Sep 26, 2026 · 57 min · 11 segments
Send us Fan Mail Team golf has a funny way of revealing the truth: talent alone does not win alternate shot. With Chuck handling a personal matter…
But it is 6.30 p.m. on Friday.
And if you are a golf aficionado or a degenerate like ourselves, you may be watching the President's Cup.
And we just witnessed the international team sweep Team USA today in the foursomes matches.
And...
It seems like it happens all the time, right? Whether it's the Ryder Cup, whether it's the President's Cup, we get to these alternate shot formats, also known as four sums, and we see that the Americans just don't do well.
And I think a big part of it is the fact that the Americans probably, if I had to guess, the only time that they're ever playing foursomes is in a Ryder Cup or potentially in a President's Cup.
They don't do it very often.
And there's definitely a different set of skills.
It's a different game.
Strategy is different.
And I think it shows, and I think that's why the Europeans tend to do so much better in that format, because when you get outside of the United States, I think a lot of golfers kind of find it interesting.
There's a lot of courses that play a lot of different games.
It's not all stroke play.
And here in the U.S., and I believe I've said this on the podcast before, but we're pretty straightforward.
We like to play 18 holes of golf.
We like to play in stroke play format, and that's kind of how it works.
I think there's a lot of great games that you can play, whether it's alternate shot, whether it's best ball, whatever that game is, there's a lot of fun ways to play golf that don't include hitting every shot and keeping your score and doing all of that stuff.
So I think one of the big reasons that the international team, the European team and the Ryder Cup do a little better is just simply from having more experience.
But it is 6.30 p.m. on Friday.
And if you are a golf aficionado or a degenerate like ourselves, you may be watching the President's Cup.
And we just witnessed the international team sweep Team USA today in the foursomes matches.
And...
It seems like it happens all the time, right? Whether it's the Ryder Cup, whether it's the President's Cup, we get to these alternate shot formats, also known as four sums, and we see that the Americans just don't do well.
And I think a big part of it is the fact that the Americans probably, if I had to guess, the only time that they're ever playing foursomes is in a Ryder Cup or potentially in a President's Cup.
They don't do it very often.
And there's definitely a different set of skills.
It's a different game.
Strategy is different.
And I think it shows, and I think that's why the Europeans tend to do so much better in that format, because when you get outside of the United States, I think a lot of golfers kind of find it interesting.
There's a lot of courses that play a lot of different games.
It's not all stroke play.
And here in the U.S., and I believe I've said this on the podcast before, but we're pretty straightforward.
We like to play 18 holes of golf.
We like to play in stroke play format, and that's kind of how it works.
I think there's a lot of great games that you can play, whether it's alternate shot, whether it's best ball, whatever that game is, there's a lot of fun ways to play golf that don't include hitting every shot and keeping your score and doing all of that stuff.
So I think one of the big reasons that the international team, the European team and the Ryder Cup do a little better is just simply from having more experience.
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