1999 Ryder Cup memories

how did we get to $750 tickets?

Author

Sean Melia
October 25, 2024

Qaubog CC in Monson, Mass.

Hey Everyone,

It’s hard to believe that we’re nearing winter with all this warm weather. Winter is, like, right around the corner, ready to punch us all in the face.

I played in a Jimmy Fund event on Monday at Cape Club of Sharon. I was invited by Greg Sampson who runs Northeast Golf Show at Gillette. Over the year, 140 different golf events raised $6.8 million for the Jimmy Fund. Pretty inspiring stuff.

I also played Hillview GC in North Reading, course 139 in my quest. If you’re interested in reading my course reviews early (along with additional thoughts and pictures that don’t fit inside the IG captions) and having access to all my writing and extra content, like a quarterly video and the ability to comment on posts, you can join the BSG Community as a Supporter or Founder.

News and Notes:

Results Round-Up: I compiled a bunch of results from around the region and posted them on Wednesday. You can read them here.

Megan Khang finishing her season: Khang finished T8 last week in the BMW Women’s Championship. She’s playing in the Maybank Championship this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is currently 22 in the CME Points Rank with three events before the CME Group Tour Championship. The top 60 in the CME points earn a spot in the season-ending event. So Khang is in good shape.

James Imai Battling in Q-School: With 18 holes left, James Imai (Brookline, Mass.) is T50 in the First Stage of Q-School at Champions Pointe in Indiana. He’ll need a very good final round to climb into the top 20 to advance. Leaderboard

Winchester CC Pro Jim Salinetti named Ouimet Pro of the Year: Salinetti is one of the best amateurs in the history of the state. He was a guest on the podcast waaaayyyy back in January of 2021. (Listen here)

If you are interested in a golf trip, I have partnered with The Golf Trip Guys, who are running a Hilton Head golf trip in April. It’s called the Spring Training Classic. Co-founder Sean Toland joined me on this week’s podcast (watch on YouTube).The trip is a great opportunity to shake off the rust before next year’s season and meet some new people. Grab a friend and book this fun trip. Details.

Remembering the 1999 Ryder Cup

The 1999 Ryder Cup was the first time I set my eyes on Tiger Woods. In my memory, he was 9 feet tall, strutting through the fall shadows at The Country Club—a golf god at 23 years old.

My friend Ryan and I spent that famous Sunday at The Country Club chasing matches, standing on our tip toes to see a Tiger Woods stinger, and feeling the momentum sway in the favor of the USA.

The smartphone was not a thing, so we carried little radios and listened to BBC radio hosts slowly wet their bed as the European 10-6 lead dissolved.

We were standing on the 18th fairway when Justin Leonard’s putt rolled into the cup on the 17th and launched the most polarizing celebration in golf as Jose Maria Olazabal tried to refocus and give the Europeans a whisper of hope.

He couldn’t.

The day is etched in my mind in pops of memories:

Jesper Parnevik hit a cold top on his approach into the first hole that traveled maybe 50 yards.

My Irish father and Irish godfather yelling in chorus with the other European fans.

A ball skittering past us into the rough only to be disappointed that it was Andrew Coltart’s ball.

Those horrendously incredible shirts.

David Duval’s raucous, and odd, celebration after winning his Sunday match.

Those memories are priceless. I’d be lying to you if I knew what the tickets cost for the day.

But we do know the value the PGA of America has assigned to the 2025 Ryder Cup: $750.

A quick inflation calculator check on the trusty-as-ever Internet says that $400 in 1999 is worth $731 in 2023.

I’m pretty sure that the 1999 Ryder Cup tickets weren’t $400 face value. The 2023 Ryder Cup 31 minutes outside of Rome, Italy had general admission for $250 on Friday and Saturday and $260 on Sunday.

Nearly 3x in two years.

And then they decided to punch the volunteers in the face.

What does that get you? The “volunteer package” includes an event uniform, a drawstring bag, a Ryder Cup pin, food during the shift, and a tournament credential.

Here’s Tournament Director Bryan Karns on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio:

“There are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list in the same way someone would have a Yankees opening game of the World Series on their bucket list. Ultimately that’s where we felt like we are. We’ve got a lot of people, the demand is at an all-time high for this event and so we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately.”

Karns said they looked at pricing for comparable events to price these tickets. It’s tough to compare a general admission ticket - no seats - with the Super Bowl or World Series where someone gets to see the entire event.

Truthfully, Karns is probably right. People will pay that much.

The cheapest Game 1 World Series ticket on StubHub is $991 as of Thursday morning. Wanna get into Yankee Stadium for game 3? You’ll have to pay $1,200.

Sheesh.

The cynic might claim that this is a way to quell the tidal wave of aggression that is forecast for Bethpage in 2025. The explosion of golf and the caldron that is The Ryder Cup in New York seemed like a recipe for disaster. Fans have been pushing the limit at the Ryder Cup for quite some time. Many cranky Europeans would point to 1999 as the moment the fuse of fan misbehavior was lit. Many believe that Bethpage might be the explosion.

But not if the hecklers are priced out. If they do splurge on a ticket, will they have enough liquid courage if beers cost… $25?… $30?

A quick look at Stubhub shows that GA tickets are already listed for $847.

If you’d like access to the 1875 Club you can grab two right now for…. $9,600 each.

Of course, prices will fluctuate, but that’s where we are 48 weeks from the event.

For some, it might take 48 weeks to actually travel to Bethpage. I attended the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage and it took hours on trains and buses from Hoboken, New Jersey.

I’m no economist, but the long tail of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour could be that her popularity spiked ticket prices in the post-COVID era. People bit the bullet and spent tens of thousands of dollars to see Swift. Some hopped on planes to Europe in order to save money.

Swifties were willing to spend, and it normalized the exorbitant prices people would pay for live experiences.

Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals was one of the most expensive tickets in NBA history on the secondary market. I could have sold my two nosebleed season tickets and nearly pay off my entire 2025 season. I didn’t because there was a trophy in the building.

Once again. A priceless moment.

If you wanted to see Olivia Rodrigo in the TDGarden last April, it was close to $1,000.

Live events provide a level of connection that people don’t get every day. The energy and catharsis can provide a high that is tough to beat.

The Ryder Cup is banking on people seeing their event as a priceless bucket list opportunity to make memories.

I was lucky enough to check off my Ryder Cup bucket list as a high school kid in 1999. I don’t think I would have had the same opportunity in 2025 at Bethpage Black. And I’m not sure youngsters will get a jump start on their own bucket lists next September.

Some other Ryder Cup ticket reading:

🔖: Kyle Porter in Normal Sport comes at it from his unique angle… while, incredibly, having his newsletter sponsored by… The Ryder Cup.

When I’m not golfing…

I’m reading…

  • Started re-reading Grand Slam by Mark Frost. A lot of great history in there.

I’m listening to…

  • The Head and The Heart have a self-named album from 2011, a great fall music listen.

I’m eating…

  • On Sunday afternoon, we went to Contessa in the Newbury Hotel for Tiff’s birthday. The view is incredible from this rooftop spot, looking over the Boston Common. They made a butternut squash carpaccio that was insane. I had their scrambled eggs, which were some of the best I’ve ever had.

  • Made this Sheet-Pan Gochujang Chicken and Roasted Vegetables. Very good. Very easy.

I’m drinking…

  • Found Bissell Brothers’ Baby Genius this weekend at Urban Grape in Boston. It is a great low-ABV beer.

I’m watching…

  • I don’t like 98% of what Barstool puts out into the world. But this Riggs vs. Hater series is a really great concept and all four of them have been entertaining. The latest is at Tot Hill Farm in North Carolina; it looks diabolical. I’m not entirely sure I would enjoy playing it.

New here? Reached the bottom?

Hell Yeah.

You should subscribe.

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