Paul McGinley Recalls Wild Drinking Habits of Former European Ryder Cup Teams

The former European Tour player explained why today’s golfers aren’t as “fun” anymore.

Paul McGinley has been an important contributor to more than a few European Ryder Cup teams, and that also means that the Irishman has witnessed how the biennial event has evolved over the years. 

In a recent interview with Golf Channel hosts Damon Hack and Eamon Lynch, McGinley, the 2014 Team Europe captain, explained why Ryder Cup competitors aren’t as “fun” nowadays. 

“Is golf as fun as it was 15 years ago? I think they're making three times the money we were making. But the camaraderie we had in the game back then—and maybe it's because we weren't playing for as much money as they are now and we weren't flying around everywhere in our private jets and there wasn't 50 NetJets sitting at the airport to take players home every night,” McGinley said. 

Paul McGinley recalled when a few glasses of wine were the norm during the Ryder Cup / Getty Images

But it isn’t just travel logistics and increased prize money purses that have transformed over the years in professional golf. As a result of the higher stakes, players are taking the competition more seriously. And in turn, they’re drinking less alcohol to make sure they are properly rested for long days on the course. 

In McGinley’s day, however, things were quite different. During the interview, the four-time European Tour winner recalled an instance at the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills, where an outrageous amount of wine was consumed by the team even before the matches were complete. 

“I remember one of the backroom staff telling us on a Saturday night, we had consumed 72 bottles of wine already on Saturday night—and they had to go and reorder," McGinley said. “And this is when matches were still on.

“It’s not like we were getting drunk every night, far from it. But everyone would have had one, two, maybe three glasses of wine at night and it was normal. And you know, nine, 10 out of the 12 players would do that. Obviously it’s a changed atmosphere now.” 

The European Team went on to win by a record margin that year in Michigan, under captain Bernhard Langer. 

Later, when McGinley was elected captain in 2014, the atmosphere at night in the team rooms had already shifted completely. 

“I was amazed even when I was captain in 2014, nobody drank. I mean, nobody. I wasn't like, 'It's a Ryder Cup I'm not going to drink.' It was a case of, 'No, I'm not drinking, I don't drink when I play. It's not even a question,” he said. 

The Ryder Cup is always an entertaining spectacle, but it’s hard not to wonder what would change if today’s players had as much fun as the European Team did in 2004. We can only imagine the social media content that would emerge from nights like those.