Great Britain and Ireland skipper Dean Robertson may be a Scotsman but he is well in tune with how important sport is in Ireland. He knows Kerry are the golf standard in Gaelic games very much like six in a row chasing USA are the kingpins of the Walker Cup. But if Mayo can upset the odds why not Great Britain and Ireland?
There may only be one Irishman to cheer on in the ten man squad but Robertson is keen to have a large Irish influence with 2014 Ryder Cup winning captain Paul McGinley set to be a huge factor behind the scenes. Robertson will want to tap into the 30,000 Lahinch crowd expected during the contest while there will be a trip to Ballybunion with the team and a quick puck with the Clare hurlers before the action starts.
McGinley isn’t the only Ryder Cup influence being used for Great Britain and Ireland. Robertson has stressed the importance of a quick start and played six-hole matches as part of the squad preparation camp last month in Lahinch similar to Luke Donald’s training of four hole matches in Ryder Cup practice.
“Paul is going to play a part during the week,” said Robertson. “Basically, Paul keeps things nice and simple, but he’s a big person on representing, and he talks about being a real passionate Dub, and when he came down to Tralee for the Palmer Cup, he spoke beautifully at the opening ceremony about Kerry and it being the gold standard for the Gaelic football until Mayo beat them a few weeks ago.
“But he’s really going to just come in and support the things that I’m doing. There’s nothing that I’m doing that I haven’t spoken to him or others about and taken counsel and great advice.
“But the preparation and the process that we’ve had in the lead-up as opposed to going to Cypress, links golf is something we are far more comfortable with. We are far more able to understand the skill set that’s required, and that’s really been the key all along is getting ready.”
Robertson was on site for the South of Ireland last month which was seen as a huge counting event towards the contest and he feels the people and the town have a huge role to play in making it one of the most famous Walker Cup editions.
“The preparation for Lahinch uniquely, I don’t think there’s ever been a big championship like the South at a Walker Cup venue five weeks prior to a Walker Cup, so it was always going to be huge, and I firmly believe that baseline of knowledge is going to be massive come two weeks’ time.
“It’s such a unique venue. Lahinch, the people of County Clare, they are so passionate about their golf, as the whole of Ireland are, and with that, it’s going to make for the most exciting Walker Cup, probably one that might never have been experienced before.”
Five of the ten players selected for next month’s contest were competing in the South of Ireland while Tyler Weaver was part of the camp only as he continues to recover from a back injury that has kept him out of competitive action since April – he withdrew from the US Amateur as a precaution but Robertson was impressed with what he saw in training.
“Tyler Weaver made the effort to be there. Obviously he’d been out of action, but he understood the significance, as did Eliot Baker. Eliot Baker was in a quandary to play. He was in to play, but he chose not to play because in not playing, he was guaranteeing himself the gap for next year for the whole year, and I had no problem with that. But he said, I’ll be there and I’ll be there for the rest of the week if I need to be, and I’ll caddie for somebody. That’s the sort of person that Eliot Baker is.
“Tyler, he was — I’ll be honest with you, Tyler was better than any of the rest of them at the week in practice. He might not have hit drivers but he hit all the approach shots. He got an understanding for the golf course. Lahinch is
“So the only ones that weren’t there for Luke Poulter, Niall Sheils Donegan and Jack Whaley. The rest of the six or seven of them have been there, yeah.”
A chance to take in some links preparation in a more relaxed setting will be afforded to the team in Ballybunion when they all arrive in Ireland on the 28th while they will get the full Clare experience on Monday with a puc fada arranged with the Clare hurlers.
“Yeah, so the players are coming in on Friday the 28th from the U.S., for the ones that are based there, into Shannon, and we’re going to have a holding camp at Ballybunion for two days. So Ballybunion will be very relaxed. It will be where we disseminate all the scripted clothing, et cetera, et cetera, and just have the players get back to refamiliarising themselves with hitting off links turf and the various shots that are going to be required over that weekend before we drive up to Lahinch on the Sunday evening.
“We’re staying — once we’ve checked in, that’s when practice will start on Lahinch on Monday morning, and Tuesday will be a real day where we’ll draw back — will be quite a relaxed day. We’re going to visit the Cliffs of Moher, which are magnificent. We’ll get a little bit of culture in there.
“I don’t know whether I’m meant to say this or not, but we’ve also got a puc fada on Monday evening at Lahinch. So we’ve got the County Clare hurlers coming in to do some skills, demo, and everybody is allowed a couple of goals apart from Tyler Weaver.”
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