How Europe Won The Ryder Cup 

The Importance Of Coaching And Preparation To Perform Under Pressure

Whether you are a beginner just learning to play the game or you are standing over a six-foot putt to win the Ryder Cup, proper coaching and preparation can help you perform at your best. 

The U.S. team made an incredible comeback run on Sunday. With all the momentum on the side of the U.S. team, Shane Lowry had a six-foot birdie putt to halve the hole and retain the Ryder Cup for Europe. The putt dropped, the European team erupted, and Europe conquered the U.S. team on its own turf once again. 

The European team played better that weekend and in particular, they putt better. Why did they play better, especially when the U.S. team should have had the advantage as the home team?

On Paper, The U.S. Had The Stronger Team

Before the first tee shot, the odds were clear with the Americans as the favorites.  According to DataGolf, the U.S. team had a 58.7% chance of winning compared to Europe’s 33.5%. The Americans had more players in the world top 10 rankings and they also had a deeper team with every one of its players ranked in the top 25. 

Advantage: USA

The U.S. Also Had Home Field Advantage

The home team in a Ryder Cup has many advantages. Everything from choosing the course, to choosing the course setup, to choosing the order of the format for team play, and having a home crowd cheering them on.

The home team should have easier access to practice the course and even benefit from small details like being able to sleep better due to less jet lag from travel.

Advantage: USA

Captaincy Experience

Luke Donald had significant Ryder Cup experience, both as a player and as a leader. He was a Vice Captain in 2018 and 202. He was the Captain of the winning team in 2023. He also played on 4 winning Ryder Cup Teams. 

Keegan Bradley also had Ryder Cup experience as a player. In fact, he was playing well enough that he could have selected himself as a playing member of the team this year as well. But Keegan never served as a Vice Captain or Captain prior to this Ryder Cup.

Advantage: Europe

The Team Format Advantage

It is a common belief that the Europe team performs better than the U.S. in the team formats on Day 1 and Day 2.

This table summarizes the results from every Ryder Cup in the 2000’s to summarize recent performance in team formats.

Europe does have a significant advantage in team format matches. But the difference is mainly in Foursomes, where teammates alternate shots with one ball.

One of the decisions a host captain makes is choosing the order of Foursomes and Four-ball on Day 1 and Day 2. In 2023, Luke Donald bucked the trend of having both days start with Four-ball and he started both days with Foursomes instead. It’s likely that he noticed that Team USA performs worse in Foursomes and he made the change to give his team the best chance to build an early lead.

While Europe does have an advantage in team formats, the U.S. team might have been able to neutralize this advantage by starting with Four-ball instead of Foursomes. This would have allowed Team USA to start the matches with a format they performed better in.

Advantage: Europe

Course Setup Advantage

One of the key advantages the home team has is that it can choose how the course is set up. Keegan decided to cut the rough shorter, because it would favor his long hitters. But he was unlucky that weather changes ended up helping the European team.

Keegan Bradley said “I definitely made a mistake on the course setup. I should have listened a little bit more to my intuition. For whatever reason, that wasn’t the right way to set the course up. The greens were as soft as I’ve ever seen greens without it raining. Especially here, it can get pretty firm, and they never firmed up.”

Europe thrived under these conditions. Europe had six of the top seven ranked putters in the world on their team. This setup advantage showed up in the final scores as well as strokes gained data. According to DataGolf, Europe gained  8.43 strokes in putting over the U.S. team over the 3 days.

Advantage: Europe

Preparation To Every Detail

Much has been written about the European team’s preparation prior to this year’s Ryder Cup. Given Luke Donald’s experience as a player, Vice Captain, and Captain, it makes sense that he would be aware of every opportunity to fine tune his team’s performance. 

Luke Donald led a team trip to Bethpage weeks in advance. They played 27 holes over two days, studied green complexes, and built pair chemistry long before the tournament began. His Vice Captain, Molinari, analyzed the course and identified that putts inside 6 feet would be critical on this course, so he had his players focus on that distance in particular.

Donald knew that his team might suffer from jet lag, so he had his players fly out to New York 2 weeks early. He had his staff cover light leaks under the doors, swap out bedding, and even replace the shampoo with bottles that smelled better.

Donald even provided each player with a virtual reality headset before the tournament, equipped with a Ryder Cup build out of Bethpage Black in the popular virtual reality game GOLF+. They could simulate the feeling of the first tee environment at Bethpage, complete with the sounds of heckling crowds, to rehearse focus under pressure.

In a high-stress environment like the Ryder Cup, all of these details could be the difference between players being more familiar with the course, getting more sleep, handling heckling on the course, and performing better when it matters most.

Advantage: Europe

Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses

Luke Donald knew going into this year’s Ryder Cup that his team would be at a disadvantage. He neutralized every weakness he could through preparation, whether it was course knowledge, jet lag, or dealing with rowdy home crowds.

If you are trying to improve your own game, one of the most important things you can do is identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can focus your efforts on the areas that matter most.

For example, do you know whether you lose more strokes from driver accuracy or distance? How does your approach game stack up to other players of your level? Do you need more help with lag putting or short putts?

Apps like Arccos were built just for this purpose. Track your game stats with a free trial to Arccos.

A Great Coach Will Help You Reach Your Goals

Golf coaches can help you improve every aspect of your game, from technique and course strategy, to practice routines and mental focus.

When you work with a coach, you can lay out your goals and your coach will give you a roadmap to reaching them.

Coaching helps give you direction and structure so you are working towards your goals instead getting lost in a sea of golf tips and drills that aren’t personalized for you and your game.

Stop guessing and start improving with a plan built just for you. Connect with a world-class coach on Skillest and take the next step toward reaching your golf goals.