BY
JIM BLACK
I
can’t make up my mind which was worse: the sight of Scotland’s First Minister –
minus shades and pink beret, it should be stressed – shamelessly high-jacking
the Ryder Cup for political ends or the cast of dozens of public relations
gurus turning the grand pile that is Gleneagles Hotel into a scene resembling
Sauchiehall Street on the morning of the Boxing Day sales.
Not
even the 101 Dalmatians could have caused quite such a stir as the rich and
famous weaved their way through the madding crowd in an effort to check in
before, I suspect, giving careful consideration to checking straight back out.
Most
of us are by now all too familiar with what Alex Salmond is about. Less clear, in
my mind at least, is the role of the P.R. – if indeed the majority actually
serve a useful purpose.
I
shudder at the thought of what the cost to the tax-payer is supporting the
Holyrood hordes.
On
this occasion marking a “Year To Go”
before the over-hyped, over-inflated, over-the-top Ryder Cup returns to
Scotland for the first time for more than 40 years, an independent P.R. agency
had also been employed to oversee the operation in addition to the usual
suspects.
If
their purpose was to keep the assembled media informed and attend to the basic
requirements of the scribes – a workplace and a power point – they largely
failed in their task.
They
same cannot be said of the European Tour’s media department. That handful of
efficient souls were, as always, on the ball.
Just
as well. Otherwise Tom Watson, the bemused and bewildered American Ryder Cup
captain might well have turned on his heels and headed straight back out of
town on the specially commissioned Choo-Choo that delivered him to a waking
hell of press briefings, stage shows and glad-handing.
The
last time the links legend captained a Ryder Cup team – in 1993 – it was just a
game.
Regrettably,
in the years since the biennial match has grown into an ugly monster of
commercialism and a sporting event of exaggerated importance.
Sure,
as sporting occasions go, the Ryder Cup is up there with the best of them. But
do we really need to turn a three-day event every 24 months into a circus?
With
apologies to a valued colleague for stealing his line, next year’s match is
being played on the fourth best course in Auchterarder!
But
money is always the game changer and no matter how hard the First Minister
endeavours to highjack the Ryder Cup, he will ultimately play second fiddle to
commercialism and the tens of millions of pounds the event generates.
But
at least we are assured of one thing, Europe and the United States have chosen
wisely in appointing Paul McGinley and Tom Watson to captain the respective
teams.
Both
are articulate, knowledgeable and gracious with a rare awareness of the need to
have the world’s media onboard.
They
will also ensure that the event is conducted in a true sporting manner.
Personally,
I am already relishing the sight of 24 golfing Gladiators slugging it out in
the mist and rain of late September in the Glen of Eagles.
No
matter that the decision-makers could hardly have chosen a more inhospitable
venue, given that even on a summer’s day it can feel like winter in that part
of rural Perthshire, for one week at least, Hollywood is coming to Gleneagles
in even larger numbers than the usual A-list of celebrities who regularly “slum
it” in five star luxury.
Regrettably,
Holyrood is coming as well.
But,
with luck, we won’t notice the unimportant important people.
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