.  When a big family-and-friends trip to Muirfield Village for the 1998 Solheim Cup was being mooted, she was certainly not going to miss out on all the fun.  She had been present at Dalmahoy and then at St Pierre in 1996 but this was her first away match and she and her pal from Cork, Brid O’Sullivan, were determined to make the most of it.  They even brought their clubs along and enjoyed a week’s golf at Pinehurst after the match.  Before that, however, Brid took a tumble out on the course, banging her head in the process and that was enough for the wonderful American and Muirfield Village hospitality to kick in.  She was furnished with a clubhouse pass for the remainder of the match once it became apparent that she should not be out battling the crowds and nothing was too much trouble for our hosts.  It’s not just the match that makes me love the Solheim Cup.

Brid (left) none the worse for her tumble and Mum (right) mulling over the European loss in 1998.

In 2009 and 2011 I was a small part of the European backroom team for captain Alison Nicholas, helping the players deal with all their media requirements leading up to the matches.  This has to be tightly controlled otherwise it becomes difficult for them to focus on the main job of practice and preparation as so many people want a piece of them.

With Alison Nicholas, winning Solheim Cup player and captain.

For me, it was the 2011 match at Killeen Castle that provided the most exciting and thrilling finish of all.  Rain delays had halted the singles and by the time there were only four games left on the course the Americans were 12.5 to 11.5 ahead and in front in three of those games.  To say it didn’t look good was putting it mildly.  Christel Boeljon of Belgium raised our hopes with a final green victory over Brittany Lincicome to level the match score and with Suzann Pettersen producing the form of her life to finish with three consecutive birdies to defeat Michelle Wie on the 18th the home supporters were beside themselves.  That meant Europe led by 13.5 to 12.5, so when Aza Munoz went dormie after 17 we knew we couldn’t lose.  But that wasn’t enough for the Europeans.  They had lost the last three Cups and they wanted victory outright.  Somehow, Caroline Hedwall, coming up the last one down, magically conjured up a half against unbeaten rookie Ryann O’Toole.  The magic 14.5 points were assured but turned into a final 15-13 scoreline when Aza also won on the last.  My lasting memory of that Solheim Cup was the high speed journey back to the hotel on the team bus, music turned up to full volume, escorted by police motorcycle outriders clearing the road ahead for us.  The hotel staff were all outside the door waiting to applaud the players in and, as you can imagine, headlong into a night-long party.

What else do I love about the Solheim Cup?  The unique first tee singing by the two sets of fans, inspired by Sue Pidgeon and Angie Bell, amongst others, with the Spontaneous Orpheus choir (which was small but quite organised) setting the tone at St Pierre in 1998.  The Europeans distributed song sheets and had different songs to welcome the players onto the tee.  It took the Americans a few years to cease to be a little bemused by it but now they enter into the spirit of it all with glee.  It’s even caught on in the Ryder Cup as well.

Sue Pidgeon, orchestrator of the supporters’ singing with a nifty slogan at an early match

So many special moments, including our first (and, at the moment, only) win on US soil in Colorado in 2013.  Let’s not forget, either, the sparky little controversies down the years that have added that extra bit of spice to it all.

So, no prizes for guessing where I’m spending today, Saturday and Sunday.  The computer will be switched off and so will the phone.

Don’t call me, I’ll call you.  Vamos Europe!

I’ve had a pretty hectic, but hugely enjoyable, week in St Andrews and I’ve now tumbled straight into another six non-stop days of action, researching and then commentating – from the BBC studios in Salford – on the USPGA at Quail Hollow, in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I did ask Patricia to write my blog piece this week as well as her own, but she didn’t even pause to consider that suggestion – too much golf to play and happy retirement hours to fill, I suspect.

Even I relish the occasional escape from the wall-to-wall golf that makes up my existence at this time of year.  So, it was a delightful start to my week in Scotland to catch up with an old schoolfriend Tricia McIntosh, and some of her family in Linlithgow.  Refreshingly non-golfy, Tricia is diving headlong into her own new and exciting world of retirement and, despite loving her teaching job of some 35 years, she has found no need to cast long, yearning backward glances.  Hmm, wonder if there’s something in this retirement lark after all?

On to St Andrews for the Ricoh Women’s British Open (RWBO) and another catch-up, this time with an old university pal, Kathy Christie.  We met on our first day at St Andrews University and Cathy and her hubby have now settled back in the auld grey toon so proving that some of the residents of this epicentre of golf can, in fact, exist quite happily without pursuing a little ball over miles of rolling terrain.  Her big news?  Why, she’s retired, of course!  And loving it.  Doesn’t understand how she’d time to work etc etc.  Note to self:  after the USPGA this week, investigate this happy-clappy retirement land that now seems to be peopled with ridiculously fresh-faced friends of mine who have parked all stress and appear reinvigorated, re-energised……and busy!

The Beeb were doing the highlights of the RWBO and it’s never a dull week when you share it with Peter Alliss and Ken Brown.

Over twenty years of commentating with Peter Alliss, left, and Ken Brown, right.

Kingsbarns provided a visual feast, the golf was outstanding despite the indifferent weather and the players were, as always, very approachable and accommodating with their time.  Ricoh did a splendid job and all were warmly welcomed by the Scottish galleries.  Was I the only one, however, who chuckled at the irony of the parting admonition to the players to “Haste ye back”?  Nothing approaching “haste” was spotted during the playing of the championship, so a black mark must go to those officials tasked with endless timings which resulted in zero action.  Let’s leave that discussion to another day.

On each of the first two days I also did an hour in the booth (American for commentary box) for The Golf Channel alongside former Women’s British Open champion, Karen Stupples, and Tom Abbott, a veritable walking encyclopedia on women’s golf.  Their modus operandi is totally different from that of the BBC where the commentary is specifically about the actual golf being played with snippets of info about the players and course.  The Golf Channel comment mostly on the players, the course and topics of interest like the Solheim Cup team selections with occasional reference to the golf on the screen.  Two entirely different ways of delivering the same product.

My Golf Channel debut with Karen Stupples and Tom Abbott, generous colleagues.

The Solheim Cup thread, of course, was of huge interest all week.  My great pal Marta Dotti, coach supreme, is one of  Annika Sorenstam’s vice captains and along with Maria McBride (aka Mimi Hjorth) and Catriona Matthew was working hard, crunching the numbers and stats to select the best possible European team.  We did manage a couple of coffees in between the showers and work commitments, however – another great catch-up with a pal.  I also had a little chat with the US captain Juli Inkster one morning in my hotel where she was having breakfast with some of her backroom team.  Despite looking calm she didn’t seem convinced when I suggested she’d such an array of talent to choose from that she could hardly go wrong with her captain’s picks!  Always easy from the outside looking in.

Will Annika be smiling after the Solheim Cup, I wonder?

Still the best – Karen Stupples is smiling (just) in the rain as IK Kim, the 2017 RWBO champion, finishes one shy of the Englishwoman’s record-breaking 19 under par total.

The week was rounded out with a little farewell party for the Beeb’s outstanding Golf Editor, Kate McKeag, who has been with them for around thirty years.  The freelance world is beckoning and I just hope she keeps some golf in her impressive portfolio so I have the opportunity of working with her in the future.  But wait….it was only at the start of this piece that I thought retirement sounded SO attractive and that last sentence would suggest my subconscious thinks otherwise.  But then, swanning around all over the place watching golf can hardly be called work, can it?

Kate, armed with her very own Claret Jug and putting advice from Ken on the Course.

For years Mum and I used to go on jaunts to Wentworth to watch the golf, whether it was in May for the PGA Championship or in October when it was the World Matchplay.  My favourite was always the October trip.  We watched thrilling head-to-head duels round the West course and witnessed swashbuckling Seve at his Spanish best and Ernie Els, he of the sublime tempo, triumphing on more than one occasion to our huge delight.

We went prepared for anything the weather could throw at us, usually did two rounds and we’d stop off in the tented village for a welcome coffee and sandwich at the halfway point.  I remember pushing Mum up the hills so she wouldn’t slip in her wellies on the tricky slopes and we sidestepped our way down the other side.  They were long, tiring, exhilarating days – golf fans generally have to work hard to enjoy their sport –  but it was fantastic, great and fuelled my ambitions of perhaps one day being world No 1.

There was only one star of the show and that was the golf.

So many great tournaments have been staged at Wentworth.

This week the 2017 BMWPGA Championship has so much going on outside the ropes you would be forgiven for not actually making it onto the golf course at all.  By the time you’ve tried your hand at the 100 feet putting challenge and stepped into the virtual worlds of golf and cars (BMWs naturally) your heroes will already be on the back nine.  You can create a film clip of yourself playing a shot into Wentworth’s final green, then try the virtual hole-in-one challenge before testing your reflexes with the radio-controlled cars on the BMW M race track.  Challenges abound at every turn and then there are the shops, with the pro’s shop alongside a BMW Lifestyle shop – and that’s all before you stumble on “The Showstage”.  Pardon?  Yep – that’s right – a stage where Status Quo will be belting out their numbers on Saturday evening and on Sunday it’ll be the turn of the Kaiser Chiefs.  Wow!

Status Quo – only one of the weekend’s stellar rock acts.

You don’t have to wait until the weekend for the music to start, however.  The players have provided their favourite tracks to be played over the loud speaker systems at the practice ground while they warm up and when they arrive at the first tee there will be a couple of announcers keeping the grandstands up to date with who’s done what before handing over to the official starter, Alistair Scott.

Don’t suppose 6’5″ defending champion Chris Wood strode onto the 1st tee to Val Doonican’s Walk Tall?

All the razzmatazz will be supported by numerous izzy-whizzy apps and digital platforms informing us of everything at every conceivable turn.  No need to walk a step – or, indeed, watch a single shot that matters.  And the cost?  That’s one of the most amazing facts of all.  An adult can buy a season e-ticket for £85 which covers entry from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive, as well as admission to the Saturday and Sunday concerts.

Of course, these initiatives are all part of a drive to make golf more universally appealing and to win over fans from the other numerous sports and pastimes competing for their attention, time and money.  Are we not concentrating too much, however, on the peripherals instead of the actual golf ?  I do get the need to have all these extra hooks to bring people in to the sport but we need to engender their interest in the sport itself and then sustain and maintain that, hopefully fanning those flames into a passion.

Perhaps this IS the way to go about it – I really don’t know and I’m really pleased to see these initiatives but I just hope that when the crowds disperse after the Kaiser Chiefs gig on Sunday that all the spectators will be saying what Mum and I used to think:-

The golf was the star of the show.

Oops!  Forgot to put in the results of last week’s Name That Coach quiz on Friday!

Reading from left to right here they are:-

Picture 1   Michael Bannon and Rory McIlroy

Picture 2   Henrik Stenson and Pete Cowan

Picture 3   Rafa Cabrera Bello and David Leadbetter

Picture 4   Butch Harmon and Jimmy Walker

Picture 5   Justin Thomas and Mike Thomas

A big pat on the back to those of you who scored a full house.