Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
After two years of waiting patiently since the magnificent spectacle of the K Club in Ireland, the eyes of every golf fan from both sides of the Atlantic turn to Kentucky next week, and Valhalla Golf Club, for the 37th Ryder Cup matches.
The Ryder Cup, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, was first played in 1927.
The first official match between professional golfers from the United States and Great Britain was played at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts, USA.
The origins of the idea to stage such a match have been the subject of much debate among golfing historians.
Regardless of who takes the credit, the first informal matches were played in 1921 at Gleneagles, Scotland with the British team victorious. Another match took place in 1926 at Wentworth Club, England, with the Brits winning by an even bigger margin. English seed merchant and entrepreneur Samuel Ryder was a member of the appreciative gallery.
After the contest, Ryder had tea with British team members George Duncan and Abe Mitchell (Ryder's personal golf tutor), along with Walter Hagen and teammate Emmett French.
It was suggested that Ryder provide a trophy and encourage the establishment of more regular matches. Ryder agreed at once and commissioned the design of the gold chalice that bears his name, with Mitchell's likeness on the top. The first match occurred at Worcester and the US Team triumphed 9 1/2 - 2 1/2. The Ryder Cup was born.
The matches were dominated by the US team in the coming years, so much so that the once magnificent biannual spectacle was becoming too predictable, too one-sided and was losing its appeal.
During the 1977 matches at Royal Lytham & St Annes, Jack Nicklaus, the greatest player of all time, approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgent need to improve the competitiveness of the matches if the Ryder Cup was to survive. After much discussion, it was decided to allow players from continental Europe to play in the team.
The effect of this change was spectacular - matches immediately became closer and more keenly contested and interest from the public, television and other areas of the media skyrocketed. Characters such as Severiano Ballesteros from Spain caught the public imagination and lit up the contest with their passion and enthusiasm.
The balance of power has shifted dramatically over the past 20 years and Europe has won the past three meetings, the previous two by huge margins. This shift in power has now prompted the Americans to rethink their own selection process with some even saying that they must win this time around for the good of the event - I'm sure not many of my fellow Europeans will agree with that!
It all adds up to the third largest sporting event on the planet behind the Olympic Games and the Fifa World Cup - not bad for an exhibition match.
The teams are now in place for the 37th Ryder Cup. European Captain Nick Faldo has caused much debate with his surprise wild card selections of Poulter and Casey, consequently leaving out Ryder Cup stalwarts Clarke and Montgomerie.
US Captain Paul Azinger's reds have lost Tiger and he has picked players right in form; but on paper this seems the most one-sided event since the days when Great Britain & Ireland faced the might of the truly great American players in the 60s and 70s.
Europe, even on away soil, will start as favorites but in golf, like all sport, you never know. One thing is for sure, the contest will be very keenly fought, the crowd will be passionate and millions of golf fans all over the world will be glued to the action from first tee on Friday morning until the winning putt is holed on Sunday night.
