When international golf legends go to play the Ryder Cup, it has to be fairly obvious that they are not in it for the money. They will be playing with their normal competitors but now in a situation of group effort. It is quite something to behold your mortal rival on the other side of your camp when you have to discuss strategy. You may even have to reveal some of your weaker spots which they will exploit when they next go against you in a competitive situation. The whole dynamic will have to change and you will have to have the trust and confidence to cope with the altered circumstances.
The Group Dynamics
When we used to do management studies, it was always emphasized that in a group situation it was not the individual merits that mattered but the group merits instead that had to be promoted. A group in golf team is indeed a collection of professionals who have a series of strengths and weakness which may enable them to succeed or fail on an individual basis. These skills may be innate or acquired but the disparity will still be there. In a country situation you might have the number one player going with the worst player in the whole participating group. The greatness of the group might not come from the number one player at all but it might emanate from the least respected member of the group who has the power to change the dynamics significantly.
The golf team manager is then tasked with the formidable duty of managing the egos. We all know what egos can do to a team. As a minimum the whole golf squad will have had some measure of golf experience unless the selector is completely mad. The ones who have had some success in the individual sport will then develop a belief that they are the only ones who know anything about golf or that they know everything that is there to know about the sport. The poor coach is then challenged to massage their private egos without dealing the rest of the team a fatal blow. If you are lucky the prima donna might calm down and you can go on to win the tournament. If you are not, the diva will spoil everything and you will end up losing your job.
The blame game is a sure way of killing the team spirit within golf. Ideally everyone takes responsibility for their actions and retain a certain level of respect for the other members of the team such that they can contribute to any learning after a particularly painful loss. If the team has gelled particularly well the other team members might also be able to give comfort and advice to the rest of the group in order to build up the team for the next challenge which will surely be round the corner.
