Team SPIRIT
In the world of professional golf, an even temper is as useful as a razor-sharp short game. Having the ability to attribute the same low level of importance to both success and failure is, sports psychologists will often tell you, the key to performing under pressure. While we can appreciate and occasionally replicate the pros’ superhuman ball-striking, those earning a living from the game can seem detached from the rest of us. Their unerringly ice-cool demeanour contrasts to our own 18-hole emotional rollercoaster.
There are occasions, however, when the facade is broken. One of them is at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where the European Tour’s leading lights are paired with amateurs in a unique individual and team format. For three days (four if you’re good enough to make the cut), normal golfers get to compete alongside the superstars of the game.
“There is a real feeling of camaraderie and also a sense that everyone is really lucky to be here”
What separates this event from just about any other high-level sporting contest is the prize on the
