Thursday 29 September 2016 09:08, UK
In the next of our Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) series on the summer of sport, we look at how players and captains will be preparing for a tournament like no other - the Ryder Cup.
Professional golfers all have their own way of preparing for each tournament, and finding the right balance between time on the range, practice rounds and relaxation is crucial to performance week in, week out.
But preparing for a Ryder Cup? That's an entirely different prospect. It's not just a case of analysing the course, working on the swing and setting out a strategic game-plan for the week ahead.
The Ryder Cup brings a seemingly endless list of other factors to take into account, not just for the players but also the team captains and backroom staff.
This is one of the premier team events in world sport, a rare chance for the players to compete in match play, and in three different formats.
It's all very well a player thinking he can drive the green at Hazeltine's par-four fifth hole and set up an easy birdie chance, or maybe an eagle, but there will be numerous considerations to go through before unsheathing the driver and going for it.
The same can be said of all 18 holes at Hazeltine National, which has undergone significant changes since 11 of the 24 players in action this week competed in the 2009 PGA Championship.
The sight of YE Yang flexing his muscles and lifting his substantial golf bag over his head as he celebrated becoming the first Asian to win a men's major was one of the enduring images of the last decade.
But the green where he finished off Tiger Woods and co will be the halfway house for the Ryder Cup, with holes one to four and 14-18 now making up the front nine followed by 10-13 and five to nine for the inward half.
And it's been seven years since that historic PGA Championship, so previous form on the layout is hardly a factor. That's a shame from a European perspective as Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy tied for third, with Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson also breaching the top 10.
This year's Ryder Cup tees off with four foursomes (alternate shot) matches on Friday morning, followed by fourballs in the afternoon. This is repeated on the Saturday, and then it's a straight 12-way head-to-head shoot-out in Sunday's singles.
As we take an in-depth look at how the captains and players prepare for battle, we need to consider all the mitigating factors:
Experience
Half of Darren Clarke's European outfit are rookies. They could be striping it in practice rounds, hitting every fairway and green and backing that up by holing a few putts.
But they're almost guaranteed to be a bag of nerves on the first day of competition, at which point all the positive shots and putts of the previous three days becomes a distant memory.
However, given the right guidance and encouragement, there's every chance of taking that positive energy into battle. That's why Clarke is almost certain to combine a rookie with an established member of his team over the first two days.
Lee Westwood could be a good foil for an Andy Sullivan, or a Chris Wood, or a Matt Fitzpatrick, although he is expected to partner Danny Willett at some point. The pair played together on the final day of the Masters and were evidently comfortable in each other's company. And we all know how that one ended up!
Expect Sergio Garcia to mentor his fellow Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello throughout the week, while the likes of Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer will also be instrumental senior figures despite both being under 30 years of age.
But don't be surprised to see a couple of debutants paired together, while Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose will, no doubt, rekindle the partnership that brought them so much success at Gleneagles two years ago.
Health and fitness
All of the players on show this week understand the importance of fitness and the majority of them allocate a significant portion of their day to the gym.
But the pressure of the Ryder Cup can take a heavy toll both physically and mentally, as can the rigours of practicing and playing every day. Darren Clarke and Davis Love will, naturally, want their best players taking part in every session, but they will also be wary of "Sunday burn-out".
At Gleneagles in 2014, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy were the only two players on the European team to play five matches, and both won their singles handsomely - a testament to their dedication to their gym regime.
Clarke will want his top dogs involved as much as possible in Minnesota, but he will monitor them closely and assess whether to give one of them a breather to keep them fresh for the singles.
An obvious candidate in this scenario is Henrik Stenson. He is the Open champion, an Olympic silver medallist, and he thrives in the Ryder Cup. But he has been struggling with a knee injury, which will have to be managed carefully as Paul McGinley oversaw two years ago.
Match play strategy
It's all very well having a game plan to tackle each hole at Hazeltine but, in match play, those plans have to be adaptable on almost every shot.
Most of the pre-tournament preparation will revolve around pairings, and the order of play. The captains will lose countless hours of sleep trying to figure out their best set-up for each of the three disciplines, as will the players as they attempt to predict certain scenarios and how they will cope with them.
Let's take the fifth hole as an example of how a match can play out. It's foursomes, and both pairs have structured their order so that the bigger hitter will be teeing it up on the enticing 352-yard par-four.
Each team is intent on going for the green, but what if the player with the honour hits a stinker into trouble? Do the opposition stay positive and stick with their original game plan, or is it a no-brainer to pull out an iron?
What is the wind doing? Can we get home? What if i come up short and find the cross bunker ... is my partner confident in the sand? Has he got more chance of knocking it to a couple of feet from 100 yards?
And then there's the match situation. If you've lost three of the first four holes, do you consolidate or try to force the issue? One good whack with the driver could reduce the arrears, whereas a wayward strike could effectively end the match.
How about fourballs, where both players in each team play their own ball? Does player one go for it and hope a solid swing will take the pressure off his partner? Or does he aim to get his ball in play and let his partner go for glory?
Or, if player one attempts to find the green, can he commit to the shot safe in the knowledge that, should he get into bother, his partner will keep it on the short grass?
And, again, there's the match situation to consider, and the weather conditions, and the course conditions ... the list goes on.
All, or at least most, of the above will be ploughed through during the practice rounds. From a European viewpoint, captain Clarke will already have an idea over who he wants to pair with who, and when, and he is certain to have different pairings in mind for different formats, which leads us on to ....
Formats
Straight and steady might win the race in foursomes, but will that work for fourballs? And the singles could be anyone's guess. You could be a "fairways and greens" merchant, be one under after 13 holes, and be four up on your opponent?
You could be more aggressive, bag a few birdies, be five under after 13 holes, and be two down in your match.
Such is the beauty of match play, and its unpredictability is one of the more fascinating features of every Ryder Cup. The ability to mix aggression with sensible course-management is priceless, as is the ability to adapt to the match situation.
The old saying goes, "play the course, not the man", but what's the point in sticking to a pre-set strategy and playing the par-five 12th as a three-shotter when you might be three down and running out of holes?
This is where natural instinct and versatility will decide matches, as well as the input from the vice-captains following each match and offering their advice in between holes.
Reading the match situations and dealing with every other variable that comes up in every Ryder Cup, including plenty not mentioned in this article, is tough to fully prepare for. As you may have guessed, there are probably more questions than answers.
The players will work on their all-round games, they will work out their preferred partners in each format, and they will have a plan of attack - or defence - for each hole at Hazeltine while knowing that many of those plans will have to be re-written at a moment's notice.
The coaches and caddies will play their part, and the captains will be analysing every possible aspect of form and partnerships in the build up to one of the greatest shows on turf.
The captains cannot make a player hit the ball longer, or straighter, or hole more putts, but what he can do is give his players the belief that they can hit the ball longer, straighter, and hole every putt he looks at.
Form and strategy can take you only so far, belief and confidence can win you - and your team - a Ryder Cup.
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