The Ryder Cup in Rome was well supported by fans from accross the world.
It also marked a 13th consecutive Ryder Cup as an official supplier for Club Car, continuing a long relationship that dates back to 1997 at Valderrama.
There were around 200 golf and utility cars on site in Spain 26 years ago, looked after by two service personnel; this year there were 550 and a team of 14 people ensuring their smooth running and maintenance before and during the event.
Kevin Hart, Club Car’s Golf Sales Director EMEA, says: “Club Car has a wonderful relationship with the Ryder Cup. There aren’t too many brands that have enjoyed the same length of commercial involvement with one sporting event, and we’re proud of that long history.
“Having reliable, high-quality vehicles is crucial to the complex logistical operation that is the Ryder Cup, and once again Club Car delivered.
“It was a brilliant week from a Club Car perspective. Everything ran very smoothly and our guests in hospitality thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Credit to the DP World Tour and Ryder Cup Europe for staging a truly superb spectacle.”
The iconic red and blue team cars were the ones in the spotlight at Marco Simone, but behind the scenes hundreds more vehicles helped with the build and delivery of the event.
“The cars are used for everything from TV – where around 250 cars are allocated – to policing, catering and security,” continued Hart.
“Most people think of the Ryder Cup as being three days, but Club Car’s preparations for Marco Simone began almost immediately after the end of the previous one in Paris. Of course, we had an extra year this time because of the pandemic.
“We worked very closely with the team at Ryder Cup Europe to find out what vehicles and specifications they needed.
“A total of 242 vehicles were specially made in Augusta, Club Car’s headquarters, over a six-month timespan so they could be transported in plenty of time for the event. The rest came from the existing DP World Tour fleet supplied by Tractor Hire, an official Club Car distributor.”
Paul Dunstan, Ryder Cup Europe Operations Director, said: “The service Club Car gives us is first class.
“We rely on them to get the vehicles on site, build them and look after them, and it’s an area we never have to give a second thought to because of the expertise and experience the Club Car team has developed over the years.
“Marco Simone was a very complex site – much like a small town – and we had to build a large number of grandstands and event infrastructure. The only way to get around that site was with many reliable and efficient vehicles, including two-seaters, four-seaters, box backs and 4x4s.”
For the first time at a Ryder Cup, the electric vehicles in the fleet were charged using solar power, tying in with Ryder Cup Europe’s sustainability policy.
A bank of solar panels in the buggy compound charged the cars, making the most of the long hours of sunshine during the week in Rome.
Logistics
So how do you assemble so many vehicles in one place, 5,000 miles from where they are made?
Frank Ockens, CEO of Cart Care Company, an official Club Car distributor in Germany which handled around half the Ryder Cup fleet on site, explains: “We had 20 shipping containers arrive by sea to Hamburg, which were unloaded and put them onto 34 trucks to make the long journey by road to Rome.
“Once on site, my team assembled the cars which was a process that lasted from the middle of April to the end of July. Then it was a question of setting up the parking spots and charging points and installing the security codes.
“The buggies used to be key-operated but now each one has a unique code which gives us extra security.”
What happens to the cars now?
The captains get to keep their cars that shuttled them around Marco Simone during the week. For Europe it has become a tradition for the players to sign the cowl of the car and present it to the captain on the Sunday evening – which is what happened in Italy, with Rory McIlroy presenting Luke Donald with the buggy and saying a few words of thanks on behalf of Team Europe.
Donald plans to have his car in the US, where he is based for some of the year, and Zach Johnson’s buggy will also head back across the Atlantic to his home in Georgia.
Hart said: “The cowls of each car are removed and treated so the players’ signatures are permanent, then they are shipped separately to the rest of the cars, taking special care of that priceless part.”
The remaining team cars are normally purchased by the players and caddies, and 118 other vehicles from the event will be added to the DP World Tour fleet.
For more information about Club Car’s versatile range of golf, turf and utility vehicles, visit www.clubcar.com.
To read more about Club Car’s history with the Ryder Cup, check out this multimedia feature with videos, interviews and iconic images.