Thank You, Team Europe!

Hey Folks,

Many of you might have never heard about the Ryder Cup and it’s ok [not really] but I don’t want to talk about golf today. I would rather share the meaning behind this amazing sport event. The Ryder Cup is the most exciting golf competition in the world which sees Europe and United States compete against each other every two years.

This year the 44th Ryder Cup has been held at the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, Italy. Spectacular golf course located in the most beautiful city in the world. If you just look at the statistics, Europe has always won on home soil since 1997, including an extraordinary dominant display at the Ireland K Club, Palmer Course in 2006 beating the Americans 18 and half to 9 and half. This year Europe has confirmed the pattern and has dominated the first couple of days which has led finally to win the Ryder Cup by 16 and half to 11 and half.

Has this just been a coincidence? Are just Americans unable to win on foreign soil? I would like to share with you all my take on why this has happened and what made our team bring home the most significant golf trophy ever.

• Practice Makes Perfect

Back in May, the Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, Italy has hosted the Italian Open this year. That was an amazing opportunity for the Americans to practice on the very same course and get the grasp of how hard it might have been. Unfortunately, none of the Americans has come to play giving up on this incredible opportunity to be better prepared for the Ryder Cup.

This Team USA thought that coming more well rested and relaxed would have given them an advantaged, especially giving the very demanding schedule of the Ryder Cup itself. The strategy to underestimate the course’s design as well as the edge that yardage could have given the Team Europe has made them lose the trophy that they have gained last time.

Doesn’t matter how many majors you have won or how talented you are, if you don’t practice with consistency and you don’t always plan ahead of time, your opponent will take full advantage of it.

• Work Hard… With Purpose

Few of the most successful American golf players have underperformed during this Ryder Cup, however some of them have redeemed themselves during the single matches on Sunday. I have heard some of the comments in regards of the poor choices made by Zach Johnson [Team USA Capitan] and, despite it might be the case, I don’t believe this is the only reason why Americans have underperformed in the first couple of days.

Golf is an exquisite individual sport which might be harder to be played together as a team. These modern days are way more characterized by self-oriented thinking which made each one of us more focus on ourselves rather than on the impact we might have as a team. Even though Americans are playing under the same flag and speaking all the same language they haven’t worked hard as a team, at least as hard as Team Europe did.

Doesn’t matter if you are playing under the same flag, if there isn’t the right spirit and the purpose to work hard towards it you will never be a team-player and your team will never win a trophy.

• It’s All About Leadership

Luke Donald [Team Europe Capitan] has made a very risky choice to go with six personal picks because he really believed that it’s not only about statistics but also about complementing each other. This approach has made Team Europe stronger together and able to take 4-0 lead on the first Foursome matches.

Numbers are fundamental to take any rational decision, however when teammates must play together you can’t exclude the human-factor from the equation. Finding the right combination against the opponent's choice can make a big difference on the field.

Do always what you believe is the right thing to do, regardless the odds. Team that has won in the past might not be able to repeat the same performance in the future and if you are able to read through that, you will always be able to give the perfect opportunity to the right candidate. ?

Now, it’s Sunday afternoon here in London with a gloomy sky and a chilled wind. This will not be an excuse to not get out there and hit few more balls to improve my swing because Practice Makes Perfect, because you can make a better impact if you Work Hard with purpose, because it’s all about Leading by Example

Hope this short post has excited you to focus more on your own "swing", whatever your sport choice is

Thank you, Team Europe, for making history today!

Take care of yourselves

Cheers,

Filippo