PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999

A couple of weeks ago I, like many other sports nuts, watched on in disbelief as the last day of the 2012 Ryder Cup unfolded.  I've never hidden the fact that I love playing golf...not always so keen on watching it...but there's something about the the bi-annual match between Europe and USA which makes it compulsive viewing.

For those who don't know, Europe pulled back what was at one time a six-point deficit to inflict defeat on the much-fancied Americans.  They had entered the last day four points behind knowing that only once in the history of the competition has that sort of score-line been turned round over the final 12 matches.

The time before was back in 1999 and on that occasion, it was USA who turned round the deficit to complete an unlikely win.  That was the year I watched the Ryder Cup unfold on television in a bar on the Costa Del Sol in Spain.  I was in that part of the world on a golfing holiday with a crowd of mates and it was an unforgettable week for all sorts of reasons.  It was a week when a group of guys who had known each other for more than a decade bonded together like never before....and sad to say never since, again for all sorts of reasons.

I was 36 years of age on that trip....some of the boys were younger and some were older. I knew instinctively that it would be the last time I would go on a holiday where going out to clubs almost every night was an option.  Looking back, I have no idea how I survived the week.  Golf every morning, right on the back of a late night's drinking and dancing....thinking about it, Red Bull had a lot to answer for.  I discovered, courtesy of a Dutch barmaid in one of the bars near the hotel, that this new soft drink not only was a great mix for vodka, but it could keep you going way past what your body could normally cope with.

A lot of memories of 1999 came flooding back to me as I watched the 2012 Ryder Cup from the sanctity of the sitting room in Villain Towers.  Lots of great memories....even the ones at the time which seemed like a bit of a nightmare but now can be seen as just daftness.  Rule #1 if one of your mates gets pick-pocketed by a local youth....you chase after them in a group to try and get the wallet back....Rule #2 if one of your mates gets pick- pocketed and the youth turns into an alley where all his mates are waiting with big dogs and knives is to about-turn and run like fuck back in the direction of your hotel.....Rule #3 if one of your mates gets pick-pocketed by a local youth and you've followed Rules #1 and #2 to the letter.....call him for all the names in the world when you get back to the hotel and then club together to make sure he's not down on cash the rest of the week.

And here's the song that always brings back memories of that week. It was on in every bar and every club we dropped into:-

mp3 : Basement Jaxx - Red Alert

Wonder if any music-loving golfer down on the Costa a couple of weeks back will reminisce about his exploits in year 2025?