Nothing in golf matches the rivalry of the Ryder Cup.
The bi-annual battle between the USA and Europe creates some of the sport’s top moments as players pull off miracle shots, which are etched into memory forever.
What makes the Ryder Cup so compelling is that in a sport that is predominantly played for individual honours, those lucky players chosen to play are not only playing for themselves but for their teams.
We see a different side to players in the Ryder Cup that we never see during regular tour events or even the majors, as they either rise or wilt under the intensive cauldron of pressure, knowing that their performance can contribute to their team being victorious or consigned to history as losers.
The intensity extends to behind the ropes, as fans from both sides create a raucous, rowdy atmosphere that can seem more like a football (soccer) match than a golf tournament.
This week, all the emotions, all the pressure, all the noise are focused on one of America’s most challenging courses, Bethpage Black, for the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup.
Whatever side you are rooting for, we hope you enjoy the Ryder Cup. To get you in the mood, join us as we look forward to one of the most anticipated events in the golfing calendar.
We’ll take a look at:
- Key Players That Can Shape The Outcome At Bethpage Black
- The Challenge of Bethpage Black
- Equipment Insights from Tour Pros
- Lessons Golfers Can Apply
Key Players That Can Shape The Outcome At Bethpage Black
The American and European teams were finalised a few weeks ago; the major surprise from the American standpoint was Keegan Bradley omitting himself as a player. If he had chosen to play, he would have been the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1964.
Bradley had been in serious contention for a spot, especially after his victory at June’s Traveller’s Championship; however, in the end, he decided to forgo playing for the first time since Gleneagles in 2014.
Bradley’s team is strong, the Americans always are, and with home advantage, the odds are set in their favour.
The spearhead of the American team is world number one, Scottie Scheffler. Has there been a player who has dominated the game in the way Scheffler has since Tiger Woods in his prime?
Scheffler has quickly added The Open and The PGA Championship to his major resume, along with five more PGA Tour titles. His victory haul includes the Procore Championship, which forms part of the PGA Tour’s fall series, and a tournament where ten out of twelve of the American team opted to tee up as a warm-up for Bethpage.
Scheffler’s dominance comes from having weaknesses in his game, which means Bradley can pair him with any other player on the team and expect results. Scheffler is also likely to go out early when it comes to the Sunday singles, where Bradley will be relying on him to secure a point.
For the European captain, Luke Donald, the focal point is Rory McIlroy. It’s hard to think that McIlroy is now a seasoned Ryder Cup veteran, having first played in 2010 at Celtic Manor.
McIlroy’s early-season form indicated it would be a compelling battle with Scheffler to dominate in 2025. McIlroy captured the AT&T and a second Players Championship before completing his grand slam with a highly emotional victory at Augusta in early April.
His form did dip after Augusta as McIlroy struggled to find a suitable replacement driver after his regular gamer was deemed illegal at the PGA Championship.
Things are looking much better for McIlroy, and a victory at the Amgen Irish Open in front of a home crowd at the K Club last month sees McIlroy peaking at a crucial time.
The team format of the Ryder Cup means the outcome isn’t purely down to how Scheffler or McIlroy performs. The winning team will rely on points coming from a spread of players to get over the finish line, so where could those points come from in the 2025 lineups?
For the Americans, a player who is likely to be fired up to perform is Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau has taken to the hearts of the American fans with his performances in the major championships, culminating in capturing his second U.S. Open at Pinehurst last spring.
America will be reliant on its star players to help coax the best out of the six rookies who will be experiencing their first Ryder Cup.
Three rookies who could handle the pressure well are the newly crowned U.S. Open champion, J.J. Spaun, who showed real character by draining a 65-foot putt to capture his first major. Russel Henley and Cameron Young are dogged competitors who have both tasted victory on the PGA Tour this season.
For Europe, Luke Donald has an almost identical team to his victorious 2023 team, with the only difference being the other Hojgaard twin (Rasmus) playing instead of Nicolai.
Within the team, Donald will look to players like Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, and Justin Rose to form a solid backbone to the team.
Players like Victor Hovland, Bob MacIntyre, and Sepp Straka have a wealth of experience playing in America, which they can lean into to tackle the challenge of Bethpage Black and the boisterous home support.
The Challenge of Bethpage Black
Bethpage Black’s reputation for being one of the most challenging courses in America is well earned. The A.W. Tillinghast/Joseph H. Burbeck design will test every club in the bag with interesting elevation changes and acute-angle approach shots.
What we’ll see at Bethpage Black will be a very different configuration compared to the 2019 PGA Championship layout, and we are likely to see two distinctive features that characterise a Ryder Cup being played in America.
Typically, Ryder Cups in America have seen course setups where the rough is relatively modest, with the course playing close to its maximum yardage to accommodate the fact that statistically, the American players are longer than their European counterparts.
Greens will also be running quicker than some of the European players are used to, and pin locations that are designed to favour plenty of birdies and eagles.
Bethpage Black’s opening hole is one of the more benign holes on the course; however, with thousands of fans close to the tee, it could prove to be harder than first anticipated.
The 430-yard first hole’s main features are an elevated tee and a tight dogleg running left to right.
The longest hitters can bite off a large portion of the dogleg ( in practice this week, Bryson DeChambeau even had a go at driving the green), hitting into the narrowest part of the fairway and leaving an approach to a small green of around 100 yards.
Further into the front nine, we come to a classic risk and reward par five at the fourth.
The hole is only 517 yards, which, on paper, most of the pros can hit in two. However, any attempt at the green in two will be tricky due to the uphill approach shot that will require plenty of elevation to hold a raised green that’s set at an angle to the fairway, with a cavernous bunker guarding the front.
If players have struggled off the tee, there is a bailout option as a sliver of fairway meanders around to the right of the green beyond massive cross bunkers, giving the player a good view of the green and pin location.
The eighth hole is a par three playing 210 yards, which has the course’s only water feature protecting the front of the green.
The elevated tee allows players to see all of the green, but where this hole gets interesting is a new front right pin location, which features a back stop where the ball can run close to the hole, or, if the ball has too much momentum, continue off the green, down a steep slope, and into the pond.
Gaining a two on the eighth could help gain momentum heading into the turn or break the momentum of opponents who have gotten off to a fast start on the earlier holes.
Moving into the back nine, we meet the hardest hole on the course. The fifteenth.
Fifteen is a 477-yard par four that could prove pivotal in the outcome of a match. The tee shot ideally demands a draw to hold the left-to-right sloping fairway. If the fairway is found, the approach shot is steeply uphill to a small green.
Bunkers built into the slope will catch a poorly struck second, but going long is not an option either, as the green slopes severely from back to front.
If matches reach the seventeenth, players are faced with a 179-yard par three that boasts the widest and most shallow green on the course. The green is well bunkered and sits slightly higher than the tee, meaning players can’t see all of the pin from the tee box.
Add in the vast grandstands around the green, and you have an intimidating amphitheatre for players to deal with.
Eighteen on paper represents one of the easier holes on the course. At 411 yards, it's not long by modern professional standards, but don’t be fooled that this hole is easy, especially under the pressure of the Ryder Cup.
The fairway is pinched tight by bunker complexes left and right, meaning that players have to be accurate from the tee.
Longer hitters can hit driver to take all the bunkers out of play, but if they miss the fairway, they are left with an exacting shot to a small green, which is deeply contoured and guarded by deep bunkers front right.
From the holes we’ve picked out, a key theme is approach shots to elevated greens. Pros understand they need the right trajectory to hold the green, and it’s a good lesson for amateur golfers who often still struggle hitting long irons, which don’t have the right trajectory to reach the putting surface, let alone hold them.
The Bethpage Black layout also provides many options to play the holes effectively. Many amateurs don’t take advantage of the different ways they can approach some of the more testing holes they play.
Having the right equipment and trusting the clubs in their bag is crucial for players who, for some, have never experienced the unique pressure that only the Ryder Cup offers, so how will the players set up their golf bags to accommodate the test of Bethpage Black?
Equipment Insights from Tour Pros
Given the Ryder Cup is played late in the year, players on both sides will have their equipment choices nailed down at this stage and will have been playing near identical equipment for most of the season.
One interesting note is that Shane Lowry put in a new Srixon driver a few weeks ago before the Amgen Irish Open, proving that if the player feels comfortable and can feel a positive difference, they will switch even before the biggest tournaments.
Those demanding uphill approach shots will be made marginally easier with so many players opting for lofted fairway woods or combo iron sets.
Lofted fairway woods give players options from the fairway or rough, to get the ball moving towards its target with the right elevation to land softly and hold the greens.
The same goes for players opting for different long irons, such as Scottie Scheffler, who uses Srixon long irons before switching to his TaylorMade P7TW irons from the five iron down to pitching wedge.
The Srixon irons are there to allow Scheffler to get the ball more airborne and provide a little more forgiveness on off-centre hits.
Players will keep the same loft combinations for their wedges so as not to interfere with distance gapping, but some players might opt for some work on the sole to manipulate the bounce and grind to deal with the rough off the fairway and around the greens.
One of the biggest deals for the players during Ryder Cup week is the golf ball choice, especially in the alternate shot format on the first two days of competition.
Each player uses a ball that is tailored to their requirements and helps deliver ideal launch and spin conditions for each club in the bag.
A player who uses a ball like the Titliest Pro V1 could struggle if they are paired with a player who uses the Pro V1X or TaylorMade TP 5X, which offer more spin.
The choice of which golf ball will be used will come down to who is more likely to be faced with approach shots and tee shots on the par threes.
One final interesting thing to note about the unique setup of the Ryder Cups is the fact that only one tour truck is allowed on site during the week, which is the True Temper truck. The True Temper truck is on hand to help players who experience problems with their shafts or need loft and lie checks to be carried out.
Lessons Golfers Can Apply
There are still many things that amateurs can learn from the club setup that the professionals will put in play this week.
The obvious place to start is with lofted fairway woods and hybrids for long approach shots. Amateurs’ needs are the same as professionals when it comes to being able to hold greens or fairways with long approach shots.
Nearly every player teeing it up in the Ryder Cup uses a combo set where long to mid irons are more friendly alternatives to the remaining irons in the bag. Again, pros need the trajectory to hold ultra-fast greens, but they also benefit from the forgiveness offered on less than perfect strikes.
The best way amateurs can gain from a combo golf iron set is through custom fitting.
The custom fitting process helps identify how to maintain proper distance gaps between each club and control spin and launch angles to create consistent trajectories throughout the set.
Marrying the correct heads to the correct golf shafts further enhances control and shot dispersion, making the combo iron set even more effective.
An additional benefit for golfers when they come for a custom fitting session is their ability to provide input into the feel and looks they like best as they work with the fitter to build their combo set.
Providing this input helps further down the line, giving the player confidence in what they have in their bag is right for them, and they can trust their clubs on good and bad shots.
While Bethpage Black is seen more as an approach shot favoured course, the only way players can attack pins is from the fairway, and given the length the course will play in Ryder Cup conditions, driving the ball far will also be beneficial.
Amateur players who may not have changed their driver in a few years can gain from a new driver that is fitted to their needs.
Similar to golf irons, driving the ball far comes down to unlocking the right combination of launch and spin based on the player’s ability.
Working in tandem with the fitter and launch monitor, establishing what those ideal launch and spin numbers look like can unlock additional yards that can help any player, regardless of handicap.
Adding the correct golf shaft can help improve ball striking consistency along with shot dispersion, which can be huge for any golfer when they get to the course.
Like the American and European players, knowing how your driver can perform under the severest of pressure is key to achieving your golfing goals.
We are excited about how the Ryder Cup will unfold, but we’ll have to catch up on events when we get a moment, as our fitting bay is still open.
At Nine By Nine Golf, we are dedicated to helping every level of golfer achieve success in their game.
The journey starts by viewing the vast range of customisable options we have available on our website. We are an independent fitter, and our choice of manufacturers we stock comes down to what we believe are the best in the business.
You can browse through our options from manufacturers such as Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist, and PING.
Once you have found the club you are looking for, you can use the configurator to select the golf shaft and golf grip combination you would like.
If you are looking to emulate the players teeing it up at Bethpage Black, book a custom fitting session at Nine By Nine Golf, where you can experience the same level of dedication and expertise in uncovering the correct clubs for your game, built to the same standards as the American and European stars.