PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — There is no such thing as a driving vary, right here at Cypress Level Membership, not for the occasion this week, the Walker Cup. The 20 gamers go down the street a mile or so to Spyglass and use the vary there. Even underneath regular circumstances, the vary right here is only a modest sloping hill, no fancy something. Cypress doesn’t do fancy. It leans into quiet, timeless, elegant.
Late Friday afternoon, there was a gap ceremony for this fiftieth taking part in of the Walker Cup. A few of the observers had been on the vary and audio system and different dignitaries — President George W. Bush; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ridley; Mr. and Mrs. Vinny Giles, Mr. Andy North, and so forth. — had been seated on white folding chairs stationed on the primary fairway. It was pretty. These are chaotic occasions all around the world. All is nicely right here. Issues are so as.
The American gamers have been carrying baseball caps with an enormous W on their fronts. The W is for Walker. The occasion is known as for George Walker, the primary president of the USGA. His grandson grow to be the forty first president of america and his nice grandson grew to become the forty third. W. spoke on the opening ceremonies right here on Friday. He was humorous, acceptable and fast.
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The band performed on. The Del Monte Brass band, 50 members robust, every of them a volunteer. Newbie gamers taking part in for an novice golf occasion. There have been trumpet gamers in native schools and horn gamers of their 70s. They opened with “Born to be Wild,” all brass, no vocalists, however this may perhaps conjure one thing for you:
Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the freeway
On the lookout for journey
In no matter comes our manner
It wasn’t incongruous. It was congruous.
They had been carrying black from head-to-toe, performing for an unlikely assortment of membership members and novice golfers and the sport’s deepest followers.
The sky was cooling, the 20 gamers had been pretending to be calm and picked up, the dignitaries readily available had been oh-so-appropriate.
“We are going to play ‘God Save the Queen,’” the Del Monte Brass band’s chief instructed his gamers. “I imply, ‘God Save the King.’ We are going to play the Nationwide Anthem.’”
It was pretty, as golf is gorgeous. It was timeless, as golf is timeless. It was orderly. The golf right here, in 4 classes — Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon; Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon — will function pictures that end within the ocean and greens the place three putts usually are not sufficient. Dysfunction will reign, because it all the time does in golf. However as Friday closed, every thing was in its correct place.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your feedback at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.
