Golf is unlike just about every other sport you can name when it comes to the spectator experience that it offers.
Attending sporting events will typically see you placed in a stadium or arena setting, fixed to a designated seat for the duration, hopefully with a perfect view of the action, but golf is just a little bit different, you're out there in the elements, the playing area itself covers many square miles, and the golfers themselves can often be distant, which offers both positives and negatives in terms of what you'll take away from the opportunity.
Attending Golf Tournaments is Unique
You can be there from the crack of dawn to the fading sunset, and your day will often relate physically with that of the players you are watching, as following groups around a golf course involves striding numerous miles just so you can catch a glimpse of your favourite star.
While modern TV coverage offers unparalleled access to see the best angles of every key shot, for those who are in attendance at the venue themselves, these spectators are effectively their own producer and director, you choose what you're going to see, where you are planning to stand or sit, and which golfers you are hoping to follow.
Paying for a ticket to be at a golf tournament is the freedom to craft your own day out that is unique to the individual.
That's a massive appeal, certainly, but it can also be tiring, and it won't always be easy to get close to the competitors or to uncover the most optimum views as you are battling with many other spectators and, it's fair to say, not every course on the planet is naturally friendly towards viewing.
The Biggest Events Are Now Too Big
It's particularly true of the biggest showpieces now, especially the Ryder Cup (where tens of thousands are crammed in to follow four matches on the Friday and Saturday), and the Open, which has simply gotten bigger (but not necessarily better) in recent times, where massive crowds have become the norm.
Huge hospitality pavilions and grandstands have attempted to create more of a conventional stadium setting for golf, which makes a lot of sense, but there is nothing like getting out on the course, trying to get as near to the tees and greens as possible, so you can watch the world's best up close.
While the atmosphere and sense of buzz for these most popular dates on the calendar can be thrilling to be part of, the best spectator experiences for golf are found elsewhere in more intimate occasions.
The Walker Cup is a Special Fan Experience
That's what I discovered when I attended the Walker Cup at St Andrews in 2023.
Anyone who has been to the Old Course will know that it can be hard to see much here, given the compact nature of the layout, spectators are generallly left to watch from the edge of the course perimiter, unable to get truly close to the greens or centre of the fairways.
But the Walker Cup was - and is - different. The crowds are dramatically smaller than what you will be part of at the Open, for example, meaning that there is instantly a greater connection to the matches unfolding before you, and it's quite simply easier to move around and see more than you otherwise would.
However, unlike the major professional events these days, where fans pay for expensive tickets and are then herded around with fixed ropes like sheep, at the Walker Cup (and other top amateur tournaments), spectators are given the responsibility to police themselves, being able to walk the very same holes that the golfers are on, standing behind them and seeing the exact same view they have before playing a shot, including right on the edge of the greens, effectively giving you a chance to witness the moment from their perspective.
You Feel Connected to The Action
Walking the course - properly like this - helps to gives you a greater understanding of what the competitors are facing, it makes you appreciate the shots they are playing and the difficulties they have sought to overcome.
When Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappe are preparing to take a penalty kick, it's not like football fans can stand right behind them on the edge of the box, looking over their shoulder, but at the Walker Cup, you effectively do become part of the action far more than you would for just about any other golf event.
The 2026 Walker Cup at Lahinch, one of Ireland's truly great links courses, should be a wonderful spectacle, especially for the 8,000 spectators who will be there on each of the match days on Saturday and Sunday.
Each of those lucky attendees will have the opportunity to walk a wonderful venue, witness team matchplay golf at its finest, and see potential household names of the future produce world class shots within feet of where they are standing.
That is arguably the most special spectator experience in golf, and, perhaps, it's beyond anything that other sports can offer too.
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