Azinger: Wilson was significant to Ryder Cup success

As captain of the 2008 Ryder Cup team, Paul Azinger tried to create an environment for success. Indeed, he was successful. Yet, Azinger gives a lot of credit to Mark Wilson, CGCS, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., the site of the Ryder Cup last year.

In general, golf course superintendents’ decisions about course conditioning made early on before a tournament will determine whether players are going to have a difficult time or have it a little easier.

“I have a lot of respect for superintendents and what they do,” says Azinger, who delivered the keynote speech at the GCSAA’s 2009 education conference opening session in New Orleans earlier this month. “Superintendents help determine how the golfers’ experience will be. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with superintendents during my 28 years on tour.”

Azinger admits he needs practice rounds to check out a course’s conditions before playing in a tournament.

As captain of the Ryder Cup team, Azinger developed a close relationship with Wilson, who said he kept the rough at Valhalla short, then let it grow. The course conditions tied to a dilemma Azinger had – waiting two years to choose who was going to be on the team. So, he didn’t know if he was going to have bombers (long drivers) or accurate straight shooters. There ended up being a mix: Chad Campbell, J.B. Holmes, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, Anthony Kim, Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk, Boo Weekley, Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker.

Azinger says he was secure in his leadership role because he surrounded himself with people smarter than himself and put together the team based on personalities. Azinger wanted to group the team into three pods based on their personalities. As such, the 12 team members always got along.

“I wanted to do things differently,” he says. “I had to lobby the PGA for being the team captain, and I used my pod concept to sell that. We had to change the selection process because there are so many non-U.S. golfers in the top rankings of the PGA Tour.”

Because the team consisted of great iron players, Wilson grew the rough around the greens deep. The greens themselves ended up softening a bit because of a storm that blew through the area.

Wilson was very accommodating while prepping the course, Azinger says. As Azinger and the team were checking out the course before the match, Holmes saw a tree branch, 30 feet high on the 16th hole and thought it might trouble him. Azinger was hesitant to call Wilson right away to make a request to remove the branch, so he waited a bit to call him. When he finally did, Wilson already had sent someone out to remove the branch because someone else informed Wilson of the situation.

“Mark was a significant part of the success of the Ryder Cup,” Azinger says.

There was significant pressure to win the tournament considering the Americans lost five of the last six tournaments and won only three of them since 1983. So, Azinger used the American crowd as an advantage by creating the 13th man concept.

“The crowd went nuts,” he says. “They attended a pep rally at Fourth Street Live (in downtown Louisville). The players were going to show off for the crowd, not be unnerved by them.”

After discussing strategies with Azinger, Wilson conditioned the course by verticutting the Bermudagrass more and overseeding less, trying to achieve a less green and more brown look.

“In general, most courses I play are too wet,” Azinger says, adding that he cares about the environment but doesn’t think he is the proper spokesman for that cause.

Regarding rough, Azinger says the trend on the PGA Tour was thick rough for a while, then less rough, and now it’s back to thick rough again. And because of that, he says golfers are injuring their wrists and elbows more frequently than in years past.

Comparing the Europeans to the Americans when it comes to preparing for the Ryder Cup, the Europeans have been more involved with course conditions traditionally, Azinger says.

“I think I was the first captain that was really involved with the course conditions,” says Azinger, who’s brother, Jed, is a former golf course superintendent and currently a golf course architect and president of Azinger Golf Group. “I created the environment and hoped for the best. It was more than just growing and mowing.

“The superintendents are the backbone of the industry,” he adds. “I thought it was the PGA, but it’s all about the course.”

Azinger plans to write a book about his experience as the captain of the 2008 Ryder Cup team. He wants the story to be about creating the environment, trying to help people understand team building, not solely about the details of the match. He wants the book to have longevity. GCI