The Walker Cup at St. Andrews-Yes, It’ Really That Special- Henry Shimp

It is a commonly held belief in the game of golf that there is no finer fan experience than The Masters. This is true. But it’s more nuanced than that. I believe that while there is nothing finer than The Masters, there is something as fine: The Walker Cup. Smaller crowds, amazing golf courses (Seminole, Cypress, St. Andrews, Merion, NGLA, Lytham and St. Annes, Hoylake, LACC… that any good?), the ability to walk the fairways with players, and as much passion and vigor for the competition as you’ll see in today’s game are just a few of the reasons why it is pretty difficult to beat the atmosphere of attending a Walker Cup.

I had the great pleasure of making the voyage to Liverpool (one of my least favorite cities) in 2019 as two of my former teammates were on the squad and I still remember each detail of the trip like it was yesterday. While Hoylake is a wonderful course and made for an amazing setting for the Walker Cup, I can only imagine the elevation in the event’s feeling of importance at the home of golf. Just think about it. Wind whipping, 20 stud players ready to battle it out over 2 days of competition, bag pipes blaring, countless former competitors on site as always, maybe the purest form of the competitive game that remains. It’s going to be truly wonderful stuff.

Now I know some people are probably wondering what all this hype is over the Walker Cup. I have two answers. The first and most simple being just ask someone who has been to one or played in one. From people I have talked to, the consensus is what I have described. The only thing that compares is the Masters. My longer answer is that this is maybe the last time you’ll see the next great players in the game competing for and desperately wanting something that has nothing to do with money, fame, or career development (even though that is a definite by product of making the team). The Walker Cup is truly about the honor of competing for your country and is the ultimate accolade of an amateur golf career. Even the Ryder Cup has been politicized by LIV, the old hats vs young guns, friction with task forces, lame captains, etc. The Walker Cup is a purely merit based qualification that shows no favoritism, ability to game the system, or negative biases towards one tour or another. Simply put, players know if they have a chance to make the team and henceforth know what events they need to show up at. From there, there is a committee that chooses the teams and until you can say there are not more than 9 guys from your side better than you, no one knows if they are on the team or not. It’s the most legitimate embodiment of “ball don’t lie” that I know of.

There are not many things that can convince an amateur golfer to delay a pro career these days. College golf often takes a hit. The carrots dangled by a deep run at the US Amateur are rarely enough to make anyone hang around. Even college golf’s annual version of the Walker Cup, The Palmer Cup, rarely sees players not willing to wait even 2 weeks post-graduation to delay their jump to the pro ranks. But in a Walker Cup year, with the matches not taking place until September, very few players across recent history have not been willing to make their run at the team. This speaks volumes to the value placed on the event by the masses. All-American accolades are replaced with professional accomplishments. Anything short of a finals run at a USGA event generally will fade. College and Amateur wins have a varying level of lasting memory for most players. But “Walker Cupper” seems to follow guys around. And with good reason.

This year feels awfully important to the competition. For a few reasons. One, while the centennial was missed due to the varying biennial history of the event, the first was played in 1922 and the most recent was 2021. So, this is the first one where the event dates in years that reach the triple digits. Second, this IS the centennial of the event being played at The Old Course. The first Walker Cup was contested in 1922 at National Golf Links of America with the second coming just a year later in 1923 at St. Andrews. So that’s pretty cool. Third, even though this is the 9th playing of the event at St. Andrews, it is the first in 48 years. Why it’s been so long I do not have an answer for, but I can say the fact that they’re headed back is something I hope we can all agree is rather ~brilliant.~ Finally, the United States has won the last 3 and 7 of the last 9 Walker Cups. Furthermore, with a matchup that - at least rankings wise - is as lopsided as we’ve seen in some time, it feels as if a US win this year would be a formal announcement that the equality of the competition level is getting away from us and a potential edit to the scope of the team from across the pond could be in order. That may be a really hot take, but we saw the Ryder Cup make the jump, and it feels highly likely that at some point the Walker Cup will end up doing the same.

While The Tie Guys are a couple twenty somethings who have been doing too much fun stuff this summer to justify 5 days across the pond to take the action in live, you know we’ll be watching closely on the tele. Golf channel has the action on Saturday and Sunday for (MASSIVE smile) ~~~~coffee golf~~~~ so if this is the first you’re hearing about this event, let’s change that and make a date with your couch this weekend. I’ll be gaming my Mudball Half Caff from our guys over at Goodwalk Coffee (use code THETIE to save a little coin). Will you?

Cheers,

HS