Off The Tee: Ryder Cup Fallout, a New Place to Play, a Great Finish

The wait was two years. The result was the same.

For the third Ryder Cup in-a-row, Team Europe proved superior to Team USA, winning 16 1/2 to 11 1/2 at Gleneagles in Scotland.

In this edition of 'Off The Tee', I asked Joel Harrington from 4 Deep Golf blog about what the Europeans did right to win their 6th cup in the last seven tries:

Long after the results in Scotland are forgotten, the reaction from Team USA will live on, as Captain Tom Watson was been criticized from nearly every corner of the golf world, including some notable jabs from Team USA member Phil Mickelson.

I asked Joel about Watson's tenure as captain, Mickelson's comments, and who the next captain of Team USA should be:

Despite all of the uncertainty surrounding Team USA and the Ryder Cup right now, one thing is certain: the 2016 Ryder Cup will take place nearby us at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.

Joel says it's the perfect course to host the event:

While the golf world was fixated on Scotland, the shot of last weekend actually came at Pebble Beach, where 17-year old Christopher Meyers, playing in the Nature Valley First Tee Open, sank this double eagle on 18 to win the tournament.

Joel says the shot is impressive for a number of reasons:

Severe weather kept Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Iowa from opening The Falls course this year, but a few lucky locals, like me and Joel, got a chance to get in a 'sneak peak' of the courses' back nine last week.

So what did Joel think of the course?

The Falls course is expected to be open in the spring of 2015, weather permitting.