Lack of joined-up thinking is stunting golf’s potential

THIS week, US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis (below) was critical of the lack of cross-promotion and marketing for two team-based events that mirror each other in so many ways. She described it as a ‘missed opportunity’ not to pair the Solheim and Ryder Cup team golf competitions together and maximise the profile and promotion of the women’s game in particular.

‘I thought this could have been marketed together as two weeks in Europe, two Cups (to play for),’ she said. ‘I wish that people could get the sponsorship things out of their head and let’s figure out how we can work together, because this may not ever happen again.’

Especially when this ‘missed opportunity’ might not actually come around again. This is just the third time in history that the men’s and women’s biennial team cups will be played in the same year. In 2024, the Solheim Cup will return to even-numbered years (which it last did in 2002), while the Ryder Cup will remain in odd years. Which just exposes the lack of joined-up thinking that Lewis has highlighted.

Maybe Ireland has the perfect template for any twinned future of the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. Just recently, the Women’s Irish Open and the

Men’s Irish Open ran concurrently and it felt like a perfect fit. One fed interest in the other with Leona Maguire part of the Irish wave at Dromoland and Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry among the big names at The K Club that drew huge galleries.

Why not play the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup in the same country back-to-back? It would make so much sense logistically and practically for the broadcast partners like Sky and encourage a follow-on of interest and support.

With Ireland as the prime example of a host country in 2027, imagine the Ryder

Cup at Adare Manor being preceded by the Solheim Cup at Lahinch, just a short stop away.

Whether it’s Portmarnock and The K Club or Ballyliffin and Royal Portrush, it’s easy to pitch two options that would complement each other perfectly. It wouldn’t be hard to find the Solheim Cup course partner to the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome this week.

After ending up with their schedules dovetailing together, it’s hard to understand the logic of the Solheim and Ryder Cups going their own way now for the foreseeable future.

At a time when Golf Ireland has moved to a unified business model, it will take actions rather than words to properly grow the game globally across its entire fanbase.