Gleneagles is in the wings

Rugby reporter

Sunday 30 September 2012

As befits a man who carries ultimate responsibility for the smooth running of one of the world's more prestigious sleepovers, Gleneagles Hotel's managing director Patrick Elsmie is not the sort of fellow whose feathers ruffle easily.

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Alasdair Reid

But if anything was ever going to cause flutters beneath that suave, professional and impeccably dressed exterior then a visit to Medinah would probably do the trick.

For while most spectators at the Illinois course can savour the experience of being close to and witness one of the greatest sporting show on earth, Elsmie's visit to the venue of the 2012 Ryder Cup is very much a working trip. And a pretty daunting one at that.

For in two years time, it will fall to Elsmie and his staff of around 850 at Gleneagles to not only match what Medinah has dished up these past few days, but surpass it. Medinah, of course, is a private members' club, so it could probably be forgiven the odd glitch when a cast of thousands suddenly pitches up on its doorstep, but Gleneagles is a different beast entirely. The hotel has a global reputation and they will be putting it on the line. In short, they can't afford to screw up.For Elsmie, a handful of senior European Tour officials, and a delegation from EventScotland, a trip to Chicago for this year's Ryder Cup is likely to prove the most critical part of their preparations. Such is the scale of the tournament that most of the planning has already been done – after all, it was as far back as 2001 that Gleneagles first learnt it would be staging the 2014 event – but Elsmie, who has held the top job at the Perthshire resort since 2007, admitted that there is still flexibility to change things."Together, we're looking at what we're seeing here and trying to see where problems or issues could arise," he explained. "It's all very impressive what we're seeing here, but we're constantly asking ourselves how we can do things differently and how we can do things better."As many of Europe's top golfers had pointed out over the previous few years, the one thing Gleneagles did have to improve was the course itself. Long feted for its King's and Queen's courses, the PGA Centenary Course found few friends in the golfing fraternity after it was laid out by Jack Nicklaus in 1993. Among top golfers, Darren Clarke was particularly scathing, so last winter saw a major overhaul, with dramatic changes to several holes.Elsmie was also in the gallery at Celtic Manor two years ago, when rainstorms of almost biblical proportions caused chaos and forced the Ryder Cup into a Monday finish for the first time ever. Partly in response to those events, the drainage at Gleneagles has been considerably upgraded, the most significant part of it being the sub-air systems that have been installed beneath every green, and which effectively sucks standing water down through the soil after a downpour."The weather is always very much in mind," said Elsmie. "We can control everything else, but there's no getting away from the fact that we are at the mercy of the conditions to some extent. By tradition, the tournament is played in autumn, in temperate conditions, and that inevitably means weather can play a part.The course might still get a minor tweak here and there, but nothing on the scale of what happened last winter. "Any golf course is a work-in-progress," said Elsmie. "But I was happy with the feedback we received from everyone at the Johnnie Walker Championship last month. And not just what was said in press conferences, but in anecdotal remarks from the players as well."So what has struck him most on his visit to Medinah? "I suppose it's the size of the place," he answered. "Physically, they have a huge site here, and they have been able to fill it with private pavilions, hospitality and all sorts of things.Curiously, Elsmie believes the experience gained from hosting the G8 leader' summit at Gleneagles in 2005 may prove to be as valuable as any knowledge acquired at a golf tournament. "That was an opportunity to look at best practices in all sorts of areas, especially policing and security," he explained. "It was very useful indeed."

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Gleneagles is in the wings

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