Shot Cups

The Ryder Cup Golf– It's History

The Ryder Cup Matches, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, span 34 competitions over 77 years. The origin of the idea to stage international matches between the best American professionals and those of Great Britain.

Ryder was an Englishman from St Albans in Hertfordshire, who made his fortune selling penny seed packets. Before the matches at Wentworth, Ryder had engaged the British star Abe Mitchell as his personal golf tutor. Mitchell beat the reigning British Open Champion Jim Barnes, 8 and 7, in the singles, and then partnered with George Duncan in the foursomes to beat Hagen and Barnes, 9 and 8.

After the matches, Ryder had tea with British Team Members George Duncan and Mitchell. Also joining them were Hagen and American teammate Emmett French. Duncan suggested Ryder provide a trophy and encourage the establishment of matches on a regular basis. Ryder agreed at once and commissioned the design of the gold chalice that bears his name and Mitchell's likeness on the top.

Few amateurs who took up golf after their 50th birthday have left as many positive impressions upon the game as Samuel Ryder. Born in 1858, he was the son of a Manchester corn merchant and educated at Manchester University. His father doubted the wisdom of his son's plans to sell penny seed packets to English garden lovers. The young Ryder decided he would go into business on his own, moved south to St Albans in Hertfordshire and formed the Heath and Heather Seed Company. His business quickly prospered, and in 1906 his social standing improved to the point where he was elected mayor of St Albans. He became ill due to overwork, and fresh air and light exercise were prescribed as part of the cure. He was encouraged to take up golf. Reared on music and cricket, Ryder at first spurned the idea, but later relented.

Ryder first enlisted a professional named Hill from a local nine-hole course to guide him through his golf fundamentals. Later, Ryder employed Mitchell as his exclusive instructor at an annual fee of £1,000. Ryder practiced rain or shine, six days a week (never on Sunday), for a year. He was given instruction at Marlborough House, his home, on driving and iron shots, and he hit chip shots over a hedge in the paddock. He followed up with putting.

After his rigorous practice regimen, Ryder decided he could apply for membership at Verulam Golf Club. By age 51, he boasted a six handicap and joined the Verulam Golf Club in St Albans in 1910. Within a year he was elected Captain of the club, and later held the title in 1926 and '27. He sponsored a Heath and Heather Tournament in 1923, which was restricted to professionals. Among the field was Mitchell, a former gardener himself, and considered one of the finest players in Great Britain to have ever won an Open Championship.

Ryder relished the 1926 unofficial international match between the Americans and British at Wentworth, watching Mitchell and Duncan defeat Hagen and Barnes.

"Why can't they all get to know each other?" said Ryder.

"I will give £5 to each of the winning players, and give a party afterwards, with champagne and chicken sandwiches."

Later that evening in a pub, Duncan turned to Ryder and said, "This is wonderful. It's too bad we don't have a match like this which is official."

"Why not?" Ryder asked. Soon, the deed of gift was drafted with Ryder agreeing to donate a solid gold cup, worth £250. The cup was designed by Mappin & Webb Company. Ryder insisted that a golfing figure adorn the lid and that it resemble Mitchell. The first official Ryder Cup Matches were arranged for June 3-4, 1927, at the Worcester (Mass.) Country Club.

An appeal for £3,000 to finance the first British Ryder Cup Team was met with apathy and fell £500 short of the goal, but Ryder made up the deficit. After Ryder, the biggest single contribution was £210 from the Stock Exchange Golf Society. With no Order of Merit money-winning list available, the famed British triumvirate of Harry Vardon, James Braid and James Taylor acted as team selection committee.

Samuel Ryder, who would serve two terms as mayor of St Albans, lived to see two Ryder Cup Matches on his home soil. While celebrating the holidays with his family in London, he died of a massive hemorrhage on January 2, 1936. He was 77. His eldest daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Claisen, sent her father's favorite mashie (5-iron) to be placed in his coffin. Another of his daughters, Mrs. Thomas Scarfe, took over the family business. However, she never shared her father's passion for golf.

Ryder's youngest daughter, Joan, was her father's constant companion at all his golfing events. She witnessed all Ryder Cup Matches in Great Britain, and once in America, in 1983, when the US edged the Europeans at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

In 1981, Joan met the Duke of Kent at the Matches at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England. She told the royal guest that her father had been surprised by the success of the Matches.

"He had the idea that when the Americans came over for a match he would give a 'small friendly lunch party' to both teams," said Joan. The Duke gazed at the spectators swarming near the 18th green, and said: "I wonder what your father would think of this little lunch party!" Joan Ryder's final appearance at The Ryder Cup Matches was at The De Vere Belfry in 1985. She called that edition of The Matches "the most exciting ever." Later that year, she died at her home in Sussex at age 81.

War-Torn Matches
With the outbreak of World War II, The Ryder Cup Matches were suspended from 1939-45, and the US retained the trophy from its 1937 victory. However, the United States continued the spirit of The Matches by selecting a ten-member team that participated in "challenge" matches to raise funds for the American Red Cross, various service organizations and other war-related efforts. With The 1939 Ryder Cup Matches cancelled, challenge competitions were arranged from 1940- 43, with two at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, Michigan, in 1940 and 1942: at Detroit Golf Club, in 1941: and at Plum Hollow Country Club in 1943. The Ryder Cup Team, which had various members during that period, won four of the five challenge matches.

Walter Hagen captained the 1939, '40 and '41 Ryder Cup Teams, while Craig Wood captained the Team in 1942 and 1943. There was no competition in 1939, though The Matches were set for Ponte Vedra Country Club in Florida in November of that year. The 1939 US selections were repeated in 1940 in a challenge match at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, against Gene Sarazen's Challengers. Sarazen, who was left off The Ryder Cup Team, challenged Hagen by assembling a team that included Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret and Craig Wood.

In 1939, The Professional Golfers Association of Great Britain had selected eight players and Captain Henry Cotton before war interrupted further plans. The eight players named were: Jimmy Adams, Dick Burton, Sam King, Alf Padgham, Dai Rees, Charles Whitcombe and Reg Whitcombe. The remaining two members were never filled.

During the war, the exhibition matches brought together the greatest players of the era, including amateur Bobby Jones who led his team to an 8 1/2 to 6 1/2 upset of the Ryder Cup Team, August 23-24, 1941, at Detroit Golf Club.

Europeans join the Fight for the Cup
In 1973, The Matches were contested for the first time in Scotland at historic Muirfield. The PGA of Great Britain altered its selection procedure by having eight players chosen from a year-long points system and four by invitation.

During The 1977 Matches at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Jack Nicklaus approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgency to improve the competitive level of The Matches. The issue had been discussed earlier the same day by both Past PGA President Henry Poe and British PGA President Lord Derby. Nicklaus pitched his ideas, adding: "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if The Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige."

The changes in team selection procedure were approved by descendants of the Samuel A. Ryder family along with The PGA of America. The major change was expanding selection procedures to include players from the British PGA European Tournament Division Order of Merit, and "that European Members be entitled to play on the team."

This meant that professional players on the European Tournament Players Order of Merit could be natives and residents of countries other than the British Isles, as long as they were from continental Europe. The recommendation and succeeding approval of the new selection process followed another American victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1977.

 

The first Ryder Cup Matches under the expanded European selection format were played at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The first two Europeans to make the overseas squad were a pair of Spaniards-Severiano Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido. Ballesteros has gone on to become one of the all-time winners in The Matches. He has a record of won 20, lost 12 and halved five and has earned 22 1/2 points in 37 Ryder Cup Matches.

The move to include the continental players was a major step in upgrading the Ryder Cup competitive level. The US had won all but one outing from 1959 to 1977, being tied, 16-16, in a memorable duel in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Expanding the selection procedure to include The European Tour provided the British PGA with a much greater pool of talent from which to select their Team. The European Tour Order of Merit also ensured a team comprised of golfers who were playing their best at the time of selection.

The effect of this continental Tour, with its varying types of golf courses, climates, food, language and customs, was to produce players of unprecedented durability. They possessed the technique and confidence to deal with all course situations and make The Ryder Cup Matches even more of a quality event.

Ryder Cup Format Changes

From the beginning of the series through 1959, The Ryder Cup competition was comprised of four foursomes (alternate shot) matches on one day and eight singles matches on the other day, each of 36 holes.

The format was changed in 1961, to provide four 18-hole foursomes matches the morning of the first day, four more foursomes that afternoon, eight 18-hole singles the morning of the second day and eight more singles that afternoon. One point was at stake in each match, so the total number of points was doubled to 24. In 1963, fourball (better-ball) matches were added for the first time, boosting the total number of points available to 32.

The format was altered again in 1977, this time with five foursomes on opening day, five four-ball matches on the second day, and 10 singles matches on the final day. This reduced the total points to 20.

In 1979, when the Great Britain & Ireland Team was expanded to include players from European countries, the format was revised to provide four fourball and four foursomes matches the first two days and 12 singles matches on the third day. The total points awarded were 28. This format will continue through The 2004 Matches.

The Ryder Cup Matches were interrupted for the second time in history following the September 11, 2001, attack upon America. Some eight days following the tragedy, The 2001 Matches were rescheduled, with all future competitions conducted in even-numbered years.

 

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About the Author

The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

All About Espresso Cups

A real espresso drinker is keen to his cup that consists of the espresso than a common coffee drinker. When you come to think of it, the cup does not actually bother a common coffee drinker, however those individuals whose habit is drinking espresso the cup is also essential. Do you know that other countries aside from US, considers espresso cup as an art. The feeling of coffee drinkers is enticed to drink espresso since of the cautiously crafted cups. Not just that, espresso cups are great present choice for occasions also especially for espresso drinkers.

The Eminence of Espresso Cups

It is the quality of the product you purchased that counts best. And definitely it is what espresso cups should be also. There are classes of cups that can be picked up from the market; there are sturdy plastic, glass and porcelain which are thought as the best type of cup. Porcelain cups are part of espresso drinking tradition, not only in US but other countries as well.

Size matters and when it comes to espresso cups, it does matter a lot. The general capacity of espresso cup is around 2 to 3-ounce glasses. However it does not essentially mean that the whole capacity could be filled with espresso alone. It’s normally topped with cream and also chocolate shavings that are the general specialty of espresso drinkers.

Espresso Cups Different Style

As mentioned, many espresso porcelain cups have a personal touch added to them and also lots of people make a big deal out of the style that is normally shown on espresso cups. There are all sorts of neat themes that one could choose for their espresso cup, but the digital age has truly revolutionized the way images are put on glasses and other materials throughout the world. For this reason there would be high-tech & colorful espresso glasses around the world thanks to some of those great pieces of technology! However, although, espresso cups are typically bought with having a great design in mind.

Espresso drinkers’ love for espresso even considers its cup to add to its perfect ambiance of espresso drinking. Which is why everybody who love espresso knows an ideal way to sip their favorite beverage with style. 

The author is a multifaceted writer. She writes articles for a variety of subjects such as marriage and relationship advices, great deals on bikinis and swimdress, family and parenting concerns, fashion and beauty tips and a lot more.

Jello shot plastic cups with lids?

Where can I find Jello shot plastic cups with lids? Not online, I don't have time to order them.
I need lids because I'm making them and bringing them to my friend's for a party.
Thanks everyone for answering!

I buy mine from Sam's Club, but any club warehouse store should have them.

Happy Holidays!

Freshome Giveaway: Win a Camera Lens Mug from Photojojo! (Fresh Inspiration for Your Home)

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Twist N Shot Jello Shot Cups