Watching professional golfers is enjoyable for anyone who enjoys the game of golf. Being a witness to their play in person is even better. Dad and I enjoyed watching the United States and European Ryder Cup teams practice, but not as much as when we’ve seen them compete in the Buick Open several teams.

As most people know, the Ryder Cup is a lot different than a typical golf tournament; it’s a team match play event. Each team has only 2 golfers for a total of 24 men. A typical golf tournament starts with about 120 competitors, dropping to 70-some after the cut. So instead of having a group or two on each hole for the entire day, there are only golfers on 5 or 6 holes at any point during the Ryder Cup practice rounds. The teams are split with each starting on a seperate 9, so it’s not as if you can easily jump from back and forth to watch each team.

After watching some of the golfers practice on the driving range, we walked out to the course and took a seat in the stands behind the par 3 13th. It was a great spot to sit because we could see the players come up the 12th hole, play the 13th, and tee off on 14. We could also see 8 tee, which sits back to back with the 14 tee.

What I enjoyed the most was seeing their preperation around the greens. It was common for the players to place a tee in the ground where they thought a hole location may be over the weekend. Then they would putt to the tee from several different places on the green. They would also throw a few balls in a bunker and in the rough around the greens. Their touch and control is unbelievable. You really don’t get a chance to appreciate their play around the greens when watching on TV.

It’s also great to sit at the driving range and watch the top players in the world hit ball after ball better than duffers like us could hope to hit one out of five. One of the biggest things you realize is they don’t swing very hard, although it could just be that their swings are so smooth and controlled that you can’t tell how hard they are swinging. The pros don’t have any extra motion (except for Furyk) in their backswings to get them in trouble. I guess it says something for amount of practice time they put in.

If you enjoy golf, you really need to get out and watch the pros at some point. It’s an experience that will make you appreciate this great game more than ever.